Koyoharu Gotouge’s Anonymity Achieved With ‘Demon Slayer’ What Gege Akutami Wanted With ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’
- Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are two manga that gained success due to their story and characters, and were hailed as amazing stories.
- The creators of both the series also had something in common, which was making their identity anonymous.
- But while Demon Slayer's ending is celebrated as a perfect closure to the story, Jujutsu Kaisen's ending is often considered to be ill-fitting to its story.
Modern-day Shonen has seen several creators whose works are considered legendary. Koyoharu Gotouge, the creator of Demon Slayer, and Gege Akutami, the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen are two such creators who have been hailed as masterminds due to their impressive works.
While both the creators achieved magnanimous success through their respective series, only one of them was able to end their series on their terms, offering a perspective into how a creator’s decisions and identities change as the internet continues to evolve.
Demon Slayer, unlike Jujutsu Kaise,n ended as per its creator’s wishes
Demon Slayer ended its serialization in May 2020. The series ended by wrapping up the story of Tanjiro, showing him and his comrades living the rest of their lives happily. The manga even had an epilogue where the work of the slayers was appreciated even by their descendants.
The ending was very well received and fans loved seeing their characters getting a happy ending. More importantly, they felt that everyone got their closure and that every plotline was resolved.
To this day I respect the Demon Slayer author for somehow writing the most popular thing in the world and just ending it on their own terms during the peak of its relevance
— august (@regularaugust) February 6, 2025
The series wasn’t rushed and its audience respected its creator for ending the series in a relaxed manner.
However, this was not the case with Jujutsu Kaisen, which concluded in September of 2024 with the main trio of the series continuing their lives as sorcerers. This ending was met with severe criticism by fans, who complained that the ending did not feel like it was written by Gege and that several plots were left unresolved.
Several fans even started to troll Gege online and claimed that the ending lacked any emotional depth at all.
So now that jjk is ending, what was it actually about?
byu/HoppingHermit inJujutsufolk
Fans of Jujutsu Kaisen pointed out that the ending did not fit the series, and that as it reached the end, Jujutsu Kaisen just felt as if it had become a lazy, nonsensical battle-shonen that tried to fiddle with concepts like humanity and fate, but ultimately failed to make sense.
The internet’s impact on creator decisions and anonymity
Koyoharu’s decision to remain anonymous while Demon Slayer was being serialized had a huge impact on how the series ended. By remaining anonymous and by maintaining a low profile, they were able to protect themselves from fan expectations and online discussions, thus allowing their writing process to remain constant.
Staying true to their writing style by dedicating themselves to anonymity was why they could give Demon Slayer such an authentic, and fulfilling ending.
Akutami, the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, on the other hand had concluded his series during the age when avoiding the digital gaze was impossible. While they also maintained their anonymity, they were much more accessible to the general public through forums, and discussions.
Additionally, they appeared in a lot of interviews and would discuss Jujutsu Kaisen and their plans for it through their manga.
As fans started to talk about their hopes and expectations for the series, the digital fervor was bound to pressure them, affecting their creative process. So while Akutami was still able to end, they would have wanted what Koyoharu achieved with their series.
In conclusion, while both Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen were amazing series, the anonymity of one creator allowed them to end their series without any digital pressure, while the other creator wasn’t able to. This comparison also suggests the impact digital presence can have on the closure of a creator’s work.
