Bleach is one of the top rated and OG anime of the Shonen-jump based anime list. Many anime in the modern day are inspired by Bleach and the similarities are very much visible to noticed. The major anime adaption from Bleach is the Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen Because of thematic and stylistic similarities between Jujutsu Kaisen (JJK) and Bleach, fans put them together. Nevertheless, it feels like at some point Jujutsu Kaisen is a direct homage to Bleach. Whether its the character portrayal, storyline or the battle writing, JJK follows Bleach in many ways.
Character Resemblance between Urahara Kisuke and Gojo Satoru
Each series features an enigmatic figure who acquaints the main character with the existence of creatures from the other world and helps the hero. In Bleach, Urahara Kisuke is introduced to the series and he is teaching Ichigo and helps him even though he overworks him to achieve his potential. Whereas in Jujutsu Kaisen Gojo Satoru becomes Yuji’s sensei teaching him how to regulate Sukuna’s powers and teach him about cursed energy.
Urahara and Gojo are the strongest soul reaper and sorcerers of their series but still have a cool and funny character portrayal. Yuji and Ichigo are the kind hearted protagonists who even cry for their enemy as they lost someone who meant everything to them. The funny but also very strong-featured master and disciple components make it similar to the showmanship of Urahara and Ichigo, which holds lessons on life.
An Evil World Hidden to the Normal Life
Both series introduce secretive organizations that operate in a parallel world unseen by ordinary humans. The place – Soul Society in Bleach is one of the two domains of Shinigami charged with ensuring that there is equilibrium for spirits. In the anime Jujutsu Kaisen (JJK) there is a secret school for sorcerers to learn how to drive out curses for the world of the living. They are the bodies of their respective stories and plots that include well-defined linament, compound code, and interesting characters.
Evil and Dark Mind inside a kinder heart
Both Yuji Itadori and Ichigo Kurosaki share their bodies with terrifyingly powerful entities. In Bleach Ichigo struggles against the Hollow part of his personality: thus, it can be considered a symbol of Ichigo’s fears and his potential. In JJK Yuji is the host of Ryomen Sukuna, known as the King of Curses who poses a potential danger to taking complete control of Yuuji’s body. These inner conflicts are not just for the development of the main characters but also necessary tools for presenting the main theme and the growth of the protagonists. It’s the representation of the helplessness of the protagonists becoming something that they never wanted in their life. After losing his mother because of a hollow, he regrets himself becoming a hollow. In the same way Yuji never wanted any innocent soul to die because of the cursed spirits but in his Sukuna form he felt that he indirectly killed more people.
The powerful impact of Bankai and Domain Expansion
The fighting styles in Bleach and JJK often rely on intricate techniques and powerful abilities with unique visual flair. New ‘ultimate-level’ manoeuvres are presented in both series which makes the difference in the battle. Bankai is the ultimate form for a Shinigami while Domain Expansion is the final form for the control of cursed energy for a sorcerer in JJK. The two series share similar gameplay and focus on engagement in a very short range, the animation is smooth and the movement during confrontations looks both graceful and brutal.
Classic Antagonists with Visionic Aim
The antagonists in both series share grand ambitions and philosophical underpinnings. Aizen Sosuke strives to turn into neither Shinigami nor Hollow, as his main goal is to overthrow the existing Soul King and rearrange the world. Geto Suguru has a strong idea about the world in which only Jujutsu sorcerers are present since the non-sorcerers are only dependent on them. Sukuna at the same time is motivated by a addiction for power and complete control that is as blatant as it can be. These villains are not only musclular, they invade the heroes’ mind and make them come face to face with their weaknesses.
Of course, everything written above means that Jujutsu Kaisen is itself an adaption of Bleach in many ways. This is all a homage to Bleach which is a shonen series by itself and the narrative relations, characters’ relationship and the backgrounds clearly mimic from Bleach. Those who enjoyed both should be able to marvel at the similarities with one another, but also take pride in how the show and game decided to interpret the supernatural action adventure genre.
