I read Jujutsu Kaisen by Akutami Gege. It is an action-packed fighting manga with great art.

The story has some great character moments. But it lacks the narrative depth that I am looking for.

The magic system, which is central to the story and the fighting, seems a bit unstructured. While certain abilities are very simple – you get what’s on the tin – others are able to reveal a new trick when the story needs it.

The author relies on exposition. Especially when it comes to the magic abilities. The in-universe justification is that explaining the mechanics of the magic technique makes it stronger. Some sorcerers deliberately do not want this power boost (just for the ego boost?) and some might not even get a boost (I’m unsure) – this inconsistency bothers me. Other times we readers are privy to the thought process of the opponent and how they understand the mechanics of the magic technique. And if nothing of the above was done, the author tells the readers directly out-of-universe about the magic at play.

But I love the idea of Domain Expansion. It is a great concept. I have a feeling we might see at least referenced if not copied in other media in the future.

Despite that, I don’t recommend reading the manga. Not because it is bad, but because the anime is just better. The anime is not finished yet, but so far it is a very true adaptation of the manga. It makes the fight scenes so much better and has improved on some of them (for example: Sukuna vs. Mahoraga).

Recommendation: Maybe; watch the anime.