Gege Akutami (
Japanese: 芥見下々,
Hepburn: Akutami Gege, born February 26, 1992) is a Japanese
manga artist known for their[1] work Jujutsu Kaisen. Gege Akutami is a pen name and the author's real name and identity are unknown.
Biography
Gege Akutami was born in
Iwate Prefecture on February 26, 1992.[2] Akutami moved to
Sendai in
Miyagi Prefecture in fifth grade. Akutami began drawing manga by mimicking a friend, which inspired them to become a professional manga artist.[3][4] Akutami has named
Tite Kubo as an influence in their work after reading Bleach in fourth grade, in addition to Hunter × Hunter and Neon Genesis Evangelion among other works.[3] In 2014, Gege Akutami started working as an assistant to
Yasuhiro Kanō in Kiss x Death.[5]
They published their first work the same year, titled "Kamishiro Sōsa" (神代捜査), a one-shot chapter published in
Shueisha's Jump NEXT! vol. 2 on May 7, 2014.[6][7] Their next work was No.9, with a one-shot chapter published in Jump NEXT! vol. 2 on May 1, 2015,[8] and another one-shot in the 46th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump on October 10, 2015.[9] Akutami would publish the one-shot "Nikai Bongai Barabarjura" (二界梵骸バラバルジュラ) in the 2016 44th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, released on October 3, 2016. This one-shot was nominated for the 11th "Gold Future Cup" contest of the magazine.[10][11] In 2017, Akutami published Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School (東京都立呪術高等専門学校, Tōkyō Toritsu Jujutsu Kōtō Senmon Gakkō), a 4-chapter series that ran in Jump GIGA from April 28 to July 28, 2017.[12][13] This series later served as a prologue to their next work, Jujutsu Kaisen, being retroactively titled as Jujutsu Kaisen 0.[14] Akutami began the publication of Jujutsu Kaisen in the 2018 14th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, released on March 5, 2018.[15]
In 2016, Akutami's one-shot Nikai Bongai Barabarujura was nominated for Weekly Shōnen Jump's 11th Gold Future Cup contest.[20] In 2019, their manga Jujutsu Kaisen was nominated for the 65th
Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.[21] Akutami is the 2020 grand prize winner for Jujutsu Kaisen on Mando Kobayashi,Kendo Kobayashi's monthly manga variety show where winners are selected on their personal taste.[22] In 2021, Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen was listed as a nominee for the 25th Annual
Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.[23]