Jujutsu Kaisen Production Meltdown

Overview

Jujutsu Kaisen Production Meltdown refers to a controversy regarding the Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 animators staff in which they've underwent a collective meltdown in mid-November 2023 on Twitter / X, talking about the production crash of the anime current season, which is produced by MAPPA studio and their poor working conditions.

Background

On October 26th, 2023, the first signs that Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 production was facing some issues regarding the anime's quality and overworked staff started to be shared on Twitter / X by fans and animators who've worked on the show. For example, X^[1] @Dynamic_Weeb user tweeted that "MAPPA is having major production issues. Animators are all over Twitter/internet talking about it." The post (shown below) garnered over 17,000 likes and 1,100 retweets in a month.

Developments

On November 15th, 2023, the animation staff responsible for Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 underwent a collective meltdown on X, exposing the dire production crash and their poor working conditions inside MAPPA studio. Reddit^[2] user u/mango_yogurt10 compiled some of the animators' tweets in Japanese in which they [staff] requested a delay on the anime to have tangible time to finish the following episodes. The Redditor also detailed the request was denied by the production committee, with the latest episodes being completed "mere hours before being aired" on TV. The post amassed over 4,500 upvotes and 832 comments in a day.

Arai Kazuto^[3], director and storyboard of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 tweeted on November 15th, 2023, his exhaustion regarding the anime production. The post (shown below, top) amassed more than 963 likes and 223 retweets in a day. On the same day, Ookubo Shunsuke^[4], director of episode 12 shared an image of one of the main protagonists of Shirobako, an anime about creating anime, trying to hang herself, while visibly tired. The post (shown below, bottom) received roughly 5,900 likes and 625 retweets in a day.

Online Reactions

Online, fans of the anime sympathized with the animation staff, sharing their opinions on X and Reddit. For example, on November, 15th, X^[5] user @JJK_Mya tweeted a message of support towards the Jujutsu Kaisen staff (shown below, left), which amassed 15,000 likes and 1,100 retweets in a few hours. On the same day, X^[6] user @epppyyy created a Thread narrating what is happening with MAPPA and the collective meltdown of animators. The post (shown below, right) received more than 2,500 likes and 931 retweets in a few hours.

Search Interest

External References