The Guinness World Records has named JUJUTSU KAISEN the most popular anime in the world.
Using information gathered from data-science firm Parrot Analytics, Guinness labeled JUJUSTU KAISEN the world's "most in-demand animated TV show," a title held previously by Attack on Titan since 2020.
"Demand" is calculated on consumer metrics such as "attention, engagement, desire, and viewership." Parrot Analytics captures billions of data points each day, including "video consumption (streaming and downloads), social media engagement (hashtags, likes, shares), and research actions (reading about a show on IMDb, for example)." Actions that require more effort from the consumer, such as watching or downloading a show, are weighed more heavily in the calculations.
JUJUSTU KAISEN faced some stiff competition in the 2023 rankings, beating out other popular animes such as Attack on Titan and One Piece. The latter series received a boost in interest from the release of Netflix's live-action adaptation. Meanwhile, the Attack on Titan series concluded with its final season in November.
The JUJUTSU KAISEN anime adaptation debuted in 2020 and ran for 24 episodes through March 2021. A second season was announced in 2022 and aired from July through December 2023. Ultimately it was this end-of-year surge that boosted it over the competition. On December 29th, it peaked at "128 times the demand of the average show."
According to Parrot Analytics, 71.3% of JUJUTSU KAISEN's audience is Gen Z (ages 13-22), a higher percentage than both One Piece (56.7% Gen Z) and Attack on Titan (64.4%). "This enthusiastic fan base ultimately helped carry the anime to being the most popular of the year," Guinness wrote.
JUJUTSU KAISEN is based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. The first two seasons are streaming on Crunchyroll along with the JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 anime film. The synopsis for the series reads:
Yuji Itadori eats a cursed finger to save a classmate, and now Ryomen Sukuna, a powerfully evil sorcerer known as the King of Curses, lives in Itadori’s soul. Curses are supernatural terrors created from negative human emotions. This cursed energy can be used as a power source by jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits alike.
Guided by the jujutsu sorcerers, Yuji Itadori joins Tokyo Jujutsu High School, an organization that fights the curses. Mentored by his teacher Satoru Gojo, Itadori befriends Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki, both first-year students.
Have you watched JUJUTSU KAISEN yet? Let us know your thoughts below!