Jujutsu Kaisen Art Now Being Sold Directly by Anime Studio MAPPA

Jujutsu Kaisen fans who have about $500 to spare and live in Japan should be very interested in animation studio MAPPA's latest offer.

The studio behind the anime adaptation of Gege Akutami's hit shonen manga, as well as shows such as Attack on Titan and the upcoming Chainsaw Man, is now selling a series of framed prints featuring original artwork depicting the shows they have worked on. The first of these prints, which is a massive, 3-foot wide piece of artwork from Jujutsu Kaisen, is now available for preorder. Fans in Japan will be able to order the 91 centimeter long, 45 centimeter tall art for ¥55,000 yen, or about $490 USD before shipping and handling.

The print depicts Jujutsu Kaisen's central protagonist, Yuji Itadori, battling Ryomen Sukuna, the powerful Curse that lives inside of him. The prints will be produced using a new printing technique that reportedly recreates the original artwork with an unmatched level of accuracy and fidelity. Unfortunately, as of right now, MAPPA will not ship the prints outside of Japan.

The new prints are being released as part of the company's celebration of the 10th anniversary of its founding. MAPPA has yet to announce what other series and art work will be featured in the rest of the series.

MAPPA's attempts to celebrate its big anniversary were marred somewhat by accusations that the company overworks and underpays its artists. Several months ago, veteran animator Ippei Ichii criticized both Netflix and MAPPA of paying their animators a rate that was substantially below the industry average. Netflix has partnered with MAPPA to produce many of the streaming giant's original anime series, most notably the samurai-fantasy epic Yasuke. Earlier in the year, a different animator who worked on the studio's production of Attack on Titan criticized the company's "factory-like" working conditions, and stated that they were pressured by the studio's management to work "until the sun came up."

MAPPA refuted these claims in a statement, saying it offers fair rates relative to the budget of each project, and that it has never forced anybody to work on one of its shows. The company also recently announced that it will offer animators who work on its upcoming Chainsaw Man adaptation pay rates and bonus benefits that are well above what is offered by other animation studios.

The studio is also currently working on the next entry in the Jujutsu Kaisen franchise, the animated movie Jujutsu Kaisen 0. The movie is a prequel that tells the story of Yuta Okkutsu, a young man who is haunted by the spirit of his childhood friend, Rika. Unfortunately for them both, Rika's spirit has become a Curse, a malevolent monster that now harms anyone who gets too close to Yuta. The movie will be released in Japan this December.

Source: MAPPA