Fans Can’t Believe One Piece Author Eiichiro Oda Did This For Jujutsu Kaisen’s Gege Akutami

One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen are both incredibly memorable series, and some of the biggest in the manga world, in general. The sales don’t lie, and both these manga have huge, dedicated fan bases.

While information on Gege Akutami has been limited greatly after the conclusion of the JJK manga, fans were shocked to discover that Oda helped Gege, the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, during a time when he was struggling greatly. All of this was revealed during One Piece Day.

One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen Are Both Widely Popular Shonen Series

• One Piece Is Iconic, and Still Ongoing
• Jujutsu Kaisen Had Insane Sales, But It Has Now Ended

One Piece is known to be the biggest manga in the entire world. When it comes to sales, no other manga even comes close. If anything, One Piece is now competing on a global scale with series such as Harry Potter.

Even 28 years later, One Piece is still going strong. The One Piece manga is indeed in its Final Saga, but it won’t be ending anytime soon, as the series has at least a decade to go.

On the other hand, Jujutsu Kaisen is a rather short manga. The JJK manga ended last year, in 2024, but it was a major hit, nevertheless. This manga even surpassed One Piece in yearly sales at times, which is nothing short of impressive.

These two series are quite iconic, and fans of both will be pleased to know that the creators, Eiichiro Oda and Gege Akutami, are actually friends.

Eiichiro Oda Greatly Helped Gege Akutami in the Past

• Oda Introduced Gege to a New Hospital When He Was Very Sick
• Gege Drew Illustrations for Oda as a Thank You

The One Piece Day event was highly anticipated for months by fans. Every year, this event reveals massive pieces of information to the fans and gives them new projects to be excited about.

This year, however, there was a huge surprise, as Gege Akutami, the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, was involved. Gege revealed some stunning illustrations he drew for One Piece TCG. These illustrations were of the Five Elders.

Gege also dropped a message, and revealed why he made these illustrations. They were actually a thank you to Oda, as he helped Gege a lot when he got sick near the end of JJK’s serialization.

Here’s Gege’s full statement:

“Toward the end of the Jujutsu Kaisen serialization, I fell ill and was in a dire situation. Oda-sensei kindly introduced me to a hospital. After making a full recovery and wrapping up the serialization, I wanted to express my gratitude, but couldn’t think of any suitable gift. After some twists and turns, I decided to repay the favor through my work.

Favorite part: I’m glad I got to draw St. Nusjuro. When I received the color specifications for the five characters, I was blown away, but the process of arranging colors that I wouldn’t have thought of myself was refreshing.”

Where to Read One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen?

Both are Available on Manga Plus

Jujutsu Kaisen is currently one of the biggest shonen series in the world. The manga, which ended in late 2024, can be read online on Manga Plus, where this series used to be published weekly.

Meanwhile, One Piece Chapter 1157 will be out this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on August 17. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1157 is August 17, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.