Jujutsu Kaisen has been officially named 2023's most in-demand anime series based on global viewership and engagement metrics by Guinness World Records. The show barely defeated highly popular contenders Attack on Titan and One Piece.
Mainstream interest in anything anime has outgrown its cult appeal in recent years. This was recently confirmed when Jujutsu Kaisen, the anime based on Gege Akutami's manga series, took the top spot as the world's most in-demand TV show of 2023, beating frontrunners like Loki, The Last of Us, Black Mirror and The Witcher. As the overall winner in the TV category, Jujutsu Kaisen was also automatically the most in-demand anime series; however, it only barely fended off close competitors Attack on Titan and One Piece. Parrot Analytics, a consultancy for global entertainment analytics, revealed the rankings via Guinness World Records following a comprehensive global study.
The study took into account a slew of data metrics that included daily consumption rates, social media engagement and proactive research activity related to the nominees. Results were consolidated from billions of data points to calculate demand rates. Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen ranked first with a global demand rating 71.2 times greater than the average TV show (across all subcategories, including anime series). The study notes a surge of interest in Jujutsu Kaisen toward the end of 2023, which was stoked in July when new episodes of Season 2 premiered. On Dec. 29, demand for the show peaked at 128 times the recorded average.
Jujutsu Kaisen Wins Against One Piece and Attack on Titan for Most Popular Anime
One metric confirmed that Jujutsu Kaisen was immensely popular among the younger audience demographic. Gen Z (aged 13-22) dominated the results with 71.3% viewership. Similar outcomes were also noted for contenders One Piece (56.7%) and Attack on Titan (64.4%). The latter -- which concluded its final season last November -- narrowly lost after its three-year winning streak in the rankings. In contrast, demand for One Piece was boosted by the release of the Netflix live-action adaptation, which helped convince new and long-time fans to rewatch earlier episodes of the anime series.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a relatively new franchise, first serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine in March 2018. The first season of the anime aired from October 2020 to March 2021, while the second season ran from July to December 2023. A sequel exploring the "Culling Game" arc has been confirmed, although a release date has not yet been announced.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available to stream on Crunchyroll, while the manga is available in English via Viz Media.
Source: Guinness World Records, Parrot Analytics
