It’s no secret that almost every thought has been had before. Everytime I think I came up with the best idea of the century, I see that some no name YouTuber already thought about the concept and made up a comprehensive 20 minute or longer video explaining the idea and topic. Writing stories is the same way. I think Boogiepop had it right on the money when it declared “99% of imagination is imitation”. Almost every song, book, movie, etc. is borrowing some concepts from somewhere else. The good news is that since these mediums are expansive and allow for so much creativity, people can mix and match shit enough that something feels truly unique. My Hero Academia is not a unique story, it’s literally the shounen trope of a young boy who gets strong and fights bad boys. However, the arstyle, soundtrack, characters, and thematic choices make it stand out enough that there’s really no other anime around right now that captures the same feeling. 

Today I want to see what you guys value more: originality or technicality. I used to think I was an originality boy for life, especially as life goes on and I see more and more of the same ideas and character types repeated. However, Jujutsu Kaisen has been making me rethink this whole debate. You see, when this show started airing Kinky and I were disgusted with ourselves for liking it so much, because we could see right through it. The fucking sensei character is literally so resemblant of Kakashi from Naruto that we joked it actually was Kakashi but with the mask over his eyes instead of his mouth. It was the epitome of the “cool sensei” trope. Then there’s the side character Megumi (real fans are gonna hate me for that one) who literally has the same chill, moody energy that Sasuke had in the early seasons. God dammit, even the third party member Nobara has the sassiness of Sakura and seems to prefer hanging out with Megumi (Sasuke) more than Yuji (Naruto) albeit not by much.

You ain't fooling nobody Kakashi, take that shit off already.

But you know what? Fucking hell Jujutsu Kaisen has become one of my top anime of the year, and it’s not even done airing yet. Despite so many things being formulaic for shounen or downright generic, the technical prowess of the writing is so good I don’t care. When moments are sad, I feel that shit. I feel for these characters, more so than many other popular shounen. While they do start off as pretty basic, they’re quickly given time to grow and shine and the beautiful animation and OST helps that process along greatly. Every week I’m left going “holy shit, I’ve gotta wait six more days for the next one?”. I’ve watched way more anime that are more unique than this one, but I end up not getting as invested because the basic writing shit (character development, foreshadowing, world building) isn’t there. I still place a lot of value on originality, however it’s not the one-sided battle that I had previously thought. At the end of the day you can have the most original story in the world, just keep in mind that the “formula” exists for a reason and ignoring the technical stuff will probably leave your audience bored in a flash.

This anime had a very original premise, but you know what, I hated it nonetheless.

This season has been a blast to watch, and next season appears to be hype as hell too. I can’t wait for Dr. Stone, The Promised Neverland, and other original shows that go against everything I just typed to start releasing. Are you watching Jujutsu Kaisen? Is it better for a show to be unique and stand out from the crowd, or to have solid overall writing? Exorcise the curses in the comments below!