"Late-Night Energy Leads to Unexpected Official Adoption" - King Gnu's Tsuneta Daiki's Modified Jujutsu Kaisen OP Video Becomes Essentially an "Officially Recognized MAD"

King Gnu's Tsuneta Daiki posted a "self-made MAD" (edited clip video) on his X account, featuring his own edit of the non-credit opening (OP) video for TV anime Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, for which he composed the song "AIZO." After the official Jujutsu Kaisen anime X account later referenced this MAD, it became what is essentially an "officially recognized MAD," generating significant buzz.

Tsuneta posted the video in the late night to early morning hours of January 10th, with the comment: "A video I apparently made unconsciously late at night, whether because the Jujutsu OP was so good or because I was tired. Let's all keep doing our best in life this year, 2026." This video was based on the official OP footage created by animation studio MAPPA, with Tsuneta himself remixing the audio and applying visual effects.

Despite being an impulsive late-night post, its overwhelming quality initially led many users to mistake it for fan-made derivative work. However, once it became clear that it was the artist himself "modifying official materials," it immediately went viral. Within hours of posting, it recorded tens of thousands of likes. Furthermore, on January 17th, the official Jujutsu Kaisen anime X account used the hashtag "#TsunetasanNoShinyaTension" (Tsuneta-san's Late-Night Energy) in a post commemorating the OP video surpassing 10 million views, leading to even greater excitement as it became essentially an "officially recognized MAD."

Jujutsu Kaisen is an anime adaptation based on the manga of the same name that was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump by Gege Akutami. The story follows high school student Yuji Itadori (CV: Junya Enoki), who steps into a world of battles surrounding curses after the seal on a powerful "cursed object" is broken. When the TV anime's first season aired in 2020, its overwhelming animation quality, stylish direction, and compelling story gained explosive popularity both domestically and internationally. Following a prequel film and Season 2's "Hidden Inventory/Premature Death" and "Shibuya Incident" arcs, the highly anticipated Season 3 "Culling Game" began airing in January 2026.

In response to this unusual post, comments of praise flooded social media, such as "Tsuneta-san's late-night energy lol," "An unconscious masterpiece," "The addictiveness is insane, I could loop this forever," and "Of course the energy would be high!!" Additionally, combined with Tsuneta's talk content on All Night Nippon GOLD broadcast late night on January 18th, it gained renewed attention as "Late-night energy leads to unexpected official adoption," becoming a major movement.

(C)Gege Akutami/Shueisha