Manga and anime fans are no strangers to the name ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’, which is currently one of the biggest series around.
One Singaporean visual artist took his love for the show to the next level by merging it with a local icon — the Singapore MRT.
He gave fans an idea of what it would look like if the character Sukuna opened a Malevolent Shrine in none other than Raffles Place.
In a video, the human-like mouth forming the entrance of the shrine is seen opening along with the MRT doors as commuters stream out.
Last Friday (12 Jan), visual artist Aundraj Jude treated ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ fans to an animation of the show’s Malevolent Shrine opening along with MRT doors on Instagram.
For context, ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ revolves around a high school student named Yuji Itadori.
He ends up swallowing a Cursed Object — a finger — where an evil and powerful Curse named Ryomen Sukuna resides, and Itadori becomes his vessel.
Due to this, Itadori is roped into a high school that specialises in eliminating Curses, learning to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer — all while trying to prevent Sukuna from doing as he pleases.
The Malevolent Shrine is Sukuna’s Domain Expansion — an advanced barrier technique that amplifies the sorcerer’s powers.
When a Malevolent Shrine is created, it can slash its target apart relentlessly until nothing of it remains.
In Aundraj’s video, every detail of the Malevolent Shrine has been painstakingly recreated, from the horned skull on top to the teeth lining the mouth of the shrine’s entrance.
Speaking to MS News on what inspired him, Aundraj said it was his love of the show and a desire to incorporate the anime into his videos.
While at the Raffles Place station, he had a lightbulb moment — he felt it would be cool to see the train doors open with the entrance of the Malevolent Shrine.
Aundraj took two weeks to create the video using a combination of Cinema4D and Adobe After Effects.
As for the original footage of the MRT train doors opening, he shot it with his iPhone 14 Pro Max.
To Aundraj’s credit, the realism of the video had many viewers wondering whether the reimagined doors were real.
One called the animation “cool” before asking if it was real.
They were even concerned it would hurt commuters if the mouth sliding doors closed on them.
Another echoed their sentiments as they imagined what would happen if one got stuck between the doors.
In any case, all the debate around it has certainly fuelled the video’s popularity — at the time of writing, it has gone viral on Instagram with over 728,000 likes.
When asked whether he anticipated the video’s success, Aundraj admitted that he did not as his videos have always been a form of creative release.
He approaches his work with the idea of just having fun and letting his creativity drive him forward.
Nonetheless, seeing his videos reach a larger audience gave him “a great feeling” as it meant more people would get to know his art form.
Although he only began freelancing full-time as a visual artist two and a half years ago, Aundraj already has numerous collaborations with high-profile clients to his name.
One of them is the Singapore Tourism Board.
Back in 2021, he worked with them to reimagine destinations such as the ArtScience Museum.
In July last year, he teamed up with Adidas Singapore and German football club FC Bayern Munich to create a 3D billboard for the Adidas Brand Centre in Orchard.
Then, in November, he joined forces with Clinique for a Christmas campaign.
It featured an animation of a giant tub of moisturiser landing on Marina Bay Sands.
As such, it’s safe to say Aundraj has perfected the art of combining fantastical elements with familiar scenes in Singapore.
When asked about his upcoming projects in 2024, the artist could not reveal much due to NDA restrictions.
He did, however, tease that there will be “a few projects” coming from him in the next few months.
Additionally, he shared that he will take part in an exhibition this Friday (19 Jan) at Peace Centre.
The exhibition is called Watchers: Beyond Realms and will feature artwork from Aundraj along with other artists.
When prompted for advice he would give aspiring artists in Singapore, Aundraj said that one should not compare themselves to those around them and on social media.
He also called on artists to build their own paths and seek out like-minded creatives in order to grow together.
Also read: S’pore Artist Yip Yew Chong Completes Kampong Glam Mural, Took Over 25 Days To Finish
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Featured image adapted from @assthrowknot on Instagram.
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