Jujutsu Kaisen

JJK was the first series where I genuinely felt immersed; it was the FIRST EVER manga I've actually sat down and read and waited for new chapters to come out, so I have a lot of fondness for the series. It was what introduced me to the medium, and I'll forever be grateful for that. I started getting into it very late, and I stayed until the very end. Since it's been long enough, it's probably time I wrote them down and gave the series a true review.

The Prime:

From chapter 1 to post-Shibuya Incident is what made me fall in love. The way that characters were introduced and the way their personalities bloomed right away was an immediate hook; never have I seen a manga (yet) introduce both the MC and villain in THAT SHORT OF TIME. The art style additionally was a big contributing factor; stuff just felt clean and thought about, and I think the pacing went hand in hand with that philosophy. It wasn't necessarily the fastest at the start, but as we got to digest these characters' personalities and social chemistry, the more things started to happen; it never felt shoehorned in.

The Shibuya Arc was extremely impactful, both because of the implications of the world and the characters that I grew to fall in love with. It was the one time when I wanted to control a situation so badly, but couldn't (especially with Nobara's and Nanami's deaths). The biggest strengths during this time period were the character chemistry and the world; it felt lived in, authentic even.

I think Hidden Inventories was part of JJK's prime; it definitely had a lot more to say than previous arcs, especially with Geto's character, which I'll go into later on.

The Start of a Collapsing Formula:

The Culling Games arc was the point where the manga started to crack; it became less about the characters and more about power and curses. From the start, JJK had interesting power scaling and the concepts of domains, cursed energy, RCT, etc. But that wasn't really what the series was about. It became "Let's see who has the better RTC, the better domain, the better cursed technique" without giving a lot of time for the audience to feel these characters out.

Going back a bit to the original "main villain," Mahito, you grew with him, you saw him communicate and express himself with the other characters in this world, and you got to see his dynamic with Yuji unfold. "I admit it, Mahito. I am you" is so powerful BECAUSE we saw Mahito constantly tormenting Yuji throughout the entire time he was alive.

Now let's go back to a fight like Megumi vs. Reggie. Who is Reggie? some random guy from the past who came back to fight. That's it...what?

Every new character that was introduced in the Culling Games serves barely (if any ) purpose to the plot and, honestly, serves to waste time and keep the cast busy. There is still some good to be had in this arc. Kenjaku vs. Choso and Yuki is still probably the best fight in my opinion, and I really liked Takaba and Higuruma as characters. But it felt like there was something missing. Additionally, this is when Gege changed art styles, which, in my opinion, started to feel rushed, unthought out, and chaotic. However, I understand that art in manga is very subjective.

Shinjuku Showdown and Its Consequences:

The big final arc of this series, everyone facing against the big bad Sukuna. This arc was extremely disappointing for many reasons. One, it was nothing more than a vessel for the constant hype moments of aura that is Sukuna. Constant action, constant chaos, constant unthought, but GO GO LET'S FIGHT SUKUNA. The big finale that is Yuji's domain and the death of Sukuna felt less like a satisfying end and more like an empty sigh. The ending made that feeling a lot more apparent, as the final chapter was released, and after many months of looking forward to each chapter release, I sat there and thought, "That's it?"

The ending primarily consisted of characters talking about what they could've done to finish Sukuna off earlier, like it's some fucking NBA postgame conference, and one final fuck-off mission that was boring as all hell and didn't really need to be there. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a slap in the face, but it didn't make me feel particularly happy.

The Gojo Problem:

If there is one "true" character that the story focuses on, it's Gojo. He's basically the poster child of JJK and probably will continue to be until the series dies off in however many years. Gege obviously spent a lot of his time building him up (especially with Hidden Inventories and Shinjuku Showdown ), and I think his character study is one of the most interesting plot points. He carries the world on his shoulders; he is the one person everyone in the show looks up to. Gege built up this larger-than-life character at the start; _why was he so strong? Because he's Satoru Gojo, of course. _Why was he the most respected? Because he's Satoru Gojo, of course, etc., etc.

Naturally, people who were fans of the series LOVED Gojo; they couldn't get enough of this larger-than-life personality, this person who was so strong that it TRUMPED everything and everyone in the story, and I think Gege let his hate of Gojo ruin the writing. Gojo went from a teacher that someone could look up to, someone who loved his students and wanted them to be better than him for the next coming of generations, to someone who, by the end, no one gave a damn about. We saw ONE flashback of Gojo at the end of the series, ONE!. The ENTIRE plot of Gojo feeling like a weapon, like a tool and not a human being, gets thrown out the window; YUTA LITERALLY USED GOJO'S FUCKING CORPSE TO THROW A HOLLOW PURPLE AT SUKUNA AS A LAST DITCH EFFORT!!!! What a waste of a perfectly good character.

Geto:

This, in my opinion, is Gege's crowned achievement in character writing. Geto was a man that couldn't find himself between his obligation as a jujutsu sorcerer and his natural rage as a human being. His evil is so interesting because, inherently, it comes from a place of love. Geto, who is surrounded by his loved ones dying and his cursed technique, which he finds abhorrent, constantly questions, "Why should the strong suffer for the weak?" His relationship with Gojo as well only adds to his morality dilemma. Overall, he is by far the most interesting character in the entire series, and I absolutely love how he is written.

Yuji and Sukuna:

There's a lot to be said about the main character and main villain's dynamic; however, I'll try to be concise. Sukuna and Yuji are the very basis of human nature; both being opposites, they find themselves inhabiting one body (for most of the series ). Yuji and Sukuna are the best and worst parts of humanity, clashing in an internal and external battle. The times they interact is a philosophical battle between not giving a shit and giving too much of a shit. I wish Gege explored Sukuna's inner character more; it seemed like there was just not enough depth to truly understand him.

Conclusion:

I don't know what to feel about this series. On one hand, it inspired me to explore manga and anime, it brought forth interesting character dynamics and chemistry, and it had some genuinely very good ideas on humanity, what it means to be human, and good vs. evil. However, it just fell apart. There was a lot that was missing by the end. I was extremely disappointed, not because of what it did but because of what it didn't do.

TLDR: Good start, terrible ending, character chemistry is good, but everything else suffers.