The devoted fans of the popular Japanese manga and anime series Jujutsu Kaisen have undoubtedly had a difficult couple of months. Several of the show’s most cherished characters have recently met their end, both in the animated adaptation and the ongoing manga publication.
With a majority of the varied cast either relegated to the sidelines or killed off entirely, many impassioned readers have started questioning whether the author, Gege Akutami, crafted these personalities solely to eliminate them as plot devices.
When Jujutsu Kaisen first debuted in 2018, it swiftly changed the landscape for Japanese comics and animated entertainment due to its thrilling action set pieces, compelling overarching narrative, and uniquely captivating roster of protagonists and antagonists.
After the 2020 anime launched, it rapidly amassed an enormous dedicated viewership drawn in by these same selling points – creative fight choreography, a gripping story, and intrinsically interesting heroes and villains.
Meanwhile, Jujutsu Kaisen swiftly won over hordes of passionate aficionados with its appealing qualities. Lately, many devoted readers have been left disheartened and frustrated.
Over the course of recent narrative developments, a number of the most beloved fighters and personalities within this imaginative universe have met increasingly gruesome ends.
Jujutsu Kaisen Mangaka’s Shocking Trend: Creating Characters Just to Kill Them
Between meaningful protagonists falling into action-packed magical battles and former allies switching to the sinister side, much of the original support cast has been brutally eliminated.
As fans continue to witness the premature demises of the characters who first captured their imagination and affection back when the manga debuted, a sobering question has started to nag some long-term devotees:
Is it still worthwhile allowing oneself to be swept up by fresh faces joining Yuji Itadori’s core entourage if their fates are all but inevitably doomed to be short-lived shock twists designed to keep pushing the plot forward?
Only time will tell whether the thrill of each new quirky addition balances out the agony of their rapid violent dismissals at Gege Akutami’s plotting hands.
When Jujutsu Kaisen exploded onto the manga and anime landscape back in 2018, its winning formula of dynamic action, mysteries of the occult, and a beloved cast of characters instantly catapulted it to global fandom.
Arguably, the most popular personality to emerge from Gege Akutami’s fantastical battle saga was the irresistibly powerful yet ever-cheerful Satoru Gojo, the eye-patched teacher guiding the protagonists.
Gojo’s cool confidence and overwhelming abilities made him a fan favorite and, in many ways, the very face of the franchise.
But devotees worldwide were stunned when this seemingly invincible mentor met his shocking end in manga chapter 236, dramatically altering the trajectory of the plot.
The sudden execution of the very heart of Jujutsu Kaisen left many readers crestfallen while also lending the ongoing narrative a grim unpredictability.
If even the most mighty fighters can abruptly fall, no one is truly safe in this mystical world where forces of good and evil wage war through spellbinding sorcerers and curses made flesh.
Gojo’s loss casts an ominous pall over enthusiasts awaiting the manga’s next moves.
Unveiling Gege Akutami’s Intentions Behind Character Creation
While Satoru Gojo’s boundless fortitude and magical mastery made him a quick fan-favorite within the universe of Jujutsu Kaisen, some readers argue his unchecked supremacy itself posed issues for the ongoing plot progression.
As an unparalleled sorcerer against cursed beings, Gojo single-handedly commanded any battleground, defeating adversaries with ease and leaving few opportunities for other warriors or mages to demonstrate their own growth.
Yet when creator Gege Akutami abruptly executed Gojo hundreds of chapters into the manga’s run, shockwaves rippled through the vast Jujutsu Kaisen fandom.
Rather than a hero’s sacrifice, the fall of this seemingly invulnerable fan-favorite struck devoted readers as a premature, underwhelming demise for one of the franchise’s most beloved icons.
Many passionate enthusiasts felt Gojo merited an earth-shaking death in combat against terrifying foes, not immobilized and depleted of energy through an arcane sealing ritual.
In online forums, a vocal segment of longtime fans decried Akutami’s perceived misuse of the beloved character they felt embodied Jujutsu Kaisen’s greatness, at least for them personally.
Only time will tell whether enthusiasm for the manga recovers or whether Gojo’s loss heralds a decline among formerly devoted followers.
While Satoru Gojo’s shocking demise generated abundant outcry, he is far from the only protagonist painfully sacrificed over the manga’s ever-escalating occult conflicts.
Numerous pivotal personalities within Jujutsu Kaisen have faced brutal, untimely ends as Gege Akutami directed the complex narrative down increasingly sinister paths.
The Ephemeral Fate of Jujutsu Kaisen Characters
For example, the horrific death of young exorcist Riko Amanai at the hands of cursed spirits broke her former partner Suguru Geto emotionally and mentally, catalyzing his transformation into a rogue extremist.
Afterward, Geto’s former ally Gojo was forced to execute his old friend, only to see Geto’s body violated and possessed by the shadowy sorcerer Kenjaku as part of a conspiracy to remove Gojo from the action.
Likewise, the legendary Toji Fushiguro’s merciless will to defeat all magical foes in combat paved the way for Satoru Gojo to claim the mantle of the world’s strongest jujutsu sorcerer in modern times after Fushiguro’s ambitions finally proved fatal against Gojo’s undiscriminating powers.
So, while rabid enthusiasts strongly protested losing Gojo specifically, many other prominent fighters have experienced rises and downfalls integral to Akutami’s unpredictable, multidimensional plotting across the manga thus far.
When crafting a complex fictional world filled with supernatural wonders and horrors, manga artists like Gege Akutami must make difficult decisions about sacrificing or sidelining even well-liked characters to advance the winding, multifaceted plot.
However, some loyal Jujutsu Kaisen fans argue that Akutami goes a step too far, eliminating pivotal allies and mentors before their narrative potential feels fully tapped.
For instance, devotees largely accepted the anime’s emotional death scene for the sturdy sorcerer Kento Nanami, who met his end in a fearsome struggle while protecting protagonist Yuji Itadori, as well as countless civilians.
Gege Akutami’s Narrative Choices
As heartbreaking as his loss proved, most enthusiasts conceded Nanami’s noble sacrifice advanced Itadori’s character arc from student to self-reliant fighter carrying a mentor’s legacy.
Yet audiences remain divided regarding the manga’s later shocking dispatch of the fiercely determined exorcist Nobara Kugisaki via a lethal cursed technique.
As a core member of Itadori’s original team, Kugisaki’s formidable skills and defiant attitude toward danger earned considerable fan affection early on.
With her fate left ambiguous for dozens of chapters and counting, a vocal segment argues removing Kugisaki entirely lacks narrative justification and underserves a potentially generational talent.
As devotees grapple with a rising death toll across Jujutsu Kaisen’s sprawling occult war, some argue certain dismissed fighters like Nobara Kugisaki offered richness stolen too soon.
As a principal member beside Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro of the manga’s initial core triad, the fierce yet compassionate Kugisaki endeared herself through dauntless team battles.
Despite the story emphasizing her loss as a traumatic motivation for Itadori, online discussions highlight that subsequent arcs minimally reference Kugisaki’s imposing legacy as events escalate.
Likewise, the prodigiously talented sorcerer Aoi Todo emerged early on as a fan-favorite ally for his eccentric wisdom and mastery of jujutsu techniques.
However, Todo endured severe injuries during a fearsome mutual takedown of cursed spirit Mahito, exiting stage left afterward when the plot explodes into catastrophic turf wars.
Much like the mysteriously vanished Megumi Fushiguro, Todo has scarcely received any narrative callouts lately, leaving enthusiasts confused about whether these benched fighters remain sidelined or eliminated off-panel.
Factoring in myriad major fatalities plus now-dormant supports like Todo and Fushiguro fading story relevance, Jujutsu Kaisen’s death toll fosters nagging wariness within its fanbase about embracing each new quirky recruit introduced.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Mortal Stakes
Will fresh faces merely serve temporary plot functions, too, before meeting their mandated gruesome dismissal? Time will tell whether Akutami balances his vicious magical battleground’s mortality rates to satisfy devotees.
Gege Akutami’s willingness to ruthlessly eliminate or sideline even his most popular spiritual warriors has left Jujutsu Kaisen fans uneasy in contemplating the manga’s future direction.
During a 2020 interview, Akutami foreshadowed just how dimly the story may end for the central characters, anchoring readers’ investment.
He teased that, ultimately, only a single member from the quartet of Yuji Itadori, Nobara Kugisaki, Megumi Fushiguro, and teacher Satoru Gojo would remain standing.
This prophecy implies any survivors would do so utterly alone, with their mentors and comrades-in-arms brutally picked off beforehand.
Now, with Kugisaki potentially deceased and Fushiguro unaccounted for, pessimists feel Akutami telegraphs an uncompromisingly savage culmination ahead.
Considering Shonen manga tradition typically depicts heroes overcoming lethal threats, such widespread fatalities seem an anomalously hopeless outcome for devotees.
Already, the confirmed death toll has led sites of enthusiasts to debate abandoning Jujutsu Kaisen as too nihilistic for their tastes.
Others anxiously await story developments hinting whether Akutami will show last-minute mercy or brutally validate fears that further foundational figures face gruesome dismissal solely for shock value.
If the manga concludes in an unrelentingly lethal fashion, it may represent outliers among comparably upbeat contemporaries in the wider Shonen field.
For now, both ardent fans and recently wavering readers watch closely for indications of how far Akutami will go in realizing his hellish vision.
