Warning: This article contains spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga! There’s no denying Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the biggest Shonen Jump series of all time, even though it was only released in recent years. Written and illustrated by Gege Akutami, the manga began serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 2018 before reaching its conclusion in 2024. The manga had a rocky beginning, and it was even being considered for cancellation until Akutami drew the readers’ attention with the plot twist in the Cursed Womb Arc. Yuji’s death in the early chapters may have saved the manga, but the story was far from over. The anime changed everything with its debut in 2020, as it became a success overnight.
A lot of the credit for Jujutsu Kaisen‘s popularity goes to MAPPA, one of the biggest animation studios in Japan. The anime has already aired three seasons, and fans will likely get more updates on the sequel season before the end of the year. While the anime still has a huge chunk of story left to adapt, the manga is long over. However, despite its popularity, Jujutsu Kaisen couldn’t escape the fate of having one of the worst endings of all time. The finale was heavily criticized at the time of the finale, and while fans may have forgotten the dissatisfaction, it doesn’t automatically make the ending better.
Jujutsu Kaisen relies on intense battles and plot twists rather than focusing on the storytelling, which became a serious problem in the final arc. The high stakes and the shocking moments took all the attention during the serialization, leaving no room for the actual story to progress. The series has always had complex characters and power systems, and fans initially loved reading between the lines to understand the nuance of every aspect of the story. However, reading between the lines can only get you so far when the story does nothing to resolve the plot lines. It goes without saying that by the end of the series, the unanswered questions should have been resolved, but Jujutsu Kaisen only became more confusing.
The ending was bittersweet, with the surviving sorcerers moving on from the major battle that changed the Jujutsu world for the better. The battle against Kenjaku was difficult, but the biggest challenge was always Ryomen Sukuna. The best part about the finale was that the villains’ defeat came from the combined efforts of most of the major characters, rather than putting the spotlight solely on the protagonist, which is the norm in most Shonen. Even after the finale, there’s little to no knowledge about the global impact or cancellation mechanics of the merger. Not to mention that Sukuna’s life in the Heian era, the reason he died, his true name, and basically everything about him is still a mystery.
The manga did add a brief epilogue, but that only focused on his meeting with Uraume rather than actually focusing on the unanswered questions about him. In the final chapter, someone who looked like Kenjaku in Geto’s body appeared with Takaba, which was again another mystery left unresolved. There are a lot of things that the ending left vague, which makes it even impossible for the anime to solve this crucial issue. Even if the anime added extra original scenes, it can’t completely change the story, which means fans have no choice but to settle for the ending in the manga.
Only a year after the manga finale, Akutami returned with a sequel story, Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo. Illustrated by Yuji Iwasaki, the sequel featured some of the best visuals in Shonen Jump. Thanks to the popularity of the original, Modulo was another massive hit by Akutami. However, the sequel couldn’t fix the original ending. The story takes place 68 years after the Culling Game to center around new characters. However, instead of fixing the biggest questions of the original series, Modulo focused on an entirely new story with a sci-fi twist thanks to the introduction of Simurians, an alien race who came to Japan as refugees. The manga ran for six months, featuring some of the most exciting plot twists and battles, which is what makes Jujutsu Kaisen special.
Do you agree with my reasoning or have additional reasons why the finale is so unsatisfying? Share your own thoughts in the comments.
