The Jujutsu kaisen Fall-off was Insane

Article at a glance:

• Jujutsu Kaisen once ruled the anime world, with arcs like Shibuya and Hidden Inventory making it feel like the next great shounen classic.
• But after Gojo’s death, the story turned into a cycle of hype → Sukuna one-shots → reset, killing the tension that made JJK so special.
• The ending wrapped things up in the safest way possible, undoing the series’ earlier stakes and leaving fans wondering how it all fell apart so fast.

I think it is safe to say that there was a time when Jujutsu Kaisen ruled the anime community. Especially around the time when the final arc just began in the manga, everyone was high on JJK. At that time, the anime was also adapting the Hidden Inventory and Shibuya arcs, two of the best arcs of the series. So yeah, JJK basically took over the whole internet for a few months. Fast forward to the ending and the post-ending world, people barely even talk about Jujutsu Kaisen these days; this fall-off deserves a study.

I’ll be honest, I don’t think that the ending of JJK is nearly as bad as something like Oshi no Ko. I think Oshi no Ko is one of the worst endings in recent memory, and it will take something special to top Oshi no Ko. But a bad ending can really sour how a certain piece of media is remembered, despite commanding great influence at some point.

So yeah, welcome back to another article. This will be a long one, as today we will go over the rise and the legendary fall-off of Jujutsu Kaisen. So strap in as we relive the highs and lows of this once legendary series.

The Rise

Ever since the beginning, JJK has been a little different from a traditional Shounen. Despite borrowing heavily from Bleach, JJK starts with the MC getting a death sentence. It is less about going on a journey and becoming stronger and more about making the most of the little time Yuuji has left. Most Shounen anime put mentor characters like Kakashi on a pedestal, making them the absolute moral authority and all, while Gojo does feel like that is soon pretty clear that he is naive in his own ways.

And this continues when we meet the other senior Sorcerers like Mei Mei. I also appreciated how the politics of all the noble houses played a role in the series since the very beginning. Even both of the Jujutsu schools have been at odds with each other for a good while. The first few arcs of the show were pretty good as an introduction to the world, the factions, and the politics of it all.

The Peak

If you ask me, the peak era starts with Junpei and Mahito’s arc. Junpei’s death is what really sets Jujutsu Kaisen apart from an average Shounen. It shows that the anime is not afraid to kill off characters close to the protagonist if it means better storytelling. Manhito serves as the perfect antagonist for that arc. His absolute hatred for humanity and twisted deeds make for such an interesting contrast to Yuuji’s still innocent optimism at that point.

And then things get even better once we start with the Hidden Inventory and the Shibuya arc. These two arcs paint Gojo in a completely different light. As I said, the story never puts Gojo on a pedestal. Sure, he may be the strongest, but he is not infallible. The Hidden Inventory arc shows his past failures. He failed to protect Amanai, and then he failed to stop Suguru from turning to the dark side. And then following this flashback, we have the Shibuya arc immediately capitalizing on his weaknesses, and the arc ends with him getting sealed in the Prison Realm.

Not only that, these arcs had other iconic moments like the first time Gojo used a Hollow Purple, the introduction to Mahoraga, Sukuna vs. Jogo, Sukuna vs. Mahoraga, Nobara’s death, and, of course, the entirety of Specialz by King Gnu, playing as Yuuji has a mental breakdown at the sight of the destruction caused by Sukuna’s fights. I’d argue that the peak era of Jujutsu Kaisen continues till the final fight between Gojo and Sukuna. Man, I miss this era of JJK.

The Fall

The first signs of a dip in quality start from the Culling Game arc, if you ask me. But I doubt anyone was even bothered by it, considering we just came out of the high of the Shibuya arc. Culling Game is a nice bridge between two major arcs. The whole point of the arc is to get Gojo unsealed and to show Sukuna taking over Megumi’s body instead of Yuji; that’s about it, really.

And then the world-building rules completely break down during the Sukuna and Gojo fight. I am willing to put that aside because it was literally two game-breaking characters fighting at full strength. I am not even mad at the end of the fight. What bothers me is what comes off after the fight. We get so many chapters of a new guy getting hyped up, only to be killed by Sukuna before we finally get to the Yuuji and Sukuna showdown. And then, Sukuna is beaten fairly easily by Yuuji with the help of Okkotsu and Todo… just like that.

The ending of the series really ignores everything that made Jujutsu Kaisen special. Okkotsu is somehow back in his original body despite transplanting his brain into Gojo’s body earlier. Megumi is completely okay after Sukuna is pulled out of him, and hey! Nobara is somehow alive too! So other than Gojo, basically all the main characters walk away from the final fight alive…I can’t describe how disappointed that made me feel.

That is all for now…

I have no idea what happened. Jujutsu Kaisen once used to have pretty dire consequences, even for small victories. Imagine, instead of going through all that fluff after Gojo’s death, we got a tighter-written story. You know, imagine if Yuuji and friends could force Sukuna to keep making more and more binding vows. It would come at a great cost, but it would severely limit Sukuna’s powers. And then finally, finally, in an act of desperation, Yuuji is able to beat Sukuna. If you are planning on making your protagonist suffer, commit to the bit.

It almost doesn’t feel like the final arc of JJK is written by the same author who wrote the Shibuya and Hidden Inventory arcs. I don’t hate the final arc completely. But wow, it was a disappointment. This is what I mean by the Jujutsu Kaisen fall-off. The story really does fall off a damn cliff after Gojo’s death.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments. Also, check out my thoughts on the Sekiro anime here!