Highlights
- Jujutsu Kaisen is a brutally honest anime that doesn’t shy away from killing important characters, even after making fans fall in love with them.
- The transfiguration of Junpei Yoshino was one of the most devastating moments in the series, showing just how dark Jujutsu Kaisen can get.
- The show constantly subverts expectations, such as when Yuji ate an astounding 15 of Sukuna’s fingers at once, surprising fans who expected a slower progression.
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the most unforgiving anime out there. Where other shows may be timid about hurting their main characters, Jujutsu Kaisen will make watchers fall in love with them before killing an important character out of nowhere.
Even if they’re dead, however, the show may subvert expectations even further by bringing them back from the dead when fans least expect them. There aren’t many anime out there more honest in their brutality than Jujutsu Kaisen. It will take expectations and subvert them in ways fans could never see coming, making it one of the freshest and most exciting shows to watch this season.
10 Transfiguring/Killing Junpei Yoshino
A Fate Some May Have Seen Coming
- Junpei Yoshino was an innocent character who had no business in the Jujutsu world.
- Itadori Yuji took an interest in him, seeing the best in Junpei.
- Hanging out with Mahito can never be good though, as we all quickly learned.
There aren’t many moments in Jujutsu Kaisen more devastating than the transfiguration of Junpei Yoshino. While he may have been a side character, fans took a quick liking to the troubled teen, sympathizing with his desire to no longer be bullied.
When we saw Junpei teaming up with Mahito, however, we all knew nothing good was in store. Junpei’s friendship with Itadori looked like a way out, but it was too late. Junpei had been transfigured out of nowhere, right in front of protagonist Yuji and a host of shocked fans. This scene taught everyone exactly who Mahito is, and just how dark Jujutsu Kaisen can get.
9 Giving 10 Fingers To Yuji
Sukuna’s Revival Is Being Expedited
- Jogo collected a whopping 10 Sukuna fingers to help bring the King of Curses back to power.
- Yuji had been eating them slowly as he found them, but fans never saw 10 in one place.
- The consumption of 50% of Sukuna’s fingers led to the King of Curses temporarily taking of Yuji’s body, slaughtering everyone in sight.
Jujutsu Kaisen started with Itadori Yuji eating one of Sukuna’s fingers before he even knew what it was. While most other humans would have died or become a curse, Yuji absorbed Sukuna’s powers, integrating the King of Curses’ soul into his own body.
Yuji has been eating the fingers slowly as he comes across them. Before the cursed spirit Jogo found his unconscious body, Yuji had only eaten 5 fingers. After, however, Yuji had eaten an astounding 15 fingers in total, only 5 short of the total 20. While fans knew Yuji’s goal was to eat all 20 fingers and summon Sukuna so Gojo could execute him, we never expected Yuji to eat so many at once.
8 Kyoto School Turning On Yuji
Don’t Trust Anyone in Jujutsu Kaisen
- The two Jujutsu High Schools, Tokyo and Kyoto, were supposed to have a normal goodwill event bringing the two schools together.
- Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji orders his students to kill Yuji as he is seen as a threat to Jujutsu society.
- While fans understood Yuji had enemies, nobody suspected that they would come from another Jujutsu school.
In early season one, it seemed like Itadori Yuji had enemies on all sides of him. He was supposed to be executed before he even got into Jujutsu High, remember.
At the goodwill event, however, fans wouldn’t be blamed for thinking the air-headed sorcerer would be safe. They couldn’t be more wrong, as the principal of the Kyoto school ordered his death. If it weren’t for Yuji’s new-found brother Aoi Todo, the Kyoto principal might have gotten his wish too.
7 Bringing Toji Back
The Dead Don’t Stay Dead Long
- Toji Fushiguro is one of the strongest characters in the entire series of Jujutsu Kaisen.
- He was only killed by the freshly awakened Gojo, arguably the single strongest character in the series.
- Granny Ogami reanimates him, giving him another chance to wreak havoc on the world.
The first episodes of season two gave us a glimpse of Toji Fushiguro, one of the strongest and most devastating characters in the series. He was almost able to kill Satoru Gojo, arguably the strongest character in the series.
When he died at the end of the prequel episodes, fans thought that was the last they’d see of Megumi’s father. Season two is full of tricks, as one of Pseudo-Geto’s minions, Granny Ogami, brought him back from the dead one last time.
6 Bringing Geto Back
Toji Isn’t The Only One Coming Back To The Series
- Geto was killed by Gojo in the Jujutsu Kaisen Movie: Jujutsu Kaisen 0.
- He was insanely powerful when he was alive and was one of the few sorcerers to go toe-to-toe with Gojo.
- He came back, albeit not entirely the same, and trapped Gojo in the Prison Realm.
Suguru Geto was one of the most powerful Jujutsu sorcerers on the planet who turned evil, killing civilians in the name of his hatred. His destruction was put to a stop by Yuta Okkotsu in the Jujutsu Kaisen movie, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 before Gojo himself finished him off.
While fans have been watching Geto operate in the background, it was a shock when he came out of hiding to trap Gojo in the Prison Realm. Gojo was incredibly shocked as well, seeing as it was him who ended his friend’s life all those years ago.
5 Killing Itadori
How Many Other Anime Kill The Main Character?
- Itadori Yuji shares a body with the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.
- He can tap into Sukuna’s power but may risk losing control of his body.
- Yuji lost control in season one and Sukuna killed him for it.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a story centered around Yuji’s relationship with the monster inside of him. Who would’ve guessed that that monster would kill him and itself? In a moment of desperation, Yuji calls upon Sukuna for help. Sukuna makes quick work of the enemy troubling Yuji, but then kills Yuji instead of giving him control of his body back.
Fans couldn’t have been more shocked by Yuji’s death. Sure, he eventually comes back, but the first time seeing his death will always be one of the biggest expectation subversions in Jujutsu Kaisen.
4 Locking Gojo In The Prison Realm
When You Can’t Beat Them, Seal Them
- Pseudo-Geto had been concocting a plan to seal Gojo from the start of the series.
- Gojo is the strongest character fans have seen thus far and all plans to kill or trap him have failed miserably.
- The Shibuya Incident was the perfect backdrop for Gojo’s capture, allowing for the pinnacle of Jujutsu society to fall into enemy hands.
Satoru Gojo is widely agreed to be the strongest sorcerer in Jujutsu Kaisen. Curses and assassins alike have tried to kill him, to no avail. Fans have seen Gojo as a god amongst men for a majority of the series, but that all changed when he became trapped in the Prison Realm.
Pseudo-Geto set up an elaborate trap just to seal Gojo in the Prison Realm, giving the Curses an advantage they wouldn’t soon be able to recreate.
3 Killing Nanamin
He’s Finally Off The Clock
- Kento Nanamin is a major supporting character in Jujutsu Kaisen, acting as a mentor to Yuji.
- He’s also one of the most powerful, using his innate 7:3 style.
- When he was ambushed by Mahito, however, nobody could have seen his death coming.
The Shibuya Incident has been devasting for Jujustu Sorcers in Jujutsu Kaisen. While we’ve seen a plethora of deaths, none have been quite as shocking as Kento Nanamin’s.
While Itadori Yuji was running around the subway system looking for Gojo, he found a mortally wounded Nanamin fighting off Curses before being ambushed by Mahito, who then killed him. While viewers may not have thought Nanamin would live forever, nobody saw his death in that subway station.
2 Killing Kugisaki
Who Can Survive In The World Of Jujutsu Kaisen?
- Nobara Kugisaki is one of the three Jujutsu Sorcerers taught by Satoru Gojo.
- She’s been pivotal to Jujutsu Kaisen since season one and is one of Yuji’s closest friends.
- Kugisaki put up a great fight against Mahito before being tricked and killed to fans’ surprise.
Naruto has Sasuke and Sakura; Yuji has Megumi and Kugisaki. Or at least, so we thought.
Nobara Kugisaki is one of the fiercest characters in Jujutsu Kaisen and not a Sorcerer fans would have thought to see die in battle. She put up a valiant fight against one of Mahito’s doubles before falling victim to the other, putting an end to a short life we will all miss.
1 Killing The Star Plasma Vessel
The Coldest Gunshot In All Of Jujutsu Kaisen
- Riko Amanai was destined to be Master Tengen’s Star Plasma Vessel.
- She was protected by two of the strongest Sorcerers at the time in Geto and Gojo.
- Right before she stepped into Master Tengen’s realm, master assassin Toji shot her in the head.
Nothing in Jujutsu Kaisen subverted fans’ expectations more than Riko Amanai’s death. We had just spent the last few episodes with Riko, getting to know the young girl destined to be a sacrifice.
After a hard-fought battle with Toji and more resolve than we can count, Riko was ready to put down her life for the greater good. She was thanking Geto for his efforts when she was shot in the head by Toji, ending her life in one of the most dramatic moments in all of anime.
Leave a Reply