Highlights
- Jujutsu Kaisen features spectacular action and impeccable characters, making it a popular modern Shonen series.
- The main trio of Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara had potential but was poorly handled by the author, leading to disappointments.
- The neglect of characters like Nobara and Megumi, along with the lack of chemistry, made the trio unimpressive in JJK.
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the most popular modern Shonen series that fans have witnessed over the course of the last few years. The series shot in terms of popularity after it received an anime, and rightly so. The action in the series is absolutely spectacular, and if nothing else, it really does go all out in this department. That, when combined with some of the most impeccable characters, made JJK the brilliant story that it currently is.
However, as good as it is, JJK certainly has its glaring weaknesses, and one of the biggest ones is the handling of the main trio of the series, which includes Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara. The trio had a ton of potential, however, it was completely butchered by the author and turned into what can be described to be the worst trio in recent history that fans have seen in any Shonen anime or manga.
The Beginning Of The Trio And Their Potential
The beginning of the trio of Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara was certainly great. Fans saw these three individuals assemble in the first few episodes of the series, and then, they formed a very loving bond. Although Yuji and Megumi did not get along at first, eventually, they warmed up to each other. Megumi started putting his trust in Yuji, and vice versa. Similarly, Nobara wasn’t too keen on getting on with Yuju, however, eventually, she too became fond of his presence, and they all formed a beautiful trio that fans of shonen typically love to see. By the midpoint of season 1, it was clear for the fans to see that they had become incredibly good friends. They ate together, trained together, and had each other’s backs in battle.
The trio of Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara had the makings of a perfect anime trio, and every single character got a lot of attention. That was the case for the vast majority of the first season of JJK, and, until a certain point in season 2 of the series. As the series progressed, however, this focus that was once thrown on all three characters started to fixate on Yuji. Now, it must be said that Yuji is the main character and naturally, he’s always going to receive the most attention of the trio. There is nothing wrong with that. However, the way the author handled the other two characters, and, at the same time, the entire dynamic of this trio is what caused the root of the problem.
The Death Of Nobara
As has been established already, Yuji Itadori is a character who ended up overshadowing the other two members of the main trio of the series. Once again, this was to be expected, given that Yuji is the main character, however, the way the other two characters were neglected was certainly astonishing to the fans, given how they were treated in the first season of the story. Starting with Nobara, she ended up receiving a very terrible fate in the Shibuya Incident arc. For the most part, Nobara wasn’t even heavily involved in Shibuya.
Although she did play her role here and there, for a main character such as herself, a bigger role should have been on the cards. Thankfully, towards the end of the arc, she did end up receiving a bigger role, however, little did fans know that this was going to be her last. Nobara came up against Mahito in battle, and just when it was revealed that she too, like Yuji, was a natural counter to his ability, Nobara was completely erased from the story by being killed off.
Thanks to Mahito’s idle transfiguration, Nobara was hit directly in the face, and eventually, left to die. Ever since then, she has not even appeared in the series, and, at that point, JJK wasn’t even halfway done. The fact that a main character such as Nobara was completely wiped out, and all the investment that fans had in her as well as all the potential that she carried was simply wasted, was an utter shame.
What’s even worse is the fact that there is a chance that Nobara might actually be alive. Of course, many fans would want to see her return, and it would certainly be exciting if she did. However, one needs to consider the fact that JJK is almost at its end now. The author has previously confirmed that the series will conclude in 2024, which means that even if Nobara does return, she has already stayed out of the series for over half of it. There is no role that she can play and there is no character progression for her likes that she can display in the series. The entire character of Nobara has concluded, and overall, she went from one of the most defining characters in JJK to an average individual.
The Fate Of Megumi Fushiguro
Nobara certainly was not the only character who ended up receiving a terrible end to her character arc. Megumi Fushiguro, the other character in the trio, was somewhat similar. Although Megumi did receive more attention than Nobara, his story is somewhat similar. Megumi played a major role in the Shibuya incident arc, and later on, in the Culling arc as well. However, eventually, he had his body taken over by Sukuna, and ever since then, fans haven’t seen anything from him. It has been quite a while since Megumi has been out of the story, and just like with Nobara, he is not going to play much of a role even if he does return towards the end of the story. Megumi was always known to hold tremendous potential, however, now, he won’t even get the time to fulfill it, which simply means that everything that fans know about him over the years is pointless information.
Screentime and character progression aside, the trio of Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara, simply do not function together at all. Although they did get their moments early on in the series, especially in season 1, after that, moments for this trio simply ceased to exist. Yuji did his own thing, while Megumi was always dealing with his own issues as well. Nobara died quite early, and with that, the trio itself was destroyed.
There was no real chemistry between them after season 1, and that is truly a shame. Everything about them, from their teamwork to their interactions outside of the battle were stale, when looking at them in hindsight, and this is one department the author certainly failed terribly in. Even if all three of them were to magically come together at the end of the series, they would still remain one of the most average main character trios that the fans have seen in any shonen series ever, which is a shame, given that JJK is certainly a very intriguing story.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of JJK, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 255, is set to be March 30, 2024.
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