Since 2018, Jujutsu Kaisen has becomeone of the most popular and successful shōnen manga series of all time, not to mention that this is also the magnum opus of its author, Gege Akutami. With over six years of serialization and over 260 chapters in total, this became quite an extensive story.
But what is particularly interesting about Jujutsu Kaisen – especially when it’s compared to its contemporaries – is that its arcs are not as extensive as readers may have initially thought, with the only exception being 2 big & important arcs that forever changed the course of this fascinating plot. But one question remains: what are the longest arcs in all of Jujutsu Kaisen?
6 Gojo’s Past Arc / Perfect Preparation Arc
15 Chapters Each
These are two equally important arcs that are both made up of 15 chapters each. On one hand, there’s Gojo’s Past Arc, a crucial plot line in understanding two of the most important characters in Jujutsu Kaisen: The great Satoru Gojo and the tragic falling out he had with Suguru Geto, who would later become one of the biggest antagonists of the series. In 15 chapters, readers can thoroughly learn everything about their complicated relationship.
On the other hand, there’s the Perfect Preparation Arc which, despite its surprising length, is more focused on building up everything towards the arc that comes immediately after it. But despite this, a lot happens to the remaining characters after the hard-hitting events of the Shibuya Incident, like Master Tengen’s introduction, the final battle between Yaga and Gakuganji and Maki’s revenge against the entire Zen’in clan. So it’s understandable why this arc would end up being one of the longest in the manga.
5 Fearsome Womb Arc
16 Chapters
It’s not really common for the very first arc of a shōnen manga to be one of the longest ones, but unique decisions like this one are what sets Jujutsu Kaisen apart from other similar works. The Fearsome Womb Arc has one main objective: to slowly build up the fascinating world of sorcery and cursed spirits, from the moment Yuji Itadori eats Sukuna’s finger, and up to the initial encounter with the Kyoto students.
And a lot of important plot points take place during this first arc, including the first true appearance of Ryomen Sukuna and the unexpected death of Itadori, the protagonist of the series. In 16 chapters, Gege Akutami takes readers on a wild ride, as they slowly delve into the crazy world of Jujutsu Kaisen.
4 Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc
23 Chapters
During its earlier arcs, Jujutsu Kaisen was centered on the students of Tokyo Jujutsu High, as readers were slowly introduced to their backstories, personalities and powers. So, when they eventually meet with their rivals from Kyoto Jujutsu High, Gege Akutami used the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc to flesh out the characters from both establishments.
In these 23 chapters, readers get to know more about the Tokyo students they have already met, but they also get to know almost everything about their Kyoto counterparts, with the introduction of memorable characters like Mai, Mechamaru or Aoi Todo. But everything goes wrong at the very end, when the special grade curse Hanami attacks the school, forcibly extending the length of this arc with an intense, albeit epic, final fight.
3 Shinjuku Showdown Arc
Over 40 Chapters
Even though it hasn’t been formally announced that Jujutsu Kaisen is going to end anytime soon, it’s quite evident that the current Shinjuku Showdown Arc is the epic climax of the entire series, because it focuses on the final confrontation against Ryomen Sukuna, the main antagonist of the series. And there are not many places the story can go after he’s finished.
But taking down Sukuna is not going to be easy, as it can be seen in the extensive length of this arc, which is filled to the brim with fast-paced and epic fight scenes. It all started with Satoru Gojo’s confrontation against the King of Curses but, since he tragically failed to stop him, this showdown is still going on to this day, with a great number of characters from different points in the series trying to take Sukuna down. Because of all the action and people involved, it’s very likely that Shinjuku Showdown will end up becoming one of the longest arcs in the series by the time it’s finished.
2 Shibuya Incident Arc
58 Chapters
Despite the fact that most of the arcs that preceded it were relatively short, the Shibuya Incident Arc upped the ante by presenting an extensive story that is told over the course of 58 different chapters in total. But this immense length makes sense, because this is the changing point for the entire series. The plot, world and characters of Jujutsu Kaisen were not the same after this arc.
Everything that happened in the first 79 chapters of this manga was building up to this point, so this arc’s length is justified by the number of characters that are involved in it: The Tokyo students, the Kyoto students, the teachers, the group of Special Grade Curses and even some new important figures that were introduced during this arc, which includes the reveal of Kenjaku himself. The Shibuya Incident Arc may be very long, but it’s completely worth it, because this is one of the darkest and best written arcs in the entire history of the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine.
1 Culling Game Arc
63 Chapters
But everything that Kenjaku did during the aforementioned Shibuya Incident Arc was leading up to the culminating Culling Game Arc, which is currently the longest one in all of Jujutsu Kaisen. After all, the Culling Game is an all-out jujutsu battle royal that takes place in most of Japan’s territory and involves a huge number of literal players, who are both old and new foes.
But the main characters have one main objective during the Culling Games arc: to bring back Satoru Goju no matter what. As a result, a lot of them take part in their own individual battles against extremely powerful Jujutsu sorcerers: Itadori, Fushiguro, Hakari, Yuta, Maki, etc. This is yet another fast-paced arc with a lot of fighting & action, explanations and crucial plot points, so its length is completely justified. And it all culminates in the inevitable return of Sukuna, which leads into the following Shinjuku Showdown Arc that is currently being published. Nevertheless, the Culling Game Arc was so extensive and so important that a lot of Jujutsu Kaisen readers still haven’t realized that it’s already over.