Jujutsu Kaisen Had the Best Female Characters In Shonen – What Happened?

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen!!

When Jujutsu Kaisen originally released and began gaining traction with mainstream anime fans, it was clear from the get-go that despite its tropes, Gege Akutami’s action-horror manga truly excelled in showcasing complex and nuanced female characters – something that other shonen manga has notoriously struggled with in the past.

Unfortunately, as the series has progressed and approaches its grand finale, it’s become increasingly frustrating to see how the women in the story have been treated – even with Nobara making a heroic comeback to the narrative just in time to wrap up all the loose ends left behind from Sukuna’s defeat.

When Jujutsu Kaisen initially introduces its audience to its female characters, it goes to great lengths to make them feel as self actualized as possible. Nobara Kugisaki is a young woman in the same class as Megumi and Yuji who is filled with self confidence. She shows no romantic interest in either of the male leads, and has her own very clearly defined goals. Maki Zenin, one of the “main 3″‘s upperclassman is similarly independent, and makes the best of her circumstances to truly make herself a uniquely powerful combatant as someone who’s incapable of using Cursed Energy.

While some of the women introduced in the anime and manga do fall into some common tropes, like Miwa’s meek and sometimes cowardly behavior, each of them exist purely on their own and aren’t used as “vessels” for any of the male character’s progression – at least, that’s how it is at first.

How Jujutsu Kaisen Subverted Stereotypes In Shonen, and Then Fell Into the Same Trap

The trouble truly begins right as the Shibuya Incident arc comes to a close. With Nobara seemingly dead along with a number of other characters in the cast, Yuji and the rest of the sorcerer society are left heartbroken and exhausted. Upon hearing about Mechamaru’s death and learning that he held feelings for her, Miwa chooses to completely retire as a sorcerer. While not completely unrealistic, it was shocking and, in all honesty, disappointing to see a side character that had so much potential as an “unlikely hero” type to rise up and avenge her friend, only to throw it all away in her grief.

From this point on, the female characters in Jujutsu Kaisen are treated very differently. Shortly after the Shibuya Incident, Maki has her major character moment – completely wiping out the Zenin clan. This act of (deserved) violence effectively morphs her into what many fans call “Toji 2.0”, and while not an incorrect descriptor, Maki doesn’t fall into the exact same deranged headspace as Megumi’s father. Still, the story begins to insist upon comparing her to Toji instead of recognizing that she is still very much still herself. It removes her agency from her choice, and in many ways makes what she did less impactful – especially when looking back on the powerful moment she shared with her sister.

The Special-Grade Sorcerer Yuki Was Killed Off So Quickly, It Made Her Status Seem Like Nothing

One of the biggest mistakes that Jujutsu Kaisen ever made in its writing was how it handled the death of one of the series most eccentric and interesting women, Yuki. Yuki was one of four special-grade sorcerers that existed in the series, and her methods and reasonings were rich with storytelling potential. Yuki refused to take on missions and vehemently opposed the methods of the higher-ups.

Yuki marched to the beat of her own drum and was insanely powerful, which made her special. Her abilities were incredible, including her innate Cursed Technique, Star Rage, which allowed her to grant herself and her shikigami Garuda virtual mass to deliver devastating blows. She could also heal herself and had an ability called “Simple Domain” that allowed her to resist a Domain Expansion’s special attack, something that she passed on to Todo.

Unfortunately, though, despite her many strengths, Yuki was ultimately killed in a battle against Kenjaku. Selflessly using the last bit of strength she had to punch a black hole in existence to eliminate the antagonist, he ultimately survived, with Choso later confirming that Kenjaku had managed to kill Yuki in the process.

Look: characters die, especially in a series like Jujutsu Kaisen. However, Yuki Tsukumo was among the four strongest sorcerers in the world, and received an ending that was undeserving of her strength, and the way that the series had hyped her up opened plenty of doors to take her story in an interesting direction, especially when looking at Jujutsu Kaisen‘s biggest conflicts.

All in all, despite the series having some of the best written female characters in the shonen demographic, especially in terms of the type of manga published by Weekly Shonen Jump, Jujutsu Kaisen ultimately fumbled what made these characters so interesting by robbing them of their depth, character arcs, and agency in the narrative.