Gege confirms Sukuna's biggest threat next to Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen's Shinjuku Showdown Arc (& it isn't Yuta)

Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami was recently answering fan questions and admitted that Sukuna's biggest threat next to Satoru Gojo in the final arc was Hajime Kashimo, not Yuta Okkotsu. However, it is also worth pointing out that there are some elements missed in translation that can lead to a lot of different interpretations.

Some interpretations of the comment made by the Jujutsu Kaisen mangaka portray Kashimo as the strongest character after Gojo, while more accurate translations mention how he was deemed the most dangerous after Sukuna's recent bout with Satoru. In a way, while this statement shocked a lot of fans, it makes sense given the knowledge the King of Curses had at the time.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga/anime and reflects the opinions of the writer.

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Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami states that Kashimo was Sukuna's biggest threat after fighting Gojo

In a recent Q&A in the most recent weekend, Gege Akutami stated that Hajime Kashimo was the biggest challenge for Ryomen Sukuna in the Shinjuku Showdown arc right after his battle with Satoru Gojo. Some have viewed this comment as a validation of Kashimo's extreme power, although this has to be taken with a grain of salt.

A lot of people have interpreted this as Kashimo being capable of giving Sukuna a great battle in the long run, but it is worth pointing out that the King of Curses was massively injured after the Gojo fight. This resulted in him unleashing his Heian era form and recovering right from the get-go, defeating Kashimo without any significant problems.

Another fact not considered in this equation is that Sukuna was unaware of the improvements made by characters such as Yuta Okkotsu and Yuji Itadori during the month leading up to this battle. Consequently, he is only operating with the knowledge he possessed prior to that preparation, which suggests that Kashimo could be seen as his biggest threat.

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The ups and downs of Kashimo's character

Kashimo as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

The vast majority of Jujutsu Kaisen finished the series with a degree of disappointment regarding how most of the cast was wasted, with Hajime Kashimo being one of the most prominent examples. That is because his character was introduced in the Culling Games arc as the strongest sorcerer of his era and eager to fight Sukuna, with his quick defeat against the latter massively damaging his reputation.

Moreover, this came after a decent showing against Kinji Hakari in the previous arc, thus damaging Kashimo's image to the point that most people wonder why he was created in the first place. While Akutami now mentions him as a potential threat against Sukuna, the truth is that his impact doesn't compare to what Yuta, Gojo, and Yuji accomplished during this fight.

It also has to be mentioned that Kashimo is far from being the only character to have received such wasteful treatment from the author, with even main antagonists such as Kenjaku suffering a similar fate. Therefore, he is one of the many casualties of the series when it comes to the way the story was executed.

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Final thoughts

Regardless of the translation or interpretation made with Akutami's recent comments, the character of Hajime Kashimo was mostly underutilized in Jujutsu Kaisen. It is one of the biggest tragedies of the series, especially when it comes to the people wanting him to fight Sukuna for so long.

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