Gege's biggest writing flaw in Jujutsu Kaisen is all about credibility

Jujutsu Kaisen's intense battles, layered characters, and intricate power system have successfully captivated fans. However, despite the series' many strengths, one recurring criticism seems to stand out - the imbalance in creator Gege Akutami's handling of credibility among characters. The narrative often underscores the amazing abilities of the elite powerhouses Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna.

At the same time, it unwittingly downplays the competence of other skilled sorcerers. Such a writing decision raises concerns about the story's effectiveness in balancing feats of power while maintaining its heroes' collective contribution to major events. The problem seems to persist in the manner in which supporting/secondary characters find themselves overshadowed or sidelined.

This leads to viewers getting the impression that only a handful of powerful sorcerers truly matter. No doubt, Gojo and Sukuna’s dominance elevates the stakes, but it risks reducing other sorcerers to mere stepping stones.

Disclaimer: This article contains the sole opinion of the author.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Credibility is the biggest imperfection in Akutami's writing

Jogo and Ryomen Sukuna (Image via MAPPA)

Before delving in, it is worth mentioning that the purpose of this feature isn't to undermine Jujutsu Kaisen or author Gege Akutami in any way. The series was brilliantly created and well done, which is why it has grown to be so immensely popular today. Each of its characters, major and minor, is unique and boasts impressive skill sets that only leave readers in awe.

However, even in the best of the best, there might be a few visible shortcomings. In this case, a recurring flaw in Akutami's writing has been observed to be credibility. From the 271 chapters released, Akutami looks to be favoring the overpowered characters by affording them more screen time, build-ups, and mind-boggling abilities/techniques.

Again, not to be mistaken, Akutami has done a stellar job in showcasing numerous magnificent powers and feats. However, they seem to be mostly distributed among the elite.

For instance, Gojo Satoru was the only one to show Yuji Itadori the Domain Expansion technique. While that glimpsed Gojo's immense power and poise, it sort of made the other teacher seem slightly incompetent. It can be argued that Atsuya Kusakabe taught Yuji Simple Domain, but it was merely stated.

Again, in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the Gojo vs Miguel battle was considerably detailed and portrayed Gojo in a great light. On the flip side, Kento Nanami and Mei Mei's fight scenes were quite impressive too, but in comparison, less thorough than Gojo's.

The same can be said for Sukuna vs Mahoraga - it was an immensely anticipated fight, very well-written and animated. Then again, the other fights in the Shibuya Arc came close to it but didn't quite reach the same level of detail.

Moving forward, another example is the Gojo vs Sukuna battle during the Shinjuku Showdown Arc's initial segment. The two strongest discovering how to replenish their Cursed Technique (CT) by using Reverse Cursed Technique (RCT) to heal their brains was immaculately thought out. However, a comparison is then made claiming that someone like Yuta Okkotsu, who has been using RCT, cannot emulate it.

This extends even to the dearly loved Kusakabe. He was deemed to the strongest Grade 1 Sorcerer by all at Jujutsu High. However, when the time came, he couldn't live it up fully. Granted, he did hold off Sukuna for a while, despite having no CT. However, he didn't last long and couldn't even use RCT to heal enough to continue fighting. Even Hiromi Higuruma showed immense promise but was ultimately bested by the King of Curses.

Final Thoughts

This looks to be a recurring trend in Jujutsu Kaisen, evident in all the instances mentioned above. It is almost as if a character must mandatorily be extremely powerful or special grade to receive breathtaking sequences. Otherwise, their feats are either merely mentioned or showcased briefly, enough to give the viewer an appropriate idea before being switched to something else.

Citing Gojo as an example, as "The Strongest", he was the pillar Jujutsu Society rested upon. He was expected to be all-powerful and able to deal with anything thrown his way, which he did, for the most part. That being said, other characters were important too, like Kusakabe, Masamichi Yaga, Mei Mei, etc. who deserved equal, if not better treatment.

As Nanami stated, sorcerers were likely to die in the line of duty. However, they too were well-versed in their capabilities, and a lack of showcasing exactly that was the fault in Akutami's writing.