Jujutsu Kaisen fans shouldn't expect a My Hero Academia volume 42 treatment, and it's obvious why

Modified Dec 03, 2024 05:23 GMT

Jujutsu Kaisen shouldn't expect the My Hero Academia volume 42 treatment (Image via Bones and MAPPA).

Jujutsu Kaisen fans have expressed their discontent over the ending of author Gege Akutami's manga as there were some expectations that the series could receive a similar treatment as My Hero Academia volume 42. That is, adding new content which could improve the ending and provide a stronger conclusion to several plot points, elevating the reception of Kohei Horikoshi's final chapters.

While it is understandable to wish a better ending for their favorite series, it is unlikely that Jujutsu Kaisen is going to have the treatment of My Hero Academia volume 23. This is supposedly due to Akutami not showing the same level of interest as Horikoshi to further develop their ending. Also, there's another fact that the problems the former has with the story are a bit more complex than the latter.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a publication.

Jujutsu Kaisen is very unlikely to have the same treatment as My Hero Academia volume 42

Deku and Yuji, the protagonists of these two series (Image via Bones and MAPPA).

One of the biggest reasons why author Gege Akutami won't give his series the same treatment as My Hero Academia volume 42 is seemingly due to his lack of interest. The author was very clear in recent years that he wanted to end his series in 2024 and fulfilled that goal, which is why it is difficult to envision him going back to this project, especially considering he already voiced his desire to do an idol manga.

On the other hand, My Hero Academia ended with some issues in the overarching narrative but a lot of people voiced discontent with the eight-year time skip and that was the main focus of the criticism. This included how the protagonist, Izuku "Deku" Midoriya, became a teacher and was apparently forgotten by his friends and potential love interest, Ochaco Uraraka. But now, volume 42 has fixed those problems.

However, Akutami's issues with the ending cannot be fixed with just a few extra pages, especially considering how the criticism stems from not developing certain characters and plot points. Moreover, the final chapter featured more lore involving Ryomen Sukuna's past and his relationship with Uraume, thus generating more questions than answers, so if the author chose to add more, it could create more problems than solutions.

More reasons why this won't happen

Shigaraki and Sukuna, the main antagonists of these two series (Image via Bones and Shueisha).

A big problem with the Jujutsu Kaisen ending isn't so much about the final set of chapters but rather how there were many characters who were left underdeveloped and many plot points that were ignored. A good example is how supposed main characters such as Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro were left to waste for the majority of the series, with a few extra pages not being enough to fix their journeys.

Moreover, Akutami's tendency to kill off several characters left the cast somewhat thin in terms of having people to develop, thus leading to cases such as Yuki Tsukumo being portrayed as important and being unceremoniously killed off during the Culling Games arc. And with the extra lore of Sukuna's connection to Uraume and being judged by his appearance, perhaps a Heian-era flashback arc would have been even more needed.

Final thoughts

The My Hero Academia volume 42 treatment is a welcomed decision to elevate that series' ending. However, it is borderline impossible to hope for that with Jujutsu Kaisen. Because of the aforementioned reasons, it is unlikely to happen and it won't fix most of the grievances people have with the ending.

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Edited by DEEPALI