Jujutsu Kaisen fans had the wrong idea about Kenjaku's merger

Modified Jan 01, 2025 18:32 GMT

Jujutsu Kaisen fans had the wrong idea about Kenjaku — Kenjaku is one of the oldest characters in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via Studio MAPPA)

Jujutsu Kaisen has been the origin of many characters, including Satoru Gojo and Sukuna, who have surpassed the series' popularity. While both of these characters have been at the forefront of the series, Kenjaku is another character who has been a fan favorite since his debut.

Kenjaku was one of the series' oldest characters while simultaneously being one of its most cunning and functionally intelligent ones. He orchestrated most of the story's events to realize his grand plan of achieving the merger.

The merger, which was supposed to be an amalgamation of every Culling Games sorcerer and rampant cursed energy, was never realized. This led many fans to deem Kenjaku's entire character as wasted. While many consider the failure of the merger plan a great narrative tragedy, close inspection reveals that this itself was set up for eventual failure.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen series and reflects the author's opinions.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Kenjaku's merger was never supposed to happen

Kenjaku as shown in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

Kenjaku's character has been the series' most mysterious ever since chapter 10. While his original appearance was never revealed, his presence was established as the key figure behind many major events throughout the series and Jujutsu Kaisen's apparent history. Kenjaku masqueraded as Noritoshi Kamo, giving rise to the cursed wombs. He consequently possessed Kaori Itadori in order to conceive and create Yuji to serve as Sukuna's vessel.

Kenjaku also served as one of Tengen's and the Gojo clan's oldest enemies. He once killed an infant Six Eyes bearer, which was also a step in his longstanding plan to create "the merger." The merger was intended to be the amalgamation of cursed energy as well as a literal fusion of sorcerers into a single being, whose final form was unknown even to Kenjaku.

Gojo as shown in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

The merger was simply a "what if?" scenario, actively pursued by Kenjaku, requiring the death of the main cast. This directly suggests that the merger was never supposed to occur since it represented the literal endgame. This would mean a typical bad ending in Jujutsu Kaisen's story, which is practically unheard of within the shonen genre.

While the merger remaining unfulfilled is somewhat unacceptable, Kenjaku's unceremonious departure via Yuta's ambush displays rushed writing. Kenjaku's fighting prowess is counted among the very best in the series, albeit pale compared to Gojo and Sukuna.

Yuta Okkotsu as shown in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime (Image via Studio MAPPA)

Yuta simply decapitating Kenjaku after an ambush, with the latter not having prepared layers of countermeasures, reveals how the story needed Kenjaku to be gone but did not allow enough time for an actual fight. Kenjaku's intellect, built up since his introduction, was indeed wasted. However, this was not due to the merger's failure but because of the inconsistency with the character trope he embodies.

Kenjaku represents the "smart and scheming" villain trope, with Sosuke Aizen being one of the most famous examples. Characters embodying this trope are not expected to die without backups or in an unceremonious manner. This trope was ultimately subverted by Kenjaku's death, which lacked backups or self-enacting plans of any kind.

Final thoughts

Kenjaku's schemes and lingering presence in the background have been an integral part of the series. Although his grand plan regarding the merger was set up for failure, it is clear why many fans feel that his potential was wasted. The story of Jujutsu Kaisen concluded with a total of 271 chapters, all of which have been compiled across 30 individual Jujutsu Kaisen volumes.