Jujutsu Kaisen needed another grade for sorcerers, Hakari proves why

Modified Jan 03, 2025 06:30 GMT

Jujutsu Kaisen has Hakari as an example of needing more grades (Image via Shueisha).

Jujutsu Kaisen has been criticized for a wide variety of reasons after the manga's conclusion in 2024 and one that doesn't get much attention is the grading system. It goes from Grade 4 sorcerers to Grade 1, with the latter being the strongest "normal" sorcerers and there are the Special Grades, who are the extreme rarities, such as Satoru Gojo, Yuta Okkotsu, Suguru Geto, and Yuki Tsukumo.

However, there is a claim by a lot of Jujutsu Kaisen fans that a Grade 1 sorcerer has a wide range to the point of being inconsistent. That is because the likes of Kinji Hakari, Hajime Kashimo, and many more are far too powerful to be classified as a Grade 1 sorcerer and perhaps not cutting it to be Special Grades, something that makes a new grade a lot more logical.

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

There should have been another grade in Jujutsu Kaisen and Hakari is the best reason for that

Hakari as seen in the cover of one of the volumes (Image via Shueisha).

When considering that the Special Grade sorcerer qualification only seems to be reserved for the strongest in the series, such as Satoru Gojo, Yuki Tsukumo, Suguru Geto, and Yuta Okkotsu, the tag of Grade 1 sorcerer seems to be stretched beyond logic. Characters like Kinji Hakari have clearly surpassed the Grade 1 level but perhaps don't cut it for Special Grade.

This issue was made clear during the Culling Games arc when several characters are introduced and many of them are superior to those with the Grade 1 sorcerer tag but are still not Special Grade. Hakari is one example, but the likes of Hajime Kashimo and Ryu Ishigori clearly surpass Grade 1, with them being superior to someone who has that tag, such as Nanami Kento.

There have been some claims in the Jujutsu Kaisen community that Special Grade is handed to those with very special abilities, such as Suguru Geto's ability to eat Curses and use their abilities at will. However, there is the example of Masamichi Yaga, who can create life through his Cursed Technique, such as Panda, and isn't regarded as a Special Grade.

More examples for this

Kashimo, Hakari, and Higuruma are definitely better than Grade 1 (Image via Shueisha).

There is a strong argument to be made that author Gege Akutami didn't envision the grading system quite well, although it's also worth pointing out that the series abandoned this concept after the Shibuya Incident arc. This is worth criticizing since this is one of the ideas that the author introduced and didn't develop since the grading system doesn't add anything to the story.

While it's true that the likes of Kashimo, Hakari, or Hiromi Higuruma should have been ranked as superior to a Grade 1 sorcerer and perhaps not as a Special Grade, the story didn't use this system. Some fans have argued that it was introduced as a way to display the higher-ups' political correction, but those individuals were a concept that Akutami abandoned as well.

Final thoughts

The grading system in Jujutsu Kaisen was introduced as a meaningful way to judge a sorcerer's abilities and potential but the manga itself didn't develop anything in this regard. If anything, it serves as a reminder of how the series failed to live up to its potential.

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Edited by Bharath S