Jujutsu Kaisen's ending made Kenjaku a laughing stock and fans won't forgive Gege

Modified Oct 04, 2024 19:30 GMT

Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 271 was released on September 30, 2024, and it seemingly left the fandom disappointed. Where the chapter left so much to be desired, it also apparently failed to clarify the many mysteries that the fandom was expecting to get the answers to. One of the biggest disappointments, as expressed by the fans, was the anti-climactic demise of Kenjaku.

Kenjaku, the man who envisioned the Great Merger and did everything to make it possible, died without witnessing his dream, which didn't even happen in the end. Moreover, the manga series didn't reveal anything about how he manipulated Itadori's mother and possessed her. Accompanied by so many other aspects where Kenjaku could have been a menace, he eventually let fans down in the end.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga series and reflects the author's opinion.

Exploring the downfall of Kenjaku's character in Jujutsu Kaisen

Kenjaku (in the body of Geto) as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

Kenjaku was one of the central antagonists of Jujutsu Kaisen who was introduced in the starting episodes. He was introduced as the parasite who took over Geto's dead body after the Jujutsu High student died in Jujutsu Kaisen 0. This was Kenjaku's technique which helped him transfer his consciousness from one body to another, due to which he had been alive for the past thousand years.

The antagonist was also the one behind Itadori's birth, as he used Sukuna's dead twin brother (whom the King of Curses ate inside the womb) and incarnated its consciousness inside Jin Itadori, Yuji's father. Moreover, he took over Kaori Itadori, Yuji's mother, to give birth to someone who would give Ryomen Sukuna a run for his money in battle.

The grand plan of Kenjaku was the Great Merger ritual, which was to combine humanity with Tengen. This would result in the birth of a colossal cursed spirit that was never seen in the history of Jujutsu. For this purpose, Kenjaku devised the Culling Games, creating a perfect environment for the ritual to take place.

Moreover, after a heated fight against Yuki and Choso, Kenjaku also obtained Tengen's body, and all pieces of his grand plan were finally in place. However, he encountered Takaba before activating the merger and this was when everything fell apart.

Kenjaku after getting beheaded by Yuta (Image via Shueisha)

While fighting Takaba, Okkotsu Yuta sneaked up to Kenjaku using Aoi's Boogie Woogie and beheaded him. Kenjaku, during the last moments of his life, transferred the rights to activate the merger to Fushigoro Megumi (taken over by Sukuna) and died after saying that his will would be inherited.

This was the start of his downfall as a character because the Great Merger never happened, as Itadori killed Sukuna before he could do anything. Moreover, the mysteries surrounding Kenjaku were also left unveiled like his true body—how he manipulated Kaori Itadori, his Binding Vow with Ryomen Sukuna, and several others.

So, where he could have been an antagonist on the same level as Ryomen Sukuna, Kenjaku just became a laughing stock in the end, who mangaka Gege Akutami didn't give any importance to after his demise.

Final thoughts

The entirety of humanity dying just to see Kenjaku's fantasy come true wouldn't have been a 'satisfactory' end. However, he didn't get justice and had to rely on others, after going out of his way to prepare for his grand plan, making his character quite flawed.

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Edited by Janhavi Chauhan