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The Shibuya Incident in Jujutsu Kaisen shook up the story in several major ways, blowing the status quo to smithereens and making life worse for Yuji Itadori. There are multiple ways in which this arc has shaken up Jujutsu Kaisen's story and the shonen manga world in general, from taking its strongest character out of the picture to utterly devastating Shibuya and killing several longtime villains.
In the Shibuya Incident, it's very clear the mood has officially changed in Jujutsu Kaisen. Problems that seemed for the future are now directly in front of the protagonists, a lot of people are dead, and Yuji and a lot of his allies are considered fugitives. It's one of the most suspenseful and harrowing arcs in the sphere of new-generation shonen manga and anime.
Disclaimer: As Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident Arc is still ongoing in anime form, the following article will feature spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga as well as discussions of canon-typical violence. Any and all opinions are exclusive to the author.
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How Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc elevates the manga to greatness, explained
It shatters Jujutsu Kaisen's status quo
The status quo of Jujutsu Kaisen was that the existence of curses, Cursed Objects, and even jujutsu energy was kept secret from the public for their own protection. Any form of murder or property destruction had to be carefully managed to prevent both a curse infestation in an area and mass panic.
This careful balance was maintained via the Six Eyes and Limitless techniques belonging primarily to the Gojo clan. This meant that, as with All Might in My Hero Academia, Satoru Gojo functioned as a lynchpin for the jujutsu world. Removing that lynchpin, as stated firmly in Jujutsu Kaisen episode 34 by Takuma Ino and Megumin, meant the worst-case scenario: the absolute end of humanity in Japan.
Despite the jujutsu sorcerers' best efforts, Gojo was sealed by Kenjaku. Following this, a cascade of problems formed in Japan: Shibuya itself was devastated with hundreds of lives lost, millions of curses manifested in Tokyo, and Tokyo was declared a no man's land following mass evacuations.
Life itself was never the same after the Shibuya Incident, with Yuji being on the run and without any form of safety net, as well as major losses on both sides. The death toll for the villains included Nanako and Mimiko, Hanami, Jogo, Dagon, Mahito, the Ogami family, and Haruta, along with over 1,000 cursed humans and curses. The death toll for the heroes included Nanami, Nobara, Naobito, and Mechamaru.
It sealed away the strongest character
Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident does something quite subversive for a shonen anime: it takes the powerful mentor and most powerful character away after making Satoru Gojo a central figure in the lore and story. Gojo is akin to All Might from My Hero Academia or Goku in Dragon Ball Z: take them out of the equation, and everyone is doomed.
The above statement might be slightly hyperbolic, but consider the changes in the status quo that fundamentally disrupted life in these three universes with those three heroes out of commission:
- My Hero Academia's Hero Society collapsed following increased scrutiny of pro-heroes, the immense losses following the Paranormal Liberation War, Dabi airing Endeavor and Hawks' dirty secrets, and All for One breaking out of prison in the aftermath of All Might's retirement.
- The Androids and Cell practically ran over the Z fighters. The only reason the main universe didn't turn into the dark hellscape that was Trunks' future was that he gave Goku the antidote, and the androids weren't interested in killing anyone else but Goku. Cell's actions resulted in the deaths of entire towns.
- Yuji was marked for death, fake killed by Yuta, and cut off from allies. The Zen'in clan were all killed by Maki following their decision to take him out. Gojo was prohibited from being revived, and Jujutsu High's principal, Masamichi Yaga, was marked for death. Millions of curses roaming free and the Culling Game starting didn't help matters.
The status quo, as said earlier, was that the villains fled the scene when Gojo arrived, as seen during the Kyoto Goodwill Event arc. It's incredibly clear that the villains believe Gojo to be their number-one enemy throughout the series, with Sukuna potentially being an ally. Everything was planned down to the second for Gojo to be sealed.
It certainly came as a shock to some fans who reduced Gojo to just "the strongest character" while seeing him, much like Yuta Okkotsu, as a better main or lead character than Yuji Idatori. Sealing Gojo away made Jujutsu Kaisen better by forcing people to pay attention to Yuji, not overshadowing the main character.
The villain group takes heavy losses
Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc doesn't just result in multiple losses for the heroes, the villains lose many of their numbers. Before, it took a massive effort by the heroes to combat one of the main villains, whether it was Geto in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Hanami in the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc, Mahito during the Fearsome Womb Arc, or Eso and Kechizu in the Death Painting Arc.
This is no less true in the Shibuya Incident arc, though things go south for the villains in a hurry. This doesn't usually happen in status quo-changing arcs; it's usually the heroes or overall society that get messed up when story arcs like this occur. This is especially true when it's a villainous faction, like the Akatsuki from Naruto: Shippuden.
The Akatsuki took almost the entirety of Naruto for their numbers to slowly whittle down. By contrast, Kenjaku's powerful faction of curse users and curses gets decimated in Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc. It starts with Hanami being exorcized by Gojo in the beginning and ends with Mahito being killed via absorption into Kenjaku at the end. That's a total of 16 (17 counting the revived Fushiguro) curses, curse users, etc. down to just two (Kenjaku and Uraume).
Not that either Kenjaku or Sukuna would ever care about losing subordinates, but it does go to show that the jujutsu sorcerers scored major victories against this dark conspiracy. Dwindling numbers for the villains also allows Jujutsu Kaisen's story to focus on the main villain duo of Kenjaku and Sukuna, while also showing Sukuna as being in this story for his own selfish and greedy motives.
Major reveals that make sense
Some major reveals are pulled off in Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc. One thing that sets it apart from many other shonen manga with similar reveals is that all of the reveals make sense. Why does Geto have those stitches on his head, and how is he alive after being killed at the end of Jujutsu Kaisen 0? Kenjaku possessed him sometime after.
Who's the traitor passing along information to the curses? Kokichi Muta, aka Mechamaru, via Mahito and Geto in exchange for giving him a normal body. He tries his hardest to kill Mahito, but though he dies as a result, he has copies of himself pass information onto Yuji and the others that prove vital in some of the villains' deaths.
Choso having flashbacks to Yuji and his siblings getting along is foreshadowing yet another of Kenjaku's reveals: Kenjaku has been possessing people for decades, if not centuries. This is also revealed at the end of the Shibuya Incident arc, but likewise led to another disturbing reveal: Kenjaku had been Yuji's mother for a while.
There's likewise the reveal of Megumi's ultimate summon: Mahoraga. Though only in one fight with Sukuna, it proves how dangerous it is by putting the evil King of Curses through his paces and requiring an overkill expansion of his Malevolent Shrine Domain to truly defeat him. It also showed why it's a last resort summon: it would've killed Megumi and others involved in the ritual.
It's well-paced despite its length
Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc spanned over 50 chapters and was the longest arc in the series, prior to the Culling Game arc. Length is absolutely a factor in determining whether or not an arc will be remembered fondly or not. Put too much into it, and the story will feel like it drags on, particularly if one fight drags on for many chapters. Too little, and it risks being overshadowed by other arcs.
The 57 chapters this story has seem to be a good length for many because of its pacing: this story doesn't slow down much owing to the tickling clock variable present. The story starts at 7 pm on October 31, and ends on the same day at around 11:50 pm, if not midnight, on November 1. This is seen whenever a location pops up.
While the time and date motif was present to set up a story prior to the incidents in question, detailing the incident and the time and date, they were usually short and took place in one isolated area: a school, a supposedly haunted house, etc. The fact that the Shibuya Incident took up all of Halloween night and involved all of Shibuya is a startling change in scope.
For a series that normally features battles between no more than four people at its start, the escalation to multiple teams fighting across an entire city is more than welcome. The arc's length has been compared to the Chimera Ant arc from Hunter x Hunter or the Paranormal Liberation War arc from My Hero Academia: long in manga form, but well worth it.
Multiple fight scenes
Shonen Battle manga always have plenty of fight scenes, with this arc having the most in Jujutsu Kaisen. The total combatants are 24 Jujutsu Sorcerers (counting people that weren't in the thick of it like Shoko Ieiri and Masamichi Yaga) vs. Kenjaku's faction of 17, with Sukuna fighting both factions and thousands of transfigured humans and cannon fodder curses.
This results in a myriad of fights taking place across Shibuya, from the subway stations to the Shibuya C tower. They vary from one-on-ones (Yuji vs. Choso/Sukuna vs. Mahoraga), one person taking on impossible odds (Gojo vs. the special grades), three vs. three (Ino, Megumi, and Yuji vs. the Ogami family), or multiple people taking on one person (Team Zenin vs. Dagon, the remaining sorcerers vs. Kenjaku and Uraume, Nobara, Yuji and Todo vs. Mahito).
They all contribute to the sense of urgency and escalation that the arc provides to the series. They also feature long-awaited and anticipated confrontations like Yuji vs. Choso, Gojo fighting off Kenjaku's top forces and killing Hanami, Mahito finally getting fought and defeated by Yuji and Todo, and even Megumi vs. his reborn father.
So while a lot of fights might be typical or expected, they serve an important function: they showcase the rest of the cast, from Mechamaru pulling out all the stops against Mahito, to Dagon showing what it could do against Team Zenin, to Nobara piercing Mahito's soul and wounding him, and to Haruta getting a chance to fight.
Yuji's character develops
One of the most important aspects of any status quo-breaking arc in a shonen anime is how it affects the protagonist. In Yuji Itadori's case, Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc practically broke him mentally. Yuji was a kid who believed he had to die a good death—a kid who went through a ton of trauma but bounced back.
The Shibuya Incident hits Yuji like a semi-truck and never really stops hitting him with plenty of traumatic events repeatedly. His body is hijacked by Sukuna and forced to murder not only enemies like Jogo but an entire block of Shibuya. His mentor(s) are sealed (Gojo) and killed in front of him (Nananmin). Then Nobara is mortally wounded thanks to Mahito, right in front of Yuji.
Is it any wonder that Yuji goes practically catatonic in front of Aoi Todo and Mahito and can barely bring himself to stand in chapter 127? It takes a good pep talk from Todo to get him back on his feet, but Yuji is never the same after this event. He starts going more on autopilot, barely thinking about anything except atoning for what happened.
It takes getting nearly killed by Yuta and then a long conversation with Megumi to truly snap him out of his depressive funk. The combination of all that death, loss, and pain overwhelmed him and forced him into a more cynical state that took well over a couple of weeks to fully recover from.
Nobody wins, except Kenjaku
Although Gojo's sealing is important in the long run, it's not the only event that affects the story. Sukuna's Shibuya Massacre, caused by the summoning of the Malevolent Shrine to defeat Mahoraga, devastated an entire 140-meter (or one-and-a-half city blocks) area. It reduced that area of Shibuya to dust and cut off Toge Inumaki's arm.
Kenjaku's faction lost much of its manpower during this event. Even with Sukuna's raw display of fearsome might, Yuji is not driven entirely insane or to absolute despair by the event, even if it takes an arc or two for him to heal mentally. The jujutsu society takes a huge blow, with some key people like Naobito Zenin dying and several bright prospects like Todo and Inumaki losing arms.
Furthermore, the top brass of the Jujutsu Council lifted the suspension on Yuji's death. This cuts off Yuji from allies and support, as seen during Jujutsu Kaisen's Itadori Extermination arc, where he and Choso are moving around Tokyo trying to save people before being intercepted by Yuta Okkotsu and Naoya Zenin.
Kenjaku is really the only victor, as he sealed Gojo successfully and set the stage for The Culling Game, which had even worse consequences for Jujutsu Kaisen's story. It seemed as though he got everything he wanted, his allies' deaths notwithstanding. It's very rare that an arc will end with only one clear victor with so many dead, injured, or traumatized.
Longer lasting consequences
Every event in Jujutsu Kaisen, and often in shonen anime in general, has an effect on the next. With every fight, Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara understand their techniques more to the point where the trio lasts long against the Kyoto school students and slew the two Cursed Womb Paintings.
The Shibuya Incident is the culmination of all those prior events and the villains' plans throughout Jujutsu Kaisen. The Kyoto Goodwill incident was a cover for Mahito stealing vital components. Choso wanted revenge for his siblings dying to Nobara and Yuji. The trouble for the jujutsu world expands further than just Gojo's sealing and millions of curses being unleashed: the destruction of the Zenin clan is one effect.
Naobito Zenin, the head of the Zenin clan, died of injuries sustained in this arc, and Megumi was nominated as the head of the clan owing to several clauses that Gojo added on. This didn't prove a popular decision, as Maki and Mai's father teamed up with others to kill Maki, Mai, and Megumi.
That assassination plan was detailed in the Perfect Preparation arc and proved disastrous for one of the big three sorcerer families. The act of throwing Maki and Mai to be killed by cursed spirits led to Mai sacrificing herself so Maki could live, and Maki taking her sister's dying wish to destroy everything in the Zenin clan. The clan was wiped out, from their parents to their elders to the notoriously arrogant Naoya.
On a related note, the Kamo Family was turned into a puppet for Kenjaku's twisted vision after he killed and replaced the clan in secret. The balance of power in Jujutsu Kaisen's shifted toward the villains one way or another.
Preparing for the Culling Game
During Jujutsu Kaisen's Itadori Extermination and Perfect Preparation arcs, Yuji and company were cut off from support owing to the Jujutsu council ordering Yuji's death. Yuji, Yuta, Yuki, Choso, Maki, and Megumi had to meet Master Tengen in secret to discuss their next moves. The Culling Game was revealed to be Kenjaku's master plan: forcibly merge every being with Master Tengen and spawn curses worldwide.
Unfortunately, stopping Kenjaku isn't as easy as breaking into a headquarters and directly fighting him. Everyone split off with plans to free Gojo and stop the Culling Game: gather cursed tools, reconnoiter the colonies involved in the game, and recruit Kinji Hakari. Maki becomes the new Toji after killing the Zenin clan.
Masamichi Yaga was killed on orders from the higher-ups via Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji, denying any further aid. As for Hakari, he only agrees to aid the heroes after they fight him and promises to legalize his underground fight club due to the regulations and restrictions on Jujutsu Sorcery changing in the wake of the Shibuya Incident.
Jujutsu Kaisen's Culling Game was an absolutely chaotic nightmare of an arc in and of itself, featuring more death and violence and Sukuna finally being fully free. The ending of that arc also included Gojo being freed, but that's a story for another time. The important thing to note about it for now is that it couldn't have happened without the events of the Shibuya Incident.
Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc is a very long and life-changing arc for everything in the story. It not only shifts the story but also the world of Jujutsu Kaisen itself, getting rid of the safety net that was Satoru Gojo and sending Japan into chaos.
The days of going back to Jujutsu High for some downtime or hanging out with Nobara and Megumi are over for Yuji after this point. Heroes and villains alike begin dying in droves during and following it, and nothing is ever the same after it. Truly, the Shibuya Incident is Jujutsu Kaisen's best arc.
