Yuji defeats Sukuna: Yuji finally defeats Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen, but without any Heian Era flashback

Yuji finally defeats Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen, but without any Heian Era flashback

Modified Aug 29, 2024 10:12 GMT

Sukuna finally falls and with no Heian Era remembrance (Image via Sportskeeda)

Spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen's latest chapter have dropped and featured the conclusion of this ever-continuing Shinjuku Showdown. Beginning in chapter 222, it has seemingly finally drawn to a conclusion with Team Jujutsu High coming out on top after a hard-fought battle.

Yuji Itadori was the last man standing and, with a little help from his teammates, Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro, put an end to the King of Curses. Focusing particularly on that bit, it feels like Ryomen Sukuna was put down a bit easily now and there was no Heian Era flashback.

Sukuna put up an unbelievable fight right up till chapter 267 before he finally bit the dust. While this was a much-awaited moment, it does seem a little uncanny.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 268 and contains the author's opinions.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Sukuna finally falls and with no Heian Era remembrance

Ryomen Sukuna at full power (Image via MAPPA)

As mentioned in the beginning, the Shinjuku Showdown had reached a boiling peak with all that was happening. Many sorcerers attempted to best the King of Curses, but not one of them was successful. At every point, Sukuna seemed to pull a rabbit from his hat and come up with a suitable counter.

Nobara's introduction to the battle proved to make quite a difference. Megumi finding the will to fight back from within contributed to Sukuna's eventual defeat. However, all said and done, this bit of the story did feel a little rushed. Considering that creator Gege Akutami will end the series in the coming 4 chapters, they needed to wrap things up quickly.

But then again, despite Sukuna being defeated in a fitting manner (Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi reuniting), there might have been one missing element - Heian Era flashback. Sukuna has always been feared because of the kind of power he was believed to possess during the Heian Era. The anime even glimpses his true form when he is spoken about.

However, a proper flashback of the true Heian Era Sukuna was never really revealed/shown. What is being said here is that Sukuna's backstory is still a mystery. The series built up considerable hype about Sukuna being the most powerful being during the Heian Era and how his name struck fear into the hearts of sorcerers. But this very aspect remained unexplored. Granted that we did get a glimpse of him during a time when Yorozu was introduced, but it was too brief to gauge anything.

Many fans thought Akutami would reveal information about Sukuna's past and possibly how he became what he did. This led to countless theories on the Demon King's backstory and origins. There is still only a vague idea about it. Moreover, with Sukuna being defeated, it will probably remain that way. The Shinjuku Showdown Arc did show promise in terms of us receiving a flashback and peek into Sukuna's past, but it did not happen.

As such, this might persist to be one of Jujutsu Kaisen's mysteries. Again, as mentioned earlier, with limited chapters and time left for the series' conclusion, the ending might have been hastened. It is almost as if the ending fizzed out from all the heat it generated through the previous chapter. Not to be mistaken, the manga is closing on a fitting note (in Sukuna's defeat), but maybe a peek at the Demon King's backstory might have added a little more depth to him.