Otaku Culture
Jujutsu Kaisen will only kill off characters who 'make you sad'
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This article contains spoilers for "Jujutsu Kaisen." Reader discretion is advised.
According to a visitor to the exclusive exhibition of “Jujutsu Kaisen”in Japan, the creator of the series, Gege Akutami, revealed why characters like Mei Mei and others haven't been eliminated yet. In contrast, fan-favorite cast members like Satoru Gojo and Kento Nanamihad some of the most tragic deaths in the series, being widely mourned by manga readers and anime viewers.
The information comes from the exhibition visitor @lightningclare via Twitter, which posted a thread summarizing some of the exhibition's most interesting revelations. In two posts, Akutami apparently mentioned that he doesn't kill off characters whose deaths don't "have the appeal of making readers sad."citing Mei Mei, Ino and Ijichi as examples.

This could confirm the suspicion of many readers that Akutami intentionally killed off so many beloved characters to hurt the audience.. He Emotional appeal carries great weight in all narrativesespecially in the anime and manga, but a growing number of fans have expressed that they feel manipulated by the creator, considering that many of the deaths in “Jujutsu Kaisen”were unnecessary.
While Akutami may choose which characters to kill based on what would be most emotionally painful for the audience, the same logic could be applied to characters who are still alive; if they are not especially significant to the audience, their deaths may also be considered unnecessary. Many readers continued to affirm their trust in Akutami as a renowned narrator, believing that the imminent end of “Jujutsu Kaisen” will clarify your lingering doubts.
Some fan comments in response to this revelation include:
- «“Characters who don’t have the appeal to make readers sad don’t need to die.” And then he kills an unknown and poorly cared for group of sorcerers from Geto’s group.».
- «So you're writing based on audience reaction and not because you have an established story?».
- «Thanks to the fact that Nobara's death was telegraphed so obviously and blatantly that the aliens could get her, and the fact that it made no sense whatsoever, I felt nothing when she died except 'I don't care what happens in the manga after Let S2 ends'».
- «Mei Mei didn't die because characters who don't have the appeal of making readers sad when they die don't need to die?! So you want to kill someone loved by your fans? Do you use your feet to think?».
- «I always felt like the other guys died at this point, and I more or less confirmed that after what Larue and Miguel mentioned about Shibuya».
- «So he's killing off characters just to make people sad... cool».
- «So he gave us backstories for random characters like Kaso, Higgy, Takaba, etc., so we'd feel sorry or sad for them? You failed, Gege. I never cared about them, even after those convoluted/forced stories that only made me want to say, "I don't care about those side characters."».
- «"Mei Mei didn't die because characters who don't have the appeal of making readers sad when they die don't need to die." Lmao, and he thinks Nobara, Nanami, and Gojo's deaths did that? Those three didn't make anyone sad, just angry because of how pointless it was.».
THE Akutami's Revelation generated considerable debate among fans about the intention and execution of character deaths in “Jujutsu Kaisen”Is Akutami's reasoning correct? Are the deaths justified solely by their emotional impact? These questions continue to resonate within the fan community, who eagerly await the outcome of this popular series.
Source: @lightningclare on Twitter