best shonen anime of all time. This is an indisputable fact, proven not just by tangible metrics like ratings and awards won by the anime and manga, but by the cultural presence it has and the avid fanbase that continues to thrive even after the manga's conclusion in fall 2024. However, despite the series' success, it is not without its flaws.
Jujutsu Kaisen suffers from the same issue My Hero Academia does, and in both cases, this problem has to do with where the major arcs in the series take place. Both My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen are mainly set in locations other than the school the students attend, which is a missed opportunity, since both series center around a high-school-age protagonist who learns to be a hero through his teachings at school.
Jujutsu Kaisen Needed More Time at Jujutsu High
After the First Few Episodes, Jujutsu High Was Rarely Featured in the Story
Most of Jujutsu Kaisen's best fights and moments of character development occur when Yuji Itadori and his friends are away from Jujutsu High, the school he began attending after he ate Sukuna's finger and developed his powers. Jujutsu High was a focal point of the series during the first couple episodes, as Yuji got acquainted with his classmates and teachers like Gojo, but quickly after his ittance to the school, it was almost forgotten in the story. After the first season, Jujutsu High's students travel all over Japan fighting curses, but very little of the story takes place within the walls of the school.
Every Jujutsu Kaisen Arc Ranked From Worst to Best
After being serialized for over 5 years Jujutsu Kaisen has a variety of arcs, all of which are great but some of which are better than others.
It would have been beneficial to show more details of the characters’ academic lives, as well as the training that shaped them into the strong sorcerers they are today. A few training montages are featured at the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen, such as when Gojo made Yuji watch different films to hone his new cursed power by controlling his emotions. Scenes like these help viewers understand the difficult journeys the characters went through to become such talented jujutsu sorcerers, so it is a shame that there are not more moments like these featured in the story to add this development.
Characters at School Deserve More Screentime
Jujutsu High's Most Underrated Heroes Could Have Received More Attention in School-Focused Scenes
Another benefit of placing more Jujutsu Kaisen arcs in the school setting is that characters who work at and attend Jujutsu High would have received more much-deserved screentime. Characters like Shoko Ieiri, Utahime Iori, and Yaga Masamichi who are d with the school largely remain mysteries to the audience, since they are usually only depicted during brief and infrequent appearances at Jujutsu High. Some of these characters, like Shoko for example, show up again in the story elsewhere, but it would have been helpful for the story to offer more attention to Jujutsu High's talented staff within the school.
35 Strongest Jujutsu Kaisen Characters, Ranked
While not everyone in Jujutsu Kaisen cursed energy, the strongest characters have dangerous techniques and high levels of cursed energy.
Without experienced teachers like Gojo, the next generation of jujutsu sorcerers would not be equipped to battle curses and protect humanity from the threat that evildoers like Kenjaku and Sukuna pose. Yuji was an average person with no knowledge of the world of sorcery and curses, so he had a long way to go to become the prodigy he is by the end of the story. By setting more arcs within Jujutsu High, teachers and other school staff would have been more prominent characters and viewers would have been able to witness students like Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara grow as sorcerers.
More Scenes at Jujutsu High Would Help Pacing
More Time for Viewers to Process Between Emotional Battles and Tragic Deaths Would Benefit the Story
Finally, switching between school-related plots and bigger battles would help with the series’ pacing, which is sometimes a bit too fast between the many fights. One complaint fans sometimes make about Jujutsu Kaisen is that, especially towards the end of the manga when the sorcerers are all desperately fighting to defeat Sukuna, the battles in the series happen in rapid succession, with little time for viewers to stop and process before the story moves on to the next clash. Jujutsu Kaisen contains some of the most thrilling, action-packed, and well-written battles in anime, that are truly exceptional to see both in the pages of the manga and animated.
Since Jujutsu Kaisen's fights are so incredible, it would have been even better if the story had slowed down between them. Pausing between fights and giving the sorcerers some downtime or training time back at Jujutsu High would not only have added more variety to the story, but allowed the emotional impact of battles and the series' most brutal deaths to sink in. When the narrative jumps from fight to fight, it can be difficult for viewers to truly process each one, so adding more school-focused arcs could be a wonderful solution to this problem that would still serve a purpose in the overall story.
My Hero Academia Also Faces This Same Setback
My Hero Academia Also Could Have Been Improved by More Arcs at U.A. High School
Jujutsu Kaisen is definitely not the only anime that could benefit from more story arcs at school, though: My Hero Academia also deserves more scenes at U.A. High. Deku is in a similar situation as Yuji, since he was also suddenly given an unfamiliar power one day with no clue how to use it and had to learn to become a hero strong enough to take on the series' worst villains. My Hero Academia does include some training arcs, featuring both Deku and his classmates, but a lot of the series' training camps and biggest battles also take place off campus.
If My Hero Academia Changed One Thing About School, the Anime Would Be Better Off
If My Hero Academia had a smaller Class 1-A, it could have led to stronger character developments, relationships, and more significant story arcs.
When the U.A. High students moved into dorms, that certainly helped the My Hero Academia story strike a better balance between moments at school and moments in other locations. However, it would have been interesting to see more scenes within U.A. High of the characters attending class and experiencing other typical high school moments. Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia are two of the best anime series ever made, and it can be difficult to imagine them being any better than they already are. However, including more school-centered scenes would have been a genius move for both franchises.
Jujutsu Kaisen
- Release Date
- October 3, 2020
- Directors
- Sunghoo Park, Shōta Goshozono
- Writers
- Hiroshi Seko
Cast
Junya Enoki-
Yuma Uchida
WHERE TO WATCH
- Franchise(s)
- Jujutsu Kaisen
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