Warning: Contains spoilers for chapter #268 of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Jujutsu Kaisen’sepic final battle against Sukunahas finally concluded and though it may seemanticlimactic, the ending is actually genius.After a long, bloody battle and many casualties, Yuji has finally managed to defeat Sukuna, whose final moments have become the culmination of theJujutsu Kaisen’s many core themes.
Chapter #268 ofJujutsu Kaisensees Sukuna finally forced out of Megumi’s body by Yuji’s Black Flash from the previous chapter. Without a host, Sukuna is reduced to a pathetic form when Yuji once again presents Sukuna with the choice to live alongside him. Interestingly, as Yuji approaches Sukuna, he tells the latter, “You are me,” aphrase Mahito famously said to Yuji back during the Shibuya Arc.
However, in the latest chapter, Yuji uses the phrase in the context of how both he and Sukuna were similarly born with a curse that Yuji was only able to overcome because he luckily had his grandfather to stop him from becoming a monster like Sukuna. In likening Sukuna to himself,Yuji seemingly appeals to Sukuna’s humanity in his final moments. But, unsurprisingly, Sukuna rejects Yuji’s proposal to live together and dies, proudly proclaiming that he is a curse.
“I Can Kill You”: Jujutsu Kaisen Sets Up the Series' Ending With One Shocking Sentence
Jujutsu Kaisen shocks readers with an impressive statement from Yuji that teases he has surpassed the King of Curses, Sukuna.
Yuji’s Final Words to Sukuna Represent His Character Arc Throughout Jujutsu Kaisen
Created by Gege Akutami, Chapter #268 “Settling Matters”
When Mahito first says the phrase “You are me,” to Yuji in chapter #126, he does so comparing how Yuji saves people without a second thought to how he kills people without a thought. This culminates inYuji eventually accepting his role as a cogin the machine whose only role is to kill curses, which is reflected when he tells Mahito “I’m you,” before killing him. He even claims he does not need to find meaning or reason and will simply carry out his role.
Yuji’s use of the phrase in the latest chapter is a callback to this very moment during Shibuya, except now Yuji has rejected his role as a cog tasked with endlessly killing curses. As he reveals in chapter #265, Yuji now seems to understand that humans don’t come with a predestined role. Moreover, throughout the entire montage of taking Sukuna through his domain, Yuji explains how meaning and value can be found even in the smallest of things in life.
He also seems to understand that Sukuna perhaps became a monster because of his circumstances and poor luck, so he empathizes with Sukuna even though he hates him. Thus, when Yuji offers Sukuna the choice to give up, he may beoffering him the chance to find real value in life through these small things instead of the strength he has always relied on,to live even if he is weak using Yuji as his host. In telling Sukuna “I’m willing to go on living with you,” Yuji is possibly offering Sukuna the same support he had from his grandfather, appealing to the small part of him that is still human “not to curse someone but to live with someone.”
Sukuna’s Ending Makes Sense Given His Established Ideals in Jujutsu Kaisen
Sukuna’s Final Moments Mirror Mahito in Many Ways
Though pathetic and anticlimactic, it comes asno surprise that Sukuna chose to die rather than give up his prideand live amicably with Yuji. Sukuna stuck to his ideals until the bitter end and his ideals are ironically the very reason he met the end he did. Over the course of the story,Jujutsu Kaisenhas carefully laid out Sukuna’s nihilistic philosophy, which was fittingly first explored through Mahito.
As early as chapter #21, Mahito talks to Junpei about not abiding by a restrictive philosophy and tells Junpei to eat if he’s hungry and kill if he hates someone. Sukuna mirrors the same sentiment in chapter #248 when he claims he eats when he wants to, plays with whatever amuses him, and kills whoever gets in his way.
In Sukuna’s case, he may have turned to hisstrength as the only thing he could rely onbecause of the unfortunate life he’s led, which is implied through him being forced to eat his twin in the womb and referring to himself as a creepy, unwanted child. As such, Sukuna cast aside his humanity and became a curse, or better yet, a monster who only lives for the thrill of fighting and testing that strength and doesn’t see any real value in life beyond that.
AfterHiguruma’s untimely death, Sukuna even displays a rare moment of introspection where he claims that heonly sees fighting as a way to pass time until he dies. Sukuna also notably states that he has never thought of relying on someone else to fulfill him. As seen in chapter #181, Sukuna sees overwhelming aggression and a complete disregard for others as the only way to truly be the strongest, which is a central theme inJujutsu Kaisenwhere being the strongest is equated to becoming a “monster”.
Of course, his refusal to rely on someone else is especially ironic given thatSukuna was defeatedand died because of his need to rely on another as a host for his soul. At the end of it all, the only reason both Mahito and Sukuna were able to abide by this way of thinking and live solely for the thrill of fighting and killing is their strength. However, Mahito’s strength crumbled in the face of Yuji’s determination at Shibuya, which is when he felt pure fear for the first time.
Like Mahito, Sukuna also fears death in his final moments when his strength finally fails him.Without his strength, all he has left is his pride,which is why he chooses to die rather than give up his ideals and acknowledge the value in life that Yuji has tried to show him through his domain. Instead of living by relying on Yuji’s mercy, which he equates to weakness and being human, Sukuna chooses to die as a curse; as the monster he had turned himself into. Fittingly, in the end, Yuji may have been the one to teach Sukuna about love and compassion in the end through his empathy.
Overall, though many fans are less than impressed, the conclusion of the battle against Sukuna was arguably full of nuance and perfectly represented many of the central themes of the series.Jujutsu Kaisenhas carefully built up to this moment over the six-year-long course of the story, and it could not have been more perfect from a storytelling perspective.
Jujutsu Kaisenis available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisenis a Japanese anime and manga series created by Gege Akutami. The story is set in a world where Cursed Spirits, born from negative human emotions, prey on humanity. It follows high school student Yuji Itadori as he becomes entangled in the world of Jujutsu Sorcery after swallowing a cursed talisman—Ryomen Sukuna’s finger—and becomes the host for one of the most powerful curses. Yuji joins the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College to learn how to combat curses while searching for the remaining fingers of Sukuna to exorcise him permanently.
