Where did all the love for it go?
Summary:
- Some fans feel JJK has been ruined by recent plot developments.
- However, it’s still one of the best battle shounen manga out there.
- The current arc being disappointing doesn’t mean the whole manga is automatically bad.
The latest chapters of the manga haven’t been received well by the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom. It’s really easy to understand why: they have been very repetitive, and fans have grown tired of the cycle of “Sukuna defeats and probably kills yet another character while still holding back.”
Some have even gone as far as to completely dismiss JJK at this point, saying it’s turned out to be incredibly disappointing. And yes, the current arc might not be the best out there, but even taking that into account, the manga overall is still one of the best among modern battle shounen.
It’s Really Good in Many Ways
Jujutsu Kaisen isn’t exactly revolutionary. It’s popular, but not because it does anything new. In fact, it’s arguably because of the opposite. Jujutsu Kaisen takes the battle shounen formula and breathes new life into it by keeping the tropes fresh — and one of the main reasons for this is the way it’s told.
Compared to many other contemporary shounen series, Jujutsu Kaisen is much more fast-paced. This results in it being incredibly entertaining, as there are no boring arcs — the manga keeps the reader on their toes the entire time.
This leads some people to unfairly criticize Jujutsu Kaisen for being “just fights.” Well, yes, there are a lot of fights, but it’s an action manga — what else would you expect? And these fights often advance the plot as well — it’s not that they’re just for show.
Furthermore, the main draw — which is said fights — is very much outstanding compared to other contemporary battle shounens. The action choreography in Jujutsu Kaisen is unmatched, and although the art is sometimes pretty rough (especially in earlier chapters), it makes up for it.
Jujutsu Kaisen is also incredibly concise and to-the-point. For the most part (the current arc is an exception), there is hardly anything unnecessary, and every scene progresses the story further.
The Current Arc Doesn’t Make It Bad
It’s really easy to say that a manga is ruined after just one disappointing arc. However, in most cases, these arcs do not actually ruin the entire story — they are just considered subpar.
The faults of the current arcs of Jujutsu Kaisen don’t make the story before it any worse, and it’s still really good — people just have inadequate standards. There’s no battle shounen where each arc is equally good, and sometimes there are ones that really disappoint readers — just get through them.