Commenting On: Unpacking & Moving Past Jujutsu Kaisen’s “Peak” Shonen

All Comments: 1

1. Interesting analysis on JJK, I largely agree with what you mentioned. I will add that the storyline around the American military was never really all that fleshed out from the beginning, and it didn’t even try to broach the topic properly — it was just an instrument in Kenjaku’s schemes, which I wouldn’t have had a problem with, had they just…gone somewhere.
   One thing I do want to add, however, is that JJK *did* bring in some novel ideas:
   — the usage of mathematical concepts in the story, like the Limitless Cursed Technique’s manipulation of infinities;
   — unapologetically including Buddhist philosophy in the story, from the cycle of reincarnation to Kenjaku mentioning “semantic” and “pragmatic” references. Sadly, this is largely overlooked because teenage boys (the target demographic for shonen) simply don’t really care, and Western readers (I was included in this, too) even less.
   — killing characters off without regard to who they are (here it fumbled the ball hard towards the end by giving us a Disney-esque ending at the end, but at least it espoused that idea for a good portion of the manga…)
   And with all that said, thank you so much for your continued work at Yattatachi!

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