Jujutsu Kaisen: Gege Confirms Kenjaku’s Death

Highlights

• Sukuna takes center stage as he fights against Yuji Itadori and other important characters in the Culling Game arc, generating excitement among fans.
• Kenjaku, the secondary antagonist, played a significant role in the series but has been confirmed dead after a surprising battle with Takaba and Yuta.
• Yuta’s presence in front of Sukuna confirms Kenjaku’s death, leaving fans disappointed with how the underwhelming end to an antagonist of his caliber was handled.

Jujutsu Kaisen recently returned from a very long break and it is time for the fans to get excited as the many fights in the Culling Game arc are now being tackled once again. Sukuna is now at the center of attention, and as a result, fans are incredibly excited to see what he will produce as he takes on the protagonist of the series, Yuji Itadori, along with other important characters, such as Yuta, in combat.

While Sukuna has all the attention right now, fans must also remember the secondary antagonist of the series, that is Kenjaku. As fans know, Kenjaku has been an incredible antagonist for JJK for the most part, however, now, it appears that his role has been cut short as he has been confirmed to have died.

Kenjaku Vs Takaba

Kenjaku played a significant role in the Culling Game arc. In fact, he was the one who set everything into motion and that is precisely why this is an antagonist that fans had very high expectations from. Even before the Culling Game, everything that happened in JJK to this date was all orchestrated by Kenjaku. From the sealing of Gojo all the way to the incarnation of the ancient sorcerers, Kenjaku was the person behind it all and, as a result, many even considered him to be the primary antagonist of the series and rightly so. In many ways, Kenjaku was even more interesting than Sukuna himself and through him, the author could make use of an antagonist who was more than just brawn.

Kenjaku was incredible in the Culling Game arc, however, in the end, this went south for him when he encountered Takaba, a sorcerer that he had no expectations from in the beginning. Takaba, the comedian, was no match for him in combat, however, his cursed technique was such that it put Kenjaku through some bizarre situations, eventually forcing him to acknowledge him. Kenjaku was completely caught up in his cursed technique and this is what eventually let him to drop his guard enough for someone else to finish him off.

Yuta Kills Kenjaku

Kenjaku versus Takaba was a bizarre fight from start to finish. In the early phases of the fight, Kenjaku did not acknowledge Takaba at all. However, when Takaba found his own groove, Kenjaku had no choice but to be impressed by him. He even praised him for being a wonderful sorcerer and that was certainly heartwarming for the fans to see. However, what Kenjaku did not realize was that Takaba was simply bait for him to lower his guard. As soon as he did that, Yuta crept up on him from behind. With a single swing of his sword, he chopped his head right off his shoulders and this surprised even someone of the caliber of Kenjaku. Despite being an elite sorcerer, Yuta was able to sneak up on him and land his attacks, which was quite a surprise.

This is especially true because Yuta is known to possess a tremendous amount of cursed energy. Anyone should be able to sense him coming from a mile away, however, this was not possible because Kenjaku was completely entranced by Takaba’s curse technique. This was the primary purpose of Takaba being utilized for this battle and as a result, he successfully achieved his goal. As Kenjaku’s guard dropped and Yuta his head right off, many fans believed that he would end up surviving. This is simply down to the fact that he couldn’t possibly die such an easy death for an antagonist so big. Fans believe that he would, at some point, jump bodies or pull out some other trick from up his sleeve, however, it appears that none of that is going to be the case in this fight as it continues.

Kenjaku’s Death Confirmed

Most recently, in JJK chapter 248, Kenjaku’s death was officially confirmed. This started with a new rule being added to the Culling Game. According to this rule, Megumi Fushiguro was now to be in charge of the merger. This means that Sukuna, who was reincarnated via his body, has control over the merger now and only he can decide what to do and when to do it when it comes to this particular plan that Kenjaku hatched. Essentially, Kenjaku’s entire role has been taken over by Sukuna.

He serves absolutely no purpose in the story anymore, and, as he mentioned himself before dying, his will shall be inherited.

In one way, Kenjaku’s will has been inherited by none other than Sukuna. However, they have different reasons for doing the merger. Regardless, when Sukuna was made in charge of the merger, he immediately jumped to the conclusion that the sneak attack on Kenjaku must have been a success, and, as a result, the fail-safe method that Kenjaku had put in was triggered. This is a confirmation of the fact that Kenjaku is officially dead.

Even if Kenjaku were to be alive, he absolutely serves no purpose in the story now. His entire character arc was based on the merger and, now, the person in charge of the measure is Sukuna. Kenjaku’s whole character arc has been shifted to Sukuna and this is one very intriguing change that the author made to the story.

Furthermore, at the end of the chapter, Yuta joined the battle against Sukuna. Once again, this is yet another confirmation of the fact that Kenjaku is, indeed, dead. Yuta would not be in front of Sukuna right now if Kenjaku were alive. For someone who knows full well how Kenjaku operates and how he has been able to switch bodies using the brain-hopping technique, Yuta would have made sure to finish the job before leaving the battlefield. His presence in front of Sukuna is yet another proof of the fact that Kenjaku is officially dead. Now, Yuta is going to take on Sukuna in combat alongside Yuji and Rika.

Was Kenjaku’s Character Underwhelming?

It is no surprise that fans are utterly shocked at Kenjaku’s death. This has to be one of the most underwhelming character arcs in JJK and the way that the author handled it has been subpar at best. Kenjaku was always believed to be a major villain in the story and the way he went out was certainly not worthy of a villain of his caliber. No fan believed that he would die such an easy, and, more importantly, an eventless death.

For someone who was behind every major incident in JJK and was touted to be the most heinous person in the entire series, dying from a sneak attack following a very bizarre fight that did not even make sense for the most part was certainly underwhelming, to say the least. That said, fans still have hopes that Sukuna will be dealt with properly, and Gege has another opportunity to save face.

Jujutsu Kaisen is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of JJK, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 249, is set to be February 4, 2024.