Warning: Contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter #269.Jujutsu Kaisenis nearing its finale, and with that in mind, chapter #269 was one of its oddest chapters yet. Rather than have the characters mourn anyone who died or talk about their plans for the future, the characters spent most of the chapterdiscussing the final battle against Sukuna and Kenjaku and whether they could have done anything differently, something that fans surely love to get into but rarely ever seen in stories like these.
Jujutsu Kaisenchapter #269 was a surprisingly clinical and matter-of-fact chapter, and a part of that stemmed from how meta it was. It was one thing for the characters to discuss how the fight went, but with the specific topics everyone discussed,Jujutsu Kaisenchapter #269 can be seen asGege Akutami’s attempt at addressing some of the most common criticisms people hadaboutJujutsu Kaisen’s final arc. It’s one of the most meta chapters something outside a gag manga could produce, but how effective it was is a different story, altogether.
Jujutsu Kaisen Addresses The Biggest Problems With The Final Arc
The Characters Almost Directly Answer Fans Criticism
One ofthe major topics of discussion surroundingJujutsu Kaisen’s final battlewas whether it made more sense for Maki to go after Kenjaku as opposed to Yuta. However, not only was it reiterated that only Yuta could have dealt with any curses released after Kenjaku’s death, but it was also brought up that Sukuna would have taken things more seriously with Yuta around, so Yuta not immediately fighting Sukuna was a big part of why the battle went as well as it did.
The idea ofhaving Inumaki and Higuruma work togetherwas also shot down by pointing out how Inumaki would have died from recoil, Yuji’s cursed tool gauntlets were acknowledged as being unnecessary for hiding his missing fingers, and it was even brought up that Sukuna’s cursed energy made it hard for Todo to get a lock on people with Boogie Woogie.
Those points and others that were made by the characters make it clear thatJujutsu Kaisenchapter #269 was a meta-commentary on the problems people had with the final battle, and overall, it was interesting for a manga to do something like that.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Meta-Commentary Still Gets Some Points Wrong
Even with all the timeJujutsu Kaisenchapter #269 spent on meta-commentary, it still either missed some criticisms or just had an odd way of handling them. While some alternative plans were addressed, it ignored ideas like using Boogie Woogie in conjunction with Higuruma’s Executioner Sword or pitting the overpowered nature of Takaba’s Comedian against Sukuna, both of which were ideas constantly brought up during the final arc.
Because of that, it feels likeJujutsu Kaisenchapter #269’s meta-commentary ends up ringing rather hollowfor the points it misses, which makes it all the harder to take it seriously. What also made the meta-commentary weird was how much it repeated ideas people already knew about. Yuta, for example, already admitted that he went after Kenjaku simply because he wanted to be the one to kill him, and the point about how Miguel and Larue should have shown up earlier was explained in the very chapter they appeared.
Those points were only addressed to the audience and not the characters. This means thatJujutsu Kaisenchapter #269 wasted time addressing points that were already covered, instead of delving deeper into the in-story aftermath of the battle against Sukuna or giving characters and secondary storylines the closure they needed.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Meta Chapter Came Far Too Late To Work
It Feels Odd To Waste Time With Few Chapters Left In The Series
The biggest problem withJujutsu Kaisendevoting an entire chapter to meta-commentary, however, comes from how late into the series it’s happening.There are only two chapters left untilJujutsu Kaisen’s finale, and even with a lot of story threads left to wrap up, one of the few remaining chapters was spent doing little more than addressing points no one expected to be addressed.Jujutsu Kaisen’s meta-commentary comes at the expense of time that could have been spent providing closure for the story, and that’s part of why it doesn’t work as well as it should.
While it was, in theory, a good idea for Gege Akutami to address some of the issues people had with the final arc, between some of the more notable points being missed, the odd repetition of some ideas, and the overall poor timing of it all,Jujutsu Kaisenultimately failed to deliver its meta-commentary in a satisfying manner, which doesn’t do much to remove the criticisms of its final arc. Ideally, theJujutsu Kaisenmanga will still end on a high note, but the execution of chapter #269 shows that it won’t be without its problems, no matter what.
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.
