Rewriting Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 236

Needless to say, chapter 236 has sparked a lot of criticism. So, to keep a long story short, I've rewritten chapter 236 to try minimise some of the common issues people have with the chapter, issues that I also personally share.

I've kept a lot of the dialogue the same, but I've added some major tweaks that I believe would drastically improve the execution of this chapter. So if you're one of the ones who are disappointed with chapter 236, I hope you also find this rewrite to be an improvement.

Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 236: Go South

-- Page one --

[Narration text: Gojo stands victorious?!]

Gojo: Well, it's time to get this over with, any last words?

Sukuna faces Gojo with a serious demeanour, struggling to stand upright.

Sukuna: Hmph.

Sukuna: Just one.

Sukuna aims his only remaining arm directly towards Gojo, gesturing his hand in the shape of a knife.

Sukuna: Dismantle.

Gojo smiles arrogantly as Sukuna, in an act of desperation, resorts to using to his default technique in an attempt to harm him.

However, as Sukuna releases his attack, Gojo's smile immediately vanishes, now replaced by a bewildered expression.

-- Page two --

The scene transitions to Gojo's imagination, where a younger Gojo is seen sitting at an airport, wearing the same bewildered expression.

Geto: Yo, Satoru.

Gojo: Blegh!

Gojo: You're kidding me. This sucks.

Gojo sulks, leaning back on an airport chair.

Geto: Pretty rude thing to say after seeing someone's face.

-- Page three --

Gojo: I've always told my students, "when you die, you die alone", so please tell me this is just some stupid dream.

Geto: Does it matter?

Gojo scratches the back of his head in irritation.

Gojo: *Sigh* And I was gonna tell Megumi about his dad too...

Gojo: But I guess I asked Shoko to handle that.

Geto: So, how was the king of curses?

Gojo: Man, he was pretty damn strong. I got the feeling that he had more tricks up his sleeve too.

-- Page four --

Gojo: I wonder how different the outcome would've been if Sukuna didn't have the ten shadows technique.

Geto: It's weird to hear you talking like this, he must've been really strong, huh?

Gojo: Still, I kinda feel sorry for him.

Geto: ?

Gojo: I know all too well, the loneliness that comes with being at the top. There was always a gulf between me and everyone else, even if they adored me.

Gojo: You can admire a blooming flower, but you can't ask it to understand you.

-- Page five --

Gojo looks down at his clenched fist.

Gojo: I really gave it my all to beat him. All my physical training, the techniques I'd mastered. My explosiveness, quick thinking and attempts at humour. I put everything into it, but it still wasn't enough.

An image of Sukuna's cold gaze is shown, surrounded by shadows.

"The loneliness that comes with unrivalled strength. The one who will teach you about love is-"

Gojo is shown with a melancholic smile, still looking at his fist.

Gojo: I had fun.

-- Page six --

Gojo: I couldn't push Sukuna to his limit though, and I think that's sad.

Geto rests his head on his hand.

Geto: I'm jealous. You at least had the satisfaction of going out with a bang.

Gojo: Satisfaction, huh?

An image of an older Geto stands smiling amongst Gojo's friends as they see him off before his final battle.

Gojo: Maybe I would have been satisfied, if you were there to give me a slap on the back as well.

Geto faces down with his eyes shut, still resting his head against his hand, he smiles.

Geto: Heh heh.

-- Page seven --

Gojo: At least I got to die against someone as strong as me, instead of being stuck in that stupid box forever.

Unknown voice: What are you, a samurai?

Gojo is surprised by a familiar voice and looks behind him to see a younger Nanami and Haibara sitting right behind him.

Nanami: Seriously. You should know it's in poor taste to think like that in the present.

Gojo: Huuuh?

Nanami: Then again, that mindset of yours is probably why you outlived me.

Haibara: You and Gojo-san just miscalculated a little bit.

Gojo reaches behind to annoy Nanami by grabbing his head. Nanami tries to wave Gojo's hand off him.

Nanami: I remember once asking Geto why we couldn't just leave everything to you.

Nanami: After all, you didn't care much for jujutsu sorcery, or for protecting people, it was mostly just a game for you.

Gojo appears to be mildly offended by Nanami's blunt criticism.

-- Page eight --

Haibara: Truth is, we all thought that about Gojo-san! But we couldn't bring ourselves to say it out loud.

Nanami: Why are you bringing it up now then...

Haibara: Sooorry!

Nanami: Well, that feeling about you...

Geto: Was just proven right by your actions a second ago.

Gojo looks unnerved.

Gojo: ...

Nanami: Can't say I approve, but I do sympathize.

Gojo: Yeah, yeah, thanks. And how do you feel about your demise?

-- Page nine --

Haibara: Ahhh, I kinda butted in back then...

Nanami: Curses can bring people back to life. The same way sorcery can.

Nanami: I once asked Mei-san about where I should go to live.

Nanami: She said if you'd like to become someone new, go north. If you'd like to return to who you once were, go south.

-- Page ten --

Nanami: Back then, I didn't hesitate on choosing south. I've always looked at the past, so I found it ironic when I died betting on the future.

Nanami: As final moments go, it wasn't bad. I'm grateful to you as well, Haibara.

Haibara awkwardly scratches the back of his head.

Haibara: You're too kind!

Gojo looks down again with a faint smile.

Gojo: I see.

-- Page eleven --

Gojo looks up and spots principal Yaga nearby.

Gojo: Hey, principaaal! 'Thought ya said no jujutsu sorcerer dies without regrets!

Yaga: *Sigh* Even in death, you're too loud.

Gojo laughs with everyone, including Riko and Kuroi who are also shown nearby, and Toji can be seen walking by in the distance.

-- Page twelve --

Gojo walks over to the airport window and looks up at the clear blue sky.

Gojo: I do have one regret though. All you guys will have to take over for me now. Sorry Megumi, it'll be in their hands now to get you back.

Images of Gojo's students are shown as he thinks about each of them, causing him to smile with hope.

Gojo: That's okay though, after all... I have faith in everyone.

Gojo continues to stare at the sky before he closes his eyes.

-- Page thirteen/fourteen --

The scene transitions back to reality. A double page spread shows Gojo's upper body, lying on the ground, staring at the same clear blue sky with lifeless, half-open eyes. Blood can be seen flowing from his mouth as well as being splattered below the upper half of his body.

-- Page fifteen --

Everyone who was spectating the battle is shocked and speechless at what has occurred. Yuji and Yuta are seen particularly distraught. Maki places her arm on Yuta's shoulder as she looks on with a serious expression.

Yuji: Gojo Sensei!!!

Shoko's unfinished cigarette falls from her mouth.

Shoko: How...

Kusakabe: That shouldn't be possible!

Kashimo: It's time.

Kashimo is seen turning away and walking briefly before disappearing from the room at lightning speed.

-- Page sixteen --

Sukuna: Mahoraga's adaptation begins after the first attack. Then it takes time to analyse. Completing adaptation is only a matter of time.

Sukuna: If it receives another identical attack during that calculation period, the adaptation will accelerate.

Sukuna: Once a technique has been adapted to, the analysis doesn't stop there. It continues to adapt further.

Sukuna: What I wanted from Mahoraga was a "model". A model of how to cut through your infinity.

-- Page seventeen --

Sukuna: At first, Mahoraga was altering the nature of its own cursed energy in order to neutralise and nullify your infinity.

Everyone who was watching the battle from the room stands up, still watching, unsure of what to do next.

Sukuna: That was something I was unable to do, so I waited. I waited for Mahoraga to discover another adaptation to counter your infinity, one that I would be able to imitate.

Sukuna: The second adaptation was exactly what I was looking for. Mahoraga was sending slashes like my own, but these slashes could bypass your infinity.

Sukuna: I theorized that Mahoraga was expanding the technique's target. That the target of these slashes wasn't Gojo Satoru, but space itself. Therefore, it could cut everything within those slashes.

-- Page eighteen --

Gojo's entire body is revealed, showing his upper body lying on the floor while his lower half remains standing. It becomes clear that Gojo was cut in half from Sukuna's attack. Gojo's body is covered in blood.

Sukuna remains standing, facing Gojo as he continues his explanation.

Sukuna: As long as you existed within space like everything else, your infinity was powerless to stop my attack.

Sukuna: Even after being shown how it was done, I wasn't sure if I could replicate it myself, so I had to make a gamble.

Sukuna: After being backed into a corner, I waited for you to drop your guard and give me an opportunity. Then, I put all my focus into recreating that attack.

Sukuna: It proved to be an effective model after all.

-- Page nineteen --

Sukuna smiles with satisfaction.

Sukuna: But I have to admit, this is truly the furthest I've ever been pushed. Well done, Gojo Satoru, you have my respect. I won't forget you for as long as I live.

Hearing these words, a faint smile can be seen from Gojo's bloodied mouth. Sukuna turns away.

Sukuna: Now then...

Kashimo can be seen rushing towards to the battlefield from the distance.

Sukuna: I'm in a good mood. So you better entertain me.

[Narration text: Kashimo, the thunder God, dashes toward near-certain death.]

-- Chapter end --

Well that's a spicy first jjk ask to be sent to me. First off, I'll answer this as if Todo/Tsukumo were asking me this question in person, since it's made me ponder what I would actually say if someone just bluntly asked me this out of the blue. After that, I'll talk about what girl in Jujutsu Kaisen is actually my type/who I'm interested in seeing more of.

I'm actually very torn on this because I could see myself answering in the same way as both Yuji and Megumi did, despite them having completely different answers. Yuji's answer appeals on an instinctual, physical level; meanwhile Megumi's answer appeals on an intellectual, mental level. Without diverging too far from the original question, I think it's important to point out that these answers from Yuji and Megumi are a narrative comparison to show us the contrast between their immediate thought processes, as well as the areas they each lack awareness in. Both Yuji and Megumi's answers to this question are one-sided. Would Yuji really be interested in a physically attractive woman if she had a cruel personality? Of course not. Likewise, would Megumi really be interested in a kind woman if her appearance was revolting? I wouldn't imagine so.

So, this brings me to my personal answer to this question, what kind of girls am I into? Well, to give a balanced answer, it's not just *insert physical characteristics of a woman*, nor is it "as long as a person is compassionate, then I don't need anything else", my answer would be more like this:

Moving on from that, when it comes to Jujutsu Kaisen, what girls in the story am I into? This is also an interesting question I've given some thought, as I have a long list of criticisms of how Gege Akutami writes his women in the story, but that's for another time.

So far I'd say the girl I'm into the most right now in jjk would probably be Hana Kurusu. She has pleasantly surprised me as I really did not expect much from her character, who I initially anticipated to be a boring plot device. Instead, within a short period of time, her character has been fleshed out considerably, and she has really broken the mould compared to the majority of jjk's female cast, who are typically hyper masculine, assertive and independent women. Hana really stands out in the story as she is the inverse of this; she is portrayed to be very feminine, both in her appearance and in her behaviour, as well as showing clear romantic interest in Megumi. Also, compared to the other reincarnated sorcerers who are abundant throughout the culling games, Hana manages to maintain a degree of her own agency by co-operating alongside the reincarnated soul who dwells within her. I'm very intrigued to see where her character goes and how her involvement affects the overarching story.

Oh yeah, I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but she's kinda adorable:

With the jjk hype ramping up I want to post more but need some inspiration, so if you’re a jjk reader and you’re reading this then please send me jjk asks, I’m desperate.

Sukuna vs Megumi fans after chapter 212

Satoru Gojo - The Limited Man

In Jujutsu Kaisen, Satoru Gojo is the character who is presented both to the story and to its readers as perfect; the very pinnacle of humanity and the most powerful being in all of existence. Gojo portrays a common ideal that each and every one of us has, of a human who is untouchable, a human who has complete control of the universe where nothing is outside their grasp. With his esteemed heritage, he is the Limitless man. Nothing can contain him.

Yet, the more you pay attention to the character of Satoru Gojo, the more you’ll realise how limited he really is. The entire premise of Gojo’s character within Jujutsu Kaisen is a façade. Within the story’s narrative he is constantly heralded as the absolute strongest by those around him and proclaims as much himself, going as far as to declare to his opponent: “Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honoured one.” while in the midst of battle. This is Gojo’s most iconic line and for good reason, because it not only defines his personality but it also exhibits the greatest contradiction to his character.

Despite being deemed the strongest by so many, it isn’t even clear that this is actually the case. Yes, his power far exceeds almost everyone in the story, to the point that the main antagonist Kenjaku had completely abandoned the idea of killing him. Kenjaku, who had centuries of knowledge, experience and resources around his belt; who alone was capable of destroying a nation by himself, and even had multiple allies, each with capabilities rivalling his own. Despite ALL of these factors, Kenjaku concluded that it would still be impossible to kill Satoru Gojo. This plot point couldn’t emphasise more just how ridiculously powerful Gojo is when compared to almost everyone else in the series.

However, as I was hinting at earlier, there is one other character who sits atop the same pedestal of power as Gojo, and this character is also given a very intentional parallel to Gojo within the story’s narration. While Gojo states himself to be the “honoured one”, the narration specifically refers to Sukuna in the exact same way, in this case from a third person perspective. This is an interesting parallel as these are the only two characters to be associated with this title, while also being the only two characters who have been portrayed to be leagues stronger than even the other top tiers within the series. There’s also a foiling between Gojo and Sukuna here, as Gojo is arrogant enough to state himself that he alone is the “honoured one”, meanwhile Sukuna has the narration state this for him and does not feel the need to speak of these sentiments himself. At the beginning of the story, Gojo declared that if he and Sukuna were to fight each other at their strongest, he would win. However, over the course of the series it’s been made clear that when Gojo and Sukuna fight for real, the outcome of their fight could go either way. Both of them strive to be the strongest character in Jujutsu Kaisen, so from the context of the story it should be inevitable that these two will eventually fight each other, possibly to the death. So, Sukuna serves as one factor in the narrative which contradicts the notion of Gojo being the very best, what about his other limitations?

Well, another glaring contradiction is of course his cursed technique, which is aptly called the “Limitless”. Unsurprisingly, the name and abilities of this technique are a ruse to trick everyone into believing that Gojo’s cursed technique is unquestionably unbeatable and cannot be rivalled by any other power in the series. If you pay attention to the story however, you’ll already know this not to be true. Despite possessing the Limitless, Gojo once lost to and almost died fighting against Toji Fushiguro. While yes, this was a much younger Gojo who had far less experience and skill at the time; and yes, Toji had prepared various tactics beforehand which were specifically designed to counter Gojo; this doesn’t detract from the fact that the Limitless can be beaten. To top it all off, Toji was merely a human who only possessed heightened physical abilities in exchange for having absolutely zero cursed energy. After losing to Toji, in his desperation, Gojo had awakened various new abilities which until that point were inaccessible to him. This event led to Gojo officially becoming recognised as the strongest, where he could now beat Toji with relative ease.

Over a decade later, Gojo had refined all of his skills even further, placing himself far above his other fellow special grade sorcerers. However, despite being called the “Limitless”, it appears that Gojo has now completely mastered his powers and has achieved the peak of his abilities. The concept behind the Limitless is in reference to the infinite space there is in the universe, yet this power ironically has defined limitations which prevent it from evolving further. Even more ironically, Gojo’s closest friend Suguru Geto happens to possess a cursed technique which, within Jujutsu Kaisen’s power system, could be considered more boundless than the Limitless itself, “Cursed Spirit Manipulation”. In its most basic function, cursed spirit manipulation is the total control of cursed spirits, and essentially allows the user to absorb and stockpile an unlimited amount of cursed energy. In theory, this technique is more worthy to be given the title “Limitless”, yet this is heedlessly overlooked because of the characters associated with their respective techniques. This dynamic between Gojo and Geto’s abilities are kept subtle to the readers as Gojo just happened to master his cursed technique while Geto remained stagnant due to his personal shortcomings, which resulted in him deviating from his healthy rivalry with Gojo and ultimately led to him becoming an enemy of Jujutsu society.

Another point could also be made here that, regardless of being the strongest at this point, Gojo was incapable of stopping his closest friend from straying down a dark path, which is perhaps Gojo’s greatest failing in the series. This failure also comes back to bite him much later on as Kenjaku’s ace in the hole to finally checkmate Gojo involved surprising him with the now possessed body of Geto, which distracted Gojo long enough for him to be successfully sealed by the prison realm. Once again, the vast amount of power that Gojo had attained turned out to be completely useless in preventing his own sealing, which has now placed him in an inactive role for over half of Jujutsu Kaisen’s duration. Earlier in the story, Gojo once said: “Ironic, isn’t it? Given everything, but unable to do anything.” when referring to the function of his own domain. This was another intentional use of foreshadowing to describe the dilemma that Gojo was inevitably going to face himself. Satoru Gojo is no limitless man, for no one man is without his limits.

Choso - The Heart of Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen portrays a long list of interesting characters, each with important roles to play within the story, but amidst them all there is one character who lies in the very centre of the story’s core themes, and that is Choso.

Choso is introduced in Jujutsu Kaisen as a seemingly unimportant character with his only purpose to be a mere obstacle that the jujutsu sorcerers and Yuji need to overcome, very much like one of the many generic cursed spirits present in the story. This idea is driven further by his two brothers Eso and Kechizu, who were introduced only to be swiftly and unceremoniously killed off by Yuji and Nobara.

The natural path for Choso’s character at this point was simple and predictable, a basic revenge plot against Yuji for killing two of his younger brothers. However, the entire assumption of Choso’s purpose in the story was flipped on its head after the big twist that Choso is in fact a distant blood relative of Yuji. Choso’s innate cursed technique is blood connection, so upon being given the chance to finally kill Yuji after beating him in their fight, he decides on a whim to refuse as a result of his mind, body and soul sensing something wrong when he prepares to kill Yuji.

After walking away and spending time alone to ponder the meaning behind his unexpected connection to Yuji, he realises the truth that both he and Yuji are born experimentations of Kenjaku (known to him as Noritoshi Kamo at the time). After this, Choso’s alignments shift completely, deciding to ally not only with Yuji but all of the jujutsu sorcerers who were previously his enemies. He even goes so far as to completely forgive Yuji for killing his two brothers as he now understands that Yuji was simply ignorant of the truth, just like himself.

The whole purpose of Choso’s character is that despite the extremely unfortunate circumstances of his existence as a cursed human hybrid born from malicious experiments, with every reason to lash out at the world for causing his suffering, he still chooses to care for others. Choso currently being the only living cursed human hybrid in the story is also symbolic for him being the mentally healthiest character who understands both sides of the conflict.

Choso bears no ill will against humans, sorcerers or cursed spirits. This is implied early in the story while he was still aligned with the curse group as unlike the rest of them (Kenjaku, Mahito, Jogo, Hanami and Dagon), Choso was completely uninterested in killing as he had no personal investment. Choso chooses to fight only against the things that threaten him and the things he cares about, just like any other healthy minded person.

Despite his introduction as a background character who also possesses an unremarkable level of power within the context of the story, Choso is actually one of the most spotlighted characters in the story’s narrative. He has been shown in several long and intense fights where he pushes himself to the limit time and time again to fight for the things he cares for, often surprising much stronger characters in the story who belittle him. Choso parallels Yuji in this way for being his only distant blood relative to be shown in the story. Both of them are constantly looked down upon by their enemies including their own parent Kenjaku, as well as Sukuna.

Jujutsu Kaisen’s core themes revolve constantly around the struggle of making selfish or selfless decisions and Choso is the one character who is closest to achieving balance between these two extremes, being the only one who can’t be distinguished between a human or a cursed spirit. Choso is the character who wears his heart on his sleeve. Or in this case, his blood.

Return + Rambling

Hey, so it’s been an exact year today since I last posted on my blog. As time progressed I’ve been wanting to return back to posting so I thought I’d may as well force myself by being super extra (despite the likelihood that less than a handful of people will actually remember me lol).

So yea, ever since Tokyo Ghoul finished last year I lost all interest in posting, which was to be expected considering my blog was entirely TG focused.

At the time I had been contemplating changing my blog into one that didn’t focus on a particular series or fandom, since there were other series I read and fandoms I enjoy being involved in.

Sadly, I just lacked the same passion for other series that I did for Tokyo Ghoul, and combined with the habit of having made this blog purely for TG content, I just wasn’t interested enough at the time.

So basically my mind has changed now, and with the year hiatus I’ve really missed posting my thoughts, theories and shenanigans. Now I’m hoping to do that again.

For anyone who actually read this and remembers me, I appreciate it a lot.

P.S. It’s Hairu’s birthday again just like last year and she’s still my best girl so I’m waiting anxiously to see new art of her from Ishida. I’ll be so mad if there won’t be :(

Ishida has such an obvious crush on Hairu and I can relate so much