Jujutsu Kaisen might be known for its brutal fights and clever Cursed Techniques, but where it really hits hardest is in itsemotionalpunches. It’s not just about who wins or loses, it’s about what those battles cost.
Jujutsu Kaisen: 10 Underrated Characters Deserving More Screen Time
Explore 10 underrated Jujutsu Kaisen characters who deserve more screen time. Hidden gems every fan of the anime shouldn’t miss!
Some arcs crush spirits, while others build a quiet resilience, but none leave the world unchanged.These arcs can end up in slow-burn grief of a fallen comrade, the tragic unraveling of friendships, or the sheer desperation in the face of unstoppable forces. Yet, it’s almost certain that each arc etches an emotional mark that transcends the action.
This is what makes Jujutsu Kaisen unforgettable. Characters grow, fall apart, and sometimes disappear altogether, and the show rarely stops to offer comfort. That’s what makes it stick. These arcs leave marks. Not just on the characters, but on the audience too.
These stories remind us that strength isn’t just about power, it’s about endurance, the ability to carry wounds that never fully heal.
11Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc
A Tournament That Turned into a Test of Trust
The Kyoto Goodwill Event arc is fun until it isn’t. It begins as a classic battle tournament arc, featuring school rivalries, flashy moves, and plenty of shouting. But then, it pivots.
Yuji’s return from the “dead” is treated like a plot device by the higher-ups. The Kyoto students are told to kill him on sight.Watching characters like Nobara and Panda stand by Yuji while others see him as a threatsays a lot about trust in this world.And seeing Aoi Todo go from threat to unexpected ally adds a weird warmth to the arc. It’s not the most emotionally devastating, but it quietly exposes how dehumanizing the system can be when you’re not seen as a person, just a pawn.
10Fearsome Womb Arc
The Brutal Reality of Power and Helplessness
This arc doesn’t waste time sugarcoating things. Yuji’s first real test as a sorcerer ends in death. Not his, though that almost happens, it’s Junpei’s. Junpei is one of those characters who doesn’t show up for long but leaves a mark. A lonely, bullied kid who thinks he’s found purpose, only to be manipulated and discarded.Watching Yuji try and fail to save him is a moment that doesn’t fade easily.
The heartbreak is in how fast things fall apart. It was Yuji’s first real loss. Perhaps, the most agonizing part wasn’t the loss in his fight, but the fact that lost sense of control over the world he’s been thrown into.
9Death Painting Arc
Growth, Bonds, and the Weight of Consequences
This arc wraps up the first season, and while it might be overshadowed by what comes after, it does a lot with what it has. It takes the trio, Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara, and finally gives them a moment where they all feel like equals in the field.Their bond is solid, their fights are brutal, and their growth feels earned.
But what hits the hardest is the ending. Nobara’s moment with Eso and Kechizu is not mercy, but understanding. These were humans once. She doesn’t flinch, but she doesn’t mock them either. Yuji, though? He’s clearly shaken. You can see the guilt sink in. The emotional weight comes in the aftermath.
8Cursed Child Arc
Love, Loss, and a Curse That Was Never Meant to Harm
This one’s short, but it sticks with you. Yuta Okkotsu and Rika’s story is tragic without feeling overplayed. It’s not about big battles or world-ending stakes, it’s about grief and what happens when love twists into something else.
Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash: Every Playable Character, Ranked
Want to know who you should play in Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash? This list will reveal the best characters in the game.
Yuta’s arc is filled with guilt and self-hatred, but it never becomes melodramatic. He doesn’t want power. He just wants to stop being a danger to others. Watching him come to terms with his feelings, watching Rika let go, it’s genuinely bittersweet.It’s an emotional slow burn, the kind that sits heavy because it feels real in a quiet way.
7Perfect Preparation Arc
The Fragile Aftermath of Shibuya’s Destruction
This arc feels like the eye of a storm. Not because it’s peaceful, far from it, but because of how much it holds back. It’s Mei Mei being ruthless, Choso’s confusion, Yuji and Nobara dealing with the fallout of Shibuya. But the real emotional weight comes from the uncertainty.Characters are licking their wounds and trying to hold onto something solid.
What lands hardest is how tired everyone feels. There’s no triumph. It’s just survival. And sometimes, that’s harder to watch than loss.
6Itadori’s Extermination Arc
The Moment Yuji Stops Fighting for Himself
This arc is cold. No buildup, no time to breathe.Yujiis marked for death, and there’s no discussion. What’s devastating isn’t just that people want him dead. It’s that Yuji’s response isn’t anger. It’s resignation. He’s tired. you’re able to see it in the way he talks, the way he fights, the way he stops trying to justify his own existence.
Fushiguro and others step in to fight for him, but the damage is already there. Yuji’s always been willing to die if it means saving others.This arc shows how close he is to giving up entirely, and how heavy that choice is.
5Gojo’s Past Arc
Friendship, Fractured Ideals, and the Cost of Change
There’s something painful about seeing legends when they’re still figuring things out. Gojo and Geto’s backstory isn’t just informative, it reframes everything. Watching their friendship fracture, watching ideals twist, watching two of the strongest people in the series realize they’re not on the same path, it’s rough. There’s no villain here, not really.Just two people who loved each other and broke anyway.
10 Best Duos in Jujutsu Kaisen, Ranked
Cursed techniques click, fists fly, and two-person chemistry carries the hype.
Riko Amanai’s death is the moment everything changes. But the real tragedy is in the years that follow, the quiet loneliness on both sides, and the unspoken grief of what might’ve been.
4Culling Game Arc
Desperation in a System Built for Survival
The Culling Game is pure chaos, and on the surface, it feels like it’s all about structure and strategy. But buried underneath the rules and the new faces is something more personal. Yuji’s exhaustion hits differently here. He’s pushing forward, but you may tell he’s running on fumes. The Culling Game is less about victory and more about trying to keep people alive in a system that treats them like numbers.
Characters like Kinji Hakari and Higuruma bring their own emotional baggage. It’s not always front and center, but it builds. And when things finally start collapsing near the end,it feels like the inevitable crash of everything that’s been held back.
3Shinjuku Showdown Arc
A War That Strips Away Everything That Matters
This is where things boil over.Gojo’sreturn, Sukuna unleashed, everything you’ve been waiting for, and somehow, it’s still not enough to stop the heartbreak. What makes this arc hurt isn’t the big moments. It’s the smaller ones. Yuji standing up again and again, knowing full well what it costs.Megumi losing his body, not in a dramatic way, but in a slow, terrifying fade.
The stakes are sky-high, but the emotional weight comes from watching characters lose themselves while trying to save others. It’s a painful unraveling, and by the end, nothing feels certain.
2Vs. Mahito Arc
Yuji’s Most Personal and Devastating Fight
This arc is personal.Mahitoisn’t just a villain. He’sthevillain for Yuji. He’s a walking reminder that some people hurt others just because they can. Watching Mahito toy with Junpei, murder innocents, and push Yuji into emotional collapse, it’s almost too much. And yet, it’s necessary. This is where Yuji realizes that not everyone can be saved.
Nobara’s final stand hits like a punch in the gut. The shock on Yuji’s face, the helplessness, it’s raw.There’s no victory here, just survival, and even that feels like a stretch.
