Is ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’s ending too soon, or too late?

The shocking announcement that Jujutsu Kaisen‘s manga will conclude with Chapter 271 isn’t just bittersweet; it’s deeply concerning.

Mangaka Gege Akutami has been transparent about their plans to end Jujutsu Kaisen‘s serialization in 2024, yet the suddenness of just how soon the manga will reach its final chapter is a bit jarring. The news comes just five weeks prior to the final chapter’s release date—September 30, 2024—and such a condensed timeframe has elicited caution about how prepared Gege really is when reaching the series’ conclusion.

There’s undeniable anxiety that Jujutsu Kaisen is hastily barreling towards its very end in order to honor Gege’s promise of knowing when the manga ends. But how? It might be both too soon and too late for the story to grant itself a sincere, thoughtful, and satisfying swan song.

**This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen manga.**

The central conflict of Yuji Itadori battling Ryomen Sukuna has overstayed its welcome, but a resolution also feels implausible to achieve in five chapters’ time. Gege has allowed the long-running showdown to marinate on the pages of the manga without any sign of a victor in sight. There’s some concern over the writing quality for the final chapters, and how predictable they may be.

Some have already joked that Gege may opt for this to be “all a dream” that Yuji wakes up from; others have given into the idea that Yuji may be struck down, or that he could finally defeat Sukuna. Could Gege really kill off Yuji after everything he’s been through? There still needs to be time given for Yuji’s Domain Expansion, which was introduced in Chapter 264, to be fully explained. If these greater, richer details are cut, the final chapter will curse Jujutsu Kaisen with plot holes that should have been answered volumes ago. Why is Yuji just now able to use his Domain Expansion? Will Gege ever revisit the ongoing brawl between Hakari Kinji and Uraume?

Jujutsu Kaisen is rushing to its ultimate end while current chapters suggest that the manga isn’t ready to tap out just yet. The undeniable conflict of Gege’s pacing and their self-determined deadline limits what they’re able to explore over the manga’s last arc. There’s always the possibility that Gege has crafted a surprising finale that will defeat the fandom’s doubts, yet that too feels cast out too far. With so little time left, Jujutsu Kaisen has chosen an awkward place to bow out of publication. It’s easy to prepare for an ending that predictably won’t please every single fan, yet it’s inarguable that heartache will ensue if Gege’s chosen conclusion is disappointing, even in the slightest.

That underlying sense of dread that Jujutsu Kaisen may have missed the perfect point to end, or may overlook the opportunity to work towards a better ending that could have been within reach if Gege published a chapter or two more, is hard to shake. That potential regret of missed opportunity could loom over the franchise long after the final chapter is released. The relief of Gege knowing where things end, and how things end, contests the worry of what the outcome of Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 271 will actually be. Until then, that bittersweet anticipation will linger on the pages of each chapter as Jujutsu Kaisen prepares to dwindle down to its last few panels.

Immense pressure is now put on Gege, as they are expected to deliver a flawless finish in five chapters. Is it possible? Perhaps, but there’s also the risk of sacrificing quality for the sake of saving the storyline. After the My Hero Academia manga ending resulted in divided reactions, the expectations of Gege are exceedingly high. Jujutsu Kaisen has been praised for its ability to build compelling storylines while dodging typical shonen tropes. Will the manga’s culmination be able to honor the series’ reputation and ensure that these chapters achieve a worthy conclusion? The prospect of Jujutsu Kaisen somehow ending prematurely a after being drawn out for too long already emphasizes that maybe Gege’s stopping point was miscalculated.

It’s not to say that the Shinjuku Showdown Arc is completely aimless, as it was designated to be the final arc, but its current trajectory leaves little room for the climax to breathe. Everything lies in timing, and in this instance, time is very generous to Jujutsu Kaisen. The manga debuted in 2018, granting Gege years to prepare for how they wanted to send their series off. At the same time, the state of the storyline is too early for things to begin to wind down. Jujutsu Kaisen’s manga began to wear thin following Higuruma Hiromi’s death in Chapter 247. Surviving core characters’ plots have struggled to keep their momentum, and there’s still grief felt for those who were killed off volumes ago. For a manga so reliant on death and destruction, there’s been plenty of energy put into keeping Jujutsu Kaisen alive, and to squander that now seems odd.