All men do is lie. When Nanami Kento said, “You got it from here,” the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom practically went on (another) meltdown. Many fans were prepared for this great, yet short-lived character to meet his fate in the Shibuya Incident Arc, but the animators at MAPPA’s had other ideas.
Not even fans who read the manga a few years ago were spared from tears. Compared to the manga, MAPPA’s Jujutsu Kaisen anime team added Nanami Kento having a dream during his last moments. It showed him on an unnamed beach with clear waters, white sand, and blue skies. He didn’t open his eyes, and during the dream, he was having thoughts about how he always wanted to take a vacation in Malaysia.
Some fans, like the one above, refuse to look after the events of this beautiful scene—another win for MAPPA animators, but a clearly traumatic hit for a lot of fans. Right after that scene, Kento opens his eyes and fights another hoard of cursed spirits. Half of his body is burned, he’s missing an eye, and he has to fight another cursed spirit to whom his cursed technique could do no harm.
Fans were obviously distraught at the outcome of having their fave torn to bits, and most could relate to Yuji’s screams after the scene. There are fans who have been coping with denial, but there are also those who’ve accepted his demise and have put up a memorial of him in Malaysia.
It’s unknown who established the Nanami Kento Memorial Shrine in Kuantan, Malaysia. Whoever it is, fans are thankful and in full consensus that this is the best they could do for Nanami Kento, who never got to take the vacation of his dreams. Based on the images, it really does look like Kento would appreciate going to Kuantan for its beautiful white sand beach. It seems that fans aren’t the only ones aware of this memorial shrine, because even Malaysia Airlines referenced Nanami Kento in to a Tweet to entice people to go to Kuantan.
This is not the first time the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom has tried to cope by establishing memorial sites for their favorite characters. Because of recent events in the manga, another character also earned a memorial shrine at a subway station in Chile.
Gege Akutami, the manga’s author, didn’t initially plan to kill Nanami. He was supposed to lose an arm, but Gege Akutami got carried away and ended up killing one of the fandom’s most beloved characters.
(featured image: Bandai Namco, main image: MAPPA)
Published: Nov 28, 2023 12:16 pm