What happens in Jujutsu Kaisen’s bittersweet ending
Forget Gojo Satoru’s failed comeback moment in Jujutsu Kaisen. Whether you like it or not, the manga’s officially over.
It would have been nice if we had at least ten to fifteen more chapters for the series. There’s so much of the story left untold, but maybe we no longer need to explore the grittier details. The last five chapters did their best to focus on all that mattered.
Several details of Chapter 271 might escape readers since they’re more symbolically linked to the theme of the manga. Here’s all you need to know about the last chapter.
What happened in Chapter 271
Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 271 opens up with Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi on the hunt for a curse user who was stalking Fukuzawa. The trio locates the stalker, and Megumi stops him with one of his Divine Dogs. This proves that Megumi still has part of his ten-shadows technique, even after all that Sukuna has done to him.
The stalker was apprehended and taken into custody. He asks what will be done to him. Before Yuji answers that, the manga jumps to a flashback of Yuji and Gojo training. In the panels, Gojo expressed how he wanted Yuji to be more “forward-thinking.” Gojo hoped that Yuji could carry on with his dreams. During this training, Gojo wasn’t fazed by death or being forgotten either. He told Yuji that he was “expecting great things” from him.
The flashback ends, and Yuji repeats the same lines to the curse user, telling him that he was expecting great things from him. Despite his mistake, Yuji forgave the curse user and still looked forward to working with him in the future. Thematically, Yuji’s forgiveness goes to show that the change Gojo had hoped for lived on in his students.
After sending the curse user away, Nobara asked what happened to Sukuna’s finger. The manga conveniently switches to Sukuna’s perspective, who was walking down the pathway of souls.
If you want to start over, head north
In a sudden change of heart, Sukuna decided to choose “another” path. Sukuna ran into Mahito in the pathway of souls—one where souls walk before their reincarnation. Mahito accused Sukuna of lying about his nature. This conversation proved that Sukuna isn’t just a hedonistic soul. He was an unwanted child, which made him act without care towards others. He reflected the hatred of others, but Sukuna admitted that there were other paths he could’ve chosen instead.
Sukuna told Mahito, “Should there be a next time… Perhaps it would be nice to walk a different path.” He chose to walk away with a crying child who strongly resembled Uraume. Jujutsu Kaisen has always been riddled by references to Buddhism. In this case, Sukuna ‘went north,’ meaning he chose to change his ways. Should he reincarnate, he wouldn’t be the same malevolent spirit we’ve come to know.
The last panel of the chapter shows one of Sukuna’s fingers. Many fans pointed out that it was one of his middle fingers, which may have its own rude, subliminal meaning. Despite this silly interpretation, the finger was actually blessed in the end. Gege Akutami, the author, depicted the weather box slightly open during the day. Inside was Sukuna’s finger, and beside it was a lid that said “against malevolence and vengeful threats.”
The translation for the kanji on the box wasn’t present in the scans, but it’s nonetheless important. This means that Sukuna’s finger is no longer a cursed object. Rather, it has become a sort of talisman against evil. Jujutsu Kaisen began with Sukuna’s finger as an indestructible cursed object.
Through Yuji’s efforts and the sacrifices made by dedicated sorcerers, Sukuna’s finger and himself were cleansed. No sacrifice had been in vain to get to this point of the story.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
