Jujutsu Kaisen’s Sequel Seriously Needs To Fix The Franchise’s Biggest Problem

As Jujutsu Kaisen has risen to be one of the biggest names in modern anime, it has also, inevitably, become one of the most controversial. Despite its popularity, Jujutsu Kaisen has often been criticized for how it handles certain characters and story beats, all of which led to an unfortunately lackluster finale that only tarnished its reputation.

While some of the criticisms levied at Jujutsu Kaisen are overblown, one problem with the story is so egregiously bad that even the story’s most diehard fans can’t defend it. That problem has arguably worsened in the recent sequel, Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo, but even then, it has the best opportunity to finally fix it.

Why Jujutsu Kaisen Fans Hate How The Manga Treats Its Women

If there’s anything that Jujutsu Kaisen fails at, it’s in how it treats its female characters. While the series was originally praised for its well-developed female characters, as the series went on, the vast majority of them became increasingly irrelevant, with very few of them getting anything in the way of action or development, especially compared to the male characters.

One particularly egregious example of this can be seen in Yuki Tsukumo, as despite her supposed importance, she spent most of the story on the sidelines and was killed rather one-sidedly in her sole fight. Yuki was someone who could have been a great character, but unfortunately, Jujutsu Kaisen never so much as tried to do anything with her.

No character suffered more from this than Nobara, as not only did she never win a single fight on her own, but she was all but ignored by the story after nearly dying to Mahito, and when she reappeared in Jujutsu Kaisen’s final arc, she had spent more time in a coma than she had been part of the story.

While Maki is inarguably vital to the overarching narrative, she seems to be a notable outlier; the majority of Jujutsu Kaisen’s female cast are never given anything to do, with Nobara now seen as the poster child for terrible female protagonists in shonen manga, and as unfortunately common as that is, Jujutsu Kaisen is arguably one of the worst examples.

How Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo Revives The Franchise’s Biggest Criticism

Jujutsu Kaisen has always been bad with its female characters, and unfortunately, those problems are still present in Jujutsu Kaisen‘s sequel, Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo. While it’s great that the series has a female protagonist in Yuka Okkotsu, the series seems to have gradually downplayed her in favor of developing Tsurugi and Maru’s characters, all of which is disappointing to see.

Yuka’s treatment could be excused by her having a different story with Cross, but things reached a head in chapter #11. Not only was it revealed that female Simurians in Maru’s tribe can’t use cursed energy, but both Maru and Tsurugi spoke about how they felt compelled to protect the women close to them, regardless of how capable they were.

Tsurugi and Maru admit that their mindsets are patriarchal, so the story isn’t glorifying sexist ideas in the slightest. That being said, chapter #11 still frames their desire to protect the women close to them purely because they’re women as admirable, and considering Jujutsu Kaisen’s poor track record with female characters, even that bit of self-awareness doesn’t count for much.

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What Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo Can Do To Fix The Franchise’s Biggest Problem

As bad a track record as Jujutsu Kaisen has with female characters, it’s not impossible for Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo to fix things. For starters, Maru said that the women of Simurian tribes outside his own can use cursed energy, so if someone like Dabura’s sister was shown to be a powerful sorcerer, that could do a lot to alleviate criticisms.

Naturally, the way Modulo handles Yuka will also play a big part in everything; while Yuka has been out of focus in recent chapters, her cancer plot line and ongoing arc with Cross leave plenty of room for development and emotional storytelling, and hopefully, it will leave her as someone who’s undeniably on equal footing with Tsurugi as a protagonist.

Yuka having a strong character arc would work especially well if it properly intersects with Tsurugi’s arc; Yuka’s desire to prove herself has always been contrasted with Tsurugi’s desire to protect Yuka, but if Yuka can make Tsurugi understand that she can handle things on her own, then that would do a lot to establish her as a capable character.

Jujutsu Kaisen has been undeniably marred by its poor handling of its female characters, and while Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo hasn’t completely fixed that, there’s still room for that to change. It’s unknown if that will happen, but with just how poorly Jujutsu Kaisen has handled things before, it would be great for it to fix it before the story ends.