Jujutsu Kaisen: Creator Gege Akutami reveals Nanami's death wasn't intended

Jusjutsu Kaisen Season 2 broke fans' hearts when they killed off Nanami and now Gege Akutami, the mangaka behind the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, has revealed that he never wanted Nanami to die in the first place during the incident arc.

As the Jujutsu Kaisen manga progresses through the intense Shinjuku Showdown arc, it continues its trend of intense battles where notable characters frequently die.

While character deaths have always been a possibility, the frequency of deaths increased significantly with the Shibuya Incident arc, breaking the hearts of both manga and anime fans.

The death not only affected the fans, italso affected the heroes of Jujutsu Kaisen. With each death, Yuji Itadori is losing more and more hope, and seeing Nanami's die at the hands of Mahito and not being able to do anything about is, what started it all. But Gege tried to avoid this.

"Sometimes it feels like...the script progresses and evolves depending on the characters themselves," revealed Jujutsu Kaisen series creator Gege Akutami during a special art exhibition for the manga in Japan.

Akutami shared that he initially didn't want Nanami to die in the Shibuya Incident, but the story naturally moved in that direction to provide Yuji with motivation. "I didn't want Nanami to die at that point, but I was thinking that maybe there was no way around it, but Itadori burst in, and well, you know how it went. I originally felt that Nanami had surpassed the script, but when I put it into words like this, Nanami was the motivation and Itadori was the one who overcame the script."

Nanami's death was shocking, serving as a pivotal moment for Yuji, pushing him towards the grand finale of the Shibuya Incident and the arcs that follow. It marked the beginning of many significant deaths that would occur in the series, with more expected before Jujutsu Kaisen concludes.

(With inputs from agencies)