Jujutsu Kaisen is inevitably one of the most successful manga storylines in today’s day and age, both in the manga as well as the anime world. Though it has gained momentum in the industry for quite some time now, that wasn’t always the case; especially at the very beginning of the game.
As it turns out, at one point, Mangaka Gege Akutami was on the verge of having their masterpiece creation canceled!
Thus, to save it from getting axed, Akutami decided to “kill” off characters, especially some of the major ones to wrap up the manga instead of having it get canceled.
But fate works in its own ways, and thankfully, then came the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc, which, in one way or another, essentially saved the now-fan-favorite manga from being canceled all the while increasing the manga’s reception among the readers!
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Jujutsu Kaisen Almost Got Axed In Its Initial Phase
Back when Jujutsu Kaisen was newly introduced and was still in its initial phase; somewhere between the Fearsome Womb Arc; it was unable to garner enough fan attention and had a considerably low reception from the readers.
Because of this, it was in massive danger of getting canceled once and for all. Thus, to stop it from getting axed and instead give it a proper ending, Mangaka Gege Akutami decided to permanently kill off one of the prime protagonists, Yuji Itadori.
This was seen in both the manga and anime as well: After Sukuna rips off Itadori’s heart from inside his body in Fearsome Womb, Part 3, Megumi Fushiguro fights him to bring his friend back, but only to no avail as Itadori ends up dying eventually after coming back in his human form.
As reportedly shared by @JJK_Mya on X, the Mangaka was all set to keep Itadori dead after he dies in Chapter 9, Fearsome Womb, Part 4. This would have been followed by a few more chapters that would have eventually led to the completion of the manga.
During its initial phase, Jujutsu Kaisen manga was in danger of getting cancelled/axed due to low reception from audience
So, Gege was ready to permanently kill Yuji when he died in Chap-9 and wrap up the manga in few more chaps before it gets axed https://t.co/dl7EKvj9pa
— JJK (Mya) (@JJK_Mya) January 15, 2024
However, something seemingly changed in between, considering how Akutami ultimately decided otherwise on their initial decision to eliminate Itadori. Instead, they brought him back from the dead and introduced the Kyoto Sister Kyoto Goodwill Event.
Since this event was seen in the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc, it more or less essentially saved Jujutsu Kaisen from ending as soon as it started.
Also Read: Jujutsu Kaisen Editor Made a Deal With the Devil to Know How One Piece Ends
The Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc Saved Jujutsu Kaisen In Ways More Than One
After bringing Yuji Itadori back from the dead, Gege Akutami had Gojo Satoru train him to channel his cursed energy properly (by watching different genre movies), to eventually prepare him for the Kyoto Sister Kyoto Goodwill Event.
Then came the Vs. Mahito Arc, which brought forward Itadori in his trained form facing off against Mahito with Nanami Kento. Finally, after this, the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc was introduced, which ended up saving the manga in ways more than one.
Not only is this arc rated as one of the best arcs of all time in the entire Jujutsu Kaisen manga, but the new and exceptional battles and jujutsu cursed fighting techniques that Akutami brought to the audiences through this garnered even more attention than expected.
Especially the time when both the rival teams, i.e. from Tokyo and Kyoto, joined forces to fight the surprising enemies that had invaded their battle. This also introduced readers to the incredible ‘Black Flash’, which Itadori was stunningly able to unlock in one go.
All of these exciting events were able to gather enough attention from manga readers that JJK eventually continued to go on longer than expected. Thus, to say that the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc essentially saved Jujutsu Kaisen from being axed wouldn’t be an understatement.
