Warning! Spoilers ahead for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 183!
Founder of Mangaka Gege Jujutsu Kaisen finally created its own red line – and simultaneously crossed it, proving that it can over-complicate its highly complex combat system at the expense of the overall player experience.
One of Jujutsu KaisenGege’s most impressive successes have always been Gege’s relentless focus on his fight sequences, including the complexity and in-depth explanations behind each fighting style, most notably the inner workings of Jujutsu Kaisen ultimate creative achievement, Domain Extensions. Gege’s obvious fascination with math and physics plays a major role in why his combat systems are celebrated by so many, even when they could easily be explained any other way.
But Gege finally went too far in Chapter 183 by introducing Kinji Hakari’s Idle Death Gamble domain expansion. The main difference with Gege’s other techniques is that the complexity of his latest creation derives neither from mathematics nor from physics. It’s essentially an elaborate game that also uses scenes from a manga to further complicate the already convoluted rules. But the reader is not the only one to be overwhelmed. Even his adversary Jujutsu Kaisen avatar of author Charles Bernard, comments on there being too much going on when he shouts, “Don’t dump me with all this garbage!!!“
Already, readers who aren’t fans of when manga randomly incorporates gameplay elements into a story that doesn’t already revolve around them will feel alienated by this latest development. It’s even worse when the game itself is too complex to the point that it’s impossible to grasp on a first playthrough. This experience is much different for fans who are already forced to re-read certain sections involving combat sequences to better understand what just happened. fans of Jujutsu Kaisen came to read the manga knowing it was an action/adventure title, so it’s no surprise that they enjoy the combat systems, especially the elaborate ones that require more attention than most. But the same can’t be said for Hakari’s ridiculous pachinko domain-expanding powers, since they’re based on topics that have nothing to do with fighting.
It also doesn’t help things that the manga the game incorporates is a random romance comedy that only exists in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe. Gege has already referred to real shonen as D. Gray-Man and even incorporated the Shueisha publishing house into its story. So why not borrow elements from a well-known shonen that fans of Jujutsu Kaisen would understand and appreciate? Gege’s choice not to do this is especially confusing since Charles Bernard is aware of the random manga. Gege had already connected readers to Charles Bernard by making them feel overwhelmed by Hakari’s rules, so if Gege wanted Charles to recognize the manga Hakari chose for his domain extension, shouldn’t the reader also be able to? also recognize? Either way, it’s a shame that this final chapter has the potential to alienate readers, especially since the complexity and convoluted nature of domain extensions is classic Gege. It just goes too far – in the wrong direction.
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