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Should Jujutsu Kaisen have been set in college, not highschool?

The main characters are 15-17 years old, but live independently in dorms far from home. Sounds familiar — like a college student? Their exorcism missions with minimal supervision are the equivalent of college internships. The atmosphere of their classes are also feel pretty light and adaptable, similar to how college schedules are arranged. We rarely see anyone studying, mostly students working missions assigned to them like college interns do.

Life of a jujutsu sorcerer is typed for people on the edge of their sanity to overlook the curses, blood and gore. Even though they are probably well compensated with housing and allowance, it never sit well with me how minors are being taught this early in their impressionable years how to kill.

Anyone studying in Jujutsu Highschool will most likely proceed to becoming a professional sorcerer (if they survive past graduation). But what if someone wanted out of that life and enroll in normal college? I doubt Jujutsu high — a school that mainly teaches students to fight curses, would have the same curriculum as a normal highschool. No Jujutsu high student has a good shot even if they got accepted into college because their education wasn't the standard one. (How did Nanami land that Salaryman job with a questionable highschool and possibly no bachelor's degree?)

In short, I think the higher-ups set these kids up to fail with the system in place.

Of course, I know this is typical shounen anime where it's standard for teenagers are performing impossible feats and facing fatal situations daily.

But even the look of these characters is quite mature. Take them out of their uniforms and into civilian clothes and they're more akin to young adults than highschoolers. Aging them up 3 years+ would make their entrance into the world of Jujutsu more believable. Similar to how young adults decide their college courses and explore life paths, they picked Jujutsu.

I would pity the characters less too, knowing that they grew up and had some normal formative highschool experience, before being thrusted into this lifestyle.

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MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN JJK Part 4

4. Not building emotional attachment to Mai Zenin

It's a shame. She's more than just Maki's twin.

They did Mai dirty and vilified her from the moment she appeared on screen. She assaulted Nobara, is viewed as the "bad" twin and only through her death could Maki rise. Although the tragedy of being twins in the Jujutsu world made the sacrifice inevitable, Mai was never allowed to be herself in the time she was alive. She was forced to fight curses; Put it frankly, she became a soldier in a war she didn't enlist in. If anything, Mai is just making do with the bad cards she was dealt, but goes about it with absolute pessimism.

Problem:

Nobara and Maki, the main female leads, admire people with the willpower to overcome adversity, but overlook anyone that doesn't have the same tolerance and proactivity to pain. They don't realize that their indifference towards people who can't relate to them is the same mentality of the people that outcasted them. It's essentially fighting evil with evil.

Mai isn't a saint either. No one is without flaws, but I believe there are positive aspects in Mai's character that could have been showcased before her untimely death to make her seem less like a stepping stone for Maki to ascend. She may have not been physically gifted, but strength comes in many forms.

Solution:

1. Mai played the politics as a female in her clan

In canon, Mai appears manipulative and sensual, and that most likely was a survival mechanism in the patriarchal, power-based Zenin clan. Naoya finds both Maki and Mai attractive and even if regarded as a scorned woman, she could have used her female charms to influence her standing to eventually climb a bit higher the social hierarchy and make her life more tolerable.

2. Mai works with the other Female Zenin Clan members

Mai is bitter and cold like her twin sister, but it would be refreshing to see Mai watch out for her fellow female Zenin clan members by instructing them how they must act to survive. Of course, she'll go about it with as much warmth as ice, but the action shows her softer side towards her "sisters" stuck in the same situation. The other women may be inspired by Maki and plan to poison the food they prepared for the men, but Mai doesn't go through with the coup d'etat by having faith that Maki will return as the new head. This quick thinking saves the women.

3. Mai was the one to end Naobito Zenin's Life

Naobito was on death's door after being burnt by Jogo. What if Mai delivered the final blow by smothering him with a pillow on his death bed? From cleaning the Zenin estate and eavesdropping, she found Naobito's will to make Megumi the new head. The twins could negotiate something with him, so that Maki would come into power. This was her chance to overturn the system and after taking one look at Maki's recuperating body in the hospital, she takes it. She coordinates with the other women who flirt to distract the guards. As she suffocates Naobito, he struggles and almost overpowers her, until Mai uses her "Construction" Curse Technique to create a syringe filled with epinephrine (the most complicated chemical she's ever created) and stabs it through his chest. When he flatlines and the nurses arrive, Mai gives an oscar worthy performance of weeping and shock about the dead man. Suspicious, they interrogate her. Already prepared, the women use their connections and once the falsified medical examination of Naobito's death arrives, she's cleared.

4. Mai visits the hospital for Maki's rehabilitation

Megumi, fresh from visiting Maki's hospital room, notices the lingering Mai and advises her from his personal experience with Tsumiki to not take your only family for granted. After the Shibuya Incident almost took Maki's life, Mai realizes that she can't continue living on bad terms with her elder sister, so they take some small steps to reconcile. Mai would push Maki's wheelchair for the few days she couldn't walk and help her take her first steps post injury. However awkward and callous that small talk between them may been, there seems to be some progress but not total forgiveness.

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Nobara Moving Forward..

Funny how the Reddit forums related to denying Nobara's death are still going strong. So much, that there's an ongoing soft ban on Nobara copium theories. I haven't put much thought into how she'll make her come back (too busy absorbing crackhead theories I suppose), but I'll give it a try. Here's what I'd personally like to see for her character in the future.

Starting off superficial - she returns with longer hair and undyed roots.

Background:

Before we dive into Nobara territory, let's examine her counterparts. The main four-man team of Yuji, Megumi and their sensei Gojo, have had transformative character arcs:

Yuji: Introduction, Cursed Womb, Cursed Training, Vs. Mahito, Kyoto Goodwill Event

From a naive boy with a hero-complex to the only Jujutsu Sorcerer who almost uses Black Flash on command, Yuji had to become a quick study of curse energy in the past 6 months. He reached his breaking points multiple times but each arc he overcomes, making peace with taking lives if absolutely necessary and carrying the burden of the lives Sukuna took when he gained control briefly.

Gojo: Hidden Inventory, Cursed Child

After the death of Riko and near-life death encounter with Toji, he finally pushed himself and perfected his Curse Technique to become the sole strongest. He couldn't save his best friend from philosophical turmoil and realized strength wasn't everything. The system caused Geto's fall, so Gojo cultivated strong allies through education to overturn it, which leads him to save Yuta and Yuji from execution. Gojo is visibly less "Gojo" in the prequel, probably due to guilt but he reaches catharsis after mercy-killing his only best friend.

Megumi: Death Painting

Starting off as a delinquent in middle school, Megumi was on that Sasuke route: Excessively harsh and self-righteous. Already hypersensitive to the cruel nature of bad people, he put that anger into beating up bullies. He undermined his only remaining family, Tsumiki, but soon regretted taking her presence in his life for granted as she fell into a coma. Realizing he was a brat, he awaits the day she'll wake up to make amends and say sorry to his older sister. His character did a 180 as he matured and now, valued cooperation and respect, taking it to an extreme as his humility warped into willingness to suicide if it helps others. Gojo notices this and teaches him to be greedier for the real victory.

Their development is addressed in the Shibuya Incident arc: Gojo sees Geto's body for the first time since killing him, Yuji realizes he's just a cog in his fight with Choso and accepts he and Mahito are the anti-thesis of each other, and Megumi will not throw his life so easily when asked by Nanami in Dagon's domain.

Gege plans to end the series in the next 2 years. If the first 2/3 of the story focused on the men in her team, it's only natural that after facing death as a Jujutsu sorcerer, the story focuses on her for a bit.

Problem:

Nobara's storyline hasn't closed yet. She has yet to reunite with her friends, Saori and Fumi. Although she accomplished her goal of living in Tokyo, she failed to maintain it when touched by Mahito's idle transfiguration. So I want to see, how badly she wants to remain true to herself by getting stronger so that something like that never happens again.

Nobara's values are like an immovable stone wall that didn't budge to Momo's perspective of sexism in Jujutsu society and she bested Momo because she was physically stronger. Only when something more powerful almost killed her is where I think she will listen and reexamine her philosophy and perhaps empathize with others.

Proposal:

Multiple redditors are convinced she'll return with Reverse Curse Technique and Domain Expansion, but that diminishes the rarity of RCT and DE. What's more plausible is if Nitta's CT, coupled with Shoko's RCT, let her survive the injuries. Whether Nobara sports an eyepatch or not, I'm game either way.

Instead of following the Gojo-route and learning last-minute Reverse Curse Technique, it's more natural if she went the Megumi-route and truly understood the interpretation of her own straw-doll technique.

Megumi learned how to properly make use of the shadow-medium, allowing him to step into the shadow himself. Nobara's teacher, her grandmother, shares the same abilities as her granddaughter and used the hammer and nail the one way she knew how. But this might have limited her from tapping into the full potential of her technique.

It may not be just the nails and hammer she has control over but any kind of steel, since the metal part of both hammer and nails are commonly made of steel (She's not called the Girl of Steel for nothin'). Not saying she's Magneto now, but she can activate "Hairpin" by infusing any steel material with cursed energy, working as a bomb awaiting detonation. Hairpin was already destructive, imagine if given enough preptime how much explosive power she could infuse on a steel framework structure.

Let's say Nobara reached her limits for physical combat and cursed energy output, she may get creative and explore other equipment to deploy her curse technique. For instance, nail guns, when modified, shoot just as fast as a real gun and provide long range fire. This way, she wouldn't have to waste time swinging at close quarters and simply lift her nail gun and bam! Another option is the sledge hammer.

Now, how the power-ups fit in the story: She newly awakens in the same hospital with Tsumiki and defends her from other curse-users. Maybe a portion of the hospital is undergoing renovation but was recently halted during the culling games player evacuation. All those construction tools lying around for Nobara to use gives her the advantage. Some curse-users are trying to barge in Tsumiki's room for easy points, but before they invade, Nobara appears with a make shift nail spiked baseball bat. Oh the gore as she racks up points bashing in their heads.

Nobara & Tsumiki, and other innocents fortify the hospital as their new base and survive the Culling Games together, planting nail bombs on the outskirts. When tripped upon, if the shrapnel doesn't finish you off, a second explosion via Nobara's hairpin will (Very zombie-survivor-esque as we know Gege Akutami loves his references). Tension arises as Nobara would be the hardened survivor who doesn't mind killing, while Tsumiki, a newbie to the horrors of Jujutsu, would be against it. In a show of power, Nobara nails the hands and feet of her victims crucifixion style on the hospital's facade to send a message for other players not to mess with them.

Personal headcanon about Tsumiki: We know in canon that she told Megumi about the Southern Cross Constellation, so it's not far out to presume she was an astronomy enthusiast and a gearhead in middle school and the brain that creates these weapons for Nobara.

The downfall of the hospital comes when hospital patients venture out for more resources and their base is sacked by more powerful players. Barely escaping, Nobara's ultimate move is digging very deep inside herself to infuse the steel structure with all her cursed energy reserves. When far enough, she detonates the building with the enemy players inside, finally accumulating a hundred points. The leaderboard bumps up and Yuji and Megumi notice their friend's name: "KUGISAKI NOBARA - 100 POINTS".

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MISSED OPPORTUNITIES in JJK Part 3

3. Utahime's investigation for the traitor among the students

This beauty needs more screen time.

Background:

In the manga, they skip directly to the traitor reveal without prior build up and show little emotional effect it has on his teacher, Utahime. And I'm perfectly fine with how it was done. The only build up was when Utahime and Gojo were speaking in code:

Utahime: You're calling about arrangements for the drinking party, right? (Calling about the investigation for the traitor, right?)

Gojo: Well, find any candidates? (Find any suspects?)

Utahime: None. Everyone's busy, even myself. Should I try the students? (I found no suspects so far. Should I try investigating the students?)

Gojo: I'm a lightweight so I don't mind if the party's alcohol free. (I don't mind if you investigate the students.)

I love how Gege trusts us to figure this out on our own.

We also never see Utahime's Curse Technique —only from interviews and fan books we know that it's about singing. She almost demonstrated the ability during the end of the Shibuya arc. Being 60-70% done with JJK, Gege Akutami teases us, until the final moment I suppose.

Problem:

Critics of the series have often dubbed it a "Meat-Head Series", since all the characters allegedly do is fight. Moreover, there were a lot of complaints about the Kyoto students not doing anything relevant in the Shibuya Incident. I admit, JJK is in need of a little more downtime in between arcs to let the narrative breathe. If they did input more quiet moments, lucky for us, our characters are always endearing to watch in battle or slice of life humor.

Solution:

To slow down the pace, an entire episode follows Utahime who covertly stalks each student from the shadows, giving the audience an insight of what each of them do on their day off in Tokyo.

I do believe Gojo's statement that she's "weak", probably a hair under Kusukabe's (a Grade 1 sorcerer) power level. But not everyone has to be strong in the conventional sense of raw fighting prowess. This is the chance to shine a light on other skills like reconnaissance, sleuthing and subtlety.

Here's how I imagine it going down: Utahime was entrusted by Gojo to spearhead the investigation because she's the best at blending in, information gathering and controlling her curse energy to be undetectable. If Gojo were to do it, we know his massive curse energy makes him easily detectable.

In canon, this would take place right after the Baseball game, where the Kyoto students still have a few days before returning to Kyoto. She dismisses her students from the Jujutsu Headquarters' Inn they're staying at and lets them go sight-seeing.

As they disperse, she tails them. Of course, Todo goes to Takada-chan. I can see Momo and Mai shopping and bumping into Nobara for some goofy black-friday-like-competition on sales as they're shopping for the same item.

Miwa could be visiting her single mother and brothers who are studying in Tokyo. It would be interesting to see the boys practicing Kendo and Miwa breaking their sticks because she tearfully doesn't want them to join this dangerous line of work. I'm a closet KokichixMiwa shipper, so I'd be down for Mechamaru, disguised in cyborg hoodie and sweatpants in shame of his appearance, to kind of stalk Miwa? It's stalker-inception because their sensei is watching as well.

The Tokyo second years, Maki, Toge and Panda would be video calling Yuta who's in Africa. It just makes sense that they'd keep in touch, even if the connection is choppy. Yuta could show some clips of his overseas studies and glimpses to how Jujutsu works in other countries. Panda's infatuated by a lady-bear curse puppet apearing on Yuta's screen. As the connection dies, he promises to bring experimental cough medicine for Toge that could possibly allow him to talk normally without activating his curse speech, and for Maki, an African special grade curse tool.

Then, for Kamo, (his storyline was quite difficult to conceive but what made the most sense is if he) was invited to sit-in on an annual meeting of the Big 3 Sorcerer Clans since he's the next head. I think the clans are completely side-stepped when they offer important world-building to how the elite conduct themselves. We know there are 2 traitors —one is Mechamaru, the other is a very high, untouchable higher-up. So this traitor can cameo or be introduced here.

Gojo, being the head of his family, was naturally invited and would take one student, Kamo, off Utahime's watch. On the phone, Gojo invites Megumi as well. The Zenin clan actively try to reach out to Megumi after hearing his performance and growth in the Good Will Event. This could work as set-up since, in canon, he eventually becomes Zenin clan head. But Megumi declines in favor of visiting Tsumiki, his comatose sister in the hospital, then queue tear-jerking childhood flashback.

I have a personal headcanon that when Megumi once said, 'You chose to worry about me', refers back to when they were kids and before Gojo found them. Tsumiki was offered to be adopted by a rich family but the parents didn't want a son, but she chose to stay with her brother in their crappy living situation at the time.

Meanwhile, Yuji is approached by Todo with a spare concert ticket to Takada's concert.

While all these slice of life stuff going on, the single unifying thread besides Utahime's invisible presence in each scene is her commentary with Gojo earlier on the phone prior the start of the investigation. Their dialogue is playing over the scenes of each students, as they create sort of psychological profiles for each student and their likelihood of betraying them. I think the most gratifying detective stories are the ones where the clues were laid out and the audience can conclude for themselves whodunnit.

The episode catches up to realtime, with a reluctant Utahime talking to Gojo as they run through the facts and conclude Mechamaru is the traitor. But it's never verbally announced to us. The camera pans on a picture taken that day of Miwa, and behind her, it zooms on Mechamaru's looming figure.

Cut to Utahime treating her students to dinner at a sports themed restaurant —to their surprise, as they thought they disappointed their sensei for losing the tournament. She raises her glass, saying, "No matter the outcome, I will always be proud of you", an unnerving hidden message for how a mother-figure like her really feels towards Kokichi's betrayal. The students toast to that.

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MISSED OPPORTUNITIES in the JJK Anime adaptation Part 2

2. The Conservatives perspective of why they retain and believe in their traditional system of Jujutsu

Hey, I too think the higher ups and their society are messed up, but hear me out

Background:

Every person is the hero of their own story, and this rings true for how the higher-ups view themselves. However, they have valid reasons to impose unkind and strict rules, regardless if a "good" person is punished. Ignoring for a sec they like tradition, there is a simple cause and effect they abide by. Don't exorcise this curse under Jujutsu regulation? More lives loss. Natural consequences like this happens when Yuji loses control of Sukuna and kills every Shibuya civilian in the 140km radius who would have lived, or when Gojo hesitated to kill Geto the first time, the later ends up attacking them with an army of curse users and spirits, and almost killing his own students (Yuta, Maki, Toge and Panda).

Problem:

From the get-go, we follow the story from the lenses of Yuji and co. So from their perspective, any enemy of theirs is portrayed in a negative light. Therefore, viewers are partial to Gojo's ideals, being the first ideology introduced to us. We find out mostly from Gojo provoking the elders, Yuji and Yuta's suspended executions, Nanami's protective adult nature to Yuji, Maki-Mai's childhood and Momo's speech to Nobara, the problems with the current system:

Students and Younger Sorcerers are the first to die in the line of fire, as the elders are not putting themselves in harms way

Classifications of Cursed Spirits have become archaic since they grew increasingly stronger, but higher ups refuse to change the labels which misgauge the mission level's difficulty for the sorcerer assigned to exorcise it

Power, in the form of Curse Technique, is everything in the Big Sorcerer Clans, leaving discrimination to fall on the "weak"

A Woman's value in said clans is automatically reduced to maid-servant or concubine unless she bears a gifted son

Female sorcerers have to be both pretty and strong, since her inherent value is in her looks

Yeah, there's also other ideologies: Yuki's revolution on removing cursed energy entirely which is the root of the issue. But similar to team Gojo, she dislikes the higher ups. And their hate is justified because we see the intimate struggles of our cast. Then there's Geto who also sees the same problem as Yuki, but killed monkeys instead...

Gojo's reform of Jujutsu seems like the most peaceful, practical and achievable path for Jujutsu, right? Right..?

(Hot take: We're so convinced that our main characters are morally justified by their experiences and emotions that we sometimes bend our own morality.

Example: Maki killing the entire Zenin Clan and hunting remaining members...)

But for all the system's flaws, what does it do right by?

Solution:

Every hero we've encountered hates the higher ups. Gege Akutami wrote the higher ups and their conservative supporters in a very bad light (not saying the dislike of their system is senseless or unjustified). But to tell an honest story, I think Gege needs to write a likable, well intentioned character or group from the "other side" and flesh out his/her reasons for upholding the status quo. They don't have to preach their values, just let them exist really, and not be shown as evil.

I don't count the Kyoto students as good examples of "good-guys playing-on-the-wrong-team" because we naturally rooted for the Tokyo team and considered them the Kyoto team as "the other". This negative framing was reinforced also by how the Kyoto students were willing to do their duty and exorcise Yuji, a first year student. But they set up Todo as a good guy for not obeying the order.

Another example of "bad lighting": I don't think Principal Gakuganji is a malicious, death-seeking old man, just a rule-abiding one. All those attempts on Yuji's life were because for him, he's supposed to have died in the first place. He admits himself that he doesn't dislike Yuji. There is just a big risk by letting him live, and he's proven correct. Like a ripple effect, Yuji swallowing the fingers escalated the prominence of special grade cursed spirits.

The audience needs to be given all the cards (even if the good choice is obvious) so that instead of swaying us to one side by covering the other, we can get the full perspective and make the choice to root for who we see as the good guys. It's really not as simple as higher ups bad, young people good.

I want an episode following how effective the current system is, or at least what they do right, because that way I can make a well informed, objective decision if what the protagonists are doing is working to a greater or lesser evil, and how many lives would be loss by following the higher ups who see the the short term, simple cause and effect results of their ways or the idealistic youth whose goals are for painstaking planting, no immediate profit but long term success.

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MISSED OPPORTUNITIES in the JJK Anime adaptation Part 1

Here are some personal made-up scenes (with a purpose behind them I promise to explain) that could have enriched season 1 with either better character development or world-building.

1. Megumi vs. Nobara

You may be thinking, what?? But hear me out

Background:

The trio of Itadori, Fushiguro and Kugisaki have the most mutual, likable, solid chemistry I've seen in battle shounen anime. But if we break down the three man team, they each have different dynamics as pairs:

ItaFushi - "Rivals"; Brothers; Mutually saved each other; Megumi explains, Yuji listens

ItaKugi- Always tease their third member; Same wavelength and visible appreciation and ignorance for city culture; Accomplices to murdering cursed wombs

Sorry if this is a gross oversimplification of their relationships, this post isn't dedicated to that definition right now hehe.

(Note: I don't ship any of them romantically)

Problem:

I think the weakest connection is Megumi and Nobara's friendship.

They do have moments together, albeit very brief: Mourning Yuji; Confronting Todo and Mai; Megumi trusting her to not tell Yuji about the effect of Sukuna's fingers; Being Wingmen for Yuko who crushed on Yuji; and the miscellaneous of teasing or working together, etc. But these interactions are always centered around Yuji or brought about when a third party stirs them.

Since every chain is as strong as its weakest link, I want to see each duo-dynamic be able to stand on its own and have interactions that don't rely on life threatening situations or be about another person.

Solution:

Thus, I think the perfect time to have inserted this was during the Pre-Good Will Event arc, when the 2nd years were training them. Maki would say, "Show us what you're made of." And when they're about to demonstrate their abilities on some test dummies, Maki clarifies that she wants them to use their techniques on each other to their surprise.

Pre-Good Will Event arc, Megumi and Nobara haven't powered up yet. And I see this as a somewhat balanced fight in terms of power since both, as Maki states, are weak in close quarters. (An interesting match-up to see if Nobara's Curse Technique: Resonance connected with Megumi's Shikigami, would it injure him?)

But that's just physicality. Internally, it tackles Nobara's first impression comment about him in Ep.3: 'I can't stand high and mighty dudes' and her general assumption of Megumi's attitude when she thought, 'I bet he likes setting oil-slicked seagulls on fire'. Before they spar, she tells him to not look down on her, or just cause he saved her once doesn't mean she'll go easy on him, or some other proud, Nobara-esque smack talk. Megumi's inner bubble would probably sweat drop, confused and think to himself he never thought that way, but okay?

Of course, I expect Megumi to win or at the very least edge out Nobara. At the conclusion of their fight, he says bluntly, "I don't understand the assumptions you have about me." But in good sportsmanship, he lends out his hand. Nobara accepts it humbly as he helps her up.

Throughout the anime and manga, Nobara's values remain steadfast. But a fracture in her ideals and a good humbling moment for her would be realizing that her assumptions of people aren't always correct, and that might prevent her from making friends (like her neighbors in the countryside).

The episode could end at evening time, with them by the same set of stairs they were sitting on when they first met the 2nd years. Nobara asks, "I've reviewed the CCTV footage from the Juvenille Detention Center that day... That curse inside Yuji, Sukuna, said 'That time, why did you escape?'... Could you have..?"

Megumi is silent. The implication here is if he had the power to beat the finger bearer curse in the first place, "Could you have saved Yuji?" In canon, their reflection of Yuji's death and their near death experience was just glazed over. It would be out of character for them be to crying or making avenging declarations. The episode could just end with a wide shot of the two picking themselves up with increasing background sounds of fireflies and insects croaking at night, solidifying that for them, their classmate really died and leaving the audience room for reflection.

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DON’T FRIDGE TSUMIKI.

“Fridging” is the practice of killing off or hurting a minor character in order to motivate or torture a main character.

A theory on Reddit believed her to be the Game Master of the Culling Games, and in order to stop the games, Megumi will have to kill his sister. From the threads I’ve read, most people naturally assume she will die by the end of the arc (and sadly, I do too.) We expect it to be this morally heartbreaking decision for Megumi to resist. It’s in his nature to be irrational for loved ones and good people e.g. Yuji’s postponed execution, so he’d fight everyone for her safety, but begrudgingly accepts her death for the greater good, maturing his character for the better(?).

BUT SCREW THAT.

Killing-off characters cements how dangerously real the curses in their world are, esp. Post-Shibuya. BUT she just woke up, gosh darn it. Killing Tsumiki in the same arc you introduced her to conclude Megumi’s saving-good-people-in-an-unfair-world arc seems like the easy way out and frankly, it’s predictable.

For any other battle Shonen anime, I’d encourage it. But I have faith in Gege Akutami’s ability to write compelling character dynamics, which is the reason why writing off Tsumiki — a potentially amazing character for Megumi, Gojo (practically her guardian) and co. to bounce off to, could be a waste for future narratives.

If Yuji was the audience’s sit-in for getting to know the universe of JJK, Tsumiki’s story is another world-building layer: a perspective of someone who had some idea that her brother was doing some shady magic-related things in a secret organization, but could never see them or prove it   — until now.  Would she be in disbelief at the realization? Regretful that she never believed Megumi had powers? How will she manage her new-found Cursed Technique? Or survive as an ordinary person turned curse-user in the Culling Games? How will her defining trait, being a good person, be tested when surviving a battle royale of kill or be killed? Right now, she feels like the dead-wife or kidnapped-kid motivation of an action hero, meaning we only care for her by adjacent extension. But she can really be a character we’re invested in if more focus was brought to her, unlike Mai Zenin *cough cough*. The point is THE POTENTIAL is there.

Megumi isn’t Sasuke. Please don’t let him go down that path. I think he shines best when being lawfully compassionate and figuring out his ethics. It’s going to be hard to write, but he can resolve his selective-savior arc by Tsumiki acting as his moral compass and bringing him back from the darker path.

We just really need a win after all the deaths in Shibuya and presumably future deaths in the Culling Games. And with Nobara MIA or really gone (RIP) and Maki AWOL (and having went a really dark route), I think that by Tsumiki living, she can join the cast and be the concrete hope that it is possible to save your loved ones in JJK’s world. Heck, her name means hope in English.

So, maybe you’re thinking Gege can do all of this through flashback and character focus on Tsumiki AND kill her by the arc’s conclusion. Having your cake and eating it to, I see? Fine. To be honest, I’d be okay with that. I truly see the appeal esp. when Gege might not do anything with her post-Culling Games. Just don’t waste the storylines you can have while she’s alive, we can only hope it is fleshed out slowly and be unique about it.