Would Jujutsu Kaisen really benefit from filler?

Highlights

• Shōnen manga is changing, focusing more on short, bite-sized stories like the final arc of Jujutsu Kaisen.

• Criticism about the lack of filler in modern anime like Jujutsu Kaisen raises questions about the pacing.

• Fans desire longer, more patient storytelling in shōnen series for deeper character connections and development.

Shōnen manga has evolved significantly over the past two decades and audiences are seeing a dramatic change in both the types of stories being told and the length of the stories. At the same time, the anime industry has changed the way it adapts shōnen, the most notable change being the lack of filler, but recent discourse about Jujutsu Kaisen You’ve wondered if maybe a little filling is actually a good thing.

Gege Akutami’s shōnen battle manga Jujutsu Kaisen is in the middle of its final arc, the “Shinjuku Showdown”, with 265 chapters published as of this writing, and is said to end this year. Studio MAPPA released the television anime adaptation in late 2020, a prequel film in 2021 (both directed by Sunghoo Park), and then a second season in 2023 (directed by Shota Goshozono).

What a certain fan said about Filler

On July 31, Twitter/X user sukuwuna (@cybxrdxze) posted the following about his thoughts on filler and modern anime, namely that avoiding it completely is “killing anime.” He specifically cited the characters of Jujutsu Kaisen as an example of how filler could be a big help to a story that already has a good reputation.

This person makes an excellent point.

Shōnen stories are getting shorter and shorter. This is partly due to the creators’ desire to keep the stories relatively tight compared to their peers. The other half comes from the pressure to recruit readers to prevent the series from being cancelled. There is an argument that modern shōnen is not allowed the patience to develop properly, which comes at the cost of what could have been deeper bonds with these characters. Highlighting of Jujutsu Kaisen feels especially apt given his more divisive tendencies.

Jujutsu Kaisen It doesn’t have such an abnormal rhythm at the beginning. It certainly has rhythm. Well and spends considerable time establishing the rules and hierarchy of his modern fantasy world. Only after the Shibuya Incident arc does a paradigm shift occur. One of the main sources of dramatic tension is the lack of plot armor for the supporting cast, while the world the audience has come to know is deconstructed.

Jujutsu KaisenThe handling of the characters is a source of equal parts praise and criticism, but when it comes to the latter, fans tend to find fault with how characters can be underused before being killed off. This extends to the entire cast, but in particular, the main trio has been criticized for how quickly the story seemingly outgrows the need to keep them together.

Yuji, Megumi and Nobara Jujutsu Kaisen They’re all interesting characters on their own, but as a unit, it’s hard to connect with their relationship beyond season 1, when things seriously escalate. For many, this series reaches a climax of no return at its midpoint that there is an understandable demand to spend more time with these characters outside of the main plot. As a remedy, this person suggests “filler,” but that opens up a whole other can of worms.

Why some fans disagreed with this version

As expected, there were a lot of mixed reactions, but much of the division seems to come from how the anime community defines filler. Thanks to naysayers, there is ample precedent for skepticism about filler. In its most practical sense, anime filler is any narrative content created to fill a gap in time while the production team waits for there to be enough source material to continue the main story.

How this manifested is irrevocably etched in the memories of shōnen fans who watched these shows, week after week. Logic dictates that if the main plot doesn’t advance, then the characters can’t change that much. The stories become inconsequential and these arcs end up cataloged for posterity largely so that future viewers will know to skip them. The point of contention, then, is that anime fans too often treat filler as a blanket term for “anything that doesn’t advance the plot.”

This is also a fair point. If a manga is finished or there is enough source material ready to be adapted, anything that deviates or expands on it is not necessarily filler, but simply “original anime content.” But the hordes of people who rush to correct an inaccurate use of the term miss the larger point. Filler is just the simplest term to illustrate something more nuanced, at the cost of being misinterpreted.

It’s not about filler

People aren’t so much looking for filler as they are yearning for a longer, more patient narrative, similar to shōnen series of the past that took time to build a solid foundation. There are certainly valid reasons to want the central beat to improve, filler or not, but it’s not simply blind nostalgia that makes some anime fans want something more. Nor is it simply innovation that has created a stricter pace in modern shōnen.

Tastes change, of course, but it’s also about the state of the industry and the expectations placed on new series to capture an audience instantly. Many will remember that black cloverThe anime was the source of much ridicule when it first aired, but came to be loved by many. In the current state of shōnen, it is difficult to imagine that many series have the same opportunity to earn the admiration of their audience.

Jujutsu Kaisen It’s popular for a reason. Its world and themes are incredibly inspired by the works of Tite Kubo and Yoshihiro Togashi, while creating its own distinctive identity. The action is incredible and the characters, whether underused in the grand scheme of things or not, are often very likable and compelling. simply could be better, which is true of many popular media. Here, the anime could have taken some creative liberties to elevate the text.

This could be anything from slice-of-life similar to the Juju Stroll segments or just anime-original quests for the characters to join. I’m just saying, after two years between seasons 1 and 2, it would have been nice to spend a little more time having fun with the characters before the whole world burned down.

Characters are everything in a shōnen series. There have been very simple stories made great by the strengths of their characters, just as there have been intricate stories let down by a poor cast. What has helped? Jujutsu Kaisen What thrives is the strength of its world-building and themes along with a cast that makes a strong impression from the start. It’s simply the problem with this series that the ambitions of its plot sometimes supersede the depth of its cast.

Jujutsu Kaisen is available to stream on crispy roll.