Warning: Spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen #271.the release of chapter #271, and while not everybody is happy with it, creator Gege Akutami left a special message for disappointed fans through one unexpected character. Jujutsu Kaisen has always been a shōnen that thrives on subverting its fanbase's expectations. With its final chapter, Jujutsu Kaisen kept this habit up—this time with a bang that specifically had disappointed angry fans in the crosshairs.

Any given Jujutsu Kaisen fan would probably expect that the series' last words would be given by its protagonist, Yuji Itadori, or any of a barrage of important characters: Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaka, or the end-game antagonist, Ryomen Sukuna. However, the honor would in fact be given to Mahito, a thorn in fans' side during the first half of Jujutsu Kaisen and one of the most hated characters in the entire series. As it turns out, this makes for the perfect conclusion.

Mahito Gets The Last Word In Jujutsu Kaisen

Gege Akutami's Masterpiece's Final Thought Is Left To One Of Its Most Fearsome Curses

As Jujutsu Kaisen draws to a close and its final page nears, readers are met with a conversation between Sukuna and Mahito, now exorcised. Sukuna describes his own life and Yuji's impact on him. In response to Sukuna's change in perspective, Mahito says "But then I'm the only unruly child left!" as Sukuna walks away with Uruame. Some fans predict that, since everybody else in Jujutsu Kaisen has moved on, those who are upset with the groundbreaking shōnen's finale (including Mahito getting the last word) will be compared to Mahito:

There's a lot for Jujutsu Kaisen fans to be torn about in the last chapter, and Mahito getting the final word is one among many. But beyond being a simple callout by Gege, mocking fans who can't be happy that his characters are happy, Mahito getting Jujutsu Kaisen's last words is symbolically beautiful. In fact, it's one of the best ways for Jujutsu Kaisen to end.

All Of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Stories Intersect Through Mahito

Jujutsu Kaisen's Vast Network Of Characters Has A Common Intersection In Mahito

Throughout the early parts of Jujutsu Kaisen, Mahito plays a major role. As fans watch Mahito plow through sorcerer and civilian one after another, there's a feeling of fear. Mahito is always growing stronger, and is one of the most rapidly developing villains in the entire series. His personality is grating and his callous disregard for any sort of human emotion leads the viewer or reader to constantly dread his return.

Starting off, Mahito wreaks havoc by killing three random schoolboys while they're at the cinema. The schoolboys had been bullying Junpei, who Yuji had befriended. Mahito later manipulates and kills Junpei in front of Yuji's eyes. This is one of early Jujutsu Kaisen's most horrifying moments.

Mahito grows fascinated with Yuji, the vessel of Sukuna, and starts to seek out battles with the jujutsu sorcerers. He even considers himself Yuji's rival at one point. By the end of the Shibuya Incident arc, every major character in Jujutsu Kaisen finds a link in Mahito. Mahito allies with Kenjaku to get to Sukuna, who had taken over the body of Geto following his death. This makes the already tragic backstory of Gojo and Geto even more emotionally vivid, and the emotional stakes are high when Mahito and his curse group confront Gojo to seal him.

At other points, Mahito steals Todo's hand, puts Nobara in a coma (but she was believed dead until the finale), kills Nanami, and more. Jujutsu Kaisen roughly follows the timeline of Sukuna's revival and Kenjaku's efforts to put a Tengen merger in place. With his unparalleled development as a fighter, unflinching desire to rid the world of humans (since he saw cursed spirits as the manifestation of humanity's deepest emotions), affiliation with Kenjaku, and adoration for Sukuna, Mahito clearly demonstrates Jujutsu Kaisen's stakes.

Mahito’s Closer Signals The End Of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Story

With Only Mahito Left, Jujutsu Kaisen Shows Its Narrative Is Over—And That It's Futile To Ask For More

Mahito acts to unify the show's characters into a coherent story. Even after his eventual death to Yuji and Todo, and his subsequent consumption by Kenjaku, the damage that he and his allies unleashed during the Shibuya Incident would create total disarray, setting up the later arcs. The death of friends like Junpei, Nanami, and (so Yuji thought, anyway) Nobara, would deeply affect Yuji, and in the same chapter where his domain expansion is explored, Yuji recalls their influence on him. As he takes Sukuna down, he references his battles with Mahito, saying "I'm you."

Mahito's life and the people who would carry him forward after his death are actually bookends of the series. Jujutsu Kaisen's narrative "grew up" as Mahito did. When Mahito dies and is consumed by Kenjaku, Mahito becomes part of Kenjaku himself just as he continues to be a part, after death, of Kenjaku's ongoing mission. When Kenjaku eventually dies at Yuta's hands (and by Takaba's ongoing efforts), the ripples of Mahito still reverberate.

By the end of the story, the fact that he's the last "unruly child" is a lesson in the futility of failing to move forward and grow. Surprised even by Sukuna's willingness to change, Mahito was the last representative of these efforts, and he was incapacitated: exorcised, he could only stand there screaming about everybody else giving up. Sukuna's appearance has a double reading as his own failure to be the champion of Mahito's ideals. Sukuna, the King of Curses, was also defeated by humans, which itself undermines Mahito's guiding ideal that curses are inherently superior to humans.

As Jujutsu Kaisen's curtains close, Mahito stands there alone in the dark, the only one left clinging to the past. Stuck in a dead dream, the wordless s that follow his outburst mock him with their happiness. Mahito's closing words aren't lazy, nor are they lighthearted. They carry the weight of everything in Jujutsu Kaisen.

The brief flashback of Gojo and Yuji in the final chapter shows him ing on the torch to those who should move on. Mahito gets the final word as a way of saying the story that grew with him will also die with him. Through the ups and downs, every character moves on in the end except for him. In the same way, Gege tells fans that Jujutsu Kaisen is an experience they'll always carry forward, but mocks the idea of clinging to it. It's genius, and he couldn't have given Jujutsu Kaisen a better conclusion.

Source: @kaidanatta on X