I know how you feel. Before I share my own thoughts, I'd like to make this clear once more that I love Jujutsu Kaisen and always will. I legitimately think it is a largely well-written series, especially for Gege's first big piece, and as an artist I admire his willingness to take risks instead of following the path that others set out before him.

I also admire his ability to acknowledge where he may have faltered, because that's just the reality of making art – creations made by humans have never and will never be perfect because humans are not perfect, but it's part of what makes engaging with art such a soulful experience. Everyone brings different perspectives to the table, and no one could have written Jujutsu Kaisen like Gege, just like no one could have written Bleach like Kubo and so forth.

That said, I have my own misgivings about the series, many that I had before Kenjaku's departure. I think some things were ultimately mishandled or rushed, such as Nanako & Mimiko's death and how it discarded the theme of Sorcerer oppression nearly altogether, or how he really fucked himself by refusing to confirm Nobara's death either which way.

Kenjaku is definitely one of my largest disappointments in the series. I still adore his character and I think we will learn and see more about him in the series even if he's not actually coming back, but his conclusion just feels lackluster and out of place.

I'm glad we got the Culling Games, which I think really was the peak of the series – for me, anyway – and I LOVED the TakaKen fight. It fleshed out both Takaba and Kenjaku beautifully and masterfully portrayed their combined themes of loneliness and seeking connection.

But yes, as you said, I have also more or less checked out and my investment in the other characters is slim. I still like them, but it's more of a casual, "Oh, they're nice," rather than a deep investment like I had with characters like Geto, Kenjaku, or Tengen.

I also have just developed a hatred of Yuta which is so frustrating because I used to like him well enough, but his role in the story feels very invasive. I remember talking about it once before, but Yuta executing Kenjaku was such a slap in the face for both characters.

In universe, I understand and even support the idea of it. Yeah, why wouldn't Yuta pull something underhanded? They aren't heroes and honor has no place when you're fighting someone who could destabilize the world. But as a member of the audience, it was infuriating.

The reason why characters like Gojo and Sukuna worked, despite being the power ceilings, is that they either failed or caged. Gojo had all this power and could hardly save anyone. Sukuna was locked up inside of Yuji, so he was a lingering threat, but wasn't overbearing until he was allowed to break those chains finally.

Yuta just keeps getting win after win. He beat Geto after only a few months of training, beat Ryu and Uro, beat Yuji and was compared to Gojo, etc. etc. He was never allowed to really fail in a meaningful way.

That's why people were excited about the prospect of him fighting Kenjaku, which was teased since Shibuya. Especially after Kenjaku killed Yuki, he was really the only character who looked like he could pose a threat to Yuta.

I was excited to see Yuta struggle. Even if he won or if he failed but managed to escape, it would have acted as crucial development for him in my mind. Instead, we get a simple assassination and Kenjaku getting his brain eaten off screen.

Even his reaction to his defeat feels odd. People always say that Kenjaku fans "didn't really understand his character" but I would argue our complaints are in good faith. No one realistically expected Kenjaku to scream and cry. Mahito did that, and it worked for his character. Kenjaku never feared death, so him not being afraid at the end is perfectly in character.

The issue lies in that Kenjaku, who apparently set this all up for centuries and was smart enough to be able to reincarnate the dead via cursed items, somehow didn't think to do that to himself or have some other sort of contingency. He wanted to see the merger, even if it was nothing or something stupid, because he was chasing the experience of it.

Takaba was a wonderful experience for him, but I don't think people are being obtuse for thinking, "That's it?" when the main driver of the story dies. This wasn't Junpei or background character #26. This was KENJAKU, the character who literally set up the entire series. Not every character needs fanfare, but I think people are within their right to expect something more with a character of his stature.

Not only that, him never having a real interaction with Yuji, just— Ooof, I don't even know how to voice my disappointment. Why even bother adding the detail that Kenjaku is his mother if it's never going to be meaningfully touched on from either character's perspective?

I will continue to follow the series because despite the road bumps, I still love the series. I love the characters, the world, I respect Gege as a creator, and the story isn't finished. There's still a chance for him to rectify things he himself has voiced regrets on.

This current arc makes it difficult, because it's drawn out and it's easy to feel fatigue (I honestly am just waiting for it to wrap up 💀) but I'm hoping that after they stop throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Sukuna, I'll start to feel more enthusiastic about the series again.

In the meantime, I'll just continue to love Kenjaku, indulge in my AUs and OCs, and focus on other series like Demon Slayer 🙏

So, all in all, I'm faring well enough. Thank you for your question, starlight, and feel free to vent anytime you want. I hope you'll feel better soon and find some enjoyment in the process ♥︎