Jujutsu Kaisen might be cursed by its ending but it sure has one advantage over most Shonen series. In many Shonen genre anime, the female characters are heavily s*xualized, serve no purpose beyond being a love interest, or aren’t utilized to their full potential. Gege Akutami, however, wrote the opposite.
There’s a reason why the anime community targets the female characters and it’s essentially because of fans lacking media literacy and how the mangaka treat their arcs. They either portray them as weak characters or are stuck in a love triangle for the male character’s affection. Nuance is just lost.
Gege Akutami broke this formula. Most of the women don’t see each other as competition. The more prominent characters are incredibly nuanced and very independent. While some of the women can be quite controversial, Nobara Kugisaki and Maki Zenin shine in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Gege Akutami might be an awkward guy but he knows how to write women well in Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen heavily emphasizes the strength of characters. Satoru Gojo’s entire character arc revolves around being the Strongest Sorceror. So in a world that dangerous, it would be lazy writing if the female characters weren’t strong too. But surprisingly, Maki Zenin’s strength surpasses some of the men.
It’s quite rare in Shonen anime that one of the strongest characters is a woman. Maki humbles the men pretty often and even kills the entire Zenin clan. The abuse and discrimination she endured also make her a very complex character. Jujutsu Kaisen fans adore her without ever showing any skin.
This lack of nudity for the women, except for Mei Mei, is what entices a female audience towards Jujutsu Kaisen. They don’t feel like objects and have real personalities. They may not be the type of many male readers like Tite Kubo said to Gege Akutami once:
I hate to say this in front of the man himself, but none of the female characters in Jujutsu Kaisen are my type. They’re all formidable, aren’t they? When characters of the opposite sex get preferential treatment, they usually reflect the creator’s tastes, so that must be Akutami-sensei’s type.
He said this to the mangaka in the Jujutsu Kaisen official fanbook, translated by Edomonotagari, to which Akutami responds with:
No, that’s just me dodging the issue… I’m aware I suck at drawing women. Therefore, I’ve put the brakes on creating so-called “ladylike” characters.
Akutami’s characters aren’t meant to fit any archetype after Kubo asks if they prefer a strong female character. They also state Jujutsu Kaisen readers don’t expect any fan service of that kind. So, even if Jujutsu Kaisen’s ending disappointed us, the female characters were still amazing.
Is Jujutsu Kaisen perfect for the female gaze?
While it’s entirely subjective to like or dislike the Jujutsu Kaisen women, characters like Maki Zenin or Nobara Kugisaki fit the female gaze.
Nobara is part of the main trio of Jujutsu Kaisen, alongside Yuji and Megumi. However, she holds her own against curses and the lack of a love triangle is refreshing. She prefers Maki’s company and the strong friendship between them is lovely to see.
While yes, it’s true that fans can be insane with the male characters, Akutami didn’t exploit it to s*xualize the men either. The attraction for the men comes from how their personalities are written, not because they’ve shown off their bodies.
Overall, Gege Akutami might think they fall short of drawing women, but they unintentionally gave us the perfect female gaze in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
