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Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Jujutsu Kaisen!
Jujutsu Kaisenis still living out its cultural moment in 2024, from winning Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year 2024 award to concluding its memorable manga series on Sunday, July 27, 2025. It’s a top-rated franchise among fans, selling one hundred million copies over its six-year run, firmly placing it among the best-selling manga ever. However, due toJujutsu Kaisen’sbattle shōnen framework and genre makeup, I can’t help but look at the entire manga and anime and recognize that Mahito was a more compelling villain thanSukuna.
Mahito has limited competition in the grand scheme ofJujutsu Kaisenvillains who are both threatening and compelling, especially beyond Sukuna. He doesn’t wind up having the same stake as some of the other major players of the series, but he has left an enduring legacy. I will remember Mahito asa violent and terrific special-grade cursed spirit with an imposing body count. Mahito might not have wound up the most powerful or storied ofJujutsu Kaisen’svillains. Still, his brutal powers, maniacal execution, and surprisingly funny anime moments make him a far more interesting character to me.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s True Greatest Villain Was Mahito After Reading from Start to Finish
An Impressive Body Count to His Name
Mahito featured through just short of the halfway point ofJujutsu Kaisen, witha surprising final appearance in chapter #271’s series finale. Yet,Mahito has been featured as one of the series' most impactful and ruthless killers.After I finished the Shinjuku Showdown Arc, including the marathon battles between Sukuna and Gojo and enough new challengers to drain the quarters of a fighting game enthusiast, Sukuna’s menace fell flat. This isn’t to say Mahito would ever come close to Sukuna’s strength: as a cursed spirit, even with Mahito’s incredible growth, he’d never match the King of Curses inJujutsu Kaisen.
While I also felt that Kenjaku was a compelling villain, much of my opinion of him fell apart when he never got to execute the Tengen Merger.
Mahito’s true strengths lie in his impact as an antagonist and incredible body count, which exceeds four figures in the Shibuya Incident,accentuated by the chilling moment inJujutsu Kaisenchapter #88 when his victims come loose.He’s among the most ruthless and efficient killers in contemporary shōnen manga, with a shocking number of onscreen deaths to his name, most notably Junpei Yoshino, Kento Nanami, and Kokichi Muta. While Nanami’s death, in particular, felt upsetting,one loss inJujutsu Kaisenwas more than tragic: it was horrifying and perfect for the series.
Mahito Shines Among Jujutsu Kaisen’s Horror Highlights in the Dark Trio
The Opposite of the Midas Touch
Jujutsu Kaisen, as a dark urban fantasy on top of being a shōnen battle manga, has caused it to be labeled among the Shōnen Dark Trio alongsideHell’s ParadiseandChainsaw Man. WhileHell’s Paradiseis my favorite visually, andChainsaw Manhas bold and horrific imagery and writing to its credit,Jujutsu Kaisenwas usually the series whose dark fantasy trappings felt less steeped in horror.Taking this as a challenge, Mahito’s Idle Transformation was perhaps most chillingly rendered inJujutsu Kaisenseason 1, episode #12, when his manipulated henchman, Junpei Yoshino, outlived his usefulness.
Idle Transfiguration is Mahito’s innate cursed technique, allowing him to reshape the souls of the bodies he touches, which consequentially means that the body will change shape to follow suit. When used offensively, this often meant the targets would be warped into abominations, potentially serving Mahito’s bidding as fodder against his enemies while dying in agony. I was horrified to see Junpei tearfully pleading for Yuji’s help in the anime (or asking, “Why?” in the manga, chapter #27), hopelessly transformed beyond repair. What I love about this isthe body horror element it injects intoJujutsu Kaisen.
Body horror is a subgenre of horror that entails aberrant and often violent changes to predominantly human bodies, either imposed or over a gradual period. Famous creators in body horror include legendary figures like David Cronenberg and Junji Ito, and my favorite artist for the genre is Travel Foreman for his mind-blowing work on Jeff Lemire’s 2011Animal Manrun. When Junpei pleaded to Yuji inJujutsu Kaisen, it was reminiscent of a pitiful, grotesquely transformed Seth Brundle grabbing Veronica Quaife’s shotgun inThe Fly.Both were desperate for mercy in their final moments, in whatever form possible.
Mahito Was the Perfect Enemy for Yuji in Jujutsu Kaisen
Growth to Rival That of Sukuna’s Vessel
While Yuji Itadori benefited from immense talent, phenomenal strength, and being honed as Sukuna’s vessel to become a powerful sorcerer, Mahito learned quickly from his survival after every encounter inJujutsu Kaisen. With his unique advantage of two souls in his body, Yuji was a hard counter to Mahito. When Mahito was beaten in chapter #132, it had to be by Yuji, who had witnessedwhat was long-believed to be Nobara Kugisaki’s deathalongside countless other victims. It’s impactful enough that evenYuji’s victory over Sukuna still has shades of this momentin chapter #268.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Who Lives and Who Dies After the Fight With Sukuna Explained
The Shinjuku Showdown Arc is the final climactic portion of Jujutsu Kaisen, with many key casualties after the fight with Sukuna.
While Sukuna was the final villain who needed to be defeated at all costs by anyone, and freeing Megumi Fushiguro was a major personal win for Yuji, I felt less interested in the idea of Yuji being the one to land the killing blow.Yuji even offers mercy to Sukuna in his final momentsinJujutsu Kaisen, the culmination of his character development, calling back to Mahito’s final moments, yetYuji defeating Mahito felt cathartically necessary.One rapidly growing presence had to eliminate the other eventually, and Yuji had witnessed far too many atrocities to let Mahito slip away.
The JJK Anime Made Mahito More Entertaining
A Flippant Shade of Cruelty
Mahito’s playfully monstrous side is perfectly captured in many moments of theJujutsu Kaisenanime. Still,something struck me as utterly Joker-coded about him dancing along the train car interior.Mahito’s flippant act of mutilating passengers is immortalized inone ofJJK’sbest opening themes. While he appears bouncing out of the train in chapter #88, it lacks the anime’s cinematic gravitas. Even the utterly nonsensical post-credits friendly soccer game ofJujutsu Kaisenseason 1, episode #7 was wildly entertaining, with Mahito hilariously scoring a perfect bicycle kick using Jogo’s head as the ball.
With a character whose cruelty and playfulness are initially only seen as written, it’s legitimate to enjoy Mahito as he appears as a despicable villain in the manga. But seeing his jovial nonchalance, even while inflicting unimaginable cruelty, is fascinating in anime. It’s akin to readingBatmanfor years until the first time you see the Joker as voiced by Mark Hamill. InJujutsu Kaisen, from his writing to the sheer morbid entertainment factor,Mahitowas the perfect villain for me, and I am sure I’m not alone in feeling this.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisenis a Japanese anime and manga series created by Gege Akutami. The story is set in a world where Cursed Spirits, born from negative human emotions, prey on humanity. It follows high school student Yuji Itadori as he becomes entangled in the world of Jujutsu Sorcery after swallowing a cursed talisman—Ryomen Sukuna’s finger—and becomes the host for one of the most powerful curses. Yuji joins the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College to learn how to combat curses while searching for the remaining fingers of Sukuna to exorcise him permanently.
