I didn't realize how bad Jujutsu Kaisen's female cast was treated, then I looked at their Cursed Techniques

Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami has been criticised for the way he handled his hit manga series. One element that has been truly singled out is how he developed his female cast. Moreover, once readers take a look at the female cast's Cursed Techniques, one can see how they were mistreated from the get-go in terms of competing in the story.

While a good user can get the most out of any kind of Cursed Technique in Jujutsu Kaisen, Akutami usually gives a lot of stronger abilities to his male characters, such as Satoru Gojo, Yuji Itadori, Yuta Okkotsu, and more. On the other hand, most of the female cast is left with either weak abilities or potentially deadly and powerful Cursed Techniques that were left underdeveloped.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga/anime and reflects the opinions of the writer.

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Jujutsu Kaisen's female cast wasn't handled well, and is shown through their Cursed Techniques

Nobara and Maki are the two most prominent characters of the female cast (Image via MAPPA and Shueisha).

Except for Maki Zen'in, whose lack of sorcerer powers is key to his story, most female characters have weak or underdeveloped Cursed Techniques. Characters like Shoko Ieiri and Kasumi Miwa don’t have innate abilities and rely on other techniques, but they don’t play major roles in the story.

Furthermore, a character like Utahime Ioiri's Solo Forbidden Area is centered around supporting other sorcerers, and Mai Zen'in's Construction, while powerful on paper, is severely weakened by the character's own shortcomings. There are also examples such as Momo Nishimiya, who can manipulate tools, and Nobara Kugisaki's Resonance, which has a lot of potential, but her lack of progress as a sorcerer ends up undermining her ability.

On the other hand, the male characters are naturally stronger from the get-go, with the likes of Satoru Gojo and Yuta Okkotsu being the two most obvious options. Yuji Itadori is also born with several genetic benefits thanks to him being Kenjaku's experiment and while someone like Megumi Fushiguro didn't live up to his potential, his Ten Shadows ability is one of the most coveted Cursed Techniques in the series.

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The importance of execution

Yorozu and Yuki had powerful but underutilized Cursed Techniques (Image via Shueisha and MAPPA).

On the other hand, Akutami does give a couple of strong Cursed Techniques to female characters in Jujutsu Kaisen, such as Yuki Tsukumo's Star Rage and Yorozu's Construction, which is a much more powerful version of the one Mai Zen'in has. However, both characters are soundly defeated and murdered during the only real battle they have in the story, thus feeling that they were underutilized and mishandled.

While being underdeveloped is something that is quite prevalent across Akutami's manga regardless of the character being male or female, it is quite clear that the latter got the short end of the stick. It is also quite telling when considering that he was initially praised for the handling of his female cast, only for that to be squandered at the tail end of the story.

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Final thoughts

Ultimately, Akutami didn't know how to conclude the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, and the handling of his female cast is a good example of that. Furthermore, their Cursed Techniques also highlight how they were undermined from the very beginning of the story.

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