Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26

The new volume of Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen is here, and with the series beginning its rapid approach to the end, fans are tuned in to see where this story goes in its final hours. Jujutsu Kaisen has been one of the biggest anime sensations of the past few years, and I think I speak for the majority when I say that this series could have run for much, much longer. Regardless of this, the series is beginning to wrap up, and by the end of Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26, it appears that the ending is truly on the horizon.

Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 is filled to the brim with action, as the series’ final arc, the Shinjuku Showdown arc, rages on. With this volume, readers bear witness to one of the most intense sequence of consecutive chapters that the series has seen in a long time, and while you may think there wouldn’t be a lot to talk about amidst all the flying fists, we still have plenty to say about Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26. Let’s dive right into the review!

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Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 Review

Image by VIZ Media

Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 continues the series’ trend of opening its volumes in extremely strange places. There’s really no division between where the last volume ended and this one begins, with us thrown right back into the fight between Gojo and Sukuna. This fight is, to be blunt, extremely long, so be ready to not only experience a very explosive battle for this volume, but also be prepare to be slapped with non-stop battle strategy for 8 chapters. In many ways, this is a very exciting volume, but it’s also a little remedial. If you’re not into characters talking in-depth about fantastical battle abilities, this is not the volume for you.

Sukuna and Gojo’s clash is one of, if not the most anticipated, large-scale fights in the entire series, and the art in this volume reflects the hype. Gege’s style in his artwork is the perfect mix of grungy and polished, retaining Jujutsu Kaisen’s unkempt, borderline-horror style, but mixing it with the sleekness required of a large-scale shonen finale battle. Thankfully, the fight is also completely visible and decipherable, which may seem like a base-level requirement for manga, but you’d be surprised how many times a large-scale fight in a shonen manga will just look like scribbles and ink blots. Even compared to some of the other fights in this series, the art in Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 is refreshingly clear, beautiful artwork worthy of the scope of this fight.

Now, for an admission – one which I’m ashamed of, but I need to be honest. The fights in Jujutsu Kaisen can be a little much for me to keep up with sometimes, and this battle is one of the worst offenders for this. I’m just kind of along for the ride as characters ream off paragraph after paragraph about the statistics and dimensions of this fight, and while it is a fun ride to be on, it is a little tiring every time Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 cuts away from the action to catch up with our spectating side characters. Still, there are some pretty smart twists in the battle that I did catch on to, particularly the repeated damaging of Gojo’s brain using his innate technique in Chapter 230. When I catch on to the inner workings of Gege’s mind, I’m often on-board for his antics, but a lot of the time, they blow right past me.

Image by VIZ Media

With that being said, I am a little unsure of how exactly we’re meant to be reacting to the events of Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26. The constant cuts away from the battle serve to break any built-up energy in the fight, while the regular intermissions of battle strategies and comedic interactions between the supporting cast takes away from the sense of fear, tension, and of course, emotional attachment. Now, Jujutsu Kaisen has never been an extremely emotional story – compared to the regular emotional torture that Demon Slayer throws at its readers, Jujutsu Kaisen feels like a comedy series – however, the way that this fight has played out is a little underwhelming in its ability to engross readers. In short, I’m not emotionally engaged in this battle, but that’s majorly down to how Gege is choosing to structure the whole thing.

On another controversial note, of which I fear I have shared many in this review, I feel like Mahoraga is playing way too big of a role in this series now. I understand that Mahoraga is a big deal, as the most powerful shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique, but there’s absolutely no depth to this character beyond being a giant smashing machine. Having shined in its battle against Sukuna during the Shibuya arc, particularly in the anime adaptation, I feel like Mahoraga has had its due, and really doesn’t need to be reappearing and playing such a major role in this, one of the series’ most anticipated fights. In short, it’s really not an interesting enough entity to me for it to be a central figure in the battle that spans the entirety of Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26.

However, as my fear of a very remedial volume unfolding before me ramped up, Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 started to get very interesting as the untouchable Gojo started to take some serious damage in the volume’s latter half. While it was shocking to see the extent of the damage done to such a strong character, I will say that I wish we had more examples of Gojo completely dominating on the battlefield throughout Jujutsu Kaisen, just to make these moments all the more impactful. However, the impact was still very much there, and honestly, made for some of the most unexpected spreads in the entire series. To this point, Gojo has been practically invincible, yet now, his life was seemingly in danger at the hands of Sukuna.

Image by VIZ Media

Gojo does, however, still have a major trick up his sleeve as the end of Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 drew nearer – the return of Hollow Purple. This was easily my favourite moment in the volume, and though absent of any characters, the above image was easily my favourite visual from the volume also. Hollow Purple is a move that I wish we got to see more of throughout the series, as it never quite loses the excitement that it brought when we first saw it back in the Kyoto Goodwill Event arc. This was the moment from this battle that really made me excited for the day that the MAPPA anime adaptation reaches this point – I need to see this moment in motion on the screen.

However, Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 does not end with Gojo’s explosive triumph – in fact, this couldn’t be further from the truth. On the complete other hand, the volume ends with Gojo’s apparent death, bisected by Sukuna’s Dismantle. What a bombshell to end the volume on. Now, we don’t end right away, getting some bonus scenes of Gojo discussing his battle with a few of his fallen comrades, and it was nice to see the return of characters like Nanami, Haibara, and Yaga here, but wow, was it hard to focus on their emotional reunion while the image of Gojo’s death played in the back of my mind. While it does make sense that someone as strong as Sukuna could take Gojo down, and this probably sets the stage for our actual protagonist, Itadori, to take down Sukuna himself, it was still a major shock to see the strongest sorceror in the world go down in such a brutal way.

This ending was shocking, moving, and incredibly unexpected – but was it good? As we’ve seen with some contemporary media in the live-action world (The Last of Us), killing off a beloved character that is central to the plot is often a thrilling move, causing lots of online chatter, but equally, it can leave a story floundering in the wake of said character’s death. As Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 26 ends with Kashimo dashing towards Sukuna in a battle of his own, I wait with bated breath for the next volume of this manga. Will the story reach new, greater heights as the end draws near, or will Gojo’s death ultimately kick off a downward spiral for the beloved manga? Only time will tell, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated with our review when Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 27 releases in August 2025. Thanks for reading!

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