[Jujutsu Kaisen] The writing for the Ten Shadows Ritual in the Shibuya Arc feels a bit too convenient
The way the fight between Sukuna and Mahoraga plays out relies on some very specific rules that seem to pop up exactly when Megumi needs them to stay alive. While Jujutsu Kaisen usually has a pretty solid power system, the Subjugation Ritual in Shibuya feels like a clear example of the author prioritizing the plot over the actual stakes of the situation.
The biggest convenience is the "suspended animation" state. When Megumi first summons Mahoraga, he’s already basically dead. Mahoraga hits him with a blow that would normally kill anyone instantly, but Megumi doesn't die. Instead, we learn a new rule: as long as the ritual is still going, the people in it are kept in a state of suspended death. Their souls are basically locked in their bodies until the ritual officially ends. Without this specific rule appearing right then, Megumi would have died before Sukuna even had a chance to show up.
This is where Shigemo comes in. His survival throughout the whole day depends on his "Miracle" technique, which lets him survive fatal hits by using up stored "luck." Looking back, this technique feels like a tool used just to keep a weak character around long enough to be forced into this ritual. Since the ritual needs all participants to be dead before it can close, Shigemo basically becomes a living battery that keeps the suspended death timer running for Megumi.
Even Sukuna’s actions during the fight are tied to these rules. When he arrives, he knows that if Mahoraga kills Shigemo, the ritual ends, the safety net breaks, and Megumi dies instantly. Because of this, Sukuna actually has to protect Shigemo. At one point, Mahoraga is about to crush him, and Sukuna uses his speed to snatch Shigemo away just in time. He isn't doing it out of kindness; he's just keeping the ritual's timer from hitting zero so he has time to kill Mahoraga first.
The fight also ends on a perfect loophole. Because Sukuna was an "outsider" and wasn't part of the original ritual, his victory doesn't actually count. This voids the whole thing. It’s a very convenient way to end the scene: the threat of Mahoraga is gone and Megumi is saved, but he doesn’t get the reward of taming the monster because he didn't win on his own.
When you put it all together, the suspended death state, the Miracle technique, and the outsider loophole, it’s hard not to feel like the rules of the Ten Shadows were interpreted in a way that specifically kept Megumi alive in a situation that was supposed to be a suicide move.
The biggest convenience is the "suspended animation" state. When Megumi first summons Mahoraga, he’s already basically dead. Mahoraga hits him with a blow that would normally kill anyone instantly, but Megumi doesn't die. Instead, we learn a new rule: as long as the ritual is still going, the people in it are kept in a state of suspended death. Their souls are basically locked in their bodies until the ritual officially ends. Without this specific rule appearing right then, Megumi would have died before Sukuna even had a chance to show up.
This is where Shigemo comes in. His survival throughout the whole day depends on his "Miracle" technique, which lets him survive fatal hits by using up stored "luck." Looking back, this technique feels like a tool used just to keep a weak character around long enough to be forced into this ritual. Since the ritual needs all participants to be dead before it can close, Shigemo basically becomes a living battery that keeps the suspended death timer running for Megumi.
Even Sukuna’s actions during the fight are tied to these rules. When he arrives, he knows that if Mahoraga kills Shigemo, the ritual ends, the safety net breaks, and Megumi dies instantly. Because of this, Sukuna actually has to protect Shigemo. At one point, Mahoraga is about to crush him, and Sukuna uses his speed to snatch Shigemo away just in time. He isn't doing it out of kindness; he's just keeping the ritual's timer from hitting zero so he has time to kill Mahoraga first.
The fight also ends on a perfect loophole. Because Sukuna was an "outsider" and wasn't part of the original ritual, his victory doesn't actually count. This voids the whole thing. It’s a very convenient way to end the scene: the threat of Mahoraga is gone and Megumi is saved, but he doesn’t get the reward of taming the monster because he didn't win on his own.
When you put it all together, the suspended death state, the Miracle technique, and the outsider loophole, it’s hard not to feel like the rules of the Ten Shadows were interpreted in a way that specifically kept Megumi alive in a situation that was supposed to be a suicide move.
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Moreover, isnt it more logical that we dont know all the rules. Or else we would need to have a book before the manga that just explain the rules. Its natural we learn stuff as we progress right.
Also, i personally am not that big of a fan of battle shonen tbh so i understand where u are coming from but we gotta give some lewway tbh
If you create a system, then constantly make exceptions or add new mechanics, it undermines the system and makes future events mean nothing.
Bad writing here describes when the author breaks pre-established rules, applies them inconsistently, or creates new rules on the spot purely for convenience. I believe the suspended animation part falls under that, though I can personally excuse it. Calling Shigemo’s technique itself bad writing is inane. It was established before the ritual even occurred. The fact that it’s Shigemo, who’s alive because of his pre-established technique, makes more sense than some random curse user being there so I don’t understand your point about keeping Shigemo alive just so he could be forced into the ritual.
It makes perfect sense why an outsider completing the ritual wouldn’t grant the user of the technique the ability to use the shikigami. I’d actually argue it’d be worse writing to allow that, just because you could have Gojo come in there and solo Mahoraga for Megumi. Now the absolute destruction that would cause might not make it worth it, but the possibility would always be on the table.
This is to say that in literally any other circumstance pre-Shibuya, summoning Mahoraga would be a suicide move for Megumi excluding intervention from Gojo, which is why it’s treated as such. The causes behind Megumi’s survival, excluding the rules of the ritual itself, were established before and during Shibuya.
The issue isn't that Shigemo’s ability wasn’t established; it’s that the character seems engineered backward from this exact moment. His technique is literally "Miracles", which is literally a mechanic for plot armor. He survives an encounter with Nanami solely so he can serve as the second participant in the ritual later. He feels less like a character and more like a walking plot device created specifically to exploit that multi-person loophole.
Furthermore, you cannot separate the "suspended animation" rule from the context, as it fundamentally changes the nature of a suicide move. By introducing a rule that pauses death after a fatal blow, the narrative turns it into a rescue mission. If the ritual worked like a normal execution where the summoner dies immediately upon being struck, Sukuna’s arrival wouldn’t have mattered. This rule exists solely to provide a window of survival that shouldn’t logically exist in a kamikaze attack.
While it makes sense that Megumi shouldn't "tame" the Shikigami if he didn't win personally, the "outsider" loophole allows the author to have their cake and eat it too. We get the spectacle of Mahoraga and Sukuna’s full power, but the story hits a reset button immediately after. Megumi survives, the threat is neutralized, and the status quo is maintained.
The "convenience" isn't that the rules don't make sense individually; it's that they align way too well with each other, which kills the realism. Megumi drags in the one person whose technique is "surviving fatal hits," the ritual provides a hidden pause button on death, and the strongest entity in the series happens to be active and interested at that exact second. Even if the rules are pre-established, the fact that they all trigger simultaneously to save a character who effectively committed suicide is the definition of plot convenience.
Let me first start by validating my claim that this doesn't JUST apply to this fight in JJK.
Yuji loses to Choso prior to this, the only reason Yuji does not die here is because his and Choso's blood just happens to come into contact and Choso just HAPPENS to have Blood Manipulation. This occurrence even has less basis because it is not mentioned before that Blood Manipulation can sense familial bond, we only know that Kamo can sense his blood on other people. It is because Yuji loses this fight but is not killed that Sukuna is able to be released in the first place.
So why do I take umbrage with your post? Two reasons.
1. The Mahoraga ritual is both referenced and established before this. Gojo tells Megumi that Mahoraga killed a previous Limitless user and 10 Shadows user. This would not be possible except for through the rituals rules. Once the 10 Shadows user died then Mahoraga would be canceled, or once the Limitless user died then the 10 Shadows user would just get rid of Mahoraga. The only way for them to both die would be through this ritual. Gojo doesn't explain at the time what kills them, but we can see from the rest of what 10 Shadows can do this is the only way for that to have happened.
2. The story is far less interesting if these things do not happen. There is just no organic way for the story to tell the reader these details without some contrivinces. If Megumi had summoned Mahoraga at the prison he and Sukuna would have died, but Yuji just so happened to come back at that moment. This is a plot contrivince, but it HAS to happen in order for the story to continue. During the sister school exchange arc, Todo has no way of protecting both himself and Yuji from Hanami's domain so if they'd cast it Yuji and Todo would have died. Except Gojo dispelled the veil at that moment. This is a plot contrivince that is necessary for the story to continue.
Additionally, you are also wrong about some of this. Shigemo's cursed technique does not factor into his survival there at all. It is directly stated that all of his used were used up against Nanami earlier. The part about the ritual being nullified by an outsider intervening just makes logical sense. I don't even see why this would bother you.
Ultimately, this is just extremely silly to be hung up on. It would be like reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and complaining that its convenient that theres always someone around who knows Expectrum Patronus whenever a Dementor actually gets its hands on Harry. Consider the alternative if that wasn't the case. The story just ends, which is a far less interesting version of said story.
Regarding your point on storytelling, there is a major difference between Inciting Coincidence and Resolving Coincidence. It’s generally accepted for a coincidence to start a story (like Yuji eating the finger), but it’s often seen as a convenience when a new rule or perfect timing solves a terminal problem. Pointing to other instances of this—like the Choso blood connection or Hanami’s domain—doesn’t actually disprove the critique; it just suggests that the series has a recurring pattern of using "perfect timing" to bypass the consequences of its own power system.
As for Shigemo, the point isn't that he used miracles during the ritual, but that the Miracle technique was the narrative tool used to keep a weak character alive throughout the entire day just so he could be available for this specific scene. His survival earlier in the arc was the setup for the convenience later.
Calling a critique "silly" because the alternative is "the story ends" overlooks the middle ground: better writing. A story can continue without relying on loopholes that appear at the eleventh hour. While these moments make for great spectacles, it’s fair to feel that the stakes lose their weight when the rules of the world seem to bend specifically to ensure a character’s survival in a certain death situation.
How could the narrative address the issue of Mahoraga needing to be strong enough to match what Gojo can do? Once it addresses that issue, how does it resolve the problem of Megumi not just using it to solve all of his problems? And once we address that, how do we utilize this in future writing?
Your problem of: Shigemo is weak and seemingly only survived just for Mahoraga to be shown off.
What solution are you offering to this problem? Mahoraga must be shown off for the sake of future plot points. If this was attempted against Toji that wouldn't make sense, he barely gave Megumi time to summon other Shikigami, how would Megumi have time to do an entire ritual? If we assume the rules are unchanging *how* would you prefer the narrative bring this up? Should Gojo have said "the limitless and 10 shadows user's died in a friendly duel because of the Mahoraga ritual that puts them in suspended death unless they both die then it becomes permanent." Cause that is in no way better.
The story revealing new information to you when it is relevant is not the story creating loopholes. It is the story expanding your understanding of how the world works.
\[spoilers Big Jujutsu Kaisen\]>!The author literally killed Gojo off-screen because he couldn't explain how someone so overpowered could lose a fight.!<
So we don't see what's most important lol,
>Like the other party says what he learned and how he is going to do it.
It's not about explaining the technique after it happens, He no longer uses it as efficiently.
>We see him use it then we see the aftermath. I
No, in one chapter he's losing, in the next he's already won.
>Like huh?
The question doesn't explain why the characters don't defend themselves, didn't notice, and that's just one of many problems.
Its actually so fucking stupid to even bring this up in the first place its not at all relevant to this thread.
And again, I am not a fan of how the manga ended.