The story of Jujutsu Kaisen is quite dark, with many tragedies and characters having to sacrifice. One of the most horrific arcs of the series is the “Shibuya Incident”. This arc was adapted into the content of the Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 anime and is currently airing. Just thinking about what’s going to happen in the upcoming episodes is enough to make any fan depressed.
One of them is the fate of the character Nanami. The most surprising thing is that Gege did all of this with the author’s favorite character and a large number of Jujutsu Kaisen readers.
The character’s desire to help others is an admirable trait to have in the cruel world of Jujutsu Kaisen. Nanami also loves Yuji, because he reminds him of Yu Haibara. Therefore, what Gege Akutami did to Nanami Kento, the author’s favorite character, is by far the most tragic moment in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Episode 18 of the anime Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 clearly showed Nanami’s beautiful but heartbreaking final moments.
So why did Gege Akutami let Nanami die in Jujutsu Kaisen?
Gege Akutami dropped Nanami because he no longer had a role as a Jujutsu Kaisen character.
According to Comic Book, Gege Akutami shared in a preview interview from 2022 that: “At first, my favorite was Sukuna. Mainly his graphic aspect was inspired by everything I read. But Nanami was the first character I created and developed myself. Because So he’s my favorite character at the moment.”
However, that doesn’t stop the author from ending Nanami’s journey in Jujutsu Kaisen.
In the Jujutsu Kaisen fanbook Q&A, Gege Akutami was asked: “When did Nanami’s ending in the Shibuya Incident begin to be decided?” The author replied: “When I thought about doing the Shibuya Incident arc, to be honest, I liked the character of Nanami and he was easy to portray. But in terms of his role in the story and the development of the characters, In the end I had no other choice.”
Additionally, Gege joked about “accidentally” killing Nanami when the author only intended for him to lose his arm. Jujutsu Kaisen is a story with quite a high death rate, but nothing as terrible as Nanami’s passing. He had suffered too much and for too long.
He was partially torn apart in Dagon’s domain, then burned by Jogo’s fire, before dying at Mahito’s hands. Mahito blew up half of Nanami’s body right in front of Yuji. Yuji is completely devastated after seeing the person he cares about so much die in a terrible way.