#but i feel like jjk fails it's own story through lousy character work

[milkshakestogo]

so, I gently want to challenge this idea. I do agree with the core concept: JJK's world is brutal, and it was never intended to be one full of endless optimism or last-minute saves. For the sorcerers of the future to thrive, the entire society has to burn down and start anew.

However, I mostly disagree with this post for two reasons.

1: Just because something is the "point" does not mean it's well executed nor immune to criticism. Seeing the vision doesn't make it come true.

2. There seems to be a misunderstanding of what people mean when they say a character is underutilized.

People aren't saying the characters are underutilized because they died early. I also don't think readers expected every character to get a main character power boost before getting the axe. They're underutilized because we don't know anything about them. Their backstories are missing. And I'm not saying they all need five-chapter flashbacks explaining their life story, but we don't even know why some of them are even sorcerers in the first place. We don't know why they're friends, comrades, etc. We don't know their hopes and dreams. All we know is their name and innate technique.

It's one thing to establish the world as this callous thing that chews up and spits out sorcerers on the reg. But what JJK fails to do is establish why these characters should matter to the reader. Yes, they're cogs in a machine, useless in the eternal war between humanity and curses, but they're still people. I should care about them. When their lives get cut short, I should be choked up over the possibility, rather than wonder why they were introduced. Gege's problem is his loyalty to the theme without doing any character work to make the theme fully realized.

been seeing people talk about how a lot of jjk characters were underutilised, how we didn't see their full potential, and I hate to break it you, but that's literally the point.

The jjk world is realistic in terms of workloads and workplace expectations and strenuous working conditions. Jjk sorcerers put their lives on the line every single day, with higher ups not giving a shit whether they're overworked or even live or die. Being a great sorcerer doesn't even guarantee you a chance of surviving, any day could be your last. And that's the point.

Geto was one of the 1st victims in the series of those horrible working conditions, that literally split him and gojo up after they both died and came back to life, no break no counselling no nothing, and overworked them both to the point where he lost it. Sad but realistic