#jjk ch 184

[cinderella-ish]

JuJutsu Kaisen Story Structure: Prologue

To get ready for my series on JuJutsu Kaisen's story structure, I want to establish some basics.

First of all, I'll be using three-act structure as the primary basis of my analysis, but I might also look at some other formats, like Blake Snyder's Save the Cat, Dan Harmon's Story Circle, Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, Freytag's Pyramid, Kishotenketsu, and some others.

Second, it's important to know that the three acts of three-act structure are not of equal length. The first and third acts are 25% each, and the second act is the middle 50% of the story. For this reason, I'll be breaking the story down into quarters like so:

Act I

Act IIa

Act IIb

Act III

Last, timing obviously plays a big role in three-act structure! I don't want to talk about certain plot points until I've established where they fall in three-act structure, and what's *actually* there in JuJutsu Kaisen. To that end, here's a list of story arcs in JJK, and the chapters where they fall:

Fearsome Womb arc: chapters 1-18

vs. Mahito arc: chapters 19-31

Kyoto Goodwill Event arc: chapters 32-54

Death Painting arc: chapters 55-64

Gojo's Past arc: chapters 65-79

Shibuya Incident arc: chapters 79-136

Itadori's Extermination arc: chapters 137-143

Perfect Preparation arc: chapters 144-158

Culling Game arc: chapters 159-221

Shinjuku Showdown arc: chapters 222-271

Now, here is a list of major plot beats in three-act structure, and the point at which they typically fall in a story:

Hook: at the very beginning

Inciting event: 12%

First plot point: 25%

First pinch point: 37%

Midpoint: 50%

Second pinch point: 62%

Third plot point: 75%

Beginning of climax: 88%

Resolution: 98%

Note: because the midpoint is the second plot point, the next one is called the third plot point.

With all that in mind, here's approximately where each of these plot points should happen in the chapter count:

Hook: chapter 1 (beginning of Fearsome Womb arc)

Inciting event: chapter 34 (near beginning of Kyoto Goodwill Event arc)

First plot point: chapter 68 (near beginning of Gojo's Past arc)

First pinch point: chapter 102 (mid-Shibuya Incident arc)

Midpoint: chapter 136 (end of Shibuya Incident arc)

Second pinch point: chapter 170 (early in Culling Game arc)

Third plot point: chapter 204 (about two-thirds of the way through the Culling Game arc)

Beginning of climax: chapter 238 (early-ish in Shinjuku Showdown arc)

Resolution: not more than the last 5 or so chapters (end of Shinjuku Showdown arc)

I think this is fairly accurate, though there are some points that I think are slightly off; for example, I think it's more likely that the first plot point occurs before Gojo's Past arc, and that Gojo's Past begins the second act.

So, for the purpose of this series, I'll be analyzing the four quarters as follows:

Act I: Fearsome Womb, vs. Mahito, Kyoto Goodwill, and Death Painting arcs

Act IIa: Gojo's Past and Shibuya Incident arcs

Act IIb: Itadori's Extermination and Perfect Preparation arcs plus part of the Culling Game arc

Act III: remainder of the Culling Game arc and Shinjuku Showdown arc

Read below the cut for the approximate timings for the other plot structures I mentioned:

Save the Cat

Opening image: ch 1

Theme stated: ch 12

Set up: ch 4-27

Catalyst: ch 29

Debate: ch 32-59

Break into 2: ch 61

B story: ch 73

Fun and games: ch 64-133

Midpoint: ch 135

Bad guys close in: ch 137-182

All is lost: ch 184

Dark night of the soul: ch 187-206

Break into 3: ch 209

Finale: ch 211-268

Final image: ch 271

Harmon Story Circle

You: the protagonist is in a zone of comfort (ch 1-34)

Need: the protagonist wants something (ch 41)

Go: the protagonist enters an unfamiliar setting (ch 68)

Search: the protagonist must adapt to the unfamiliar world (ch. 82)

Find: the protagonist finds what they wanted (ch 136)

Take: the protagonist must pay the price for what they found (ch 176-203)

Return: the protagonist returns to where they started (ch 204)

Change: the character is able to shift the world around them (ch 230-236)

The Hero's Journey

Ordinary World (ch 1)

Call to Adventure

Refusal of the Call

Meeting the Mentor

Crossing the First Threshold (ch 68)

Tests, Allies, Enemies

Approach to the Inmost Cave

Ordeal (ch 136)

Seizing the Sword

The Road Back (ch 204)

Resurrection

Return with the Elixir

Kishotenketsu

Ki: Introduction (ch 1-41)

Sho: Development (ch 42-170)

Ten: Twist (ch 171-243)

Ketsu: Conclusion (ch 244-271)

Freytag's Pyramid (will be using specifically to analyze Gojo's Past arc)

Introduction (ch 65)

Rising Action

Climax (ch 72)

Falling Action

Catastrophe (ch 78)

All Structures Plotted Together:

Hook, Opening Image, You, Ordinary World, Ki begins (ch 1)

Set up begins (ch 4)

Theme stated (12)

Catalyst, Call to Adventure (ch 29)

Debate, Refusal of the Call (ch 32)

Inciting Event (ch 34)

Need, Meeting the Mentor (ch 41)

Sho begins (ch 42)

Break into 2 (ch 61)

Fun and Games (ch 64)

First Plot Point, Crossing the First Threshold, Go (ch 68)

B story (ch 73)

Search, Tests, Allies, Enemies (ch 82)

First Pinch Point, Approach to the Inmost Cave (ch 102)

Midpoint, Find, Ordeal (ch 135-136)

Bad guys close in (ch 137)

Second Pinch Point (ch 170)

Ten begins (ch 171)

Take, Seizing the Sword (ch 176)

All is Lost (ch 184)

Dark Night of the Soul (ch 187)

Third Plot Point, Return, The Road Back (ch 204)

Break into 3 (ch 209)

Finale (ch 211)

Change (ch 230)

Climax, Resurrection (ch 238)

Ketsu begins (ch 244)

Resolution, Return with Elixir (ch 266)

Final image (ch 271)

Note that these timings are all approximate! Upon analysis, they may shift but only slightly.

[animebltches]

I need someone to explain the plot of the jjk manga to me very very slowly

[milaghoul]

[milaghoul]