The Burden of Sin
A solution is reached, and a decision is made. But the weight of that decision may be more than one soul can bear alone. Time to see what the future will hold.
SPOILER WARNING
Maru and Yuji’s discussion continues. Yuji explains that cursed energy, while faint, occurs in every human, not just Japanese. Even if Maru altered every soul on Earth, cursed spirits would still manifest. Then Yuji suggests altering not only human souls but also the souls of the cursed spirits.
The whole conflict started because the sorcerers and Rumelians couldn’t agree on how to handle cursed spirits, whether to eliminate or preserve them. Maru discovers the common link between the cursed spirits, the kalyans and the Rumelians. He’s now determined to make the crossroad of souls into a place where souls can be remade and homogenized.
Stumbling Over the Finish Line
People will often throw around the phrase “show, don’t tell” when critiquing creative works. The idea is to show emotion, action, growth, etc., through description rather than exposition. “His hand trembled” instead of “He was scared.” Akutami (writer) definitely tells more than he shows. In this chapter, a lot of first-time information is thrown at the reader. How cursed energy behaves, why cursed spirits would continue to be born, and the color of souls.
As a reader, it was difficult trying to piece together the character’s arguments and lines of logic. And yet, that “telling” is crucial to understanding what’s happening, given the limited time left. Maybe it’s a matter of unfortunate pacing.
For manga, the “showing” aspect comes down to the artist. In the case of JJK Modulo, Iwasaki (artist) has done a phenomenal job so far. Their illustrations heighten what otherwise would be tedious dialogue. Even if you can’t fully understand what the characters are talking about, you can see how it affects them and their reactions to what’s being said, which is just as important.
The issue comes when Akutami leaves out whole swaths of development. In this chapter, for example, we don’t see the conclusion of the fight between Dabura and Mahoraga. Maru just mentions he “interrupted” the fight, but we don’t even see that. It is a tad frustrating, being “told” something as epic as that fight ended instead of being “shown” it ended.
As the series winds down, it feels like a lot was either rushed or underdeveloped. We’ll see if the series can stick the landing and earn back some brownie points. Catch up on the story by visiting the official VIZ Media manga webpage for Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo.
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