The Uncanny Similarities in the Endings of Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen

Summary

• The final battles in Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen begin with supporting characters, not the main protagonists, initiating the fights.
• The middle portions of the battles involve numerous supporting characters joining the fight before the main characters confront the antagonists.
• The final confrontations in all three series see the main characters delivering the finishing blows to weakened villains after intense battles involving supporting characters.

Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen were once dubbed as the new Shonen Jump Big 3. After all, these three were leading the pack both in sales and popularity all around the world. Unfortunately, the reign of the new Big 3 didn’t last as long as its predecessors. One by one, these three beloved series published their last chapter and concluded their stories. Demon Slayer ended in 2020, and both Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia end in 2024.

It’s perfectly fine to end a series if the author feels the story has reached its natural conclusion. Not every series needs to have over 500 chapters like the previous Big 3. That being said, there is something interesting about the ending of these three highly popular series, particularly the final battle. Although Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen have three distinct stories with their own conflicts and character dynamics, their endings are actually way more similar to each other than you might think.

The Battle Doesn’t Begin with the Main Character

For a final battle, the most common convention is for the main character to fight the main antagonist, while the supporting characters fight the enemy’s generals. This is the case in big titles like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Bleach as well. Sure, the villain may play around with other characters first, but the main character is usually the one who initiates the true final fight against the last boss. This is not the case at all for the new Big 3.

Demon Slayer

Tanjiro Kamado is the main character of Demon Slayer, and the main antagonist is Muzan Kibutsuji. The final battle happens in the Sunrise Countdown arc. While Tanjiro is there at the beginning of the fight and manages to throw some attacks on Muzan’s way, the one who takes the most initiative during the fight is actually the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka. He manages to hold Muzan until the other Hashiras arrive, while Tanjiro mostly acts as his assistant.

“I do not remember a single human being I have killed. Flesh dies and that is the end.”

–Muzan Kibutsuji, Chapter 201

Jujutsu Kaisen

Yuji Itadori is the main character of Jujutsu Kaisen, and the main antagonist is Ryomen Sukuna. The final battle officially begins in the Shinjuku Showdown arc, between the strongest Curse Spirit in history, Ryomen Sukuna, against the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer in modern times, Satoru Gojo. Unlike Tanjiro who remains close to Muzan, Yuji Itadori is miles away from this battle. He is on stand-by with the other Jujutsu Sorcerers, waiting his turn to fight the big bad boss.

My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is a bit different from the other two. Izuku Midoriya is indeed the main character of My Hero Academia, and the main antagonist is Tomura Shigaraki. However, we can also consider Katsuki Bakugo as the sub-main character and All-for-One as the sub-main antagonist.

The last battle happens in the Final War arc. The heroes successfully separate the two villains, but due to an unforeseen circumstance, Izuku ends up in a place that is far away from the main battle. As a result, Tomura Shigaraki is fighting against Bakugo and other heroes, while All-for-One is fighting against Endeavor and other heroes.

The Villain Has to Fight Numerous Supporting Characters

Another similarity comes in the middle portion of the fight. Rather than having the main character duking it out with the main antagonist, these three leaders of the new generation of manga prefer to let the other strong supporting characters jump into the fray first.

Demon Slayer

After the initial skirmish between Muzan and Giyu and Tanjiro, two other Hashiras join the fight, the Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji and the Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro. Even the regular Demon Slayer swordsmen throw themselves into the fray in order to at least give Hashira a second to breathe. But Muzan Kibutsuji proves to be a much harder opponent to beat.

Thankfully the two remaining Hashiras finally arrive at this final battle, the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa and the Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima. Even Zenitsu, Inosuke, Kanao, and Nezuko join the fight as well. As for Tanjiro, he is out of the fight because he is dying from Muzan’s poison.

Jujutsu Kaisen

The battle between Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna takes the longest time. It’s not an exaggeration to say that half of the final battle is between Gojo and Sukuna. Once the strongest sorcerer in the world falls, the other Jujutsu Sorcerers who have been standing by all this time join the battle one by one.

The next challenger after Gojo is a sorcerer from the past, Hajime Kashimo. After that comes Yuta Okkotsu, Maki Zen’in, and the rest of their allies. Yuji Itadori gets in and out of the fight a few times but this portion of the battle is mainly about Sukuna vs the Jujutsu Sorcerer’s heavy hitters.

“I’ll tear you asunder, boy. And then, before your severed head, I’ll kill all those humans you prize so much!”

–Ryomen Sukuna, Chapter 265

My Hero Academia

Since My Hero Academia has two main villains, two major battles happening at the same time. The battle against the All-for-One is spearheaded by Endeavor, but lots of pro heroes—such as Hawks and Kamui Woods—and quite a few students from U.A. High—such as Earphone Jack and Tsukuyomi—are there as well. This battle does cause some major damage to All-for-One, but for the most part, he survives and manages to flee the scene. His next opponent after this is the Armored All Might. Once again, he suffers some critical damage but manages to survive.

For the battle against Tomura Shigaraki, the main players here are Bakugo, Edgeshot, and Mirko, with Eraser Head and several other heroes and students as support. Unfortunately, even with his quirks being sealed by Eraser Head, Shigaraki manages to cause some mortal wounds to the heroes. Bakugo nearly lost his life in this battle. As for Midoriya, he is currently moving as fast as he can towards Shigaraki’s location.

The Hero Fights a Weakened Villain

Since the final fight is initiated by other characters and the middle part is filled with loads of supporting characters, two things are bound to happen: 1) The final leg of the fight will be all about the main character, 2) the villain will be considerably weakened at this point. These two things are precisely what happens in Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia.

Demon Slayer

After lots of life-threatening injuries and even deaths, the fight finally comes down to Muzan vs Tanjiro. There are a couple of Hashiras who are still in the fight despite being gravely injured, but for the most part, it is Tanjiro’s job to finish off Muzan Kibutsuji.

Muzan is still dangerous, but the relentless barrage of attacks from five Hashiras, the other Demon Slayers, and the effect of Tomoyo’s poison clearly slows the demon lord a lot. All of those efforts combined with Tanjiro’s completed version of the Sun Breathing managed to push Muzan beyond his limit until eventually, the sun rises to erase him from existence.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Although Ryomen Sukuna is undoubtedly the most powerful cursed spirit in the history of the world, the fight against Satoru Gojo obviously takes a heavy toll on him. The fighters that come after Satoru are certainly no slouch either. After all, the two rounds with Yuta Okkotsu certainly do some serious damage to Sukuna. So now it’s time for Yuji to come and finish the job.

To everyone’s surprise, Yuji unleashes a continuous barrage of Black Flash on the weakened Sukuna. This attack clearly hurt Sukuna. However, the key that allows Yuji to eventually defeat Sukuna is when Megumi Fushiguro is finally able to regain his consciousness and expel the King of Curses from his body. Without a host and weakened by accumulated damage, Sukuna lost his life.

My Hero Academia

In the final stage of the fight, the fates of the two villains are vastly different. Tomura Shigaraki is still in a relatively fine condition. He manages to fend off the heroes who try to stop him. All-for-One, on the other hand, is holding on by a thread. The damages that have been accumulated thus far are just too great for him. That being said, he can still cause some massive destruction.

The final lineup is between the guys who are still in good condition (Midoriya vs. Tomura Shigaraki) and the guys who are gravely injured (Bakugo vs. All-for-One). Both are intense and challenging fights, but the moment Midoriya and Bakugo finally manage to unlock the full potential of their quirks, these two young heroes successfully defeat their respective opponents.

“Sure, fine! As long as it takes, I’ll keep destroying…you…this country…everything!”

–Tomura Shigaraki, Chapter 414

So as you can see, despite having entirely different stories, the final battle of Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia follows a similar arc. The final fight begins with a supporting character taking the first strike. More supporting characters join the fray, battling the main antagonist together until the main character delivers the final blow to the weakened villain. That being said, every single one of them found a way to craft a highly thrilling final battle. That’s why despite following a relatively similar template, their final battles are still interesting to read.

Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen are available to stream on Crunchyroll.