Look, keeping track of every single face in Gege Akutami’s world is a nightmare. It really is. You start with a kid eating a finger and suddenly you’re knee-deep in Heian Era lore, Buddhist theology, and a casualty list that looks like a phone book.
People always ask for a jujutsu kaisen character list because, honestly, the way characters move in and out of the story is dizzying. One minute they’re the "next big thing" and the next they’re... well, let’s just say they aren’t "next" anymore. If you've been following the Shinjuku Showdown or the Culling Game, you know that being a fan-favorite is basically a death sentence.
The Core Trio (And the One Who Actually Matters)
Most shonen series have a "big three" of main characters. JJK started that way, but it kinda tossed the template out the window.
Yuji Itadori is our protagonist. Or he's supposed to be. For a huge chunk of the story, he felt like a side character in his own life. He’s the vessel for Sukuna, a kid with "herculean" physical strength, and a moral compass that gets him into nothing but trouble. His growth is slow, painful, and involves a lot of "throwing hands" rather than flashy lasers.
Then there's Megumi Fushiguro. Quiet. Emo. Descendant of the Zenin clan. He uses the Ten Shadows Technique to summon dogs, birds, and an absolute unit of a shikigami called Mahoraga. Everyone expected him to be the Sasuke of the group. Instead, he became a "vessel" himself in one of the most brutal plot twists of the series.
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Nobara Kugisaki is the third. She’s loud, she’s confident, and she uses a hammer and nails to explode people's souls. Her status was "vague" for years after the Shibuya Incident, which led to enough fan theories to fill a library.
The Teacher Who Broke the Power Scale
You can't talk about a jujutsu kaisen character list without mentioning Satoru Gojo. He’s the guy with the blindfold. He’s also effectively a god.
Gojo changed the balance of the world just by being born. His "Limitless" technique means you can’t actually touch him because there’s an infinite amount of space between you and him. It's basically math as a weapon.
- Infinity: You can't reach him.
- Blue: He pulls things together.
- Red: He pushes things away.
- Purple: He deletes everything in its path.
Honestly, the hardest part for the author was figuring out how to get Gojo out of the way so the plot could actually happen. You can't have stakes when a guy can blink and delete the villain. That’s why the Prison Realm exists. And why Chapter 236 caused a literal international meltdown on social media.
The Villains Nobody Can Stop
The bad guys in JJK aren't just "evil." They're manifestations of human misery.
Ryomen Sukuna is the King of Curses. He’s a four-armed monster from a thousand years ago who just wants to eat and fight. He has zero interest in world domination or complex motives. He’s just a disaster in human form. His "Cleave" and "Dismantle" techniques literally dice people into cubes. It’s efficient. It’s terrifying.
Then you have Kenjaku. This is the brain-hopping entity that took over Suguru Geto's body. While Sukuna is the muscle, Kenjaku is the architect. He’s been planning for centuries to evolve humanity through cursed energy. He’s basically the weirdest, most dangerous scientist in history.
The Disaster Curses
These were the primary antagonists for the first half:
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- Mahito: Born from human-on-human hatred. He can reshape your soul by touching you.
- Jogo: Born from the fear of volcanoes. He’s surprisingly fast for a guy with a mountain on his head.
- Hanami: Born from the fear of forests. Actually kinda peaceful until you start cutting down trees.
- Dagon: Born from the fear of the ocean. Looks like a cute octopus, then turns into a nightmare.
The New Generation (The Culling Game Newcomers)
As the story moved into 2026 and the final arcs, we got a whole new crop of weirdos. This is where the jujutsu kaisen character list gets really experimental.
Kinji Hakari is a fan favorite for a reason. He’s a gambler. His cursed technique is literally a "Domain Expansion" that functions like a pachinko machine. If he hits a jackpot, he becomes immortal for a few minutes while J-Pop music plays in the background. You can't make this up.
Hiromi Higuruma is a lawyer who woke up one day with the power to put people on trial. His Domain is a courtroom where violence is prohibited. If you're found guilty, he takes away your powers. It's one of the most creative fights in the whole manga.
Hajime Kashimo is a 400-year-old sorcerer who just wants to fight Sukuna. He uses electricity. He’s cool, he’s arrogant, and he basically treats the modern world like a buffet of strong opponents.
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Why People Get the Zenin Clan Wrong
The Zenin clan is one of the "Big Three" families, and they are objectively terrible people.
Maki Zenin is the standout here. Born with no cursed energy, she was treated like garbage. But thanks to a "Heavenly Restriction," she has superhuman physical stats. After the events involving her sister, Mai, Maki basically becomes a second version of Toji Fushiguro.
Toji is Megumi’s dad and the only guy who ever truly "killed" Gojo (for a minute). He’s a "sorcerer killer" who uses cursed tools because he has zero magic of his own. The irony? The man with no magic is the one who almost broke the entire system.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're trying to keep up with who's alive and who's dead in the current jujutsu kaisen character list, here’s the reality check:
- Don't get attached. Gege Akutami treats characters like tools for a theme. If their "purpose" is served, they’re gone.
- Watch the eyes. In JJK, eyes often tell you who's in control of a body (especially with Kenjaku or Sukuna).
- Check the status. Characters like Yuta Okkotsu (the protagonist of JJK 0) are the heavy hitters you need to watch. Yuta is basically the "backup" Gojo, with a massive amount of cursed energy and a ghost girlfriend named Rika.
- Understand the Grades. Grade 4 is weak, Grade 1 is the gold standard for experts, and Special Grade is reserved for people who can overthrow a whole country by themselves.
The series is coming to a close, and the list of survivors is shrinking by the week. If you're diving back in, start with the Shibuya Incident survivors and work your way through the Culling Game rosters. Just remember: in this world, even the winners usually lose something they can never get back.
To stay current, follow the official Shonen Jump releases for the manga, as anime-only lists are currently several arcs behind the true "endgame" status of characters like Choso, Uraume, and the remaining Tokyo High students.
The best way to track the current status of the jujutsu kaisen character list is to focus on the "Shinjuku Showdown" participants. This final battle includes heavy hitters like Kusakabe, Ino, and even Miguel making a surprise return. Keeping a physical or digital tally of "Active" vs. "Retired" (the manga's polite way of saying dead) is the only way to not get lost in the chaos of the final chapters.