...

Is Hajime Kashimo Dead? The Character’s Death & Impact Explained!

We probably got another offscreen death, this time Kashimo's. Read to know

If the contents of JJK chapter 238 are to be believed, then the Thunder God Hajime Kashimo will be the butt of the fandom’s jokes for some time now. I already see the fraud allegations shifting from Sukuna to Kashimo.

Kashimo has been hyped up to a certain in the JJK manga. First of all, he was one of the strongest reincarnated sorcerers who took part in the culling game. His fight with Hakari was an example of what he could do.

On top of that, Kashimo possessed a cursed technique which he could only use once, and he wanted to use it in order to fight Sukuna. For someone who was soo intent on going up against the strongest sorcerer, he seems to have fallen flat.

In the previous chapter, Sukuna regained his true form, and from there things have gone downhill for Kashimo (and even Megumi, let’s not forget our boy).

In JJK 238, his fate was all but sealed.

Is Hajime Kashimo dead in JJK 238? Does it have any impact?

To answer in short, Hajime Kashimo is dead. He was killed by Sukuna in JJK chapter 238. Once again, there is a confusion regarding his fate because we aren’t really shown his end.

To be fair, Kashimo’s death was a given the moment he activated his cursed technique. There was no turning back from that. The character was going to meet his end one way or the other. However, I understand when people say there is certain disappointment regarding the way he bowed out.

Kashimo wasn’t as strong as Gojo, but fans (including me) were expecting a spectacle when it came to his battle with Sukuna. And watching him being able to land some hits on his opponent at the beginning of the battle certainly increased my hopes.

But then, the tables suddenly turned.

As I mentioned before, Sukuna reincarnated into his true form in chapter 237. And once the reincarnation was done Kashimo was no match for him. He barely lasted a chapter after that. This was almost a repeat of Sukuna vs Jogo.

Sukuna didn’t have to put in much efforts to corner Kashimo. Be it overpowering him physically or with cursed energy.

Narratively speaking Kashimo has not added anything crucial to the plot, atleast not yet. Even in the last two chapters, his sole purpose was to highlight the concept that being strong comes with its own loneliness. It almost seemed like his sought out Sukuna for a completely different reason – finding something to fill the hole in him.

In the end, he turned out to be a disposible character, just like Ryu. True, his coversation with Sukuna in the dream/flashback/cursed realm reveals a bit more about Sukuna’s personality, but overall, I guess the character bids farewell without seeing much of a development.

Only his views on being the strongest and the loneliness that comes with it changed. In short, the emotional investment was almost nil, for me atleast.

How did Kashimo die?

Kashimo himself acknowledged that Sukuna’s true form was perfect in JJK chapter 238 and was in awe of him. But we need to give him credit for not giving up (just like Jogo).

At that point he probably realized he was no match for his opponent. But that didn’t stop him from launching attacks on Sukuna. He once again went ahead a cursed energy blast.

The king of curses was easily able to deflect the blast that Kashimo directed towards him using the same dismantle he used to kill Gojo. Kashimo called it the slash that cut the world.

But, this was not the attack that killed him.

Unlike what he did with Gojo (probably, because we never got to see what he did there), Sukuna was chanting before he launched the dismantle. This acted like a warning for Kashimo, and he was able to dodge it in the nick of time. But he couldn’t prevent it from chopping off his hand.

He then used the Kamutoke to hit Kashimo with an electricity/lightning blast and then followed it up with a barrage of physical attacks, showcasing his supremacy.

That was a point of no return for Kashimo. Because what followed was a net of dismantle, something which was definitely hard to dodge. And I am pretty sure he did not (or could not) dodge, because what followed was a conversating between Sukuna and Kashimo in a cursed realm/dream interaction.

Offscreen death again?

The JJK fandom is still seething over the manner of Gojo’s death, especially the way Sukuna’s slash took place off-screen. In this fight, Gege showed us the slashes, however, he has probably left the death of the character upto fans’ interpretation. And that is precisely why there is still doubts regarding whether he really died.

If that is the case, then why did I say that Kashimo was dead.

Well, the reason I said he is dead is because we got the dream interaction between Sukuna and Kashimo. Such instances only happen before a character dies.

Every character who was about to meet their end, always ended up getting a flashback scene of sorts. We got one when Jogo was about to die, same with Yaga, and even Gojo.

In JJK 238 Kashimo too got one, which only cements the possibility of his death.

Also, let’s take a closer look at what Sukuna tells Kashimo during their conversation here. He says that killing the people who challenged Kashimo in order to be acknowledged by him was a mercy in itself. That logic applies to the fight between these two.

Kashimo was the one who challenged Sukuna in order to gain the latter’s acknowledgement. And Sukuna is showing him mercy by killing him. I certainly take that as a proof that Sukuna killed Kashimo.

Immediately after the flashback/dream sequence, our attention is diverted to the two new people who enter the fight, Itadori and Higurama. So, we don’t see any panel of him lying dead or anything.

I’m pretty sure Gege has given us another off-screen death.

Let’s say Kashimo survived that attack, it still wouldn’t be worth keeping him alive, because that man is going to die anyway once his cursed technique runs out or is deactivated. And I don’t think he will have tons of cursed energy reserves left if he tanked that Dismantle from Sukuna.

No matter what the outcome, Kashimo is going to die. So better give him the joy of having died in the battle, because he certainly would love it that way.

What are your thought’s on Kashimo’s death? Do you think the character had any major impact on the plot? Let me know your comments below!

Related posts

Leave a Comment