Nanami Kento has been one of the most beloved characters in Jujutsu Kaisen ever since his first appearance. Many fans were charmed by his calm and collected personality and his realistic response when it comes to working overtime. In fact, he is often considered the most ‘realistic’ character in the series because he acts like a real working adult. He also looks out for young sorcerers like Yuji, and he genuinely believes that it is his role as an adult to protect them.
Unfortunately, no matter how great Nanami’s character is, he is not spared from the dangers of the Shibuya Incident. In this article, we will discuss the events that led to Nanami’s death and answer the question, “Who killed Nanami Kento?”
The Shibuya Incident
The Shibuya Incident occurred on October 31, 2018. It is a major terrorist attack orchestrated by Kenjaku to seal Gojo Satoru in the Prison Realm. Kenjaku (Pseudo-Geto) chose the city of Shibuya as the center stage due to its population and railway system, which make it the perfect place to carry out his plan. As the night approached, a curtain surrounded the entirety of Shibuya, trapping all the civilians inside. Kenjaku planned to use the large population of civilians to hinder Gojo from using his abilities to the fullest. Other sorcerers also arrived in Shibuya to defend the city from the massive attack of cursed users and cursed spirits.
How Did Nanami Kento Die?
Nanami was doing relatively well at the beginning of the arc. As a grade 1 sorcerer, he was able to easily defeat his enemies including Haruta Shigemo who was completely overpowered by Nanami. However, Nanami began to sustain critical injuries when he encountered Dagon and got trapped in his Domain with Maki and Naobito. Nanami was struck by Dagon’s sure-hit attack inside the Domain, and half of his face and body were severely wounded.
Fortunately, Megumi came and created an opening where they could exit from Dagon’s Domain, and Nanami told the group to retreat for now. Dagon was about to chase after them, but Toji suddenly appeared and made short work of him.
Once they left Dagon’s Domain, Jogo suddenly appeared and set Nanami and Maki on fire. After that incident, Nanami was nowhere to be found until he finally reappeared in Chapter 120. He was heavily wounded, and his upper body was extremely scorched. As he walked towards the station, he encountered a horde of mutated humans. Before fighting them, Nanami suddenly found himself thinking about Malaysia and how nice it would be to live in a secluded house by the beach and read countless books. He also thought about how tired he was before taking on the mutated humans.
Once he was finished, Mahito came up to him and asked him to chat for a while. However, Yuji suddenly appeared, and Mahito took the opportunity to kill Nanami right in front of him. Before Nanami died, his last words to Yuji were: “You’ve got it from here.”
Who Killed Nanami Kento?
Nanami was killed by Mahito, a special grade cursed spirit whom he encountered multiple times in the earlier arcs. During their first fight, Mahito was completely overwhelmed by Nanami and was forced to retreat in the end. However, Mahito came back stronger during his fight with Nanami and Yuji. This time, he was able to use his Domain Expansion called Self-Embodiment of Perfection and trapped Nanami alone inside. Mahito also expressed his gratitude to Nanami since the result of their first fight pushed him to grow and become even stronger in power.
Foreshadowing Nanami’s Death?
Since Nanami’s death in Chapter 120, many fans have come to notice several foreshadowing of his death both in the anime and the manga. For instance, in the second opening of the anime adaptation, a half-eaten bread was shown on the screen, followed by a grinning Mahito. Of course, we all know that bread is Nanami’s favorite food, so this sequence is often interpreted as a foreshadowing of Nanami’s death in the Shibuya Arc.
Apart from that, fans have also noticed the oddly familiar author’s note in Volume 6. Note that Volume 6 was released in 2019, years before Nanami’s actual death in the manga. In the author’s note, Gege Akutami wrote the phrase “you’ve got it from here,” which is exactly similar to Nanami’s last words. Coincidence?