This show looks amazing; the character designs are fantastic, the animation is nearly unparalleled (thanks, unfortunately, to the work of many animators who deserve far better treatment than they get from their employers), the direction is strong and distinctive. The characters are unique and likeable, with the villains managed to be incredibly awful and scary while still feeling like they have genuine personality and even, in some cases, pathos; in fact, I can't really think of a single character I don't feel positively about. The dub is fantastic, with strong performances throughout. The music is great. The pacing is strong. I have, on paper, little bad to say about it.
But this season, namely episodes 42/43, have made me decide that I have no interest in watching the next season when it eventually arrives, for one key reason. Those characters, the ones I pick out as a reason to enjoy the show? I don't think Gege Akutami cares very much about them. At several points during this season - the Shibuya arc is more egregious here but 'Hidden Inventory/Premature Death' does it too - interesting characters, including at least two major supporting characters, are killed off quickly and, in my opinion, without much narrative justification. At two points, female characters are killed off in a way which, despite the fact that I am personally a little more cautious with these sort of terms, can only be called fridging; killed solely for shock value and to create emotional turmoil for the male characters. The other major character who dies is a man, so doesn't come under that, but is certainly killed for shock value with minimal attention being paid to the character himself. The Shibuya arc also shuffles one of the main characters (on a subjective level the character I personally find to be the most interesting part) to the side, and while I'm sure he'll be back eventually, it still puts me off. It's the deaths that have spoiled it though.
Because it's not just that characters I like died; it's that (especially with the upcoming season being titled 'culling game'), I no longer trust the story to make caring about these characters worth my time. I don't trust that it won't kill off any character for shock value, and while I'm sure for some that adds a nice sense of 'Game of Thrones' like tension, for me it does the opposite. If any character can and will die with no warning for a cheap shock, none of those characters mean anything. Characters are where I connect to stories the most. 'Jujutsu Kaisen' was a story I cared about because I enjoyed the characters; the dynamic between the main trio of Yuji, Fushiguro, and Kugisaki felt like a more grounded take on the shounen tropes, felt like really engaging and believable characters. The supporting cast are the same. So if I can't trust the writer to treat those characters and dynamics with any value, why should I care?
I'm sure someone people have an answer to that question. Mine is simple: I shouldn't. I don't.
