Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, ever since its inception, has been known for showcasing manga with surreal power fantasies that often defy conventional logic. Over time, new series have continued pushing these boundaries, introducing unique mechanisms to navigate complex plot developments that would otherwise be impossible to resolve realistically. Sakamoto Days, one of the best battle manga currently running in Shonen Jump, is generally grounded in a more realistic setting. However, the series has just introduced a phenomenon so unexpected that it has taken fans by surprise, in all the right ways. While still rooted in a scientific framework, the concept is so far-fetched it has gone viral for its creative brilliance.
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Chapter 216 of Sakamoto Days, titled “Tunnel,” picks up amidst ongoing events and reveals how Shin Asakura, the deuteragonist, survived despite Kei Azuki channeling Takamura’s persona and slitting his throat with a sword. The explanation comes from Atari, the enigmatic character with the ability to manipulate luck. She claims Shin survived due to the “Tunnel Effect,” a quantum physics phenomenon where a particle can pass through a barrier it seemingly doesn’t have the energy to overcome. In layman’s terms, she explains that Kei’s sword never actually made contact with Shin’s throat and went through it. Thanks to her luck-based powers, she amplified the chances of this near-impossible event becoming reality. Naturally, this twist has sparked widespread reaction, with fans now humorously applying the tunnel effect to rewrite pivotal death scenes across other Shonen Jump series.
Warning: Major spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece ahead.
Sakamoto Days’ Viral Tunnel Effect Has Fans Creating Alternate Versions of Pivotal Death Scenes
The “Tunnel Effect” phenomenon from Sakamoto Days has gone viral, with fans across the internet using it to recreate scenes where major characters are saved from death. One of the most talked-about examples is Satoru Gojo’s death in Jujutsu Kaisen, arguably one of Shonen Jump’s most impactful losses in recent years. Fans have imagined an alternate reality where Gojo survives Sukuna’s world-slicing attack thanks to the Tunnel Effect, which allows the attack to pass through him without impact. Similarly, another fan-favorite scenario involves Toji Fushiguro avoiding Gojo’s Hollow Purple attack using the same phenomenon, allowing him to live on.
In other instances, fans have looked back at iconic deaths, such as Ace’s in One Piece, humorously questioning whether things might have turned out differently if only Ace had known about the Tunnel Effect. These fan interpretations, while comedic, underscore just how deeply this concept has penetrated the fiction narrative discourse. The Tunnel Effect from Sakamoto Days has clearly struck a chord, and it’s likely to remain a running joke, and possibly a coping mechanism, among fans. Going forward, whenever a major character dies in any Shonen Jump manga, it wouldn’t be surprising to see fans invoke the “Tunnel Effect” as they eagerly wait to see whether that death is truly final, fundamentally shifting how character deaths are perceived in shonen storytelling.
Sakamoto Days is available to read on Viz Media and Manga Plus.
