Summary

• Jujutsu Kaisen challenges traditional shonen tropes by delving into complex themes of fate and willpower.
• The series offers a nuanced portrayal of morality, depicting characters who defy black-and-white dynamics.
• Jujutsu Kaisen explores the concept of humanity through the lens of agency, disability, and the power to shape one's fate.

Many fans love to debate what the best modern shonen series is, with more than a few picking the hit dark fantasy battle Jujutsu Kaisen. However, while there are merits to choosing Gege Akutami's work as the pinnacle of the genre, it would actually be diminutive to define Jujutsu Kaisen as a mere shonen, a word used to describe series targeted at a young male audience.

The first time I watched Jujutsu Kaisen shortly after the release of season 2, I was struck by how much it resonated with themes far more intricate than many shonen openly tackle. I was drawn to the show's meditations on the power to create oneself, the world, and one's own values. As I dug deeper into the series, I discovered themes with a depth that other shonen can't compare to.

Jujutsu Kaisen follows the story of Itadori Yuji, unexpectedly brought into a world unseen by the naked eye. In this world, the three main types of humans are sorcerers, curse s, and non-sorcerers. The former two manipulate cursed energy, generated by negative emotions, of which non-sorcerers are mostly unaware. Although the show adopts Yuji as its center, it places far more focus on the greater politics between these groups.

Jujutsu Kaisen Kicks Off With Chance and Overcoming

Yuji's Journey Shows The Interconnection of Fate, Luck, and Willpower

From the very first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen, shonen tropes are already being subverted. Itadori Yuji is far from a "chosen" protagonist. His friends happen upon one of Sukuna's fingers, and Yuji ends up in possession of it. Later, when a curse attempts to steal it from him, he eats it: an unpredictable decision that immediately entangles him in the sorcerer world.

This accident is how Yuji becomes the center of Jujutsu Kaisen. Although he became the protagonist by chance, he works endlessly to make the most of the hand he's dealt. For Yuji, his life and control of Sukuna depend on his ability to overcome Sukuna's influence while mastering Sukuna and the potential strength he provides.

In shonen anime, "suring limits" and "overcoming adversity" are frequent features, but in Jujutsu Kaisen, growth is shown to be connected both with willpower and accident. Yuji never intended to be a sorcerer, but he must learn to overcome himself, building a "strength" befitting his circumstances and commitment to sorcery. For example, when Gojo forces him to watch movies to learn to control his cursed energy, Yuji learns the values of patience and stoicism important to Jujutsu sorcerers.

This play of chance and overcoming appears constantly. Toji is Megumi's estranged father by chance, but Megumi chooses to sever the idea of his father from his self-worth and the life he creates. The twins Geto saved by chance from a village would actively choose to oppose Pseudo-Geto when his values didn't align with those they ired in Geto. This reflection on willpower in the face of contingency and constantly changing situations shows how Jujutsu Kaisen adjusts shonen concepts of growth to great effect.

How Jujutsu Kaisen Challenges Preconceptions

Jujutsu Kaisen Transgresses Shonen Standards With A Bold Critique of Morality and Truth

While writing about Gojo and Geto's relationship, I realized how truly complicated Jujutsu Kaisen's moral depictions are. Gojo and Geto were best friends despite opposing ideologies: Gojo looks down on non-sorcerers but protects them out of tradition; Geto thinks they must be protected. They later "swap": Gojo feels non-sorcerers must be protected, while Geto comes to detest non-sorcerers and wants a world without them. This happens because of their attachment to Riko, a non-sorcerer with whom they bonded while expecting her to lose her life in a sacrifice, who ends up killed by a mercenary despite their efforts.

The reason Geto comes to hate non-sorcerers is that his sheer empathy for them created a deep bond with Riko. Geto sees money as a superficial reason for one non-sorcerer to kill another, and he begins to question why sorcerers uphold their duty. This doubt compounds as he learns that non-sorcerers are the main reason for cursed energy and witnesses sorcerers being tortured by non-sorcerers.

Geto's hatred stems from a strong and sincere love for non-sorcerers. Conversely, Gojo's development follows his feeling of failure and sense of duty. Although Gojo becomes very "selfless" in his ideology, his motivations are egoistic, based on his ability to overcome himself and his limitations to better serve his role. For his duty of destroying curses, Gojo will happily eschew conventional morality and heroic ideals.

Jujutsu Kaisen shows that ideology and morals develop by chance. Most importantly, they develop in unexpected ways; love can become hate with a little nudge. Nonetheless, these fickle axioms seem to decide everything. Contrasting with Gojo and Geto, the Zen'in sisters grew up in the same environment and culture. Maki is a non-sorcerer whose combat ability comes from her mastery of cursed tools. Her interactions within the Zen'in clan were different from Mai's because, within a prestigious sorcerer clan, she was a non-sorcerer.

Mai becomes fueled by resentment, trying her hardest yet failing to keep up with Maki. As Mai stews within the Zen'in clan, Maki separates from the cultural and ideological system controlling her life and dictating her value. She then grows stronger than ever as a non-sorcerer whose strength blurs the lines of the sorcerer/non-sorcerer distinction.

With both Mai and Geto, Jujutsu Kaisen critiques morality while gently raising the question of whether emotions like egoistic resentment or pride truly make adequate replacements for morals. There is no single reason for any character's commitments, being rooted in their experiences, beliefs, and values. This contrast to the black-and-white dynamics of other shōnen, allowing Jujutsu Kaisen to depict characters who both conform to shōnen standards while exhibiting thematic complexity.

Jujutsu Kaisen Asks What It Means to Be Human

The Politics Of The Series Make It Speak On Something Special

In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, humanity is often stripped away. It's not as simple as sorcerers and curse s being stronger than non-sorcerers. Sorcerers, curse s, and non-sorcerers all challenge one another's essential worth. The "unbreakable" Yuji blurs the lines by becoming a sorcerer by accident. Maki is a non-sorcerer whose lack of cursed energy makes her body superhuman. Toji uses the fact that he's not a curse to his advantage when he penetrates Gojo's Infinity barrier.

To show why Jujutsu Kaisen is so special, I'll connect it with my interest in disability philosophy. Disabled people are well aware of what it means to have one's agency taken away because of social perceptions, limitations, and labels. In Jujutsu Kaisen, I found a question resembling one that helped me significantly. "I obtained this body and these circumstances by chance—what is left that I can choose?"

In Jujutsu Kaisen, fate is something you create, not something you're born with.

I found that to feel like "disability" wasn't an impediment or an unfortunate curse, I had to think of it in of the context that had structured it: one I had the power to overcome, subvert, or at least have a say in. Context is always important in Jujutsu Kaisen. Although Sukuna disdains humans and casts aside any moral norms, he respects Megumi for his potential. Facing Gojo, Geto's body acts against Kenjaku, its cursed spirit inhabitant, showing their bond lingering after death. Touchingly, Yuji iconically mourns his enemies.

Shōnen series love "chosen" characters. Maybe the son of the world's most famous hunter follows in his footsteps; maybe the son of a Hokage seeks to become an even stronger Hokage himself. These stories are interesting and can introduce compelling obstacles, but the reason Jujutsu Kaisen spoke to me is that there isn't an overarching sense of logic or fate controlling the series. In Jujutsu Kaisen, fate is something you create, not something you're born with.

Although Jujutsu Kaisen spoke to me on a personal level, any viewer whose actions and potential feel predetermined will find a reason to love it. It's not just a shonen: it's a shonen where the stakes are being considered human or, at least, worthy of life. The way Jujutsu Kaisen approaches that question isn't found anywhere else.