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conostra · 6 months ago

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Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 261 (spoilers, duh): A Tale Of Two Proteges

Satoru Gojo needs no introduction. The greatest sorcerer of the modern era. The first in centuries to be born with both the Six Eyes and the Limitless. The man so gay he honored his lover by destroying the broken system that broke him too, in the name of himself and all those he valued and truly cared for. Despite his confidence that often veered directly into narcissism on many an occasion, despite his issues stemming from being bred to be the ultimate living weapon, Gojo was, ultimately, a man who wanted to change society for the better. Even if, at times, that meant making himself so much worse. He would bear the cross to become the catalyst, his own blood and sweat, his very humanity, the fuel through which he would burn down the old world, and raise from the ashes a better Jujutsu society, a better Jujutsu world- a better world for sorcerers and non-sorcerers alike.

Gojo was the mentor for numerous students, and if not directly teaching them, then an inspiration all the same- Maki, Panda, Megumi, Nobara, and several other students spanning years and schools alike. But no two more directly outline Gojo’s influence than the two true protagonists of Jujutsu Kaisen- Yuta Okkotsu, the Greatest Living Sorcerer of the Modern Era, and Yuji Itadori, Sukuna’s Vessel, The Tiger of West Junior High. LOL

Yuji and Yuta are Gojo’s truest disciples, following exactly after their teacher, and despite this, they are contrasting parallels to each other. Yuta, willing to throw away all of himself, just like his teacher, in order to do what must be done. Yuji, willing to go through anything in order to prevent himself and his allies, his friends, now his family, from compromising themselves any further in this perpetual war they exist to fight. And in this moment, it puts them at complete odds.

Yuta is no stranger to complete desolation. In his very origin, he finds out he is responsible for his childhood love, Rika, becoming a cursed spirit. He is bullied in school, harassed and isolated in the world. And all of these people- cruel, sure, but random people all the same- are absolutely fucking obliterated. Destroyed. He is directly responsible for a notable amount of pain and sorrow in the world. And who is it who shows him kindness, and grace? Who is it that, in a series of his darkest moments, shines the light on the path he should take forward? Who is it that puts his own life on the line for Yuta to continue to even live in the first place? Satoru Gojo.

And Yuta makes good on the opportunity. He follows in Gojo’s will, a will to change the world by any means necessary, for the good of all involved. Through his own immense power, despite the gap between them in strength, he closes the gap between himself and Gojo emotionally, more than perhaps any have known since Gojo’s love, Geto, was lost to him at the Breakup KFC.

Yuta continues on that path. When Yuji’s life is put up, Yuta takes the opportunity to deceive the Jujutsu elders and save him. When the Culling games begin, Yuta is the primary contestant for our heroes, the one who amasses points through the slaying of these decrepit revenants and modern-day deviants alike, the one who bites the bullet on the wholesale slaughter for them to achieve their plan and attempt to foil Kenjaku. And when the foiling of Kenjaku is indeed what is on the line, who else but Yuta to be the one to confront him, to attempt to mitigate casualties? And when Gojo dies, who else but Yuta to be the one to take control of the battlefield, now the strongest sorcerer alive on the side of our heroes. Domain Expansions, Cursed Techniques, sneak attacks by the Heavenly Restricted. Nothing comes to fruition.

And so, in a last-chance bout of desperation, Yuta decides to play his final ace. He uses that monster of a man, Kenjaku, as inspiration, and takes his cursed technique as his own. They are in a war of absolute horror, and are in need of any advantage he can get. The risk of death is high. The moral implications are… horrific on every end, to say the least. But who else but Yuta, with the power to perform the acts that can make the change he wants to see in the world, is not just willing, but able to do what needs to be done to stop the Rampaging Demon, Ryoumen Sukuna?

Is Yuta Okkotsu willing to give up his humanity, and potentially his life, to save the world?

Is Yuta Okkotsu Gojo’s disciple because of the lengths he is willing to go to? Or is he willing to go to these lengths because he is Gojo’s disciple?

The answer is simple. Yuta has adopted Gojo’s willingness to play however he has to in order to do what he must, with none of the ego that prevented Gojo from playing his cards right in the moments where it truly cost him. He, as himself, Yuta Okkotsu, is of far less importance to the Jujutsu world, to his family at Jujutsu Tech and their sister school, than he is as the weapon through which Sukuna will meet his maker. And even if all he gets is 5 minutes. Even if all he is is a weapon. He will load himself, and aim himself- and if no one else is willing, he will pull his trigger on his own.

Yuji is cut from the exact same cloth, with the opposite texture.

Kindness. Humanity. Morality, willpower, whatever positive attributes you can give to a sorcerer are present in Yuji in spades. Arc after arc after arc, his humanity is tested and his morals are put in places they should never be, and yet his choice is clear- selflessness over all other things. And in a bit of a twist, that includes selfishness.

From the beginning, Yuji’s mission has simply been to do good. His grandfather died, his last family, with his final words bearing a burden of destiny- Help people. Be kind. And Yuji took this to heart. On pain and threat of death with Junpei, he decides to attempt to talk him down and ask him to change his mind, to get help, to come with him. Rather than allow Sukuna to kill Megumi, a man who has been relatively cold to him at times and at more than one occasion has threatened to kill him should he get out of hand, Yuji rips his own heart out, almost assuredly taking his own life instead. He had been one of the only people truly torn about killing even Mahito’s poor victims of Idle Transfiguration, and even about the prospect of Cursed Spirits that showed more humanity in the first place.

Even now, his life at risk once again, more than ever before, his goal, his true priority, is to rescue Megumi before killing Sukuna. If the powercliff between Gojo and the rest of the main cast was not present, if there were truly a way he could have been an asset, Yuji would have been the first (next to Yuta) to step up and join his mentor for the Jumping of Sukuna.

Besides his link with the Greatest Sorcerer in History, there’s another glaring reason why the JJK crew didn’t let Yuji in on their plan, maybe an even greater one: He would have, in no uncertain terms, absolutely NOT, under ANY circumstances, have let Yuta do this to himself. Yuji’s philosophy is simple. No More Martyrs. Suguru was enough. Gojo was enough. His grandfather was enough. Mai was enough, Mechamaru was enough, Yuki,. Tengen, Junpei, Masamichi, Nobara, Panda’s siblings, shit, Todo’s arm and Megumi’s sanity, if not totality- too much. Gojo, now. Too much. Sukuna killed his mentor, then Kashimo in quick succession, then Higuruma, then nearly killing Yuta, then nearly killing Maki, then nearly killing Kusakabe, and UI Ui, then burning his now only living relative, Choso.

No. More. Martyrs.

Yuji possesses a rather overlooked aspect of Gojo’s personality- his kindness. His compassion. His desire to better the world, without everyone else having to suffer. And that is where the distinction lies.

Yuji holds in him the aspect of Gojo that wanted everyone to become stronger, to try to keep pace with him, to work in tandem to create a better world for sorcerers and regular people alike. And Yuta holds in him, well, from his own words, the Monster. The willingness of Gojo to lose himself in the abyss, to blink first, to dive headlong into his own darkness in order to breach and create a light for others to seek for guidance, even if he will never see that light in his life. They are both, in their own right, martyrs. Yuji gave up his own life to attempt to harbor Sukuna, to save as many people as possible. And here he is, fighting that very demon, the King of Curses, to rectify the wrong of merely allowing him to exist. And Yuta has now potentially given up everything. His life, literally his very identity in the potential last few minutes of his existence, depriving himself of his humanity to save the humanity of all those who are left around him, a shambling corpse piloting a shambling corpse.

Yuji is Gojo’s righteousness, and Yuta is Gojo’s darkness. But both of them are most assuredly his greatest disciples, and both of them, in their own right, are two of the greatest heroes the Jujutsu world has ever seen.

Hopefully, the two halves of their mentor they both possess, and the wholes of themselves, and their comrades, and the histories behind them, will indeed be enough to destroy once and for all the King of Curses, the not-so-imaginary demon, The Strongest- Ryoumen Sukuna.

#jujutsu kaisen #gojo satoru #yuji itadori #yuta okkotsu #I'm ngl to yall Yuta my goat for that shit #crazy. fucked up. terrible for himself #but GOATed all the same.#ryoumen sukuna #I wonder how the foreshadowing of the connection of the body and soul will come into play #and I kinda hope that Yuta doesn't die here #if he do #make it the slow decay. more interesting imo #jjk chapter 261

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