#just because he doesnt strategize as thoroughly as megumi doesnt make him dumb

[cherryys]

I don't particularly like how people sometimes portray itafushi as "pretty smart guy x dumb himbo" mainly because, to me, has implications of "there needs to be a dainty guy who's the brains and a big strong guy who's just nothing but brawns" which feels like an interpretation confromed in heteronormativity. You don't have to make one guy in a gay ship a damsel in distress who can't protect himself and only exists to tell the other guy what to do because he's "smarter", and you don't have to infantalize the other and make him dumb as rocks that only know hows to punch and kick and needs constant guidance from his partner on what to do in any given situation. You can make them both capable. You can make them both able to think for themselves and their actions. You can make them both strong. You can find balancing ways to make them both compliment each other. These characters are complex, they exist beyond the character trope boxes you try to force them into.

One of my favorite things about megumi and yuuji's dynamics is that they make up for any weak spots the other would have during a fight. Yuuji acts first and thinks later, and that could be super beneficial for most fights, especially since Curses and Curse Users are known for taking drastic action first, but sometimes you have complex techniques like Inverse which needs a little bit more strategizing first, which is where Megumi, who thinks first and acts later, comes in. Apart from the fact that he just has more jujutsu knowledge than Yuuji, Megumi has a keen eye for detail (see: even in the midst of being severely injured, he managed to notice Hanami's weak point and tell Todo (and later Gojo) about it). He just noticed Inverse's mechanics and quickly applied a strategy to beat him. This is not to say Yuuji wouldn't have eventually figured it out (he's very adaptable and a quick learner!) Megumi just figured it out faster due to his high Battle IQ, but that does not diminish Yuuji's intelligence at all. He's quick on his feet, he's relentless in his attacks (Mahito) and can adjust to any changes in the battle (allies coming to help him). That's intelligence.

On the other hand, we have people who think Megumi is incapable of fighting. Now, this is mostly because Gege gave Megumi so many Ls at the start (😭), but if you see his growth, you can see him plenty capable of taking on opponents on his own. He can fight for himself, he's a capable fighter too. He handled himself well against Toji (despite what the anime wants you to believe), got jumped by 3 people while really exhausted and still won. Just because Yuuji is stronger than him physically (and not by that large of a margin as some make out) doesn't make him any less capable of scraping with someone, fists and all.

You can make them balanced while still having flaws (Yuuji being reckless, Megumi being someone hesitant who always second-guesses his actions) but i get annoyed when those flaws turn up to a 1000