Gojo might be the most misunderstood Jujutsu Kaisen character
Jujutsu Kaisen has a lot of popular characters, and Satoru Gojo is one of them who has become an icon of the anime industry in recent years. However, his characterization is often misunderstood by the vast majority of the fandom. It fails to grasp the nature of who he is, which is connected with the nature of change in the series.
This is particularly notorious compared to the other most powerful sorcerer in the series, Ryomen Sukuna. The King of Curses rejected the idea of change. At the same time, Gojo's attitude alone makes him one of the most misunderstood Jujutsu Kaisen since he is actually an avatar of change and adapting to the different challenges that life presents.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a publication.
Explaining why Satoru Gojo could be the most misunderstood Jujutsu Kaisen character
Ryomen Sukuna's beginnings and rise as the King of Curses is a helpful tool to contrast with Satoru Gojo's character and why the latter is misunderstood. Sukuna started at the lowest, rejected by society because of his looks, and probably left to die by his family (although this last part is up for interpretation). At the same time, Gojo was born into an important clan that constantly praised him and expected him to be great.
Both characters reached the summit of Jujutsu sorcery in their respective eras but with different methods. Sukuna became an upstart who defeated all the important clans and sorcerers of the Heian era. On the other hand, while Gojo did something similar, he started in a very privileged position, which makes him a lot less prone to reject change.
Even at the end of the series, during his conversation with Yuji Itadori in the final chapter of the manga, Gojo is seen telling his pupil that someone is going to surpass him in the future and is fine with that. Sukuna doesn't change or adapt and wants his will to be the only one that matters, highlighting a distinct difference in world views.
Exploring more reasons
Another example of why Gojo is the most misunderstood Jujutsu Kaisen character is when he says the infamous "Nah, I'd win" quote before facing Sukuna, with many people claiming he didn't keep his word. That is true; Gojo died fighting the King of Curses, but he accepted in the afterlife that he lost against a stronger foe and was honorable enough to claim that he did his best, but that wasn't enough.
This ability to embrace change is also shown by his desire to teach since he wants to make Jujutsu society better and is willing to develop students who could surpass him, thus potentially changing his status quo as the strongest. On the other hand, Sukuna was reveling in his status as the most powerful sorcerer, evidenced by him dying and not leaving any positive legacy behind.
However, that makes the final clash between these two characters one of the biggest highlights in Jujutsu Kaisen. In a way, both sorcerers found solace for a moment when fighting each other since they had similar positions before climbing to the top and finally had a real challenge in front of them.
Final thoughts
It is fascinating how the most misunderstood Jujutsu Kaisen character is also the most popular, but that is most likely the nature of Satoru Gojo. Some elements of his character have always been brought up, but his acceptance of change is something a lot of people don't mention.
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