The Jujutsu Kaisen light novels undermine Mahito in an unforgivable way
Jujutsu Kaisen has some of the most memorable and iconic villains in modern anime such as Ryomen Sukuna, Suguru Geto, and Kenjaku, but Mahito holds a special place in a lot of people's minds. His ruthless and sadistic personality makes him the villain everyone loves to hate, although the series' light novels might have undermined his natural dislike of humanity.
There are two light novels covering events from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, 2019's Summer of Ashes, Autumn of Dust, and 2020's Thorny Road at Dawn, which also gives Mahito some time in the spotlight and depicts him showing appreciation for an older blind man.
This man gave him more knowledge to understand the soul, and perhaps that was the cause of his respect for that person, but it makes his characterization in the series inconsistent.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a publication.
Explaining how the Jujutsu Kaisen light novels hurt Mahito's character
It was shown in the light novels, which are considered to be canon despite not being written by the author Gege Akutami, that Mahito develops a degree of appreciation and respect for an old man who taught him a little about the nature of the soul.
While the last part makes sense since Mahito's journey throughout the series has him wanting to learn the meaning and nature of the soul, the first part undermines his character.
A key aspect of Mahito's characterization throughout the story is that he has a genuine disdain for humans because he is the Curse who embodies said race's hatred. Therefore, when he shows respect for a human, that seems to go against his nature as a Curse and also his own instincts, especially considering his treatment of Junpei Yoshino.
Junpei was a normal civilian with the potential to become a sorcerer who was manipulated by Mahito simply for his own convenience. This highlights the character's sadistic nature and the willingness to destroy and torment people, evidenced by his treatment of Yuji Itadori, thus making his portrayal in the light novels all the more confusing.
The importance of Mahito's character
Part of the reason why Mahito holds such a special place in the Jujutsu Kaisen community is the fact he is the most purely evil character in the entire franchise. He has proven to be quite ruthless as he killed people without hesitation and was arguably the biggest foil to Yuji Itadori, especially because they have totally opposite life philosophies.
Moreover, from a storytelling perspective, Mahito proved to be quite effective as a villain, taking the life of Junpei Yoshino after manipulating him, which was a major plot twist in the franchise. This was further emphasized in the Shibuya Incident arc, as he killed Nanami Kento and took Nobara Kugisaki out of commission for the vast majority of the series.
Ultimately, no villain in the series broke Yuji Itadori the way Mahito did, and their final bout in Shibuya has become one of the most iconic moments in the franchise. That is something that also made this Curse so memorable, coupled with his constant learning process in Jujutsu Kaisen, which is not common to see in battle shonen villains.
Final thoughts
Mahito's portrayal in the light novels proves to be inconsistent with how he was depicted in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga and anime. However, this doesn't stop him from being one of the best characters that the series has produced and one of its most memorable villains.
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