Jujutsu Kaisen is the breakout anime of 2021, topping almost all popularity contests among Western anime fans. Even though the anime incorporates several shonen tropes to get its story across, the show's fans accepted everything about the show with open arms, as is evident with its ever-increasing popularity, which simply refuses to die down.
Of course, just because an anime is popular doesn’t mean it’s flawless. Jujutsu Kaisen's perhaps most flawed character is the show’s male protagonist, Yuji Itadori. While he’s shown stunning improvements and growth throughout the first season, there are certain things he still lacks as a character.
10 Strength: He Possesses Superhuman Abilities Even Without Sukuna Inside His Body
Yuji is canonically able to cover a distance of 50 meters in 3 seconds, which would be a world record in the real world. He also jokingly threw a lead ball with so much force that it bent his school's metallic soccer goalpost.
In his first mission with Nobara, he punched through a brick wall as if it were made of paper, shocking even Nobara herself. While these abilities may not be enough to fight with cursed spirits, they go on to show that Yuji was a special young boy even before Sukuna possessed his body.
9 Weakness: He’s A Basic Shonen Hero With Predictable Shonen Behavior And End Goals
As a shonen hero, Yuuji does not possess any novelty. A loved one died, he was pushed into a world of supernatural creatures, now he wants to become the best that world has to offer, he finds out he’s the chosen one, and he trains hard enough to become the strongest sorcerer out there.
There’s nothing wrong with clichés when they're done correctly, but certain tropes have been used so consistently in anime that they have nothing new to offer. Yuji incorporates the “shonen hero” trope to the T, which means that fans have a fair idea of how he's going to behave.
8 Strength: He’s Able To Sympathize With People Most Wouldn’t Look Twice At
Yuji was the only one who looked at Junpei and saw a teenage boy that he could befriend. Almost any other sorcerer in his place would have instantly attacked Junpei when he was about to attack his teacher, Sotomura.
This ability to sympathize and want to save every life possible makes him a better human person than those who view everything from the lens of logic.
7 Weakness: He’s Overly Sympathetic And He Often Lets His Emotions Cloud His Judgment
Megumi berated Yuji for his idealistic approach. He said that it was impossible to save every life and that Yuji should be prepared to have collateral damage in his line of work—especially if the life he saves ends up taking the lives of innocent people in the future.
Yuji took a massive risk with Junpei because he didn't wish to doubt anyone and believed he was a good person, despite everything he went through. However, Junpei did contribute to aiding Mahito with killing his three bullies.
6 Strength: He’s A Remarkably Quick Learner When It Comes To Sorcery
Fans witnessed this in the Tokyo Goodwill Event arc, where Yuji and Aoi were forced to fight Hanami. In the middle of fighting the cursed spirit, Aoi lectured Yuji on how his lagging cursed energy was holding him back, and that he could improve his technique.
Yuji listened intently to Aoi's pointers and he not only managed to land a Black Flash on Hanami—but was able to seriously injure Hanami, with Aoi right by his side.
5 Weakness: He Lacks The Ability To Create His Own Domain Expansion
As of the end of episode 24 of Jujutsu Kaisen, there have been no indications showing that Yuji has the abilities of the talent—or the will—to create his own Domain Expansion technique.
While Yuji is shown to be excellent in hand-to-hand combat, and his ability to tap into Sukuna’s reserves of cursed energy is an excellent advantage, he would be on another level if he were to manage a Domain Expansion that is half as good as Gojo’s. Without that, he would have to physically fight his opponents all the time, constantly putting himself in harm’s way.
4 Strength: He’s Ready To Sacrifice His Life To Save Innocent People
This was established in the very first episode, where a cursed spirit had got hold of two of his classmates. He trusted that Megumi was doing the right thing, broke through a window, and startled the cursed spirit long enough to save his friends.
After that he consumed Sukuna’s finger—even after Megumi's warning)—without knowing what it would do to him because for him.
3 Weakness: He Shows Hesitation Before Killing Cursed Spirits And Users
While his hesitation was understandable in the case of Junpei, seeing how the boy was still a human, Yuji's sympathy towards Eso was inexcusable.
While Eso was doing his best to not only kill Yuji but Nobara as well, all Yuji could think of was how bad he felt for killing a murderous cursed spirit that mourned the death of its brother. Sadly, Yuji still has a long way to go when it comes to understanding that not every life deserves to live.
2 Strength: He Has The Powers Of The King Of Curses At His Disposal
Thanks to the Binding Vow he made with Sukuna, Yuji was able to come back from the dead – a feat that remains unparalleled till now. Not to mention the fact that his wounds are able to self-heal easily, how he does not feel as much pain as he’s supposed to, as well as how much more physical prowess he has at his disposal.
All of this is thanks to Sukuna, without whom Yuji would have never even caught the eye of Gojo, nor would he have entered Tokyo Jujutsu High.
1 Weakness: Sukuna Is Unreliable, Selfish And Deceptive
Despite Yuji using Sukuna’s strength to his advantage, he is unable to do so at his own will. The decision to help Yuji is always in Sukuna’s hands, and as has been made abundantly clear, he often refuses to help Yuji if he does not feel like it.
There are other obstacles that stand in way of Yuji's ability to trust Sukuna, including the Binding Vow that he doesn’t remember making, as well as Sukuna’s inexplicable obsession with Megumi. In fact, it is due to Sukuna's numerous secrets he keeps hiding from Yuji, that puts the boy in constant danger.
0 Comments