Character Analysis: Yuji Itadori

 Out of all the recent battle shonen, Yuji Itadori has been a stand-out main character compared to the rest. 

In this post, I would like why I think that many consider this to be the case

Spoilers For Jujutsu Kaisen

What's He Like?

Yuji is very much characterized as an average teenage boy. Very energetic when with his friends, but for the most part calm and down to earth. He is also very social and open to becoming friends with everyone. Lastly, he is more concerned with the well-being of others than himself and has a strong moral compass.

How's He Different?

The most distinguishing thing about Yuji is how thoughtful of a person he is.

Usually, in battle shonen, the main characters are act first and think later, always assuming what they do is objectively right. Yuji is different, he always takes an objective look at each situation and decides whether what he is doing is "right", especially when it comes to killing. 

In his fight with Mahito, he is forced to kill 3 people, and even though they were essentially already dead he is deeply affected by this. 

Even when he has to kill cursed spirits like Eso, he has a realization that they have their own wills and questions the morality of the situation. 

Having the main character that thinks about these sorts of things is very interesting and makes him feel like an actual human with emotion. He realizes the world isn't black and white, the world is complex. 

Even his personality is believable for a teenager, being down to earth but very friendly. Wanting to have a ordinary life making friends and watching movies, but having to deal with the consequences of sukuna posessing his body. I.E. what happened with Junpei.

Compared to characters like Asta that are very friendly but extremely energetic and overbearing. While not having much deep thought on why he fights or who he fights.

Take-Aways

• Break the mold, look at the common character traits of the main characters of other series and see what you can do differently.
• Think about what makes a character feel real and grounded.

Thats all I have, for now, have a great day!