Why Yuji Itadori may never be the among the strongest Jujutsu Kaisen characters

Despite his incredible feats against Sukuna, the latest chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen has just proven that Yuji Itadori might never be among the top five characters.

It’s been a year since the final fight against Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen began. Starting from Gojo, several characters have fought and lost against the embodiment of disaster. Even with the best sorcerers fighting against the villain, Sukuna still stands his ground.

The fandom was in chaos when Satoru Gojo suddenly died after the manga implied that he had won. However, that was only the beginning. It turns out Sukuna was holding himself back, and he didn’t even go all out.

Sukuna incarnated in his true form after Gojo’s death. Since then, the fight is still continuing as Gege reveals the sorcerer’s plans during the time skip. However, even though their plan relies on Yuji, the protagonist isn’t among the top five characters of Jujutsu Kaisen. Warning: This article contains spoilers from the manga!

Yuji Itadori didn’t earn his powers like others in Jujutsu Kaisen

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Initially, it was assumed that Yuji Itadori had a rare talent, a one-in-a-million chance to become the vessel for the great King of Curses. However, Chapter 257 confirmed that Yuji Itadori’s father, Jin Itadori, was the incarnation of Sukuna’s twin. When Sukuna was inside his mother’s womb, he ate his twin in order to not starve.

However, Kenjaku finds out Jin Itadori is the incarnation of that twin’s soul and has a child with him using Kaori Itadori’s body. Kenjaku even made arrangements so Yuji would be born with a cursed finger inside of him. Its powers and influence were sealed until the Culling Games, but it did help him become Sukuna’s vessel when he swallowed a finger in Chapter 1.

Hence, Megumi was actually the one who had the one-in-million chance to become Sukuna’s vessel. He could actually suppress the King of Curses. Furthermore, Chapter 258 also confirmed that Yuji’s abilities are thanks to others who had been swapping souls with him.

Sukuna’s techniques had been engraved in Yuji’s body as muscle memory. Using that logic, Yuji learned several other techniques, such as Simple Domain, by swapping souls. Not only that, he also ate the rest of the Death Paintings before the final battle.

Now, the story has hinted that the others used that method to learn new techniques as well. But everyone, even Miwa, had their own techniques, and they trained for a long time. And yet, Yuji is the only one who didn’t train and instead used other people’s hard work for himself. Although they were in a time crunch, the fact remains that Yuji’s powers will never be something he earned from himself.

Why can’t Yuji be ranked among the top 5 characters in Jujutsu Kaisen?

Manga Plus

Even though the manga is in its final stretch, Yuji needs everyone’s help to land a blow on Sukuna. Higuruma sacrificed himself so Yuji could use his Executioner’s Sword. Yuta damaged Sukuna significantly, knowing that the latter could not use the Reverse Cursed Technique thanks to his fight against Gojo.

By cutting Sukuna’s tongue, Yuta ensured he could not enchant. Not only that, but he took and survived the most powerful attack that currently no one in Jujutsu Kaisen can handle. It was all to clear a path for Yuji and Maki. Maki sneaked behind Sukuna and stabbed his heart with her soul-split Katana. Yuji kept damaging the barrier between Sukuna’s and Megumi’s souls.

Choso, Maki, and Ino again took severe damage so Yuji could land all those Black Flashes against Sukuna. Those attacks weren’t wasteful since they stopped Sukuna from regaining his Reverse Cursed Technique output. However, Sukuna is someone who can turn any situation in his favor. He keeps using Binding Vows to gain the upper hand in the battle, which is ingenious.

Even though Yuji is much more powerful now, he falls behind Sukuna, Gojo, Yuta, Kenjaku, Kashimo, and even Hakari. He might be a fair matchup against Maki, but he may not be able to beat her. Maki is physically much stronger than him, and Yuji’s cursed technique output is meager.

Since we’re assuming that this fight is the final battle, it doesn’t seem likely for even an awakened Yuji to beat the top-tier Jujutsu Kaisen characters. However, the story continues, and there’s a chance that Yuji can use the Divine Flame and even Malevolent Shrine now, but he will still use them differently than Sukuna, who has a low output. And it’s still uncertain if he has inherited Kaori Itadori’s innate technique, the Antigravity System.

Gege Akutami’s unique approach to Yuji Itadori as a protagonist

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While Yuji may not be among the most powerful characters, there’s no denying he’s one of the best MCs in the new-gen. Jujutsu Kaisen creator Gege Akutami has taken a unique approach to the main character, who doesn’t have any talent, nor does he train a lot.

Characters like Deku from My Hero Academia and Asta from Black Clover also didn’t have abilities on their own, but they became stronger by training themselves. Yuji’s strength is practically given to him by others. Not that he never put in the effort himself, but it’s not comparable to the rest, and that’s not so bad.

As a 15-year-old, he doesn’t have to take the burden alone, and that’s why he’s surrounded by people who put their faith in him. He doesn’t seek a thrill from the fight but is eager to fulfill his role and do whatever is necessary to save others. This also means that his grandfather’s last wish is fulfilled since Yuji is surrounded by people who are ready to protect him and vice versa.

If you want more dark sorcery, check out our list of character deaths in Jujutsu Kaisen and the best anime like Jujutsu Kaisen.