Jujutsu Kaisen Just Showed Why It’s The Most Revolutionary Shonen Of Its Generation

Summary Yuji from Jujutsu Kaisen isn't special due to genetics or talent, but his determination and force of will.

The series subverts common tropes by avoiding making Yuji a typical shōnen protagonist.

Jujutsu Kaisen's revolutionary storytelling is emphasized through Yuji's non-special status.

Ever since its debut, Jujutsu Kaisen has continuously shown itself to be one of the most revolutionary shonen manga of its generation. While not without its shortcomings, the fight choreography and overall writing style have always eschewed some of the most common conventions of the genre with incredible execution, and that’s led to the series gradually becoming one of the biggest manga franchises of all time.

Jujutsu Kaisen has always thrived off of its subversive nature, and revelations from the most recent chapters have only further emphasized that. The most recent chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen have delved further into the secrets behind Yuji’s birth, and they’ve highlighted that Yuji Itadori avoids many common tropes of shonen protagonists while still being a great character in his own right.

There are some caveats to a lot of it, but it still leaves Yuji with far more agency than the average protagonist, and that’s done a lot to help make Jujutsu Kaisen as great a manga as it is.

Jujutsu Kaisen Seemingly Makes Its Hero A Walking Cliché

Yuji almost went a very predictable route

Everything with Jujutsu Kaisen making Yuji seem like a revolutionary protagonist stems from how it initially seemed like he wasn’t. One big mystery in the series has always been the mystery behind why Yuji was so powerful and Kenjaku’s ideal vessel for Sukuna, and chapter #257 finally provided an answer: Yuji’s father was reincarnated from Sukuna’s twin brother whom Sukuna ate in the womb. That perfectly explained Yuji’s connection to Sukuna and Kenjaku, but at the same time, making the protagonist a secret relative of both main villains is a massive cliché done far too often in fiction.

Yuji’s heritage became even more of a cliché as it seemed to explain why he was so powerful. In addition to his superhuman strength, Yuji has evolved into an incredibly powerful sorcerer who can not only use reverse curse energy and simple domain, but can use curse energy with enough precision to activate seven consecutive Black Flashes, something that even Gojo couldn't do. It started to seem like Yuji was another shonen protagonist who owed his strength to superior genetics and strokes of fate, and that had the potential to make Jujutsu Kaisen a far less interesting story.

Related Sukuna's Inspiration Foreshadowed the Dark Truth About Yuji's Origins Jujutsu Kaisen's Ryomen Sukuna has an unexpected inspiration that explains not only his origins but several other peculiarities about his character.

Jujutsu Kaisen Makes It Clear That Yuji Isn’t Supposed To Be Special

Yuji remains a massive underdog

Jujutsu Kaisen did a lot to make it seem like Yuji had become a run-of-the-mill shōnen protagonist, but it was quick to rectify that. Jujutsu Kaisen chapter #258 had a flashback to Yuji’s training for the final battle, and when Yuji’s power was brought up, it was established by Kusakabe that his strength came not from any innate talent, but from Sukuna possessing him. That means that Yuji being Kenjaku and Sukuna’s offspring has nothing to do with his power, so he’s still an example of a shōnen protagonist not being born special in any way, shape, or form.

There is an obvious caveat to that. Kusakabe, of course, would have no way of knowing about Yuji’s connection to Kenjaku and Sukuna, and because of that, his assessment of Yuji's abilities could easily be wrong. That being said, since it came immediately after the reveal of Yuji being Sukuna’s nephew, it probably means that Kusakabe’s statement about Yuji should be treated as more important than Yuji being Sukuna's nephew, so it can still be treated as an accurate statement of Yuji's abilities.

Yuji’s True Power Has Nothing To Do With Genetics (& That's Great)

Why Yuji is such a great protagonist

As for where Yuji's true power is supposed to come from as opposed to his genetics, that's already been established: his determination. Even after all the training and artificial boosts in strength he’s gotten, Yuji is hardly the strongest sorcerer in the series, but what allows Yuji to keep fighting is that Yuji's determination to win is far above his peers and allows him to constantly push himself beyond his limits. Even Sukuna acknowledges that "unbreakable" aspect of Yuji to the point of being unnerved by it, and considering the timing, that's clearly meant to be Yuji's most defining trait.

Jujutsu Kaisen's commitment to not making Yuji special avoids a common cliche of shonen manga.

The idea of Yuji’s power coming from his overwhelming determination, of course, is great for Jujutsu Kaisen, overall. Genetics aside, it would have been easy to make Yuji a hidden prodigy of some sort to justify his success, as that's a common narrative choice both in and out of manga. However, by maintaining the idea that Yuji Itadori isn't really talented so much as he’s just incredibly determined, Jujutsu Kaisen can have a far more unique protagonist than most shonen manga, and that's bound to do a lot to carry the story through its final arc.

Yuji's True Power Emphasizes One Of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Biggest Strengths

Yuji helps make Jujutsu Kaisen a masterpiece

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Overall, Yuji has consistently gotten by without being inherently special in any way, and that perfectly plays into one of Jujutsu Kaisen's biggest strengths. As previously discussed, one of the hallmarks of Jujutsu Kaisen has always been the subversive nature of its story, with the series always playing against the most common expectations of its medium. That's shown itself in areas like characters who’d be expected to live suddenly dying and the overall quick pacing of the series, and while that hasn't been without its criticisms, it's done a lot to make Jujutsu Kaisen stand out, regardless.

Jujutsu Kaisen's subversive nature, of course, is perfectly supported by the way Yuji is written. Some of the most popular manga in the world like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and even One Piece have an element of protagonists who are strong through a combination of genetics and innate talent, and it leaves a lot of those stories feeling far too predictable, as a result. By comparison, Jujutsu Kaisen's commitment to not making Yuji special avoids a common cliche of shonen manga, and that does a great job of playing into the overall subversive nature of the story.

More importantly, writing Yuji like that also makes his achievements feel far more earned. By firmly establishing that Yuji's accomplishments have nothing to do with talent, genetics, or any other unique abilities, Yuji comes across as far more proactive than the average shonen protagonist, and the effectiveness of that is well established in the final arc. Overall, the execution of Yuji truly not being a special person has done a lot to show why Jujutsu Kaisen is such a revolutionary manga, and more examples like this are bound to show themselves as the final arc comes to a close.