Warning: Spoilers ahead for Jujutsu Kaisen!
Jujutsu Kaisen is still living out its cultural moment in 2024, from winning Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year 2024 award to concluding its memorable manga series on Sunday, September 29, 2024.-year run, firmly placing it among the best-selling manga ever . However, due to Jujutsu Kaisen’s Battle SHōnen framework and genre makeup, I can’t help but watch the entire manga and anime and recognize that Mahito was a more compelling villain than Sukuna.
Mahito has limited competition in the grand scheme of Jujutsu Kaisen Villains that are both threatening and compelling, especially beyond Sukuna. He may not have the same stake as some of the other major players of the series, but he left an enduring legacy. I will remember Mahito as A powerful and powerful special-purpose cursed spirit with an imposing body count. Mahito may not have the most powerful or storied of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Wicked. Still, his brutal powers, maniacal execution, and surprisingly funny anime moments make him a much more interesting character to me.
The true biggest villain of Jujutsu Kaisen was Mahito after reading from start to finish
An impressive body count to his name
Mahito featured by just short of the halfway point of Jujutsu KaisenWith a surprising final appearance in chapter #271’s series finale. so, Mahito was featured as one of the most impressive and ruthless killers of the series. After I finished the Shinjuku Showdown arc, including the marathon battles between Tsukuna and Gojo and enough new challengers to drain the quarters of a fighting game enthusiast, Tsukuna’s threat fell flat. This is not to say that Mahito would never come close to Sukuna’s strength: as a cursed spirit, even with Mahito’s incredible growth, he would never match the King of Curses in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Mahito’s true strengths lie in his impact as an antagonist and incredible body count, which exceeds four figures in the Shibuya incident, Accentuated by the chilling moment in Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter #88 When his victims come loose. He is among the most ruthless and efficient killers in contemporary manga, with a shocking number of on-screen deaths to his name, most notably Junpei Yoshino, Kento Nanami and Kokichi Muta. While Nanami’s death, in particular, felt upsetting, one loss in Jujutsu Kaisen was more than tragic: it was horrifying and perfect for the series.
Mahito shines among the horror highlights of Jujutsu Kaisen in the Dark Trio
The opposite of the Midas touch
Jujutsu KaisenAs a dark urban fantasy on top of being a shonen battle manga, has led it to be labeled among the Shonen Dark Trio alongside Hell’s paradise And Chainsaw Man. While Hell’s paradise is my favorite visually, and Chainsaw Man has bold and terrifying images and writing to his credit, Jujutsu Kaisen was usually the series whose dark fantasy trappings felt less steeped in horror. Taking this as a challenge, Mahito’s idle transformation is perhaps most chillingly rendered Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, Episode #12, when his manipulated hanger, Junpei Yoshino, outlived his usefulness.
Empty Transfiguration is Mahito’s innate cursed technique, allowing him to reform the souls of the bodies he touches, which then means that the body will change shape to suit. When used offensively, this often meant that the targets would be warped into abominations, potentially serving Mahito’s bidding as fodder against his enemies while dying in agony. I was horrified to see Junpei tearfully pleading for Yuji’s help in the anime (or asking, “Why?” in the manga, chapter #27), hopelessly transformed beyond repair. What I love about this is The body horror element it injects into Jujutsu Kaisen.
Body horror is a subgenre of horror that involves aberrant and often violent changes to predominantly human bodies, either imposed or over a gradual period. Famous creators in body horror include legendary figures like David Cronenberg and Junji Ito, and my favorite artist for the genre is Travel Foreman for his mind-blowing work on Jeff Lemire’s 2011 Animal man Run. When Junpei pleaded to Yuji in Jujutsu KaisenIt was reminiscent of a pitiful, grotesquely transformed Seth Brundle grabbing Veronica Quaife’s shotgun in The flight. Both were desperate for mercy in their final moments, in whatever form possible.
Mahito was the perfect enemy for Yuji in Jujutsu Kaisen
Growth to rival that of Sukuna’s ship
While Yuji Itadori benefited from immense talent, phenomenal strength and being honed as Tsukuna’s vessel to become a powerful sorcerer, Mahito learned quickly of his survival after each encounter in Jujutsu Kaisen. With his unique advantage of having two souls in his body, Yuji was a tough counter to Mahito. When Mahito was beaten in chapter #132, it had to be by Yuuji, who witnessed what was long believed to be Nobara Kugisaki’s death along with countless other victims. It’s impressive enough that even Yuji’s victory over Sukuna still has shades of that moment In chapter #268.
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Although Sukuna was the ultimate villain that needed to be defeated by anyone, and getting rid of Megumi Fushiguro was a major personal win for Yuji, I felt less interested in the idea of Yuji being the one to land the killing blow. Yuji even offers mercy to Sukuna in his final moments in Jujutsu KaisenThe culmination of his character development, call back to Mahito’s final moments, yet Yuji defeating Mahito felt cathartically necessary. One rapidly growing presence has to eliminate the other eventually, and Yuji has witnessed far too many atrocities to let Mahito slip away.
The JJK anime made Mahito more entertaining
A flippant shade of cruelty
Mahito’s playfully monstrous side is perfectly captured in many of these moments Jujutsu Kaisen Anime. yet, Something struck me as completely Joker-coded about him dancing along the train car interior. Mahito’s flippant act of mutilating passengers is immortalized in one of these The JJK Best opening themes. While he’s bouncing out of the train in chapter #88, it lacks the anime’s cinematic gravitas. Even the completely nonsensical post-credits friendly soccer game of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, Episode #7 was wildly entertaining, with Mahito hilariously scoring a perfect bicycle kick with Jogo’s head as the ball.
With a character whose cruelty and playfulness are initially only seen as written, it is legitimate to enjoy Mahito as he appears as a despicable villain in the manga. But seeing his jovial nonchalance, even while inflicting unimaginable cruelty, is fascinating in anime. It is similar to reading Batman For years until the first time you see the Joker as voiced by Mark Hamill. in Jujutsu KaisenFrom his writing to the sheer morbid entertainment factor, Mahito was the perfect villain for me, and I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this way.