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JJK. One of the younger additions to WSJโs increasing valley of titles. For two years its been going strong, selling millions of copies and captivating many fans. But why do people think its good and why is it gaining such a large, loyal fanbase? Ill tell you why.
The story centers around a Highschool kid named Yuji Itadori; someone whoโs abnormally normal. He doesnt have much friends, and doesnt like to stand out, but is a physical freak in every sense of the word. Strong enough to scale four stories with ease and throw cars like a ball.
This is in a time where monsters exist, and to combat them, individuals known as shamans have formed their own sort of government that operates independently from society.
Yuji is a good-hearted person that values the life and death of all living beings, something essential to his character and one of the stories main themes: What is a good death, and is sacrificing yourself for the greater good always a GOOD thing.
Due to his caring nature hes able to make companions quickly out of fellow abnormal people, Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro. These three make up what can be looked at as Narutoโs main trio, but with a much different approach.
Yuji doesnt desire to be the โgreatestโ at anything. He merely wants to save as many lives as possible. Megumi, although he does feel the need to be strong, doesnt wish to be the greatest in the world for typical reasons. His main goal is to save a fallen loved one and ensure-
That that person is always taken care of. For that goal, heโll do whatever it takes, including becoming the strongest of the strong. Thanks to their opposing views, the two arenโt rivals, but partners who work together and take care of things without drama.
Moving on to the third memeber of the trio we have Kugisaki. Someone who addresses a lot of the complaints people might have with a main female lead.
She doesnโt act like a tsundere, although she may seem like one at first, and is capable of holding her own (and better yet being the deciding factor) in a battle. She talks to Megumi and Itadori like theyโre friends, not like they irritate her, and I think thatโs refreshing.
Speaking of female leads, nows a great time to bring up that JJK has done a great job in that field as well. Characters like Mei Mei, Maki, Miwa and Rika have all been used in good ways. Mei and Maki are shown to be as strong if not stronger than the guys ( @zedex_iv for coloring)
Besides strength, they have personalities and feelings that arent carried or determined by the actions of the males. Just like their opposites, they recieve spotlight, and Gege makes sure they show out under that light using battle OR character progression.
As its cast is a strength, lets now touch on the villains: antagonists like Mahito, Geto, and Choso, imo, are done great. Theyโre known as โcursesโ, born from the form of energy known as โcursed energyโ (juryoku, in japanese). This is energy generated from negative human emotion-
Anger, jealousy, fear, regret. Anything. And thanks to this concept, thereโs endless potential as to what curses could be introduced. Mahito for example, is a curse born from โfear of humanityโ. Because of this, his view on the worth of life and our species as a whole is warped.
They see themselves as โreal humansโ due to the fact that they are born from OUR minds. But because we perceive them as NEGATIVE, we reject them. As a result, they see it as fair to claim their right to live in the world. If they have to exterminate their creators, all the better
These villains can even have relations to our main cast. The relationship between our fourth protagonist, Satoru Gojo, and one of the main antagonists, Suguru Geto, is executed greatly. I wont spoil, but I feel as tho it was a โfall from graceโ backstory done in the best way.
Then thereโs the relationship between Yuji, and our true main antagonist, Ryomen Sukuna. Their connection takes โinner demonsโ to a new level, as they arent friends, and sometimes come at constant war with each other over whoโs in control. Itadori cant access any special-
Abilities exclusive to Sukuna either, possibly addressing a worry one would have with โasspullsโ or last minute powerups. The demon within him could care less wether his host dies or not.
When discussing the seriesโ moral concepts, justice is hard to define. The fact that we create our own demons, and then conversely send out our brothers and sisters to kill those monsters, is such an interesting situation thatโs already been played with-
And brought up time and time again. Its the motivation behind several actions from prominent characters, and for some forms their whole basis of belief. The philosophy and opposing ideals that make up the world are nothing but fascinating.
Id say thats the closest to โworld buildingโ weโve gotten if you really appreciate that in a manga, but thats okay. This series is still 100 chapters young with room to grow in that area. Where it really shows an impressive mastery in is its thought out power system.
Juryoku, as I mentioned earlier, can be used to form techniques, create miniature dimensions, empower objects, and much more, but it all operates off complex rules and regulations. These rules and regs help to make battles interesting and thrilling, giving a true sense of danger.
To compliment the great abilities is Akutami Gegeโs excellent choreography. Its fine to disagree, but imo JJK has everyone beat right now in that area and it aint close. The fights are so complicated yet not too hard to follow, a testament to the amount of work thats been put in.
All of these points come together to give you a sense of the story that you might dive into: something with an investing main cast, present themes, great moral concepts, dynamic villains, complex systems, and a supernatural adventure that puts into question the worth of humanity.
Thereโs infinite room for it to expand, and even more time for you to immerse yourself in this wonderful story about humanityโs struggle against their worst fears. Join us for the ride!
