𝐋𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭 𝐔𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧

According to Hindu legends, there was a point in time when all beings that roamed the earth possessed divinity. Essentially, every human was a god. But once they started misusing their divinity, the creator of all things, Supreme god Brahma, decided to take away this gift.

Brahma called a council of all the gods to decide where to hide this divinity. Some suggested to hide it within the earth, the seas, or atop mountains. But Brahma declared humans would search high and low for it. He then decided to hide it in one place they would not look ..

Within themselves.

Divinity lies in us all. It is a form of strength we all strive to achieve.

Yet in a certain manga, this concept has been juxtaposed to the extent that it has drawn my attention to a recurring theme that plays a huge part in the overarching plot.

Today’s thread will be talking about the topic of “moral ambiguity” in the manga Jujutsu Kaisen, and how Akutami sensei has expressed several times over, how such a rigid concept can hold several meanings depending on the context it is applied to. Lets take a closer look.

To start this off, the concept of good and evil is a tried and true element in shonen manga. A character will act accordingly to their moral compass, and a shift in this can be seen as development on their part, whether in the form of growth, regression, or progression.

However in certain instances, there’s unshakable truths a story will lay out. For example, Sanji refusing to hit women, or Eren’s insatiable drive to never take his eyes off his goal.

JJK immediately presents us with such a truth in relation to sorcery.. but then breaks it?

Right from the jump, Gege tells to us that this series is not going to follow conventional means whatsoever. The main character’s end goal is to die while surrounded by those that he loves. And the story itself has been shaped around this goal also.

Yuuji Itadori will be killed so as to exterminate the curse that is Ryoumen Sukuna.

The life of an innocent boy will be snuffed out for the greater good.

Gege immediately drops such a bombshell, yet all the characters in the story treat it like the most natural outcome.

This series of events provoked a certain question in my mind .. what is “good” ? The act of carrying out justice ? The act of maintaining peace ? And if so, is it justifiable regardless of the means that you use to go about it ?

In these questions lie the brilliance of JJK.

Characters are forced to constantly question their own ideals and morality, and can never arrive at a certain answer.

Though they may disagree with one another, it is clear that the intentions that are behind the actions they carry out outweigh the end goal. As we see here..

When Itadori’s life is first snuffed out, the way Megumi thinks is drastically changed. His belief of a logical approach to being good is shattered as he realizes his actions do not follow through with his beliefs.

This is just one instance of Gege displaying moral ambiguity..

While acting incognito from Jujutsu high, Itadori befriends Junpei, a lonely kid who lost his mother in a tragic accident with a curse.

Junpei was already struggling to come to terms with the harsh reality of the world, and Itadori attempted to be the bridge Junpei needed.

However, Itadori is reminded that kindness will not always prosper.

Similarly to Megumi, Itadori held his own seemingly undeniable truth; that life is precious and one should live to the fullest. But after witnessing his friends death, he finally comes to terms with himself.

The taking of a life is seen to be a sin, yet Gege has gone through lengths to show that in the Jujutsu world, this is not the case. Once a curse is involved, death is a trivial topic, as seen in the Kyoto sister school arc when Itadori was marked for assassination.

Though the Kyoto school eventually has this goal of theirs shattered, we can now see a pattern forming. The moral compass of jujutsu sorcerers is fragile.

As if to draw attention to this, Jogo comments that humans are all frauds, and cursed spirits are the true humans.

The purpose of this was to highlight how cursed spirits are “pure” negative emotions and energy, and they do not deny any part of themselves, yet humans hold these same feelings, and mask them with positive ones, but claim to be “good” or “real”.

And .. he’s not exactly wrong

To draw back to the beginning of this thread, I mentioned that divinity can be found within yourself and how this can be seen as a source of strength.
Earlier in the story, Yuuji comments on his own weakness and how he wishes he was stronger. However this was before he decided..

To fully understand himself. He was not complete. Aoi Todo remarks on this while training him, by breaking down the essence of cursed energy.

What stood out to me the most here was how he conveyed the balance of negative emotions to a sort of nirvana. Upon acknowledging this..

Yuuji reaches another dimension of strength entirely.

Why is this so important ? Well, other characters in this series have undergone drastic changes that affected their growth exponentially. Satoru Gojo once believed righteousness to be a lie.

But after discovering himself..

He reaches the apex of the Jujutsu world, making even the most deadly sorcerer hunter shiver in his presence.

A key thing to note here is a phrase thats popular within the series: “throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the honoured one”.
This saying was derived..

From the Buddha Śākyamuni after attaining enlightenment: “Above heaven, under heaven, I alone am worthy of honour”.

The statement implies that when one looks past the complexities of life and focuses on themselves in the moment, they shall find true peace within.

Ironically, those that have this statement quoted for them, namely Sukuna and Satoru, seem to be far from peaceful. They’re both downright insane.

Once again, this is Gege’s brilliance at play. His version of nirvana does not necessarily follow the usual notion of peaceful.

These two characters are complete. They understand themselves perfectly, and have found “peace” within themselves. This enables them to attain a level of strength that is unmatched

And those aiming for that level have been shown to display madness that may already match theirs.

The purpose of this “Light and Shadow” (licht un schatten) thread was to highlight how Jujutsu Kaisen toys around with the notion of morality, and to show that if you wish to achieve true strength, you must find it within yourself.

As always, thanks for reading

For those that are new here, here’s a thread of my other threads. I mostly do bleach analysis but I’m trying to branch out more. Hope you enjoy ~ https://twitter.com/slayerviole/status/1243135248919072768