Every shōnen fan knows the drill: the series must have a loud protagonist, the “hidden monster” in the basement, and the tournament arc that takes up half the season. These tropes are the bread and butter of the genre, but sometimes they can feel a bit repetitive, even repetitive. The “chosen” storyline has become so repetitive that fans can pretty much predict the series finale after episode three.
It's there Jujutsu Kaisen comes in and changes the game. Instead of limiting himself to the rulebook, Gege Akutami takes these so-called “clichés” and hones them into something dangerous and distinctly new. Jujutsu Kaisen not only perpetuates shōnen anime “clichés”, but it tactically exploits them into something more grounded, tactical and human. Here are the 8 tropes that Jujutsu Kaisen not just utilized but perfected.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Every Special Grade Curse, Ranked
Special class curses are exceptionally powerful, and they can make short work of the best wizards.
The kind-hearted protagonist
Yuji Itadori is a breath of fresh air in a world of “screaming” heroes. “He has the best athletic record in the school and insane physical stats, but never uses that power to look down on others.” He likes people as they are, and even remembered a girl named Yuko Ozawa, who was neither beautiful nor famous, based solely on the elegance of her handwriting and kind-hearted personality. He's the kind of hero who doesn't usually see people by their appearance at first, which makes his connection to the world of curses much closer to home.
This gives a realistic weight to the “Good Guy” trope. Yuji isn't kind because the plot needs a hero, he's kind because he truly believes that everyone deserves a “real death”. Yuji's motivation isn't king of anything; it is empathic. It makes depressed moments all the more painful because we know he's actually trying to be a ray of light in a room full of darkness.
The support-based rivalry
The relationship between Yuji and Megumi Fushiguro is a master class in how to do a “rivalry” without the toxic ego. They don't usually spend time yelling at each other or trying to prove who can run faster. Here, Megumi and Yuji are bound by a respect and survival instinct that binds them closely together. They don't fight to beat each other; they struggle to keep each other alive, mentally checking each other's turbulence as much as their power levels.
Jujutsu Kaisen: 23 Powerful Quotes by Yuji Itadori
Yuji Itadori is the source of many inspirational and thought provoking quotes in Jujutsu Kaisen. Here are some of his best.
This completes the trope by trading jealousy for partnership. Megumi is the one who initially asks for Yuji to be saved and Yuji spends the rest of the series proving that Megumi was right to do so. No “I have to surpass you” monologues here. Their growth is intertwined so that when one is found to achieve new advances in power or skill, the other is inspired to find a new way to help the first, firmly transforming the “classic duo” into a functional, emotional team that acts as true friends.
Harmful inner demon
The whole “monster inside the hero” thing has been done a thousand times before, and the monster usually ends up being the hero's reluctantly helpful sidekick, like Kurama from Naruto. But Sukuna is different. Sukuna is pure terror trapped in Yuji's body.
Rearrange the casings in the correct Japanese release order.
Start
Rearrange the casings in the correct Japanese release order.
Light (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
He doesn't want to help Yuji and actually enjoys making Yuji's life miserable. He's the kind of villain who doesn't mind if his host dies, as long as he gets to cause a little more trouble for everyone else first.
The irrevocable antagonist
For a long time, fans expected Sukuna to one day bond with Yuji and develop a “change of heart” like many other famous inner demons. But that one JJK The series further played with fan expectations by portraying Sukuna as evil to the core. He has no tragic background to justify his actions and no “hidden soft side”. He is pure evil and on par with history's greatest villains who excel at wreaking havoc and satisfying their own twisted desires for pleasure and power.
By adhering to this, JJK perfected the “Pure Evil” trope. It's refreshing and terrifying to see a villain that no one can talk out of. There is no “Talk no Jutsu” that can fix Sukuna. He is the complete opposite of kindness in Yuji. The fact that he doesn't negotiate makes him all the more feared and respected in the modern anime villain space because you know he will never, ever, back down.
The high-tech magic system
'Cursed Energy' isn't all about glowing hands and big explosions, it's a technical science. JJK takes the “magical system” trope and introduces the binding vow of “Reveal one's hand,” where a wizard gains a power boost by telling the enemy how the ability works. This turns the usually boring monologue portion of a fight into a calculated give-and-take. Everything from “Simple Domains” to “Black Flash” is a mechanic in a dangerous game where players must master the controls.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Technique Reversal, Explained
The Cursed Technique Reversal technique is a powerful technique used by some of the strongest wizards in Jujutsu Kaisen.
This makes the battles all the more satisfying for the viewers. Instead of a character winning because they “believed in themselves” harder, a character wins because they understand the logic behind the enemy's cursed technology better. Each encounter feels like an intricate puzzle where one wrong move means not only failure, but a “Sure-Hit” attack that sentences one to death.
The “Hard Mode” training arc.
Practice arcs in the shōnen usually involve lifting heavy rocks or meditating under a waterfall, but JJK's”Hidden inventory” and “Post-Shibuya” are not. It's not just about raising strength but changing the stakes of the entire world. The characters also undergo a reality shift after the losses. The training is not only physical but also mental, preparing the protagonists for a world that wants to kill them.
By adding these stakes, the trope no longer feels like “filler” and more like a necessary development. Characters like Gojo, Geto, Maki, Yuta get a soul change, and not just a hair color change. It makes the eventual “power-ups” feel earned and weighted with the cost of what it took to get there rather than a happy break before a big boss fight.
The perfect “Battle Royale” tournament arc
Culling Games turned the “Tournament Arc” trope into a city-wide horror game. Instead of a controlled stadium with a referee, the characters are dropped into massive colonies where the only rule is survival. This tournament has both the tactical excitement of a tournament and the risks of a war zone. Yuta breaking out of a four-way stalemate or Megumi trying to break out of a gym full of assassins are some of the best choreographed action scenes the genre has to offer.
“The Battle Royale” concept allows for a completely different variety of matches that a regular tournament would not be able to offer. It's not 1v1 matches all the time, there are ambushes, third party captures and environmental hazards. It perfects the trope by keeping the pace fast and unpredictable, ensuring that the audience never knows exactly who is going to run into who or what crazy “new rule” is going to be introduced that changes the game entirely.
The “cog in the machine” mindset.
Perhaps the most unique trope JJK perfected was the rejection of “The Chosen One” tag by the protagonist. Yuji refuses to be “The Chosen One”, which JJK mastered after the tragedy of Shibuya and decides instead that he is merely a “cog” in a machine designed to cast out curses. He accepts that his life is a tool to be used for the greater good, and removes the ego that all the main characters possess. That realization eclipses Yuji's journey and changes its tone entirely.
This is a brilliant “Special Protagonist” tropical subversion. Usually heroes are told that they are the only ones who can save the world because they are “the one”. It's a gritty, realistic view of what it means to fight an impossible war that focuses on the soldier's duty, not the hero's glory.
- Release date
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October 3, 2020
- Network
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TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC
- Directors
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Ryohei Takeshita, Masataka Akai, Chie Nishizawa, Daisuke Tsukushi, Tomomi Kamiya, Kakushi Ifuku, Ken Takahashi
- Author
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Hiroshi Seko
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Yuichi Nakamura
Satoru Gojo
