#jjjk 233

[linkspooky]

"Ultimate Strength... and the Solitude it Brings!!"

So this is a thoughts for chapter 233, and also a meta on the whole Gojo and Sukuna fight in general as we're nearing the end. My biggest question here is what exactly does this fight mean for Gojo's character? Why is he fighting and how does that compare to Sukuna?

Before the fight even begins on the eve of Gojo's unboxing we're given a reminder of the loneliness that is at the core of its character. That his central motivation is to raise strong companions so they'll be able to live out the springtime of their youths. That they won't be left alone the way that he was, and the way that also Geto was before he fell from grace.

It seems like Gojo's takeaway here was "I need to intervene earlier" otherwise another Geto will happen. Which is why he his next action in the manga is to find Megumi and recruit him, with the warning that if he's not strong enough he'll be left behind. Because this is Gojo logic we're working here strength = good.

If he raises strong enough companions he'll finally have equals. If he raises students who are strong enough, they won't fall to the corruption of the Jujutsu World.

He doesn't want children to be left alone the way he was left alone as a child, and the way Geto was. However, he also rather condescendingly thinks that the only people who could possibly be on his level are those who are physically strong. There we see Gojo's good intentions mix with how ingrained he is into the society that he was raised in.

The foundation of Jujutsu Society is might = right.

I'm going to borrow a quote from another manga to explain it. Don't read it because the author is a criminals but Makoto Shishio espouses views that are pretty similiar to all of Jujutsu Society as a whole (and yes even Gojo).

Saitro: Kill evil quickly. Shishio: Kill evil quickly? Am I evil? What is evil? In my eyes weakness is evil, raw power is justice.

We actually see this theme repeated over and over again "the ugliness of the weak" or how wekaness itself is considered a crime.

Ironically these two characters who decry the ugliness of the weak then go on to be mass murderers... so you know. Look in the mirrors, guys. People who are victims are often condescendingly spoken down to, lambasted while they're in pain, told they are wrong.

Then you have characters like Toji who while being horrible people are almost fetishiticallly praised just by the virtue that they are strong. Like yes, Toji abandoned his son, solid him, then gambled away all the money he got from selling him, and then killed a high school girl by shooting him in the back of the head but... he was so strong.

Maki becoming more like Toji is apparently a good thing, because you know... he was just so strong. Toji is a pathetic manchild and a loser but because he fits Jujutsu Society's ideal of raw strength so well he ends up being held up regardless as some kind of gold standard.

Which kind of just goes to show how twisted the ideals of Jujutsu Society are. "Weakness is evil, and raw power is justice."

No one embodies this viewpoint more though than Sukuna. In his brief fight against Yuji he almost quotes another Makoto Shishio quote word for word.

Makoto Shishio: "The weak's reason for being is to be food for the strong. Those who are even too weak to be food have no right to exist and the strongest of the strong are at the top of the food chain. The Meiji government is weaker than I am and has no right to be in control of this country. Power belongs to the strong, it belongs to me alone. Taking over this country is my right by natural law. If you're strong you live and if you're weak you die."

Sukuna even says something similiar early on that it's ridiculous that Gojo isn't in charge of the entire sorcery world because of his position as the strongest.

Sukuna just like Gojo before entering the fight receives another reminder of just how alone he is as an individual in his fight against Yorozu, which is where the quote about the loneliness of the strongest emerges from. Yorozu's fight ends with a flashback of Yorozu in the heian era recognizing how alone Sukuna was while the rest of his crowd was worshipping him and despreately wanting to be by his side.

Whereas, before entering the fight Shoko reflects on how Gojo would never allow her to be by his side even though she's been right next to him for years.

The parallel is pretty clear here, these are two people who stand alone at the top of the food chain. They are the extreme version of "right of the individual" or "right of the strong." To borrow from another manga Tokyo Ghoul this time on how to define right of the strong.

"Every disadvantage in the world is from a lack of competence..." or translated in other version's a lack of individual competence. It's the extreme form of individualism that both Gojo and Sukuna represent, if you're tramepled upon, violated, abused, it's your fault for being weak and letting it happening. If you were simply strong enough you could have prevented it from happening.

Gojo and Sukuna both see the world in that black and white logic, however, Gojo has the added burden of his duty as a sorcerer of protecting non-sorcerers that he took on from Geto. Gojo can't kill without meaning or just use his power to stomp over others because Geto drilled it in his head at his weakest moment post Riko's death and awakening that it's important for sorcerers to have meaning to their actions.

In every other way though Gojo is a believer of right of the strong. IT's what he preaches and practices. Hence why his problem solving method is just to win the big fight all alone. Every conflict in the world and every problem to be solved is just a matter of being strong enough in Gojo's eyes.

Which is why I wonder if that explains Gojo's attitude towards this fight with Sukuna. Megumi's life is on the line, the chips are down on the table, but Gojo just seems to treat this like it's a champion prize fight.

Gojo's attitude is notably different from when he was fighting in the beginning of the Shibuya Incident Arc.

Gojo's angry that Jogo and the cursed family are trying to gang up on him and win using strategy rather because none of them are individually strong enough to beat him on their own. He's vicious and brutal the entire fight because it's almost like they've insulted him by trying to challenge him.

Whereas with Sukuna despite the fact that the emotional stakes are way, way higher. Despite the fact one of Gojo's students is in danger and he may even have to kill said student, Gojo just jokes around the entire time and seems to be enjoying himself. It seems like this would be the fight for Gojo to get lose his mind and get unhinged but no.

Yuji and Gojo are both characters who admit they might have to kill Megumi in order to resolve this situation, but look at the differences in their reactions.

Yuji's horrified, and to be fair in Yuji's defense even if Yuji is forced to kill Megumi in order to "save" him. Yuji was the previous host of Sukuna and he was one hundred percent willing to get killed by Yuta or Gojo if he ever went out of control again.

However, Gojo's response to the fact that Megumi got possessed is... let's say less serious.

"I can totally beat up Megumi."

Now, in Gojo's case in comparison to Yuji. Yuji is just a child of Megumi's age and he was also in Megumi's position of being taken over by Sukuna before this and was willing to risk his life on that. Gojo is in a position of power over Megumi. He was obligated to protect Megumi, and now having failed in that obligation isn't really making any attempt to save him.

Now, do I think Gojo is actually trying to kill Megumi?

I'm hovering towards no at the moment. His line here indicates that he thinks there may be a way to revive Megumi after he kills Sukuna once.

However, I think the author wants us to quesiton whether or not GOjo's priorities are really in the right here. After all the other characters are questioning if he's actually trying to help Megumi. Megumi's already been on the receiving end of the unlimited void because of Gojo using his body as a punching bag.

Rather, I think the takeaway here is that Sukuna is bringing out the worst in Gojo because Sukuna represents Gojo at his worst and most toxic. Gojo totally believes in that individual right of the strong.

He thinks that it's the way the world works, everything comes down to how individually strong you are. If you want to fix something? Well just raise a buch of strong children into strong adults and that'll solve everything.

This fight is everything that appeals to Gojo's black and white world view, because he can fix this whole situation with a heavy weight prize fight match between him and Sukuna. Which is where we get to the line this chapter that I used as the banner image.

Why is Gojo fighting here?

Is it because he wants to save Megumi? Is it because he needs to save all of his students and Tokyo as a whole from Kenjaku?

Or is he just fighting for personal satisfaction to be secure in his position as the strongest?

The situation we're in right now reminds me so much of his lines towards Amanai shortly after he awakaned as the strongest. He should be angry for Megumi's sake but...

At the moment the only thing that seems to matter is his fight against Sukuna and the satisfaction from winning.

I guess that's just what happens when you're a main character in a Shonen Manga.