The battle between the King of Curses and Itadori Yuji in Jujutsu Kaisen has been going on for a long time. Being the protagonist of the series, Yuji is trying his best to control the actions of Sukuna and stop him before anyone else gets hurt. While this is a great feat, no one expected him to hold on to Sukuna on his own for so long. And the main reason for this was that he had no cursed energy of his own.
This was also one of the reasons why the narrative of Jujutsu Kaisen majorly focused on the actions of other characters like Gojo Satoru, Toji Fushiguro, etc. While they were not the protagonists of the series, some fans believe that they got equal, if not more, focus than Yuji. But the recent chapters have explained that there was a reason behind it too.
Gege Akutami, the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, wanted Yuji to rightfully earn the title of the main character of the series, and although it took him a lot of time, he finally did it. This makes Yuji a different protagonist than Luffy from One Piece and Naruto from Naruto.
Itadori Yuji Was Not The Sole Focus of Jujutsu Kaisen
Every manga creator has a habit of putting a special focus on the protagonist of their respective series. This special focus provides special benefits to the main character, like plot armor, the chosen one trope, etc. However, this was never the case with Yuji. Although he was a special case, it did not do much for his character, and he had to learn everything on his own.
As seen in the series multiple times, no matter how strong Yuji gets, there is always someone stronger than him. Additionally, these strong characters had the habit of stealing the limelight from him and changing the narrative drastically. This made him look even weaker.
He was often seen crying about the things that he could not control or the people he could not save, which, as a protagonist, was his main goal. He was backed into the corner so he could come back stronger, and although it took him a long time, he finally did it.
Itadori Yuji Earned The Title of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Protagonist
The recent chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen revealed that although Yuji was given the cursed energy by eating Sukuna’s fingers, it didn’t do much for him as he had to learn everything on his own. Not only that, Gege Akutami made sure that Yuji earned the title of the protagonist on his own.
He became the protagonist by aiming for the top and working hard to earn it without any extra protagonist tropes. From a kid with no cursed energy to fighting against the strongest sorcerer from the Jujutsu Kaisen world (Sukuna), Yuji did all on his own, with a little help from his seniors and mentors.
He is the last one standing against Sukuna, and the latest chapter has indicated that he might just win and not only eradicate Sukuna but also bring back his friend Megumi Fushiguro. He finally realizes that he is special in the final moments of the series, and that makes him different from almost every other protagonist.
As of 19th August 2024, you can watch Jujutsu Kaisen on Crunchyroll.