Conti

their domains: domain expansion is a sorcerer’s manifestation of their inner mental landscape and Sukuna and Gojo's meld together perfectly. For a while the omniscient cosmos acts as the cradle for an uncaring shrine, blue starry sky meeting the red blood sea.

Thousands of years and the only domain that is compatible with Malevolent Shrine is Unlimited Void, to the point that when Gojo died, Sukuna couldn't deploy his domain for a whole while and when he got it back, Yuta- the patron saint of mutual love in the verse, wore Gojo skin to run in back again.

Sukuna could deploy his domain without barrier which is unimaginable to other sorcerers cuz it’s like painting without a canvas. A king that conquers all just like the all-consuming purifying fire that he wields. Meanwhile Gojo could make the barrier of his domain so tiny it’s also unimaginable to others because they couldn’t imagine being trapped in such a small space. Gojo did because he has also folded into himself for the sake of those he loves his entire life.

They are both doing such advanced techniques to the power system that’s out of reach for everyone else, but they are also doing it in the opposite direction of each other, in a way that’s reflective of their life philosophy. Two equals standing at two polar axis.

their approach to becoming strong: they are both jujutsu nerds, but Sukuna's thirst for knowledge & self-improvement is in service to himself, while Satoru seeks to give knowledge & encourages growth in his students. If his community is strong, he is strong. Therefore in that month of preparation before the big fight, Gojo was shown training Yuta & Yuuji rather than digging more on Sukuna.

How they approach life and make their choices is a mirror to their own personal stories & struggle. It's these little push & pull of meanings that makes them so compelling as a pair.

There's a meta commentary here about how since Sukuna kept possessing Gojo’s students & gaining their memories, whether he knew he was doing it or not, he reacts to/ follow the lessons Gojo gave out. Him using Gojo’s hand sign & techniques later on is also a part of this larger theme that Gojo had unwittingly been like a teacher to him too. It makes the “the one to teach you about love” “I want him to understand” lines hit even harder.

I elaborate more here on why Sukuna's upbringing and curse is its own can of worm that makes his interaction with Gojo so poweful. Gojo who kept rescuing cursed children and protecting them is the kind of protective figure Sukuna never had, and I always felt like a part of Sukuna's resentment to the students and Yuuji in particular does stem from that (i do understand if ppl say this is a reach, but !! i'd like to show you guys the character that i believe is one of the main inspiration Gege took to develop Sukuna:

yes, the main character from the BL Gege once recommend The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window. when his love interest chose to protect innocent civillains instead of him (because he's already strong), he literally asked "why protect them, and not me?")

fish metaphor: the fish imagery in the sukugo fight is always so peak since ningyo flesh in japanese mythology is said to grant immortality + the "scale of the dragons" incantation in sukuna's world slash is a throwback to the fish scales lines. there are layers to this:

according to the myth of Four Divine Beasts in Sinosphere culture, control over dragon grants one's control over aquatic life, specifically fish

there's also the myth of a determined koi fish that swims upstream and is rewarded by the God to become a dragon. it's one way to show how Satoru transforms from a nameless fish to a dragon in Sukuna's eyes throughout the fight. which, again, runs another parallel to the alchemy imagery where the royal beast lion transforms into its true form after a dragon’s death, like Sukuna did after Gojo died.

you see how many parallels and analysis we can have of the sukugo fight with just one line here? it's how gege crafted this fight with such concise and powerful imagery that makes it go so hard.

gege has always been building up to sukuna vs gojo since the beginning: probably a hot take, but to me sukugo chemistry is what JJK0, the very first 3 chapters & HI arc built up to 😭 (their fight is literally a constant throwback to their first meeting)

“love to the strong” “a curse must be exorcised using another curse” “love is the most twisted curse of all” being centered around Gojo means the biggest fight of his life, the one he’d put his everything into would ofc be him facing off someone he wants to convey such a thing to.

The line Geto said about being jealous in that airport was there for a reason. The recognition & affirmation of “love to the strong” that Gojo showed Sukuna was what he wanted. But then he got blindsided right after when Gojo said if he’d been there with the students cheering him on, Gojo would have been satisfied too, cuz once again Geto got a reminder that Gojo’s love wasn’t just about strength, but community & support of all the “flowers” in his life as well.

THAT is the type of love Gojo was trying to show Sukuna. The understanding & sympathy, never stop seeing humanity even in the “monstrous”. The type of kindess Sukuna wasn’t graced with as a child, leading to the cursed existence he was trapped in now. Hell, the first line we got about how Sukuna used to be a human was from Gojo himself!

When everyone thought of Sukuna in fear and hatred, the Sukuna in Gojo's eyes to the bitter end is never a malicous grinning calamity, but someone calm and dignified with his gaze forwards. And despite thinking Sukuna could not reciprocate his feelings in kind, he gave Sukuna everything.

meanwhile mr yearnatron3000 Sukuna over here already sees Gojo as a goal to reach since the beginning:

after Gojo died he legit started comparing everyone else to him and thinking in terms of "me and gojo satoru vs anyone else"

(if i write about the meaning behind the incantations of World-Bisecting Slash, this would become a real manifesto, so please see this here. basically, Sukuna made Gojo's whole existence a part of his technique. if that's not the most romantic thing in the world idk what is)

side note from character design perspective: the spelling of Six Eyes is "Rikugan" and sometimes it's used as a title to refer to Gojo (the same way Ryomen is for Sukuna). so we have: Ryomen (Two Faces) - Rikugan (Six Eyes) / Sukuna - Satoru.

what i mean is in a roundabout way sukugo do have matching initials

marketing from JUMP and song lyrics be like: in the the JUMP promo video for vol 25 (which they have private now for some reasons... but i think it's because they are fr going to make the sukugo fight anime rollout the biggest blast ever), they have a banner that coins Sukuna and Gojo as "the existence of an equal"

be it a demon god or a child prodigy, ultimate strength comes with solitude. the only thing they have yet to obtain is an existence equal to themselves. so, how long will you entertain me now?

they also have some crazy contrasting wordplay to introduce them:

鬼神 (demon god) / 神童 (child prodigy) -> share the same 神 (divine)

堕天 (fallen one) / 天才 (genius) -> share the same 天 (sky)

In the soundtrack of the JJK Phantom Parade game (Avant by Eve - came out a few months after the sukugo fight), the lyrics “my yearning towards you alone cuts through space like a heartfelt wish” is always accompanied by Sukuna and Gojo imagery:

for the “like a wish” phase, the word is 希う which has a very beseeching and imploring connotation, so it reads like being able to cut through space and reach that unique person is all he’s ever wanted. Eve cooked like crazy with this ngl

and in JJK Modulo, Gege made "wish" an actual manifestation of a technique possessed by Maru and Cross - the alien twins that everyone jokes that they look like Sukuna and Gojo's lovechild.

talking about lyrics, here are the character songs gege picked out for sukuna and gojo... idk what to even comment on this 😭

that concludes my presentation on why sukugo changes my brain chemistry (i think). there are more obvious ones like "cut me open and see my love buried in this flesh", the legendary "you were magnificent/ cleared my sky", etc... but i want to touch more on the less discussed imagery here.