Let's overanalyze EVERYTHING

There are a couple of reasons that I’ve been thinking that something was odd (not in a bad way) about Miwa’s character. For all intensive purposes, she’s ordinary, reminiscent of girls in other shounen manga/anime, so much so that she feels like a caricature at times.

But therein lies the problem: Miwa shouldn’t be able to exist in the the jujutsu world. Normalcy is immediately discarded in a world where the magic system revolves around negative emotions, and I don’t think Gege would have added a character like her just for the sake of having a self-proclaimed “useless” anime girl.

Quick note: this is not a Miwa-bashing post. I love her with my whole heart, and I wanted to spend time writing about a character who hasn’t been featured a whole lot (yet).

1. Shadow-Style Abilities

Something that I love about jjk is that all of the characters have unique abilities. Even if they have a shared technique, it’s usually manifested in a unique way. Miwa seems to be the only significant exception to this.

While it’s not as present in the anime, we learn later on (during Shibuya, in particular) that people can learn how to use Simple Domain. Miwa doesn’t have an innate technique, so she relies on her New Shadow Style (I will make a note that her style is the fastest version).

More than that, we get to learn a bit more about Simple Domain, or “domain for the weak.” The technique was designed as a defense mechanism against the rise in cursed spirits during the Heian era. True to its name, it performs the simple function of protection and (as far as we know) cannot extend beyond that. In combination with her Batto style, Miwa is able to use New Shadow Style in a hybrid means of offense and defense.

Whenever Miwa uses this domain, she always looks incredibly calm and focused. However, we’ve seen with multiple other curse users that sorcerers tend to look crazed or manic when using their techniques (note Fushiguro & Gojo). It isn’t until she arrives in Shibuya that we see something similar in her stance.

“I’m putting everything- my present and future into this! Even if it means... I never swing a katana again” (Ch. 134).

Miwa’s final conversation with Muta left her pretty emotionally broken. Right before this moment, we get more insight into Miwa’s life. How she continued to learn sword-fighting so that she wouldn’t be a burden to her mother and so she could support her brothers.

With the panel framing and Miwa’s internal dialogue, Gege sets up a new perspective for Miwa to understand, something she ends up paralleling with a certain other character...

2. Parallels with Megumi

So, you remember when Megumi has his revelation moment during the death painting arc? When Gojo tells him that he needs to be selfish in order to realize his full potential?

Seem familiar?

When I read about Miwa’s backstory during Shibuya, I got a lot of Mitsuri from Demon Slayer vibes. Case in point:

“If I remember correctly, when I was captain of the youth basketball team, mother would often dye my hair black.”

“I held on to that katana tightly because I didn’t want to be a burden to my mother and because I didn’t want to die.”

Miwa’s motivations for becoming a sorcerer seem to be inherently unselfish (with the exception of the not wanting to die part, a sentiment she has in common with Yuuji, and you know, most other people). She doesn’t want to cause problems for her mother, and she wants to support her younger brothers.

Yet, in her scene with Getwo, we see a Miwa who is willing to throw all of that away for the sake of doing something against him. Gege made it clear through our main trio: sacrifice can be selfish.

For both Fushiguro and Miwa, we see kind of black flash of the mind- kind of situation where they both decide to risk everything, rather than throw it all away for the sake of others.

Like Fushiguro, I’m wondering if Miwa’s character development will center around her mentality holding her back. As endearing as calling herself “useless” is, jjk’s magic system revolves around emotions and mentality. If she consistently tells herself that she’s “useless” and that she’s “normal,” wouldn’t that restrict how much she can visualize herself accomplishing?

3. Gojo Simping

Ah, yes. Time to get to the thing that most people associate with Miwa.

So, I initially thought this was more of a silly gimmick (and it probably is, i’m losing my mind), but I thought it was weird that Miwa is the only character that actually looks at Gojo like he’s a celebrity. Most people respect his abilities, but they aren’t clamoring for his picture.

The sorcerers are pretty much soldiers. If anything, Gojo is more of a high-ranking figure that people look up to, rather than a simp-worthy celebrity (don’t get mad Gojo simps, I am also aware of the increasing fuckability of this utter bastard).

Let’s jump back into the “normal in a weird way” kind of thought. I think it was in the jjk fanbook (don’t cite me on this, i can’t find the source for the life of me), but Todo has a little note about Miwa. He thinks that she acts pretty normal, but it’s kind of crazy for someone in the jujutsu world to see themselves as normal.

Considering that Miwa is a teenager (much like her classmates), I wonder if she’s trying to create some sense of normalcy around her by transforming aspects of the world she inhabits into normal parts of teenage life.

I don’t know. Honestly, it could just be a funny gag to have in between episodes/chapters.