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I admit I was indifferent to both Satoru Gojo and Jujutsu Kaisen for years. I was aware of the existence of both the series and the character and of their popularity, but that was it.

Around late 2023, my brother and I were disenchanted with the One Piece manga, so he began looking into other animanga series to give a chance to while things picked up for One Piece. Now, I'm someone who has a hard time getting into new things, so when he began pestering me to watch Jujutsu Kaisen with him, I said no every time 😅 After finally understanding that he wouldn't convince me, my brother began watching it on his own at the beginning of March, coinciding with the start of his annual vacation.

But he didn't give up entirely: he'd update me on important plot points and on what the protagonist (Yuji) was up to. Of course, he also told me about Gojo and his antics and showed me what he looked like without the blindfold. Again, I admit I already knew: at the start of that same year, a picture of him somehow made its way into my Twitter TL and I thought he was cute, but that was it. I felt the same way with the picture my brother sent me and at that point, I thought I'd just like Gojo a bit for as long as my brother was watching the series.

Then, he began Season 2 and sent me this clip.

I stopped what I was doing just to watch it. Whoever knows me also knows that I'm a huge Digimon fan (another case of someone else getting me into it). Seeing Digimon be referenced for once and it being referenced in such a popular show made me ecstatic. It piqued my curiosity for Gojo further and, as if that wasn't enough, my brother also told me about his dynamic with Megumi. I found it really sweet; I love male characters with a nurturing side, who'll become parent figures to children they don't even know. Sadly, just as I was getting invested both in Satoru and the story itself, my brother told me Satoru got sealed away. That continued until the end of the season and, as y'all can imagine, it was a bummer.

When my brother finished watching Jujutsu Kaisen, I thought my interest would go away. That's what it seemed for some time (me being busy preparing my university access exam was a big factor), but it all changed by May, when the infamous chapter where Satoru's comeback was teased came out. By then, I already knew he was dead and I thought it sucked, so him supposedly coming back to life made me want to finally give the series a chance myself. I said I would do it if his return was confirmed, but two weeks had to go by before the outcome was known. Of course, we all know how that went. It made me more upset than I expected it to and that made me think that, maybe, Satoru wasn't just a character I liked a little because my brother had watched the series he's in.

From that point on, I saw myself growing more and more drawn to Satoru. I looked up pictures, I read his page on the series' wiki to get a better idea of what his personality was like... And that's how I found out that one of the events that marked him the most was watching his best friend go down a dark path. While the circumstances are nowhere near the same, at that time I was dealing with my own best friend growing more and more distant from me. Having that in common with him (in a way) made me grow even more attached and helped me cope with the situation. Even if Satoru is a fictional character, he showed me I wasn't alone, that I wasn't the only one with that kind of problem.

Then, on July 15th, I finally started watching Jujutsu Kaisen. I got really excited when he appeared not even ten seconds into the first episode 😂 His dynamic with Yuji also charmed me right away, I found it very positive that he accompanied a kid he barely knew (and who was now all alone) to his grandfather's funeral. I guess that's the main thing I like about Satoru: how caring he is underneath the layers of playful arrogance. It's a shame that most people around him can't see past the surface.

I already rambled enough, but I can't finish without mentioning how thankful I am for Satoru and the effect he has on me. In moments when my anxiety flares up, just seeing a picture of him is enough to soothe me. Ever since he came into my life, I've also become more willing to interact with people (I'm a huge introvert lol) and step a bit out of my comfort zone, like with how I joined a book club in 2024. It was something I've never done before and I loved the experience, but I sadly couldn't repeat it for 2025.