#elk rambles

1. Intro Yapping

This rant will outline my interpretation of Megumi and detail why I consider him to be the best character in Jujutsu Kaisen as a whole. Before engaging any further, I want to stress that I emphatically encourage disagreement and discussion surrounding my interpretations and perspectives, because media is enjoyed at its best when it can be dissected by multiple people.

Whilst I will be acting as a defence lawyer for Megumi's writing, it is also important to note that I do not mean to imply an objectivity to my reading of his character. A lot of my statements will be phrased in a factual way, though this is only done to ensure clarity and ease of reading. I will never argue that my interpretations are the only correct ones.

I think it is noteworthy that I have both read the entire manga and watched what has been released insofar of the anime, and will be referring to both in the duration of this essay interchangeably. I will be utilising the English translation as a basis for my analysis, and would be open to hearing about discrepancies with my interpretations based off the translation rather than the original text, if there are any.

The following essay is structured by my main points of interest regarding Megumi's character, which I will explore to show why I consider Megumi a well-written character that has a very satisfying progression and story arc. Think of this as a vague tribute to a character I've adored. These are also not all of my conclusive thoughts, and I have many more things I simply didn't find a place for in this.

2. Moral Standpoint

Upon first viewing the anime, I was instantly drawn to Megumi's character. I wasn't expecting to be surprised by anything I saw as soon as I realised the loose archetype Megumi fit into of moody, closed off teenager with a few skeletons in his closet. This expected impression was quickly abandoned when the topic of Megumi's moral alignment became relevant.

Whenever he cracked under pressure, a similar — if subtle — question mark was purposefully placed on what logic he operates under. It was clear that Fushiguro was a stark contrast from Yuji, who leans severely towards goodness and protecting the innocent, but Megumi was similarly far from Sukuna and his twisted ideals in the opposite direction. That's when it became clear to me that Megumi was a lot more than the typical aloof cast member, and had far more complexity than initially given credit for.

This is particularly evident in the episode where Megumi's backstory is first given as the first years investigate the bridge with the mole-like curse. Megumi doesn't operate under a chivalrous or virtuous justice, moreso consistently choosing who to protect and who to risk himself for. In being so selective, he now falls into a very interesting place along a moral compass.

In this episode, we discover that Megumi beat up countless bullies and delinquents in his local area, establishing a reputation that has garnered him infamy among the locals. Whilst at first, one would naturally assume this would be an act of noble justice, Megumi quickly sours this impression with the following:

“I hate bad people. They act so damn superior when their empathy and imagination are as empty as a vacant lot. I can’t deal with good people either because they forgive those bad people, and then view their act of forgiveness as a noble thing. Makes me wanna vomit.”

Here, Megumi effectively breaks himself free of the moral compass one would expect a character to exist on, and stubbornly establishes his own plane of ideals that he chooses to exist on. In his view, the state things are currently in is already wrong and twisted, so he harbors no regrets in placing himself somewhere else, away from the rest.

In the following moments, Tsumiki — Megumi's older step sister — scolds him for getting into these fights with the bullies, remarking that he should "stop" and "be nice". Megumi himself establishes Tsumiki as a force of utmost good, a trait he is "disgusted" by, and through her we can gain a deeper insight into Megumi's motivations. He is not doing these things out of kindness to society or out of sympathy for victims, simply viewing his reaction as a transactional consequence to the delinquents' actions. Afterall, he doesn't even bother to learn their names. Much rather, Megumi is utilising their misdeeds as justification to expel his deeply rooted anger on a deserving target, as it is the only manner he can think of doing such a thing that makes sense to the outside perspective.

Tsumiki, ever the force of goodness, also reminds the audience that Megumi is not as stoic and apathetic as he would like himself to be. This is neatly summarised in her words:

“Not forgiving people isn’t a bad thing, it’s just part of your kindness”

His kindness roots itself in protecting and valuing the people he loves most, thus also protecting their ideals and intentions as a sign of that devotion. Tsumiki has always acted as a core drive for Megumi's moral compass, leaving him attached to 'goodness' as her safety and happiness occupies 90% of his mental space at any given time. The entire reason he became a sorcerer was simply to ensure Tsumiki remains content, evidencing Megumi's intrinsic attachment to her innocence and kindness, serving as the balance to his cold and detached nature.

After killing a sorcerer in the Culling Games, Megumi bites out that he "is no Itadori." Which effectively demonstrates Megumi's distance from Yuji's more polarised ideals of 'goodness', reinforcing the idea that he is attached to Tsumiki's goodness because of the value she holds in his heart.

We also see this logic at work as Megumi grows closer to Nobara and particularly Yuji. Prior to even being friends, in episode 2, Megumi already requests that Gojo is lenient and spares Yuji once he determines that Yuji is no longer a direct threat. Whilst this may appear to be an action centering itself in kindness or empathy, this is moreso a furthering of Megumi's loyalty to Tsumiki. Knowing she herself is cursed, Megumi recognises Yuji's situation to be the same: if he has to commit to duty to exorcise Yuji, that also means Tsumiki must be dealt with in the same way. It is evident that Megumi would never take this choice, and this portrays the 'justice' oriented element in his morals.

Over time, though, Yuji becomes someone Megumi does value enough to base his drive and direction off of.

This is particularly evident during Megumi's conversation with Yuji in episode 49, during the first part of the Culling Games. Here, Megumi arrives with concern for Yuji's spiraling into a deppressive resignation, and aims to gather his help for the oncoming crisis. Yuji is guilt-ridden and devastated, now considering himself a villain unworthy of being treated like he was before by his peers. Megumi's lack of care for Yuji's proclaimed 'bad' actions is most evident when Yuji states that "people died because of me". Megumi is quick to retcon this idea, correcting it to "because of us". In this, Megumi's sense of selective justice is once more potrayed as Yuji has become another cherished individual from whom he now takes direction in 'goodness' to balance himself. This is further demonstrated as Megumi goes on to say "We have to keep saving people", followed by "I thought this was supposed to be your driving motive anyway". By stating that those morals are Yuji's, we see Megumi consider him valuable enough that Yuji's ideals and moral code are worth protecting and preserving, just as Tsumiki's. Essentially, it is not about the ideals, but rather who champions them that matters. It is also noteworthy that Megumi adds "so start by saving me" in reference to Tsumiki being chosen for the Culling Games. The fact that Megumi thinks of himself as synonymous with Tsumiki, proves that her ideals and ways are a part of him, his direction, his drive and his meaning, which is the transformation that Yuji is undergoing in Megumi's mind and moral compass.

In the same conversation, Megumi also states that "there's no one who can judge us [sorcerers] in a true way", so the sorcerers must "keep proving why we exist". This, while said in consolation to Yuji, also serves to mirror Megumi's own sense of detachment from the usual moral plane other characters operate within because both sides of the spectrum are 'disgusting' to him, and he himself refuses to fall into any category. He is a vessel to protecting the ideals of those he cherishes and nothing more in his mind. Due to this, he is well adapted to the idea of having to forge his own path that deviates from the standard because sorcerers also work on a fundamentally different playing field than the rest of society. While Yuji is just now getting used to this concept, Megumi has long since mastered it.

3. Strength and Weakness

I've particularly also noted a substantial amount of criticisms directed towards Megumi's "uncharacteristic weakness", with a lot of complaints stating that they felt Megumi had 'given up' too suddenly which made him 'lazier' than the rest of the cast. Personally, my reading is the direct opposite.

In my view, Megumi is the most human character in the JJK universe. He is so deeply affected by his early traumas that trying to separate him from it renders him hollow and means he isn't considered in enough depth. I sincerely believe Megumi's conflict as a character hinges on overcoming the mental struggles that his trauma has brought on, and from that lens he is a complete and well-written character.

When Gojo first comes into contact with Megumi, he is a first grader living alone with a similarly young step sister whose parents have completely abandoned them to the elements. Despite his youth, Megumi comes across as overly mature and already highly stoic. This is intrinsically linked to Toji's abandonment and prior neglect of his son. As previously mentioned, Megumi dedicates a really large part of his thoughts to Tsumiki and her safety, to the point of parentification. Megumi, a six year old, has been forced to grow up at a tremendously unhealthy rate. This cold, apathetic and deeply insecure character is typical of children who have experience in abusive or otherwise unstable households, and the characteristic aversion to asking for help of any sort comes from the ingrained instinct forged by parentification to protect others, to be independent and to be an adult when they should never have to be.

This is how Megumi's moral compass can be explained. Being abandoned and then informed he was going to be sold by a father who he barely met then left by a step mother created Megumi's core belief of worthlessness. He regards himself as dispensable and forgettable because that's what has been instilled in him from a very formative age, and his recruitment into Jujutsu only reinforced this idea. Megumi was only approached by Gojo because Toji valued Megumi for Ten Shadows. Megumi never wanted to be a sorcerer in the first place, but rather had no choice: if Tsumiki had a chance at happiness at his expense, he would take it no matter what, meaning any other options are non-existent for him. Even as a sorcerer, Megumi's worth was constantly defined by his technique, grade and power, never for him. Thus, internalising his lack of worth has taught Megumi to die for others as they are those who society holds in high regard. This conflict acts as the catalyst to Megumi's inner turmoil.

I believe Megumi is not weak for being crushed whilst posessed by Sukuna. Gojo acted as a mentor and rudamentary older brother to Megumi, who always made sure he strived for his best and could handle himself in a world that doesn't care for his life. Gojo is seen constantly opposing Megumi's issues with self-worth, seen in a flashback when he says that Megumi must "imagine he can win", because that's never a possibility he has considered. Gojo trusted Megumi, a gesture which signified so much to someone who sees themselves as only void. Subsequently, Gojo being killed via Megumi's own ability is bound to send him into a dark spiral of grief.

This, however, is not enough to completely subdue him, though Tsumiki's death certainly is. For all the importance Tsumiki holds which I've already discussed before, we see Megumi completely untethering from his counterbalance. Since page 1, Megumi's entire manner of being has been irreversibly tied to Tsumiki and her safety and her happiness. Since he was six years old, the only thing he's ever cared about was his sister, and now Sukuna was forcing him to watch as he killed her with his own hands and his own ability. This essentially destroyed an essential part of Megumi's being, creating a hole he'd never be able to fill. This is equivalent to stripping him of an organ with the level of reliance he had on Tsumiki and her memory to function at all. His balance, his drive, his purpose stripped away by his own hands.

It is important to note that Megumi was left alone in Sukuna's body for at least a month. A month with only his own grief to stew in, without knowing the locations of the other sorcerers or even what fate would befall the world around him. His own internal world had collapsed and been completely crushed, followed by him literally being bathed in 'evil' and taking hits from Sukuna's fight with Gojo. I do not believe Megumi 'chose' to give up as a lot of people seem to imply. I think he was as powerless here as he was when abandoned by Toji. Him being completely crushed is beyond his control, and calling him 'weak' for such an act has always been confusing to me.

Another point I've seen circulated against Megumi's 'actions' is that Yuji remains alive, and since Megumi's drive relies on protecting others, he should have gathered his strength and fought against Sukuna. Regardless of the fact that I think there was no choice as it stands, there are still a few other things to consider here. Whilst Yuji certainly is important to Megumi at this stage, they had only known each other for around 6 months, if a bit more, with a lot of this period spent with gaps between seeing one another (for example by post-Shibuya arc when Yuji is spiralling out on his own). Yuji was in the process of becoming as valuable to Megumi as Tsumiki, though simply didn't have the time to reach that level. Megumi had already bore witness to Yuji dying once, and had already gone through the process of acceptance and grief surrounding him specifically. I do not believe — had Yuji been killed by Sukuna — that Megumi would take this lightly, however this doesn't diminish the crushing impact Tsumiki, and to a lesser extent Gojo's, deaths had. Tsumiki was always romanticised to a deity-like level in Megumi's mind as a force of absolute good and purity and kindness. The desire to protect Yuji wouldn't outweigh the grief onset by Tsumiki and Gojos' death; if it did, I think it would feel out of character and inhuman. In the end, Megumi does resolve to live for others, and it is clear that this label includes Yuji as someone he undoubtedly strongly cares for. He is also 15 or 16 years old and I believe it is unfair to judge his strength and resolve in such scrutiny.

As previously mentioned, I think the crux of Megumi's strength and development is through his changes in mental state. As he himself says, he will now "live for others" as opposed to his prior mentality of 'dying' for others. Following Sukuna's defeat, this is the first time we see Megumi allowing himself to grieve and process emotions he'd always repressed in the form of creating and visiting Tsumiki's gravestone. Actions like these display an innate care and weight around his shoulders which he would never allow himself to have so visibly had he not undergone this change. His ability to laugh off Gojo's post mortal note and showing it to others about having killed his father demonstrates a Megumi who is finally unafraid to engage with his past and to display any sort of emotion towards it, breaking the cycle started by Toji of abandonment leading to death. Toji chose self-sacrifice, Megumi chose others. It is noteworthy here that I am referring only to post-Sukuna possession Megumi, not before.

This development is exactly what makes Megumi's arc so satisfying and well-executed. His story is not that of attempting to become the strongest sorcerer, or to achieve the grandest physical prowess. Megumi has learned acceptance and grief through growth in his journey, acquiring a value to his self that was never before accessible to him. His manner of viewing the world shifts in a non-dramatic, non-exaggerate way that makes him realistically human. His struggles and are great, and victories lesser, painting the image of a perfect exemplar of someone whose life has never come easy. Megumi demonstrates that no matter the odds a better path is achievable, and for that I value him as a character so greatly.

4. Mahoraga

Whilst this may at first seem like a random division to create, I briefly also wanted to touch on Megumi's relationship to Mahoraga as a generally interesting thing I seldom see commented on. Outside the fact that they are intrinsically connected resulting in Megumi taking damage in Sukuna's fight with Gojo, there are two more things I'd like to point out.

The first is that Mahoraga's ability — in my belief — is a direct representation of how Megumi has been forced to grow up. Mahoraga's ace relies in it taking damage to adapt to an ability and thus nullify it, meaning this ability only triggers when it is hurt. Megumi perfectly demonstrates this principle. Being abandoned at a formative age gave him crippling self-worth issues, which he accounted for by centering his drive on others if he couldn't rely on his own motivations. The worthlessness turned into recklessness and was then accounted for by assigning himself purpose in the idea that when he dies it will never be in vain as he will be doing so to protect those he cares for. This cycle continues forth.