Warning: Spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter #266
The latest chapter ofJujutsu Kaisenis an illuminating turning point for the relationship betweenItadori YujiandFushiguro Megumi, and it decisively shows a contrast againstNarutoandSasuke, to whom the pair are frequently compared. Fans have long awaited Megumi’s return, hoping that Sukuna’s hijacking of his body wouldn’t spell the end for the brooding, curse-taming son of “Sorcerer Killer” Fushiguro Toji. As it turns out,chapter #266 would renew hope for Megumi’s survival, and the way it would do so would bea definitive escape from the shadow of manga titanNaruto.
Creator Gege Akutami has made it clear thatJujutsu Kaisenis meant to beNaruto’s opposite. Yuji and Megumi have parallels with Naruto and Sasuke, respectively. Yuji mirrors Naruto’s undying determination and will to persevere, and obviously, they’re both problematic seals of incredibly strong forces.
Megumi and Sasuke share a tragic fatherless backstory, a disaffected and resolute demeanor, and a prodigious grasp over their respective abilities. Both pairs are (in different ways) established as rivals, butJujutsu Kaisenchapter #266shows a vastly different approach that proves why Naruto struggled to save Sasuke.
Jujutsu Kaisen Confirms Ending and Final Chapter Release Date
Gege Akutami’s hit shonen manga Jujutsu Kaisen will be ending soon within a span of only five chapters, bringing an end to the six-year-long series.
Yuji Summons Incredible Empathy For Megumi
Yuji’s Awareness At A Critical Moment Brings Megumi Back From The Brink
If there’s one common thread that unites Megumi and Sasuke now, given Megumi’s dire situation, it’sa fatalistic response to Yuji’s (and Naruto’s) desire to bring them back— literally back to Konoha for Sasuke, and figuratively back into his own body for Megumi. Both Megumi and Sasuke feel obvious disbelief at the extent to which Yuji and Naruto would go for their own sakes. However, chapter #266 shows why Yuji’s relationship with Megumi is different.
The last few chapters ofJujutsu Kaisenhave been notably meditative, as Yuji describes his renewed sense of the meaning of life and death. Yuji takes this to new heights, however, as he admits that because of his own strength, he hasalways found it difficult to identify with people whose circumstances lead them to give up. Relating Megumi’s bodily surrender to Sukuna to his own grandfather’s battle with lung cancer, Yuji has an exemplary moment of empathy as he proclaims that he can’t reasonably ask Megumi to keep living.
Instead, in a bittersweet turn, Yuji only offers Megumi his tearful sincerity:“it’s lonely without you, Fushiguro.“This earnest, unpretentious confession of Megumi’s importance seems to have perfectly combined with Yuji’s resounding empathy, and it leads Megumi to begin resisting Sukuna’s control over his body.
This was alsoonly possible because of Megumi’s own sincerity. The chapter begins with Megumi describing his simple wishes for a world where his sister and Yuji were happy, telling Yuji he’s done enough and reflecting on the hopelessness of his situation. This directness of communication is refreshing coming from the perspective ofNaruto. Naruto and Sasuke’s seemingly unbreachable gulf emerges largely because of an inability to effectively communicate, and both only really listen to another during their final showdown inNaruto Shippuden.
Jujutsu Kaisen Proves Gojo Was Never a Hero With One Brutal Moment
Gojo Satoru has always been a dark character but the latest episode of Jujutsu Kaisen shows he was never a hero after all.
Yuji and Naruto’s Preoccupations Show Why Naruto Struggles With Sasuke
Yuji’s Grounded Maturity Opens Megumi Up While Naruto’s Idealism Failed To Reach Sasuke
Jujutsu KaisenandNarutoare starkly different in the perceived “maturity” of their themes and founding ideals.This isn’t a fault withNaruto.Narutois grounded in messages that the younger readers it targets can understand, which necessarily involves bigger ideas and fewer emotional complications.Kishimoto admits as such, as (for example) on ninja families:
Not limiting families by their blood relations seemed mandatory to me. The most obvious example of this is the relation between Naruto & Jiraiya. These two lonely beings, a hermit and an orphan, made the master/student relation work very well. It’s very family-like. The word “family”, as most people understand it, is too limited as far as I’m concerned.
Especially since I’m writing for children who may or may not face the problem of parents divorcing.
[quotation corrected for grammar]
By contrast,Jujutsu Kaisenhas always tried for a grittier and more realistic approach, which appeals toviewers skewing on the older end of the shōnen demographic. One result of this is thatNaruto’s title character isvery emphatic about his broadly moralistic ideals: protecting Konoha, becoming Hokage, and more general concepts like “friendship”, “perseverance”, and “unity”. By contrast,Jujutsu Kaisendrives at a more mortal and contextual view of things, emphasizing existential concepts like “worthy death” and the excruciatingly individual circumstances that lead people to make their choices. This is hardly better exemplified thanin Gojo and Geto’s backstory.
The problem with Naruto’s idealistic worldview is thatideals are subjective and deeply personal. When morals and ideals differ sufficiently, idealistic monologues can fall on deaf ears. For the most part, Naruto’s ideals famously don’t fall on deaf ears, and he’s able to win over countless enemies just through rhetoric.
Sasuke clearly has respect for Naruto’s shared orphan upbringing, evident as early as episode 3 of the original series. This foundational similarity in their upbringing but total difference in their worldviews (because of contextual, individual events) is the basis for Naruto and Sasuke’s entire rivalry;it wouldn’t exist otherwise. However, it’s also the thing which leads this rivalry to be basically insurmountable. For Sasuke, Naruto’s idealism seems unrealistic and undeservedly admiring of their circumstantial birthplace, especiallyfollowing the Five Kage Summit, when the true history of the Uchiha clan is revealed.
Ultimately, Naruto’s idealism clouds his ability to reach Sasuke, where Sasuke’s total sense of displacement leads him to see Naruto’s approach as, in a way, dehumanizing. It’s not that Sasuke never sympathized with Naruto’s unyielding idealism, either. Clearly, after their final showdown, Naruto’s ideals won in the end,even over Sasuke.
Yet, that’s only after hundreds of chapters of failed communication and a mutual lack of empathy. This is by design, sinceKishimoto always “wanted the work to end with a climactic confrontation” between Naruto and Sasuke. By contrast, thesimple exchange of total sinceritybetween Yuji and Megumi shows howJujutsu Kaisendoes things differently, having a profound story impact in turn.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisenis a Japanese anime and manga series created by Gege Akutami. The story is set in a world where Cursed Spirits, born from negative human emotions, prey on humanity. It follows high school student Yuji Itadori as he becomes entangled in the world of Jujutsu Sorcery after swallowing a cursed talisman—Ryomen Sukuna’s finger—and becomes the host for one of the most powerful curses. Yuji joins the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College to learn how to combat curses while searching for the remaining fingers of Sukuna to exorcise him permanently.
