Jujutsu Kaisen: Is Yuji the Best Modern Anime Protagonist?

Among contemporary anime, only a handful of series match the profound impact that Jujutsu Kaisen has left on both regular viewers and casual enthusiasts. This anime has unquestionably shattered conventions, firmly establishing itself at the pinnacle of modern anime. Its remarkable narrative and endearing characters, particularly the protagonist, Yuji Itadori, contribute significantly to its unparalleled success.

Yuji stands out as the most recognizable and iconic character in Jujutsu Kaisen, even surpassing Gojo. Despite this, he encompasses the quintessential traits of an exceptional protagonist and has garnered universal adoration from the series' fanbase. This distinguishes him from many other contemporary anime protagonists, solidifying Yuji's status as the epitome of excellence in the genre.

Yuji Has An Infectious and Lovable Personality

Much like numerous other main characters, Yuji exudes a charming and amiable persona, often injecting humor into the series to entertain fans. This quality makes him easily relatable and approachable, while simultaneously showcasing his willingness to assist and empathize with the struggles of his loved ones.

Yuji's profound concern for others is evident in his interactions, particularly in his friendship with Junpei Yoshino. Yuji played a pivotal role in alleviating Junpei's sense of isolation, offering him genuine companionship. Unfortunately, Junpei's trajectory takes a somber turn following his mother's demise, leading him down a path of becoming a Curse User and ultimately confronting Yuji with the intent to kill him.

Nevertheless, Yuji's compassionate nature remained evident as he adamantly refused to inflict serious harm or take Junpei's life. By the end of their confrontation, Yuji successfully guided Junpei away from the dark path, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to saving others. Yuji's bond with Junpei was so strong that he envisioned him as an integral part of his group alongside Nobara and Megumi. He was immensely relieved when Junpei embraced goodness before causing harm to anyone else.

However, the entire encounter between Yuji and Junpei was orchestrated by Mahito, who exploited the situation to transfigure the new Curse User. Throughout the ordeal, Yuji beseeched Sukuna to take control of his body and heal Junpei, but Sukuna adamantly refused. Tragically, Junpei succumbed to his injuries in Yuji's arms, underscoring Yuji's profound compassion as he was willing to sacrifice himself to save someone he had only recently befriended.

He Is Serious When He Needs to Be

Yuji is renowned for his playful and goofy demeanor when surrounded by friends and loved ones, engaging in childlike antics to elicit laughter from those around him. However, when the call for seriousness arises, Yuji readily discards the levity, transforming into an intensely focused and formidable force in battle. His commitment to protecting his friends is unwavering, and he consistently gives his all to ensure the safety of those he cares about. Gege Akutami skillfully maintains a nuanced balance between humor and seriousness in depicting Yuji's character.

A compelling parallel can be drawn between Yuji and Goku from the Dragon Ball series. Much like the iconic Saiyan, Yuji presents himself as somewhat of an easygoing and carefree individual, often indulging in humor and exuding a cheerful disposition. However, when the safety of his loved ones is jeopardized, a profound shift occurs within him. Yuji undergoes a transformation, evolving into a formidable adversary capable of instilling fear in any opponent he faces, akin to the formidable nature exhibited by Goku in critical moments.

In pretty much all of his fights, he is fully immersed in the battle, using his Cursed Energy and Technique with incredible efficiency and not wasting a single movement in the path to tear his opponent down. His training is always rigorous, and he is shown to be incredibly dedicated to improving himself to best protect others, and his journey and training is great to see from the very start.

Though this is a trait enjoyed by most anime characters, Yuji strikes a perfect balance between how he is and how he needs to be. He is never overtly emotional, which often comes off as super annoying. An example of this is Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer, who has received many complaints from fans about crying all the time for no apparent reason. He is a character that is written to be compassionate, but despite that, he comes off as a saint that is hard to like and relate to.

Yuji is Far From a Perfect Character

Unlike many other anime protagonists, Yuji is not perfect. Throughout the series, he is shown to hold a lot of emotional baggage on his shoulders and has broken down and been out of the picture multiple times in the story. Nanami and Nobara's deaths in the Shibuya Incident arc were so traumatic for him that he simply gave up on fighting, causing himself to nearly get killed by Mahito.

Many also seem to think that Yuji is someone who fails to see his goals through quite a bit. While these things may initially come off as negative, they are a testament to how compelling of a character Yuji truly is. Whenever a character is written as being completely infallible, they are always difficult to relate to. To use Tanjiro as an example yet again, he just seems to be good at everything that he does for no apparent reason and doesn't struggle much with very little training, something which inflates his growth for people and makes him unlikable to many.

Yuji is consistently shown to be struggling and very often comes up short in either defeating the villain or seeing his goal through to the end, and at one point he just gives up entirely. However, he never quits, showing the indomitable nature of the human spirit that, despite being flawed and prone to failure, always persists in doing what it has to.

By viewing this, fans can relate and become inspired by seeing it as everyone has been in a place similar to Yuji where they almost gave up. Due to this, fans see some of themselves within Yuji and so, can relate to someone who isn't perfect but despite that fact, tries to do his best to protect everyone he loves by giving everything that he has to fix the problem, which unfortunately sometimes comes up short.

All in all, despite there being many amazing modern anime protagonists across the industry such as Eren from Attack on Titan, Senku from Dr. Stone or Asta from Black Clover, Yuji is a character that embodies the human spirit more than any of them. His will to never give up and always try to do the right thing despite having everything going against him has cemented his place at the top of the list of best anime protagonists of all time, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Goku, Guts, Luffy and Naruto.

Jujutsu Kaisen can be streamed on Amazon Prime and Netflix.