In Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 255, Miguel Oduol takes center stage as the latest Sorcerer to face off against Sukuna. Miguel is one of the few sorcerers that aren’t Japanese. A Kenyan man, Miguel is African. Fans will remember Miguel from the beatdown Gojo Satoru handed him in the movie Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Jujutsu High. He would later become Yuta’s teacher after pressure from Gojo.
Miguel’s family is known for weaving the Black Rope, a special grade cursed tool capable of “disturb and cancel,” effects of cursed techniques. It took his family decades to make it, unfortunately, Gojo destroyed it. When the rope is in use it burns away. At the end of his fight with Gojo there was none left. Anyway, in the latest chapter, Gojo offends Miguel with some racist assumptions, specifically about the “special physiques,” of African sorcerers.
Gojo claims that the “real frightening thing (about Miguel) is his “build.” He compare the physical aspect as being superior to the Japanese sorcerers. Miguel calls out Gojo claiming that his “broad,” generalization is “racist.” Gojo for his part seem embarrassed and apologizes. I didn’t realize this but apparently Gege Akutami “hates,” Gojo, and is on a mission to tarnish the image of one of manga/anime most recognizable and beloved characters.
Does Gege hate Gojo?
According to Gege calls Gojo a “mob character,” in a tweet. Personality, I’m not sure what that even means. Maybe he mean Gojo loves the spotlight and is self-centered. There could be something lost in translation. Apparently in anime Mob Characters “refer to side characters that viewers easily miss. These characters don’t have a significant role to play in the story and are simply there to add to the background.” However, that wouldn’t apply to Gojo at all.
The more believable reason Gege hated Gojo was he made him “too powerful.” In an effort to bring Gojo down, Gege may come to develop a hatred for the character that made it difficult to write threats into the story. It’s also possible that because fans loved Gojo so much Gege felt pressure to include Gojo more than he intended. Regardless, Gege hasn’t explicitly stated why he hated Gojo.
So is this latest reveal another sign he want’s the audience to dislike Gojo? Maybe. I think another motive might be the answer, commenting on Japan’s racist assumptions about Black people. I’m no expert but I understand that Japan still harbor some racist views regarding Black people. If Gege wants to dispel some of these views using one of the popular anime characters would be an effective way to do so.
Personally, I don’t think that Gege Akutami hates Gojo. He probably annoyed that he’s so popular and that undermines the story he tries to tell. However, I think Gojo as a character is a interesting especially how he functions in the plot. Everyone knows he practically unstoppably so they have to run or seal him. For a Shonen not having a character that can be defeated with direct combat was refreshing.
Of course, Gojo couldn’t defeat Sukuna (at least no directly), that’s likely Yuji’s role. That said anime is filled with characters that are too strong, so asspulls and random powerups are needed to defeat them to give the story stakes. It’s predictable and can ruin a fight.
If he’s trying to make Gojo racist to force fans to dislike him it might not work. I’m African American and I think Frieza is extremely racist (he loves to call saiyans “monkey’s”) and has an unhealth love of genocide. Still he’s one of my favorite anime characters.
So what do you think. Is Gege still trying to destroy Gojo’s image (even after killing off)? Is he trying to dispel some racist stereotypes using Gojo’s popularity? Do you even believe he hates Gojo?
Source: Dexerto, fandomwire,