#for itadori | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vesselmade · 8 months

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the fight scene between mahito and itadori is truly one of the best moments in the entirety of the manga. the action itself is spectacular but nothing compares to what it all means. I honestly think reading this part gave Itadori his own 'awakening' of sorts so that’s exactly why I’m making this post about it. Full analysis below!

Itadori begins this battle in a very bad place. He lost his battle with choso (despite choso’s realization). He’s just come back into his own body after Sukuna took control and destroyed the majority of their surroundings. Besides this he also killed a massive amount of civilians in the process. And worst of all he arrived back in time to see Nanami killed as well as Nobara. Itadori is essentially broken , mind , body and soul in the beginning of the fight and it certainly doesn’t get easier.

I will add though that we have seen how much itadori has grown since the exchange event. He’s already exceptionally strong and fast and has high durability. (In this fight specifically it’s my opinion that because of the 15 fingers he manages to hold himself well in this fight). He shows pure adaptability when fighting a curse stronger than him. Like with the grasshopper we saw how he quickly adapts, overpowering/outsmarting it. and then thanks to mechamaru he took the fight into the bathroom to limit choso’s abilities under the water.

Now over to mahito… he begins the fight on a high note. He’s thriving because he just killed Nanami and was even happier that itadori showed up to see it. Ever since their first battle it had been his goal to break Itadori and this was the perfect way to do it. Mahito defines the term adaptability and it shows how he and itadori are truly opposites. They are true rivals.

Mahito easily beats Itadori down , going on about his childish heroism. Here’s the full speech:

❛ I bet you thought you were gonna do some pest control! Or ghost exterminations like in some make-believe story! You came to Shibuya with half-assed determination didn‘t ya?! How naïve, you stupid brat! This is war! Not a battle to fix what‘s wrong! But a clash of truths! You and your fragile justice! You are me, Yuji Itadori! I kill without a second thought, just like you save people without a second thought! The instincts of a curse against the so-called dignity obtained by human reason! It‘s a battle to determine who will be left standing in a 100 years! How the hell did you think you were gonna beat me when you don‘t even realize that? Tell me, Yuji Itadori have you ever stopped to count how many curses you‘ve killed? No, right? Me neither, me neither. ❜

mahito is truly a good villain. and here in this speech he does have a point to what he’s saying. He’s calling out Itadori’s naïve mindset. Just as Itadori’s nature is to exorcise curses to save humans , mahito plays with human lives. That’s his instinct, he is a curse and it’s just his nature to do so. To deny this is to deny what mahito is as a curse. But soon it’s Todo that comes in and manages to pull Itadori out of the abyss he’s in right now. He was ready to give up, to accept death. The fact that he’s mentally coherent in that moment shows just what kind of person Itadori is.

It’s pointed out that it had to be Itadori who burdens these deaths, Nobara and Nanami. It’s him who shall carry their souls and legacies with him. He is a jujutsu sorcerer ; told to not look for meaning in death because it’d simply be disrespectful to let the memory of those who died go out with Yuji. He apologizes to Nanami and swears to take on all his suffering and add it to his own.

Later on Mahito takes on his true form and realizes his full potential and challenges Itadori with his newfound power. This new body is tougher and he gets beat down quite a bit before he realizes what he must do — use black flash. Now, as stated, there’s not a single sorcerer who can use black flash on command.

Though when they go for their finally hit Mahito fully expects black flash but instead receives divergent fist. This throws everything off balance and Itadori manages to get in a black flash before Mahito returns to his original form. It’s here that Itadori gives his speech:

❛ You’re right…mahito…I’m you. I wanted to reject you — convince myself that you were wrong. But that doesn't matter now; I'm gonna kill you. Even if you come back as another curse, I'll kill you. Change your name. Change your form. I'll kill you again. I don’t need to find meaning or a reason. Maybe a hundred years after my death, the meaning behind my actions will become apparent. In the grand scheme of things…I’m probably nothing more than a cog. But I’ll keep killing curses…for as long as I can. That’s my role in all this. ❜

He has finally come to terms with this new world he’s been thrust into. He doesn’t need a reason to save people or kill curses. He is Mahito’s other side and he can no longer deny that. And with acceptance follows overcoming. It is his role to kill him. He points out that, maybe in the future a reason will come along but for now Itadori no longer needs that answer.