I think, for me, as I have gotten older, my sense of nostalgia for my youth has taken shape into a beast that I cannot quite name.
At times, I feel immense gratitude that I am no longer having to go through what I did in my teenage years. With time, the troubles that plagued me are nothing more than small hills that I once thought were mountains.
Nevertheless, I cannot help but feel a misaligned sense of loss that haunts me in my quietest moments. With the same passage of time that has granted me freedom, self-confidence, and acceptance, those years of my youth will never return to me.
All that to say, I think thatâs why the Hidden Inventory arc in JJK hits my heart so deeply. The sadness of youth lost, of mistakes made that changes your lifeâs path, and all of the said/unsaid thoughts that you donât know how to put into words because you just donât have them.
Youth is precious. Your time during those developmental years are vital. The connections you make can be deeply impactful in so many ways that you sometimes donât even realize until you are older. I, myself didnât start to see this until way after even college.
Anyways, this was just a brain dump as to another reason why I love JJK, despite my issues with a lot of the writing choices.
Because when Gege locks in and commits to punching his audience in the feels, he definitely doesnât hold back.
(Will probably add more photos in a second post. I just love them so much.)
so you're telling me the fifa world cup is all men? its all men's teams? and so is the superbowl? and all the sports teams that states are known for and make copious amounts of merch for are also men's teams? and only 5 women have ever entered formula one since its inception in 1950 and only two of them were able to compete? and this is normal? its acceptable?
daily affirmations: i am allowed to be weird on tumblr. i am allowed to post stuff that makes me seem crazy because it's fun to do that. no one is watching me panopticon style they are just following me normalstyle. i am allowed to be weird on tumblr.
Manga spoilers in this one. Question and answers are from Jump GIGA Summer 2024 Gojo Satoru Q&A with Gege:
"Q: Is there anything Gojo enjoys doing the most? When does he feel joy?
A: I can't really picture anything, but I think maybe he'd be pretty happy meeting anyone who is a talented sorcerer."
What do we see Satoru want? And I don't mean the sweets he enjoys or the silly things he does with the students. I mean, what does the manga or anime show us that Satoru desires? To the point of giving it his all?
Jujutsu sorcery
Geto Suguru
That's it.
He's a pretty simple guy. But so are we all. However, I think Satoru's upbringing is certainly an influence here. We know that Satoru is a very isolated guy. No matter how many people are around him, and no matter how much fun he has with others, there is a distance there because of his strength. This was happening from the very beginning of his life.
"A: A distance developed between Gojo and his parents very early on since they weren't able to be involved with his education as a sorcerer."
"A: He's an only child. as a member of one of the Big three, he had a lot of relatives, but since he was the only one given special treatment, I don't think he ever formed proper relationships with his family members."
"Q: How did Gojo's upperclassmen view him? Did he interact with them?
A: I don't think there were very many, and I think it must have been difficult for them to get along with a kohai who was ridiculously powerful and came from one of the Big Three families."
"Q: Did Gojo have a master to teach him sorcery?
A: His basic sorcery training was done within the Gojo family so he probably did have some. But for his cursed technique, he had to do his best on his own using old family records."
Okay, Gege...
Got it. So Satoru had no deep connection with other people. So...what did he have?
"Q: Did he take on any missions before becoming a jujutsu tech student? Did he have any experience fighting or exorcising cursed spirits?
A: So. Much."
Oh... I see.
Jujutsu sorcery.
I suppose it makes sense since he was the first Limitless and Six-Eyes bearer born in over 400 years, making him the strongest sorcerer of the modern age immediately upon his birth, and causing him to be whisked away from his parents so he could be "rigorously" trained to be a jujutsu sorcerer because the Six-Eyes bearer is tied to Tengen by fate, and "The Gojo clan operates almost entirely through Gojo Satoru alone. The fate of the jujutsu world rests on his shoulders."
Jujutsu sorcery is there for Satoru. Jujutsu sorcery is what Satoru is good at. Amazing at, even. Better at than everyone. Praised for. Lauded for. Born for. It probably feels amazing for Satoru to use his cursed technique and get stronger. In fact, we know it feels amazing. We see the incredible high he gets upon his awakening during the fight with Toji. Jujutsu feels so good in his body, it's like a drug. Who wouldn't want to keep doing that?
Part of being able to do jujutsu sorcery means he has to protect non-sorcerers? Annoying and exhausting, but not a big deal. Especially if it means he can be a jujutsu sorcerer. And he has to be one because he's the strongest. He's going to head the Gojo Clan. He's the Limitless and Six-Eyes bearer. But more than that, he wants to be one because he wants to do jujutsu sorcery.
This conversation happens in the very first chapter and episode that we get to see teenage Satoru. Satoru makes it clear he is in this for the love of the game. Satoru does jujutsu sorcery for jujutsu sorcery's sake. Not for a higher purpose or moral meaning. Nanami states this straight out in the end:
And whether this moment in the airport is a dream in the microsecond of Satoru's dying mind or a real purgatory doesn't change anything. Because if it's just a dream, it means Satoru thinks this about himself. Considers it, at least.
Suguru, in direct contrast, cannot experience jujutsu sorcery in the way Satoru does. He must attribute meaning to it. Suguru's CT brings him direct and immediate suffering.
Think about the things you do in life because they're necessary but they suck for you. They're painful, or boring, or irritating. But you have to do them for a reason. So you do it for that reason. Plus, Suguru was not raised in the world of jujutsu sorcery. He was completely new to it all when he started at Jujutsu High.
When things start to fall apart for Suguru, when it all becomes too painful, and the meaning that allowed him to push through the bits that made him suffer was gone... He didn't have a desire for jujutsu sorcery itself to fall back on. So it was easy to walk away from that world. To erect a new meaning to apply jujutsu sorcery to.
And so, Satoru and Suguru become enemies. The things they want at this point, and the things they need to do in order to have what they want, are diametrically opposed. One cannot exist in the presence of the other. Satoru needs to protect non-sorcerers in order to be a jujutsu sorcerer. Suguru needs to kill non-sorcerers in order to eliminate the need for jujutsu sorcerers to fight and die.
Sure, you could argue that Satoru could have left jujutsu society with Suguru and become a curse user. He could still use his CT, and no one would be able to stop him anyway. Or, Suguru could've tried to find another way, like Yuki. But that wouldn't actually give either of them what they wanted.
"Q: Has he ever thought about quitting his life as a sorcerer?
A: Unlikely."
Why would Satoru not think about quitting? How would Satoru get to fight as much as he does if he wasn't a jujutsu sorcerer? There would be no missions. No intel from jujutsu society. He'd lose access to any records about Limitless and the Six-Eyes or any other information. But more than anything, I don't think he's ever even considered it a possibility to be anything but a jujutsu sorcerer.
He was raised for this from birth. He was born for this. Fate gave him Limitless and the Six-Eyes. There has never been another option even presented or considered. Is the sky blue? Do fish swim? Is water wet? Gojo Satoru is a jujutsu sorcerer.
But there is one other thing that he wanted.
I've written about why I think Satoru and Suguru are so important and special to each other, and it explains why Satoru's only other desire is Suguru. That gulf between him and everybody else? It didn't exist with Suguru. But sadly, once Suguru massacred an entire village, killed his parents, and decided to work towards eliminating all non-sorcerers, it put the two things Satoru wanted directly in opposition to each other.
This is why Satoru does nothing about Suguru for 10 years. Because Suguru is still something that he wants. But he can't have Suguru because he is a jujutsu sorcerer. However, Satoru knew that if Suguru forced his hand, he would have to kill Suguru. He was the only one physically capable of it. Even Yuta's Pure Love attack didn't kill Suguru. Suguru's Night Parade was forcing Satoru's hand. Satoru had to kill Suguru because he is a jujutsu sorcerer.
Satoru's love of jujutsu sorcery is what enabled him to meet and love Suguru. And it was also why he had to kill Suguru.
Having to lose Suguru made him choose to be a teacher and develop the dream of resetting the crappy jujutsu world. The one thing left that he has. The thing that took Suguru from him. Of course he'd give everything to that.
"Q: According to one of your previous answers in the fanbook, Gojo got it together after Geto's defection. What do you think changed?
A: I think maybe a sense of nurturing the next generation was borne [out of that experience]"
As Gege said about Satoru: "äşćĄćăŻčŤŚčŚłăŽäşş" Satoru is a person of 荌茳
荌茳 - clear vision, resignation (to one's fate). And, more specifically, as always with Gege, there is a Buddhist connotation here. Understanding and accepting that one must detach from worldly desires.
Why "Are you the strongest because you're Gojo Satoru, or are you Gojo Satoru because you're the strongest?" hurt so much
Heads up for manga spoilers! I want to expand upon my thoughts on Satoru and Suguru's relationship being one of mutual understanding because they were able to be more to each other than what they were in relationships with others. Suguru's question to Satoru in Shinjuku when he defects is, of course, a painful memory for Satoru. The entire situation hurt, but that question shook Satoru to his core. Why?
It's a paradoxical question. A question with no answer. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Like this, it's a question that one can meditate on in order to further awareness of oneself in relation to the world. Suguru is philosophizing here. He's spent the past year suffering through his sense of self eroding in the wake of the Star Plasma Vessel mission. He's been agonizing over the meaning of jujutsu sorcerers, the loss of those he cares about, the structure of power and exploitation, the significance of life, the significance of death, the significance of strength, the significance of suffering, and where he falls in all of this.
Suguru is, imo, in a state similar to how Satoru was after his awakening. He's just done something huge and life-altering by killing 112 villagers and his parents, so he's in a bit of a high. Not as drastic as Satoru was because Suguru's high is more emotional/mental than the physical high that Satoru was experiencing from his CE. But it stands out to me the way Suguru is smiling and laughing with Shoko when he shows up in Shinjuku. Even when Satoru first confronts him, he's smiling faintly.
His facial expression shifts, it's small but it's an impactful shift, as soon as Satoru yells, "Trying dumb stuff that you know doesn't work is as meaningless as it gets!" Suguru's face becomes humorless and cold, and he stares at Satoru for a moment before saying, "That's pretty arrogant."
To me, Satoru's words here are what prompts Suguru to ask the question. Another telling thing is that Suguru repurposes what Haibara said to him at the school right before Yuki showed up. When Suguru asks Haibara if he's handling being a sorcerer okay, Haibara says, "I just want to do the best at the things I can do. That's what feels good to me." Suguru looks slightly shocked here. It's the last conversation he has with Haibara, and it clearly stuck with him because he takes Haibara's words and sentiment here when he tells Satoru, "I've decided how I want to live, so now I'll do what I can for the sake of it."
But first, let's touch a little more on how special Satoru and Suguru were, and continued to be even after Suguru defected, to each other. We know all the other people in Satoru's life didn't understand him. When they're asked to describe Satoru, they all end up at the same statement. (from vol. 10 extra pages)
Q: Who is Gojo Satoru to you?
Yuji: Heâs my teacher! If not for him, I would have been executed by now. Because of thatâŚ
Megumi: For the time being, he's my benefactor⌠What I'm going to say next isnât limited to just myself, but for the time beingâŚ
Nobara: To be ho~onest, I donât know him that well. The only thing I can say about him isâŚ
Maki: An idiot.
Panda: Yes, heâs an idiot.
Inumaki: Salmon.
All three: ButâŚ
Nanami: Heâs frivolous⌠Individualistic/selfishâŚ
Toge: Needless to sayâŚ
All: Heâs the strongest.
All the kids, including Megumi, state their relationship with Satoru is that of âteacher,â and he thinks of them as his âstudents.â Megumi calls Satoru his âbenefactor.â ćŠäşş (onjin). Shoko thinks of Satoru as her âclassmate.â I donât say this to downplay Satoruâs relationships with any of them. Itâs just that that is who he is to them. It's not wrong, because Satoru is the strongest, so that is who he is to them. Yes, he is their fun and stupid teacher or colleague or mentor or friend, and yes they have other thoughts about him, but the definition of Satoru to them is: The Strongest.Â
And that means there is a gap between them that sets them apart from each other. Think about a celebrity. Yes, you and that celebrity are both human and have many things in common. But there's a stark difference in the way you experience the world because of the vast power/fortune/fame they have and that you do not. And the way we all experience the world greatly impacts us.Â
This can be seen in the âGojo Satoru Official Booklet.â Gege has a relationship chart where everyoneâs relationship with Satoru is described. The direction of the arrow tells you whose feeling/thought it is. So the ones that point to Satoru are the other personâs feelings on him. The ones that point from Satoru are his feelings on that person. Satoru's feelings on the students are "students" and the students feelings on him is "teacher." The only two that point in both directions are the arrows between Satoru and Yuki (they both think of each other as âSpecial Grade") and between Satoru and Suguru. They both think of each other as âbest friend.âÂ
(some funny tidbits that arenât related to what Iâm saying: Gege uses ĺŤă for how Utahime feels about Satoru. It means dislike lol. Sukuna's feeling on Satoru is 夊ć´ăă which is splendid/praise-worthy. And Kenjakuâs feeling on Satoru? ăŠăăŞăŁăŚă ă ăĺ㯠âWhat is with you?/what is going on with you?â LOL why does he feel this way? Kenjaku has met multiple Six-Eyes bearers throughout his life. He knows how insanely strong they are. It canât be about that. But when Satoru demanded to know who he was and told Kenjaku that his soul can tell that heâs not Suguru, Kenjakuâs response was, ăăăˇă§ âgross.â He must think Satoru is a weirdo? Anyway⌠Iâm getting off topic too much)
So when Suguru asks Satoru:
âAre you the strongest because youâre Gojo Satoru, or are you Gojo Satoru because youâre the strongest?â
That is not a question the one who understands him and is the same as him should be asking.
So, when Satoru had previously made statements to Suguru that expressed, âwe are the same,â âitâs you and me,â âwe are together,â Suguruâs question expresses to Satoru, âwe are not the same,â âitâs you alone,â âwe are not together.âÂ
With that one question, Suguru points to the unraveled thread that has bound them all this time. And we see (and hear) just how much that hurts Satoru. Because he has been in denial for the past year. He has refused to acknowledge the change in their relationship post SPV. He has refused to acknowledge that this thread was no longer connecting them. But now Suguru is blatantly holding it in front of him and saying, âlook.âÂ
I think this is the root of why Satoru âfailedâ to see Suguruâs struggle. Because he didnât want to. He loves Suguru so much that even though he is now the strongest alone, even though Suguruâs strength isnât at the same level as Satoruâs anymore, he still holds Suguru as the only one who understands him. The only one who can stand beside him. The only one he wants to stand beside him.Â
This is so clear after heâs released from the Prison Realm and he goes to kill the Higher Ups. Heâs with Yuta, Inumaki, Panda, and Maki, and he tells them to go away so he can go kill the Higher Ups alone. They push back and refuse to leave.
Satoru makes a face when they refuse to leave. An irritated one. Maybe a little playfully, but he does look bothered, in my opinion. Yuta implores Satoru to let them stay, to let them be by his side and says, âdonât take on the burden of being a monster alone anymore.â
But Satoru turns away from them, thinking to himself, âItâs impossible.â He uses çĄç (muri) here. Impossible. Something that canât be helped. What Yuta is saying canât happen. In Satoruâs mind, itâs not that heâs choosing to bear the burden alone. He has no choice but to.
And then he thinks about Suguru. Specifically remembering Suguru on that day in Shinjuku. The moment right where Suguru was leading into the question. And he thinks, âI was left behind that day and need to catch up.â
For Satoru, Suguru was the only one he was willing to share burdens with. Itâs impossible to do that with anyone else, because it could only be Suguru. And Suguru is gone.
Do I think Suguru knew what he was doing by asking Satoru that question? I do. I think he knew he had to show Satoru that unraveled thread between them. To make Satoru hurt and angry because of course Satoru would show up in front of him, after he massacred a village and his own parents, and try to understand Suguru. To try to ask him to explain. To try to figure out a way forward together. But there was nothing to explain or understand. Suguru couldnât go back and undo what heâd done. And he didnât want to.Â
With their bond, youâd think Suguru would have tried to convince Satoru to join him. But he didnât. Because he knew Satoru wouldnât join him. Couldnât join him. So wouldnât it be kinder to Satoru to make him have a reason to stand against Suguru? To make him angry at Suguru? To make it clear that the future where they stood side by side can no longer exist?Â
He knows Satoru doesnât particularly care about the morality of what Suguru did. Yes, objectively he knows that itâs âwrongâ and goes against the jujutsu sorcerer laws that the Gojo, Zenâin, and Kamo Families put in place. But Satoru isnât personally impacted by it. That was one of their main arguments as students. Yes, Satoru protects non-sorcerers, but only because itâs what sorcerers do. He doesnât have a personal creed where he feels itâs his duty to do this for othersâ sake. Satoru had even asked Suguru a year prior if he should kill all the people in the House of the Children of the Star. Satoru was going to be the one who massacred a group of non-sorcerers in that instant. If Suguru hadnât said no.Â
And we see this in the questions Satoru asks Suguru on that sidewalk in Shinjuku. Heâs not asking, how could you kill innocent people? or how could you be so heartless? Itâs, explain what youâre doing this for when everything you've said before was against this? and why are you trying to do something thatâs impossible to accomplish? To me, this reads as, I'm supposed to be able to understand you because you understand me and why are you doing something that means we canât be together?Â
So Suguru answers with the reason.Â
âAre you the strongest because youâre Gojo Satoru, or are you Gojo Satoru because youâre the strongest?â
Weâre already not together. And we will never be again.
the reason satoruâs character is deeply tragic to me is because he was always a weapon. no one ever needed him, they needed his power. who is satoru outside of that? whatâs left when you strip away the techniques, the eyes, the title of âstrongestâ?
when your worth is tied entirely to what you can do, not who you are, you never develop a real sense of self. satoruâs entire existence was conditional: people loved the strongest. they needed the strongest but the person underneath was irrelevant. and when you only matter because youâre useful, you start to believe thatâs all you are.
suguru saw that thatâs why he asked: âare you the strongest because youâre satoru gojo, or are you satoru gojo because youâre the strongest?â he was the only person who saw satoru as a person first. he wanted satoru to think about who he was beyond his power as the weapon. it was an act of loveâtrying to give satoru permission to be human.
its sad that satoru never figures it out.
he dies as a weapon. his pride in being the strongest, in being that weapon is exactly what leads to his demise. he never gets the chance to answer suguruâs question, never learns who satoru gojo is when you remove âthe strongestâ from the equation.
his identity became so fused with his power that he ceased to exist outside of it. satoru couldnât separate himself from his strength because no one ever taught him he was allowed to, his power became both his identity and his prison. the thing that made him matter was also the thing that made him completely alone.
how lonely must you have been, satoru? never given the chance to be human. never allowed to be anything other than a tool, a solution, a force of nature. in a way, he was similar to the very curses he spent his life fightingâboth of them treated as things rather than beings, both of them denied humanity. both of them existing only to serve a function neither of them given names that meant anything beyond what they could do.
he was the strongest but he was also the loneliest and no one ever stopped to ask if those two things were connected. if maybe the reason he could never be touched was because he was never fully seen to begin with
he died proving his worth as a weapon, he died strong, useful. he died exactly as everyone needed him to.
he just never got to die as himself.
because he never got the chance to figure out who that was.ââââââââââââââââ
Once again, I see accusations that Gojo only cared about people in relation to their strength. I can't believe that 236 and 261 haven't put this idea to bed already, but let's go over it again for the class. Here are some thoughts on the importance of perspective and empathy in JJK. Spoilers for chapter 266 ahead!
In 236, Gojo tells Geto he loves everyone. This single line, direct from the man's mouth, should be enough. However, moments later, Nanami says, "You never cared about protecting people". So why do some readers only take one of these perspectives at face value?
Perspective matters in JJK. Often, characters and even the narrator state things that are only true from their perspective in a given moment. What you choose to believe says more about you than it does about them â an idea I explored in my analysis of 236.
This is particularly important when it comes to Gojo and Megumi, because the moment they meet is the only (?) scene in the whole of JJK that we get to see from two perspectives.
The second time, the reader understands the emotional weight of it for Gojo â but Megumi doesn't. He's kept in the dark, so of course he thinks about their meeting in different terms.
Once again, whose perspective are we going to take at face value? From Megumi's point of view, he wasn't offered a choice. From Gojo's point of view, he extended to a child the little agency available to him.
Offering a choice is something Gojo does consistently throughout JJK â pick your hell. It's one of the ways he shows care for others that goes unrecognised, so it's ironic that readers and characters alike misinterpret it for a lack of empathy. However, this is no coincidence.
For much of the series, Gege keeps Gojo at a narrative distance from the reader. Most of what we know about Gojo comes from what other characters tell us, and our view of him is therefore coloured by their perspective.
However, while Gojo laments the distance between himself and others, he fails to recognise that he's the one maintaining it â and not because of his strength or his technique. He has admirable goals, but he chooses to work towards them alone.
There are many occasions where characters reach for Gojo, but he refuses to let them past his metaphorical Infinity out of a sense of duty and perhaps misplaced belief that he alone can or should bear this heavy burden.
All of Gojo's actions are about preserving the humanity of others at the expense of his own. That's precisely why he chooses to become the "monster" alone. In this way, Gojo is flawed but he isn't uncaring. Again, it's a matter of perspective.
Gojo sees strength as the solution because it's all he's ever known. However, recognising the strength of others doesn't mean that's all he sees â because Gojo knows that dehumanisation acutely. What's more, 261 also suggests he thinks of "strength" in different terms to others.
When they meet, Gojo tells Megumi not to get left behind. However, he later says he was "left behind" when Geto defected. We know Gojo's physical strength eclipsed Geto's, yet Gojo only refers to himself as "the strongest" alone after Geto dies.
Before that point, there's nothing in the text to suggest that Gojo ever stopped thinking of the pair of them as "the strongest" â as a unit, as a duo. This suggests that strength, for Gojo, is something much more intangible, much more sympathetic, and much more human too.
What do the strongest characters in JJK all have in common? Indomitable will, courage in their convictions, an overwhelming sense of self. Looking at strength through this lens shines a new light on Gojo's goal of raising "strong" allies.
When he forces a third option in Shibuya, Gojo proves that strength doesn't have to come at the expense of compassion. In the later chapters of the Shinjuku Showdown arc, Yuta, Yuji, and the rest of Gojo's allies reinforce that idea ten times over, and I have every belief that Megumi will soon do the same.
To suggest Gojo only saved Megumi for his technique is unfair when he has consistently proven himself committed to protecting the futures of others, even "weak" non-sorcerers who have nothing to offer him. Once again, it's all a matter of perspective.
Gojo's way of caring is still caring, even if it doesn't look familiar to you. His only flaw was closing himself off from others and choosing to care from afar. However, just like Gojo never stopped reaching for Geto after he left, Gojo's allies never stopped reaching for him.
There's a phrase we use to describe looking at things from another perspective: putting yourself in someone else's shoes. I think it's very telling that Gojo's allies have taken that literally â Yuta by stepping into his skin, and Yuji by standing in his place in 266.
TL;DR: Gojo cares a lot, actually. If Gojo talking about his innermost feelings can't make you empathise, and the students he supposedly "doesn't care about" recognising his burdens can't make you empathise?
Well, that says far more about you than it does about him.
Come read my fics about this!
In His Shadow explores the ways Gojo keeps his distance from Megumi, who isn't equipped with the tools he needs to reach him but finds his own ways to show he cares, born from ten years of history together.
Rivers Crossed, Mountains Scaled explores Gojo and Megumi's relationship through the vehicle of SatoSugu â why Gojo took him in, whether Gojo really gave him a choice, how Gojo sees him.
Hope you enjoyed the post! I love you, Gege Akutami âĽď¸
â¨Written in the Stars: Nanami Kento x Astrology Analysis/HCsâ¨
Stats:
Name: Nanami Kento
DOB: July 3rd
Sign: Cancer (2nd Decan)
Warning: MAJOR spoilers for the manga/anime. Please do not proceed if you haven't finished the manga (unless you're cool with some big reveals lol). A bit of profanity thrown in here and there. Post is gif & image heavy!
While Nanami's birthday - 7/3 - is an obvious nod to his name, he nonetheless possesses heavy Cancerian traits
(Funnily enough, Cancer's lucky numbers are said to be 7 and 3. Who knew?!)
He is, for one, the fundamental "dad" of the group
This is true whether itâs referring to actual family, amongst friends or students he's responsible for (he is perhaps the most significant father figure in Yuji's life, certainly one who has left an indelible impression upon him)
Ijichi has referred to him as the "most adult of all adults"
Even during Nanami's final moments, he tells Yuji, "You've got it from here," which is very much like the passing down of a torch from one generation to another
The Cancerian man is responsible, reliable and gets the job done, which is why Gojo entrusted Yuji to Nanami
As a Cardinal sign, they are among the initiators of the zodiac - they take action when shit matters
They also donât play around when it comes to business (some of the most prominent businesspeople in the world share this sign) and can be quite shrewd when it comes to finances (notice how Nanamin also went into finance after quitting jujutsu society)
Money is absolutely central when it comes to security for Cancerians; they never really feel secure despite how much they make
Cancer is the sign of the crab, which carries its home around at all times. It also rules the 4th House in the natal chart, which is the house of home and family
Nanami is similarly minded: home and his downtime is never far from his mind. Overtime is a binding vow and one which heâd prefer not to use. The man really just wants to go home, cook something delicious and eat it by himself with a fine glass of wine and a good book
Home â and, by extension, his privacy â is his safe place; Nanamiâs refuge from the violently topsy-turvy world of jujutsu
Gege has mentioned that Nanami would've wanted to get married, just not while actively working as a sorcerer, which, once again, makes perfect sense because he's just too caring and responsible to leave someone he loves as a WIDOW!! đđđ (we shall NOT talk about this)
The 4th house also presides over childhood (e.g. his insistence on letting kids be kids), nostalgic memories (more on this below) and parental figures (see Yuji above and Ino as well, to a certain extent)
In short, the 4th house is about FOUNDATIONS, and Nanami's character, in particular, feels as solid and reliable as that of a well-built house
Much has been made about his desire to retire to Malaysia, and in a sense, this can be seen as a return to his roots, as evidenced by the following panels in the manga:
Going somewhere south, to return to who he once was, is very reminiscent of the both the 4th house and the South Node (one's "home base," comfort zones, habits and patterns) - more on this later
The 4th house is the most sentimental of the houses, and Nanami can arguably be considered one of the more empathetic characters of the JJK verse (along with Yuji, Yuta and Yaga, for instance)
All that softness aside, don't fuck with Cancers. They may be the nurturing "parents" of the zodiac, but just like a mother bear protecting her cubs, they will cut you if you mess with them and the people they care about. They are STRONG AF in ways that result in more than just visible muscle mass and they take their responsibilities seriously. That shell is hard for a reason. They can take whatever life dishes out.
Sometimes though, they may have to retreat within that shell to heal, much like Nanami did by leaving the jujutsu world after Haibara's death. But they eventually come back to clean up that bullshit garbage
The hard shell protects the soft, emotional innards of the man â the empathetic side that exists deep within Nanami at his core. The stoic face is a form of protection for someone who has already seen and felt too much, too soon
Resilience is the name of the game (even Gojo, after finally escaping the Prison Realm, mentioned that he thought Nanami, of all people, would survive anything)
Nanami Kento, however, continues to live on through the deep influence he's had on others, not just Yuji Itadori and Ino Takuma (who always asks "what would Nanami do?"), but also via his own blunt blade being reincarnated to a second life as a weapon in Ino's hands:
Like the moon by which Cancer is ruled, Nanami's influence enables others to find their way when they feel lost in darkness
Cancers can also feel insecure and inadequate on the inside
One gets a very visceral sense of this especially after Haibara's death, when Nanami says to Geto, "why don't we just let Gojo handle everything from now on?"
Furthermore, in a later scene, he advises Yuji not to compare himself to Gojo because itâs a sure path to disappointment - highly suggesting that Nanami, at one point or another, also harboured similar feelings of not being able to measure up to the Strongest
In addition to the watery elements of his chart, Nanami Kento also strikes one as having significant Earth influence
Virgoan vibes in his insistence on getting things done correctly in the right way (whether as a jujutsu sorcerer or in his role as a salaryman) - see the Virgo insistence on PRECISION below:
The Virgo influence can also be seen by the way his mind never seems to be at rest: he loves to read, is commonly depicted with a book or newspaper on his downtime, and said he would love to get around to finally reading all the books he accumulated but haven't yet had the chance to read (his general stoic demeanour makes me feel like this is more of a Virgo influence than Gemini, which tends towards a more sociable and lighthearted personality despite both being ruled by Mercury)
Taurus placements are hinted at in the way he delights in earthly and sensual pleasures: good food and wine, his desire to retire to the beach and surround himself with sun, sand, surf and simplicity (Gege makes no secret of the fact that this man is a canon foodie)
Capricorn folks, like Cancers, are also all about their business. Real boss energy.
Undoubtedly, Nanamiâs character has a very heavy Saturnian influence: stern and strict when adhering to rules and regulations, he believes in structure and order. This typically puts him at odds with Gojo's flighty nature, and the two serve as beautiful foils to each other, especially in Yuji's life
Saturn is Father Time, and nothing characterizes Nanami Kento better than his near-obsessive relationship with time (Overtime, anyone? lol)
He can't help noticing all the ways in which time is passing him by (e.g. finding more and more of his hairs on his pillow, no longer being able to find his favourite sandwich at the konbini)
And he looks forward to a retirement he will never actually have đ
When it is revealed near the end of the manga (see earlier manga panel) that he asked Mei Mei for advice on where he should relocate to for retirement, she gave him the option of heading North if he essentially wants to live for the future, but opting for the South if he wants to revisit the past. Nanami chose Malaysia, which, once again, harkens back to the 4th house and South Node themes of nostalgia for times gone by
Saturn's iconography is typically associated with a sickle, reminiscent not only of death but also the reaping of the harvest (c.f. Nanami's special connection with wheat through his great love of bread)
Nanami Kento's character is very much a man of the earth: no-nonsense to the core. He is the one you call on when shit hits the fan
Along a similar vein, part of his decision to return to the jujutsu world involved his thoughts surrounding why people whose jobs are so far removed from the circle of life are paid disproportionately more - it didn't sit right with him
But underneath all this heavy earthiness, the man is a Cancer that cares to its own core about the people in his life
this is highly apparent in how he prioritizes the safety of the students and others
Finally, letâs talk about the fact that Nanamiâs birthday falls within the second decan of Cancer, which means there is a significant Scorpio (Plutonian) influence on his expression of the sign. These folks aren't afraid of death.
Nanami's trusted inner circle may be tiny, but they truly understood the fierce loyalty and devotion he's capable of (e.g. his willingness to sacrifice himself as a shield to protect Megumi when they were in Dagon's domain)
He is a man who would (and did) put everything on the line, fighting until he was literally on his last legs...
...which is why we crown him KING KENTO đđ
For being hearth and home, parent and protector - a place of safe refuge for so many characters in this show.
RIP King
Thanks so much for reading and please stay tuned for more writing to come! (Check out the masterpost! đđ)
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the op of jjk season 2 is rife with symbolism. there's one particular motif, however, that foreshadows the trajectory (and tragedy) of gojo and geto's love story.
almost immediately, we see geto running through the rain. the stylistic choice to portray him holding his bag over his head is deliberate, because it emphasizes what he conspicuously doesnât have but so clearly needs: an umbrella.
gojo, on the other hand, is not operating with the same sense of urgency, seen through him taking his time looking at a cat. gojo has what geto needs, but he's not rushing. their behaviour is incongruous; geto is hurrying to get out of the rain, and gojo remains still, because heâs absolutely not hurrying at all.
the sense of urgency is compounding, seen through geto bouncing his leg. heâs waiting impatiently in the rain, and he's not using his bag to cover up his head anymore. geto knows gojo is coming; that's why he's impatientâ because he's waiting for someone who has what he needs that hasnât shown up yet.
geto needs him, yet gojo doesnât pick up the pace. this is despite the fact that he needs to because itâs raining and geto doesnât have an umbrella. we, as the audience, feel geto's impatience and we're urging gojo on, yet he still doesn't go any faster.
sharing an umbrella is an established trope in japan. itâs widely recognized and practiced enough to have its own designated terminology.
gojo is bringing an umbrella for them to share. that's why itâs repeatedly reinforced to the audience that geto doesn't have one. thatâs also why the shots cut between them; it highlights what gojo has that geto doesnât, and in doing so, ties the narrative together through the umbrella.
by the time gojo finally shows up, the sun has come out. gojo lowers the umbrella and smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. contrarily, geto almost seems resigned, like heâs accepted the fact that gojo took too long. they canât share the umbrella anymore because they missed their chance to use it.
we can see that geto is saying something to gojo when he finally shows up with the umbrella. you know what i would bet actual money it probably was?
always funny to remember darth vader is anakin skywalker. the adrenaline junkie chucklefuck who used to dive head first out of speeders and built a pod racer in his yard when he was like six is now upper-middle management for the evil empire. half of his appearances in the original trilogy are Meetings. vader spends like 80% of his time dealing with bureaucratic bullshit. status updates. team meetings. holo-Zooms. budget rundowns. anakin betrayed the jedi and caused the fall of the republic and his punishment is being CC'd on every email forever. and you know what. he would hate that. the punishment fits the criminal
