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An Actual Character Analysis (+ Defensive Post) of Megumi Fushiguro

(Because as someone who went through depression, I genuinely love his character)

I know the main “critique” of Megumi’s character, if I’m being generous enough to call it that, is the perceived failure of Megumi to reach is true potential, hence the potential man meme, or the fact he lost the will to live while possessed by Sukuna and indirectly hindered Yuji and Yuta’s plan. But, I genuinely think a lot of people don’t appreciate the writing of these aspects of his character and how they genuinely make him a better character than they’re willing to acknowledge. It’s also highly disingenuous to actively ignore the context of those situations, and much they reflect the core themes of Jujutsu Kaisen as a whole.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ TW(s): Discussion of depression, suicide, and mental illness, Manga spoilers for Anime-onlys ⚠️⚠️⚠️

To begin, I’m going to preface this with the fact that Megumi isn’t a failure. Yeah, that’s what I said. He isn’t a fraud, or a bum, or potential man. Because, you can’t truly fail at something you were never interesting in succeeding at. Megumi has never once truly cared about being the strongest. He never cared about being as strong as Gojo, or reaching that full potential he was said to have. Sure, he might’ve put in the effort to become strong enough, but that’s exactly it—Strong enough. Not the strongest. Why? Because the only thing he ever cared about was to give his sister a happy life. That’s it. At best, to him, jujutsu was nothing more than a tool to get closer to that goal. He only ever cared about what it would do for Tsumiki, not what it would do for himself.

Hence why Gojo said he couldn’t bring out his best because he doesn’t know how too, because he isn’t selfish enough to. He doesn’t want, he isn’t greedy. He’s perpetually selfless, for his whole motive for doing anything at all is tied to someone else. Because he’s never been bought up to want anything. He grew up poor without parents to care for him, naturally his resources were limited. In an environment like that, you can’t really develop an innate instinct to be greedy or selfish, not when having the bare minimum itself is a blessing to you. He never got a chance to actually experience genuine, real, selfish want. Even his want for Tsumiki to have a better life is rooted in her specifically, not himself. He can’t envision himself in the perfect life for Tsumiki, excuse he genuinely doesn’t think he deserves it. And, the reason why is because of his own self perception being so skewed.

Because arguably the most interesting aspect of his character is the fact he perceives himself so poorly and actively treats himself as if he’s the worst when his actions imply otherwise. He’s always believed himself to be selfish and genuinely treats that as a moral failure on his part. He thinks he’s selfish for solely having a set of principles that he refuses to deviate from. He wants to save the good, worthy people. The people like Tsumiki. It’d what influenced his decision to save Yuji to begin with and why he cherished his life so deeply. Because he’s good the same way Tsumiki was.

But, there’s also that interesting thing, that question; Why does he think like this?

Well, let’s put it into perspective; Imagine you’re a child, not even a year old yet, and your mother passes away, leaving you and your father. Now, imagine said father remarried and finds a new family for the both of you, and you get a step sibling. Then both your father and stepmother disappear without a trace, leaving you and your sibling to raise yourselves. Your older sibling, not even much older than you, defiantly not old enough to look after themselves even, is placed with the burden of having to take care of you while your own parents just discarded you like a coat you can hang up in a closet.

With that kind of upbringing, that kind of experience from his own parents, the people supposed to love and cherish him, protect him; look after him, it was only natural he’d develop such a strong viewpoint on people and morality. In life itself. That life itself is so painfully unfair and that’s the only fair thing about it. His parents ran off with so little of a goodbye and left his sister, a child herself, to raise both of them. And, she actively chose to do it. She chose to do it despite the circumstances or sacrifices she’d have to make. That’s why he sees in such a benevolent light, because she valued him and made him feel like he was someone worthy of it, unwarranted, when his own parents didn’t do that very thing. That’s why he wants her, and good people like her to have a fair chance at life because they choose to be good when life is unfair to them. He hates that good people forgive bad people because it’s unfair for them to give grace to people who don’t deserve it.

And it’s why he became a sorcerer to save Tsumiki after she was cursed and put in a coma. Because she’s a good person, who deserves a fair life. But, his lack of self interest and high prioritization of others before himself was what was actively hindering him. When he was concerned about why he couldn’t get strong as quickly as Yuji did, it was because of the fact that Megumi doesn’t want anything for himself. He does what’s expected of him and that’s it. It’s why he doesn’t try to win, it’s why he tries to summon Mahoraga when he believes he can’t defeat an enemy. He’s not willing to win for himself but he’s willing to give others the opportunity to do so. Because he doesn’t himself as someone who deserves to win. Because only those good people do.

When he first developed a sense of selfishness, he managed to side a domain expansion. And it was incomplete, because his self actualization was. Because he can’t imagine a future where he’s the strongest because it’s never an interest of his, even now. Even when he’s being selfish, glory was never his top priority. It was just doing things in accordance to his principles, and for the sake of his sister. Hell, even his domain expansion is symbolic of it as well. He can extend his shadow and actively sink and submerge people in it. He extends the darkness within him…The despair, grief, trauma and weaponizes it against his enemy, and actively drowns them in it. Just as he does with himself.

The thing is that Megumi’s been constantly drifting in his life when it came to his own self interest. Constantly lacking in any selfish motivation, which, believe it or not, is just as fundamental as selfless motivation. Truthfully, the fact he places all his worth in what he could do for Tsumiki is an indicator of his mental health itself. The only thing keeping him going is the fact he wants to make it up to his sister and all she’s done for him, after everything, despite how selfish of a person he believes himself to be. Ironically, he believes himself to be selfish, when he’s one of the most unselfish people ever. He just won’t let himself see that, because he thinks of himself so lowly.

But, when he only ever let himself be selfish, even then, it was paradoxically unselfish. Because the most selfish he’s ever allowed himself to be was during the Culling Games, which was when he was at his most powerful and focused state, becuase he had a motivation; To save his sister. And that was the most adamant he had been about staying alive. It’s why he was so willing to do whatever he had to do to survive when old Megumi probably wouldn’t have cared. Because now, he had something he actually had to live for and it was right at his fingertips, so he actively fought for it. Yet, it was snatched away from him right when he came so close, and everything he fought for had all been for nothing.

So, what was the point of doing anything if he failed at his only purpose? His soul was submerged into despair by Sukuna and the very livelihood in his soul in general was extinguished. He wasn’t even there; stuck in his own guilt, withering away in it. When he was found by Yuji, he was practically begging to be discarded and killed. He didn’t want to be saved, he wasn’t worth it and he definitely didn’t want any more to die over him by that point. But, Yuji wasn’t willing to let Megumi die. Because it’s not fair for him to let him die when he’s never even truly lived yet.

Yuji doesn’t necessarily save Megumi in the end. He plays a part in it, yes, but ultimately, Megumi chooses to save himself. Because he finally gained some semblance of selfish want that was actually selfish. To live…just because he can. To live for himself. The most selfish thing he ever did was simply choose life after every thing he’s dedicated his life to was taken from him. He let himself be selfish for once, and that’s ultimately what saved him. And, that’s crucial. It’s not about him winning through force or perseverance but just…choice. Agency. After everything’s been so unfair him from the start, after he’s spent his life fighting for some sense of fairness for his sister because she deserves it because she was good, he’s choosing to live life, not because he’s good, or because he’s strong, just because he’s a person.

He didn’t fail anything. He never failed to reach his true potential because it was never a goal of his to begin with. He’s mot a fraud because he never claimed to be the strongest and he didn’t want to be. He’s not a bum because he’s actually made many accomplishments despite what the audience is willing to acknowledge. Despite his lack of interest in sorcery, he managed to be the first of the first years to create a domain expansion, despite being critically injured and near death while also having CE burnout, and killed a special grade curse in that domain. He managed to unlock seven of his shikigami, and would’ve done more had he either had the time or been interested. He managed to strategically apply his domain’s limitations in order to beat Reggie. Those aren’t his only feats, but they’re the ones at the top of my head. And, yes, we never saw him reach his full potential, but…the thing is we saw him progressively improve and get stronger in the story. And there’s a consistent pattern of him never showing any satisfaction or pride in it. We see characters like Yuji being happy of getting strong or we see that with Yuta, but not Megumi. Because he doesn’t care about it, because he’s never been satisfied with anything because he’s never actively been ambitious for it. The only thing he would’ve been proud about is if he managed to save Tsumiki and give her the life she wanted. And even then, probably not, becuase he doesn’t see it as an achievement as much as he sees it as a paying off a debt.

But that very thing that makes him an anomaly among jujutsu sorcerers. He’s not in it for the glory or the heroics of it, or the power. He’s doing it for the last bit of family whe has left, the person who matters most to him. It’s what separates him from characters like Sukuna. Yeah, the perception is that Sukuna used Megumi’s technique better than Megumi himself, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’s more of Sukuna used Megumi’s technique with more ambition or strive than Megumi does. Because Megumi used his technique in creative and intelligent ways. He’s a calculating and intellectual combatant after all, and he’s not some sort of slouch when it comes to his technique. Any perceived “weakness” with his technique was just him not caring enough too. Sukuna’s different. Sukuna wants to dominate; he wants the power, the superiority, so he seeks it out. Because Sukuna’s motivation is simply to be the strongest. He doesn’t have anyone he holds close who matters most, because he sees them as nothing but inferior objects to toy with. Megumi’s the opposite because he values those close to him more than he does power or strength. The only reason he cared about getting stronger at all was to increase his odds of being able to save Tsumiki. He didn’t plan on becoming the strongest or the strongest version of himself. That’s an important distinction to make. He didn’t want to become the strongest, just stronger, because at the beginning, even then he didn’t think he was strong enough to accomplish that goal and he realized that through seeing how quickly Yuji progressed so naturally. He tried to work harder, and he DID get stronger. People fail to realize that, but he did exactly what he said he would do. He got stronger. He literally went up in rank from Grade 2 to a Grade 1 sorcerer. He did get stronger. In fact, out of the trio of first years, Megumi was the most powerful one for most of the story, he just didn’t have the raw strength Yuji had, but in terms of actual power with Cursed Technique, Megumi was far stronger. It’s simply the fact Yuji had raw strength, but Megumi had raw power. There’s a distinct difference between the two. It’s why his accomplishments with his technique are different. Yeah, he doesn’t hit a black flash, but he’s had a domain since season one, that he created on a whim while in critical condition and managed to kill a special grade curse in. He’s not the best close range combatant in the series but he’s capable of keeping up with Yuji, even if he thought it was difficult, he still did it, and it didn’t appear to be much of a struggle (which is again, an indicator that he thinks of himself poorly that he actually doesn’t see just how proficient he actually is with his accomplishments), and he’s a rare case of a shikigami user who can use both close and long range combat in general. He can’t fight against Sukuna’s control like Yuji can and force himself back into his body, because nobody else can do that other than Yuji’s who was born to be a vessel. Yuji’s the exception, not the rule. But Megumi was capable of limiting a majority of Sukuna’s cursed energy output to a point he had resort to actively destroying Megumi’s soul in every way he could to prevent him from fighting back any further. The only reason Megumi couldn’t fight back or regain the will to life by that point was because Sukuna made it heavily impossible for him to do so. And in the end, he STILL came back and took back agency and resisted the Sukuna the second he was given the motivation to do so. That’s not something a weak character does.

Megumi can’t even be considered a fraud because the presumed failures of his aren’t even actual fails for him. The only thing that’s fraudulent of him is the fan’s own misguided expectations of him, rather than what the narrative itself does, because even the story doesn’t imply he’d actually become the strongest. It simply says he could, that’s the only concept it introduces. It introduces the concept that he has the assets to do it. But it doesn’t really imply he’d be a successor or anything like that. It’s not like with Yuta, whose character was quite literally established to be the most likely successor to Gojo. Megumi was never going to be the next Gojo, and the narrative itself doesn’t imply that. It just implies that Ten Shadows Technique is a powerful technique that could do a lot. It’s just a matter of motivation. But, that’s not necessarily the imagined future for Megumi himself, nor is it set up by the narrative of him being the next Gojo. Hence the; “That doesn’t mean I could become as strong of a sorcerer as you.” Because, again, it’s not a priority to a future Megumi imagined for himself. He wasn’t even that hyped up by the story as the fandom would make it out to be, since that wasn’t ever a defining part of his character as much as his sister was.

And, Sukuna taking interest in him because of the technique is more of a reflection of his character than it is Megumi’s. It’s not because he was expecting Megumi to become the strongest, it was him acknowledging that he’d be a useful tool, or asset. That’s what it was more than anything. And even then, Megumi was already proficient with his technique. And Sukuna took advantage of it the moment he for the actual opportunity to. Megumi’s not a fraud, because he failed to meet expectations that fandom fabricated rather than the narrative implying it itself. Nor is he a bum or “potential man.” His limit was that he was selfish enough and he actually did surpass that limit given we only see him get more powerful as the story progresses. It’s simply the fact that he lacks self actualization; which was never going to be resolved until he either 1. Successfully saved Tsumiki (which is debatable) or 2. Gained a sense of want for himself.

The truth is Megumi’s core character has been someone who’s actively a passenger in their own life because they lack any sense of self love or value in themself to actually just want something for himself. He exists as a shadow for everyone else but never his own person. And that’s the point. His own life was planned out ahead of him and was actively doomed from the start. That’s the irony of his name meaning “blessing” when his life is so perpetually cursed. With loss, death, grief, guilt and burdens he didn’t ask for or want. Which is accurate as a representation depression, even prior to his breakdown in Shinjuku, because even before that, it’s not like he genuinely had any desire to live. That’s why he was so willing to throw his life away when it came down to it. He didn’t actively throw himself into death at any given opportunity but whenever it came close, he didn’t fight against it. Because, he doesn’t have a drive for it. As someone who experienced depression myself, I can say that in my own personal experience with it, that’s quite literally how it wound start. It wasn’t active suicidal tendencies on my part before it was just…not being there. Sure, I cared about my family and stuff like that, but that feeling of perpetual indifference and lack of ambition is the first thing I remember from it. I wasn’t actively plotting my own death or hoping for it, but I wasn’t really trying to live my life either. I was just there. And that was it. So, it’s not even as if Megumi wasn’t written to be representation of depression because it isn’t just all out misery and a death wish. It’s the detachment that comes first, and from the very start, that was established about Megumi. His loss of his will to live wasn’t out of nowhere or out of character, but something that was not only a better writing choice given the narrative and characterization implications, but also delivering on something fundamentally foreshadowed or built up to.

From the start, when his self destructive and suicidal tendencies were acknowledged and shown, it was clear the final point in Megumi’s arc would be about him learning to live and value his life the way he does others. Not to become the strongest, but to learn to live. Had it not been for the power debates that came to exist, and the obsessions with scaling, that wouldn’t have been overlooked or dismissed as easily as it was now. He’s never valued his own life or anything like that outside of Tsumiki, because he’s never been treated as if he had anything else. He was never just a person. He was the heir to the Zen’in clan, Gojo’s student, or a sorcerer who could be one of the strongest. But, not just…a kid. That was the thing. He never saw himself as anything other than someone who could help others in some way, so that’s all he cared about compared to actually caring for himself. And in the end, he learned to actually value himself as a person and live, presently, because he’s important to others, like Yuji and Nobara, as a friend. Not a classmate or teammate, but just a friend. And, if he were to be gone, they’d miss him, and they’d be lonely without him.

For someone who’s been abandoned constantly and only ever seen for what he could do and how he’d serve others, who’s taken responsibility on himself from such a young age and carried guilt in a way nobody else should, who’s been so willing to die since the beginning because he’s never been willing to live, to hear that there’s people who’d actually value your presence, just you being there, as a person, for existing as yourself, being told that you’d be missed and your death would genuinely affect them? That would be revitalizing in way you couldn’t even fathom. The thought of being of value to someone when you can’t see it yourself is such a healing thing to hear when you’ve lost all sense of yourself. And it makes sense why it revitalized his own will to live. It wasn’t just so Yuji wouldn’t be lonely, though that was part of it, but because he was reminded—told that he was a person who could live. That he actually existed as a person in someone else’s life. He wasn’t just…there. He was a person to others just as Tsumiki was to him. I interpret it as him realizing that he was of the same significance to others that Tsumiki had been in his life after he believed otherwise for most of his life that he’d never be as perfect as she was. He was understanding of loneliness that he felt when Tsumiki was cursed, the loneliness he felt his whole life as a child who was just abandoned, that Tsumiki inconvenienced and burdened herself taking care of. But here, he’s being told by someone directly that he matters to them, and that was enough. And because of that, accompanied by how deeply he cares for Yuji, he’d actually learned to fight to live, because he doesn’t want Yuji to be alone or abandoned the same way he’s been for most of his life.

His arc isn’t about becoming the strongest, and it was never going be. Megumi was never going be the strongest. And that wasn’t what he needed. His arc was always going to be about presence. Becoming present after the world’s pushed you into absence from both others and yourself. It’s about taking back your life after the world stole it from you and regaining a sense of agency. It’s about actually just standing in the light as yourself instead of burying yourself in the shadows. It’s about humanizing yourself, and actually letting yourself be selfish and want, because you’re human, and humans are allowed to want.

Because that was the potential Megumi needed to reach. Not his cursed technique or his power, but just his ability to exist and live, as a person.

Megumi Fushiguro didn’t need to learn to be stronger. He needed to learn to live.

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