it wasn't just that gojo and geto were going on solo missions because it was necessary they were being punished by the higher ups and being intentionally separated
Gojo and his students: why it was never exploitation.
The whole theme of Gojo and his students is central to jjk. We could say that a big part of the plot revolves around their dynamic.
While Gojo-sensei is widely perceived as a great mentor and teacher, he is also increasingly accused of exploiting his students and saving them solely for personal reasons, without any genuine concern for them.
Not only was this never the case, but it is also yet another mischaracterization of Gojo.
[I might have forgotten something because there are so many examples and things to mention. I might edit this and add anything else that comes to mind.]
Premise
The first necessary step that a lot of people seem to skip when approaching this theme is creating some context around Gojo’s character. What we should always keep in mind when analyzing his actions or behaviors is that he comes from one of the biggest clans in the jujutsu world. He was taken away from his family at a very young age and trained from that same moment, precisely because everyone already knew what he would eventually become. His destiny was essentially written and his life was already chosen the moment he was born, regardless of his own intentions. He couldn’t choose for himself.
Consequently, he lived a life completely absorbed by jujutsu sorcery, with responsibilities that children — and later teenagers — his age probably shouldn’t have had.
With that in mind, we can unpack the three dynamics for which Gojo is accused of exploitation, and we’ll do so in chronological order: Megumi, Yuta, and then Yuji. We’ll also quickly touch on Amanai.
Megumi
Their dynamic is extremely complex, and there is always a lot that could be said about it. For the sake of this post, however, I’ll try to focus only on the rescuing part and on Gojo taking Megumi in.
As mentioned in the premise, what people seem to forget in this particular case is that Gojo was still probably underage, or barely eighteen, when he went to rescue Megumi (if we assume he went straight after Geto’s defection. It’s also true that if Megumi was 6 years old, then it was 2008, meaning that Gojo was eighteen/almost nineteen). This is important because everything he could have done better was probably also influenced by his own naivety — something that is completely understandable at seventeen or eighteen years old, even if you happen to be the strongest sorcerer of the modern era.
In Megumi’s case, Gojo is usually accused of rescuing him simply because, after Geto’s defection, he needed someone strong whom he could take with him and train.
And, to be fair, this is practically canon. I believe Gege has confirmed that this was indeed one of Gojo’s goals, so there is no point in pretending that this aspect didn’t matter to him.
But, it is also true that Gojo could have made the decision on Megumi’s behalf if he clearly only cared about his potential, while he gave him a choice. Giving a first-grader that kind of choice might sound crazy, but it becomes less unthinkable if we take into consideration the way Gojo himself was raised: with huge responsibilities from a very young age. He also immediately recognized Megumi’s intelligence and maturity. At the same time, I would even like to think that Gojo wanted to give Megumi the freedom to choose precisely because he himself had never had the chance to choose for himself. So, whether this feels right or wrong, he still tried to let him choose however he could.
Megumi decides to go to Jujutsu High, which was probably his best option, even though, in my opinion, his ability to consciously choose was extremely limited (not that he would have chosen the Zen’in clan otherwise, but still).
Another criticism that is often raised against Gojo is that he practically forced Megumi into becoming a sorcerer, when he could have simply maintained both Megumi and Tsumiki without expecting anything from them in return. Again, I think we’re missing some important context here: Gojo was literally an eighteen-year-old teenager who had only just learned how to properly use the Limitless technique. He wasn’t a teacher yet, even though he might have already been considering becoming one. The fact remains that he was still a student himself. Consequently, he couldn’t reasonably be expected to decide to take care of two children entirely on his own when he was barely an adult himself.
For this reason, it was only logical that the school would intervene financially, which consequently led to Megumi being expected to become a sorcerer. Think of it almost like a scholarship: you have to attend school and pass your exams, otherwise you don’t receive the benefits.
That being said, I think we can all agree that Gojo did his best with the tools he had. Again, it is canon and confirmed that he wanted allies who could help improve the jujutsu world, and Megumi clearly had that potential. But I genuinely don’t know what else we were expecting from Gojo in that situation.
Was he supposed to buy them a house, financially support them indefinitely, and act as their parent?
What happens more often than not in this discussion is that Gojo is held accountable for Megumi’s destiny more than his own family — namely, Toji. Not a single six-year-old should ever have to face a decision like that or bear the burden of determining their own destiny and that of their sibling. That responsibility ultimately falls on Toji, not on Gojo.
Megumi had very few choices in front of him, and Gojo offered him the least bad option among the ones available to Megumi — and arguably the best one available to Gojo at the time.
It is also important to mention that Gojo did financially support Megumi and Tsumiki to a certain extent, and we know that he and Megumi saw each other multiple times. Now, we can obviously interpret those meetings as being centered around training, but it is safe to assume there was more to their relationship when, for example, we see Megumi at the Gojo estate.
I genuinely wish we had more insight into those years, because I’m convinced that — despite what is commonly believed — Gojo took care of Megumi and Tsumiki to the best of his abilities, and that this went beyond training and sorcery.
Yuta
I see far fewer criticisms directed toward the Yuta-Gojo dynamic, and honestly, I think this one should be self-explanatory.
Yuta attempted suicide because of Rika, and that would have probably been the final outcome if it hadn’t been for Gojo.
Yuta already had a curse within himself, and as someone who had no connection to the jujutsu world or society — at least, not that he knew of — it only made sense to help him through training and with the support of the school. Not only that, but the higher-ups wanted him executed as well. Gojo did everything he could to give Yuta an opportunity, not only to save his life but also to allow him to live a better one.
He would have sided with him regardless, even in the scenario where Yuta couldn’t properly learn how to control Rika — or in one where it took him much longer than it actually did.
Of course, Gojo also saw Yuta’s potential. But in this case, the alternative was death in ANY scenario, so I think it’s pretty clear how pivotal Gojo’s intervention was.
Yuji
When it comes to Yuji, the argument usually goes that Gojo left him with no real choice other than death. The choice he gave Yuji was essentially: “Die now, or die later and let us exploit your body.”
I’d look at it differently.
Gojo, once again, gave Yuji the best option he could with the tools he had.
First of all, a necessary reminder: Yuji was supposed to be executed according to jujutsu law. I think this is quite different from Yuta’s case, because Sukuna was a major threat to everyone, and bringing him back to life even throughout a vessel was essentially inviting a disaster.
Whether you think such law was logic or not, what matters is that Gojo once again managed to spare Yuji from immediate execution, and the only viable reason for doing so was obviously having him consume all of Sukuna’s fingers.
I’m not sure what other option people expected from him.
Someone might argue that Gojo could have protected Yuji regardless, without letting him consume all the fingers. But in Yuji’s case as well, Gojo definitely saw his potential and was still looking for allies who could eventually help change the jujutsu world. Moreover, keeping in mind that sorcery is essentially all Gojo has ever known, it makes perfect sense that this was the solution he came up with.
Besides, we all know that he hid the last of Sukuna’s fingers. We can say that he did so simply to prevent Sukuna from reaching his full power, but it is also reasonable to think that he wanted to postpone Yuji’s execution for as long as possible.
Amanai
I also want to give a mention to Amanai. Even though she wasn’t one of Gojo’s students, she was still a child whom Gojo — together with Geto — decided to save when they were only sixteen. And I think this explains a lot about Gojo’s mindset and values when it comes to his students too.
I’ve always considered this one of the most unexpected things in Hidden Inventory, so let me explain why.
Gojo and Geto were the strongest duo at only sixteen, despite still being children themselves and still learning and growing as sorcerers. They were personally entrusted with a mission involving Master Tengen, an immensely respected figure in the jujutsu world — something they should have probably felt honored by. They also had a reputation to build and maintain, and this could have been a great opportunity to prove their abilities and dedication to jujutsu sorcery. Moreover, the assimilation itself was considered necessary to maintain the balance of the jujutsu world, and we have seen the consequences of its absence.
And yet, at only sixteen years old, they didn’t even think twice about saving Amanai if she didn’t consent to the merger. In this situation too, we see Gojo explicitly state that the assimilation would not happen if the Star Plasma Vessel refused, even when Geto points out the risk of it given that they would effectively be going against Tengen. Gojo doesn’t question his decision even once (and neither does Geto, of course): they were ready to guarantee Amanai a future simply because she wanted one.
I think this is pretty self-explanatory when it comes to Gojo’s mindset and values toward innocent children, especially considering that he was still a child himself when many of these decisions were made.
This also leads me to address something else people often say: that Gojo only decided to save Megumi — and, I assume, the other two as well when this argument is brought up — after Geto left, because he suddenly had no one strong left by his side. I think the entire Amanai situation is enough to debunk this thesis.
It is true, however, that Geto’s defection deeply affected Gojo’s mindset and his decisions when it came to becoming a teacher and wanting to save those who were willing to be saved.
And that is the important distinction here.
The students would have been saved regardless of Geto’s defection. What changed was mainly Gojo’s decision to become a teacher, as well as his realization that he could only truly help those who were willing to be helped — the people who would eventually become his students.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Gojo’s decisions were deeply influenced by the world he wanted to build — a world he was trying to improve through his students, precisely because they were the ones who could truly change it.
Not Gojo, but the new generation.
Gojo was giving them the tools they needed. It was essentially a passing of the torch between an old generation that had been traumatized enough to be unable to save itself, and a new generation that was unfortunately being traumatized as well, but would have the tools to do things differently and better. This is also why I find it incredibly meaningful that his students ultimately use Gojo’s body in the final battle.
There is no doubt that Gojo’s intentions were never about exploiting children — especially considering that he himself had been exploited for his entire life.
He tried to protect his students as much as he could, and we have countless examples of this: from not wanting them to take on missions that were too difficult, to trying to prevent them from participating in the Shinjuku battle.
The entire jujutsu society and its system are undeniably toxic, and children should never have to go on missions and risk their lives in the first place. Gojo couldn’t completely remove that reality from their lives, just as he couldn’t guarantee them the perfect, normal childhood they should have had. What he could do was make it better somehow, and he always did his best to ensure that.
Your hair? Mm.. sure! I might not be the best, but Kuroi taught me so it should look okay! What style do you want it? I'm only really good at braids and ponytails, but I can try something else too!
Sweets? Hm.. I really enjoy tanghulu and taiyaki, get some taiyaki! Kuroi brings me to this place that makes the best taiyaki, but I dunno where it is.. Thanks a lot, Geto-san! Don't let four eyes eat it all, okay?
