Yuma character Development analysis
This was for an English project, but I decided to share it. I wasn't planning on sharing it since the presentation went horribly and I'm still upset eventhough it was a few weeks ago :') Also, my friend helped me get ideas on what to write and I don't think it would have been this comprehensive without them.
Character Development Analysis: Yuma Kuga
The soul of the story is often determined by its characters. A story with little to no relatable characters can rarely hit home for most people. Inversely, a strong cast can elevate readers’ engagement. The protagonist often holds a vital position; to give the reader the initial feel of what the story entails and to drive the plot forward. Naturally, as the story advances, so does the protagonist's development.
In the Japanese show and manga written by Daisuke Ashihara, World Trigger, the story follows a mysterious white-haired boy named Yuma Kuga. Yuma is part of a humanoid race known as Neighbors that originates from a dimension with multiple planet nations known as the Neighborhood. The plot is centered around a war between Neighbors and humans. A nation from the Neighborhood launched a large-scale invasion on Earth around four years before the main series started, leading to the discovery of this previously unknown race and the formation of a defense organization called Border, which deems all Neighbors as the enemy and uses the enemy race's weapons, called Triggers, against them. Neighbors usually do not engage directly in battle, rather, they send robots called Trion Soldiers.
Border’s origins.
Note; Manga panels are read from right to left. (Yes, I left this note for my teacher lmao)
Four years after his human father, Yugo Kuga’s, death, Yuma would leave the Neighborhood with his Trion soldier chaperone and companion, Replica, to go to Earth, per his father's posthumous wishes, as a friend of his works there. Yuma would then enroll in a school and meet Osamu Mikumo, a C-rank Border trainee and Osamu's childhood friend, Chika Amatori. Osamu hides Yuma's true identity from Border, but shortly after, he's discovered. After A-rank Yuichi Jin pulls strings to allow Yuma to join Border safely, Osamu seeks to form a team with Yuma and Chika to help look for Chika's brother and friend who were taken by Neighbors. To do so, they first have to advance from C rank to B rank to be able to form a squad, and then advance to A rank as a squad to be allowed officially on mission to the Neighborhood.
Yūma's character: Yuma grew up in the Neighborhood, a world very different from Earth. While Earth is relatively peaceful despite the occasional attacks, the Neighborhood is far more precarious and brutal, a place of constant war. In other words, a dog-eat-dog world. The Neighborhood heavily runs on Trion, a biological energy coming from an invisible gland which powers the weapons Triggers. Trion glands begin to decay after age twenty if not regularly exerted through the use of a Trigger and they grow best when used at a young age. Unfortunately, this means that child soldiers are a common occurrence in the world of Neighbors.
A younger Yuma in battle.
Yuma was fighting in many nations as young as six and training under his father which largely shaped his general nature. He grew to be belligerent and developed the unshakeable belief that he must return whatever harm is done to him. This nature made him greatly stand out amongst his classmates, and it contrasted with Osamu's tendency to just endure whatever harm is done to him.
Yuma's nature in contrast to Osamu and his response to being bullied.
In addition to this mindset, Yuma is also pragmatic and cold. When Osamu tried to stand up for him and was beaten by bullies, Yuma was confused by the notion of helping him and claimed it was Osamu who stuck his nose into this. In his mind, the weak shouldn’t fight if they can’t do anything. His father taught him not to misjudge his abilities; “Know how strong you are and what you can do. If you misjudge your abilities on the battlefield, you’ll get yourself killed”. Yuma had gone against these tenets before, and he and his father paid the price with their lives.
Despite Yuma’s outward confidence and happy exterior, he is in fact depressed and deeply blames himself for his father’s passing. Four years ago, at age eleven, he disregarded his father’s orders to stay behind in battle. An enemy possessed a rare trigger; a Black Trigger. A trigger of this type is incomparable to the power of a normal one and it is created via sacrifice of the creator’s life. Yuma saw their army was losing and decided to sneak into the battle to break the enemy’s formation. However, the Black Trigger user spotted him and gravely wounded him. Yugo sacrificed his life to create a Black Trigger for his son, sealing his dying body and replacing it with one made of trion.
Yuma’s death and Yugo’s sacrifice.
Yuma developed a silent trauma from this incident that ended any sense of his independent decision-making. This is shown in how he continued serving the nation’s army and obeying orders of people who lied to him and used him. Only after the war ended and Yuma had no purpose anymore did he fulfill his father’s wishes, and even then, he was still obeying an order from his deceased father rather than acting on his own decision. This trauma is shown further by how he asks his companion, Replica, for permission before using his own Black Trigger even when he’s completely free to do so and when no one can stop him.
His purpose was renewed when he went to Earth. Initially, he hoped to contact Border to find a way to bring back his father and undo his sacrifice. This was essentially a suicide mission, because potentially undoing it would mean Yuma’s alternative body will disappear. Discovering that was not possible made Yuma's last sense of purpose vanish. From this point on, all that awaited Yuma was death. His real body sealed in his Black Trigger was still dying, even if the process was slowed down. The moment his real body dies, his trion one will vanish and leave him dead for good.
Yuma Kuga is inherently a Black Trigger first, a soldier and weapon second, and a traumatized child third.
Yuma Kuga’s development:
Replica was entrusted with Yuma’s care ever since his birth, and thus he was the first to plant the seed of change in him. Replica’s care is evident in his iconic line on multiple occasions where Yuma needlessly asks for his permission; “I cannot make that decision. Only you can, Yuma." He wants him to make his own decisions and change his rigid perspective, and that’s exactly where Osamu comes in. Yuma constantly saw the latter’s altruistic and selfless ideology of doing the right thing. While at first he disagreed with them, he eventually started to understand him and even saved him many times despite having no reason to. One of the factors to Yuma’s change was Osamu’s kindness. He did not report Yuma to Border after finding out he was a Neighbor and instead offered to teach him about the way of life in Japan. His kindness allowed Yuma to experience what a normal life is like properly.
Osamu decided to form a team with Chika and Yuma purely to help both his friends; to help protect Chika and find her kidnapped brother and friend, and to give Yuma a purpose.
Osamu’s influence on Yuma is shown the most during the second-large scale invasion. Other humanoid Neighbors with Black Triggers invaded Earth to kidnap humans with high trion. Their focus shifted to solely Chika, however, due to her massive trion ability. Yuma was up against a stronger, more experienced Black Trigger user. In combat, Yuma tends to use his Black Trigger in conjunction with Replica's support. Doing so allows him to use more complex attacks. Yuma already had slim chances of victory, and yet he decided to send Replica to support Osamu and Chika. He purposefully left himself disadvantaged in battle and made his own decision to protect his friends. Not only that, he risked his life to beat his opponent on a gamble and went against his father's teachings a second time. These are things Osamu would do if it meant saving someone.
Yuma quotes Osamu and refuses to back down.
Yuma sends Replica to assist Osamu and Chika.
Through Replica’s guidance and Osamu’s selfless influence, Yuma gradually learns to make his own choices and value protecting others over rigid survival logic. His growth peaks when he willingly disadvantages himself in battle to save his friends, proving he’s no longer just a weapon or a soldier, but a person choosing his own purpose.
