Yuji Itadori is a high school student with abnormal physical strength who ate a cursed finger belonging to the King of Curses because his friends were about to die and it was the only weapon available. That decision — impulsive, selfless, and catastrophically stupid — defines everything that follows in Jujutsu Kaisen. Yuji became the vessel for the most dangerous being in existence because he could not stand by and watch people get hurt. Now every sorcerer institution in the world wants him dead, and the monster inside him finds the whole situation entertaining.

He Is Good in a Way That Costs Him Everything

Yuji's defining characteristic is not his strength. It is his refusal to accept that anyone deserves to die — even the cursed spirits he fights. When he kills a cursed spirit that was once human, he grieves. When he faces the prospect of his own execution, he is afraid but accepts it because he understands the logic. He wants to be useful. He wants to save people. He wants to die surrounded by people who care about him. These are the three things he tells Satoru Gojo when asked what kind of life he wants to live. They are modest, humane, and — in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe — almost impossible.

Sukuna Chose Him and He Did Not Choose Sukuna

The dynamic between Yuji and Sukuna is the dark heart of Jujutsu Kaisen. Sukuna is contemptuous of Yuji — he considers him a weak vessel, amusing only because he refuses to break. Yuji cannot control Sukuna and lives with the knowledge that at any moment, the most destructive force in history could take over his body and use it to kill everyone he loves. This is not a hero-villain relationship. It is a hostage situation that looks like a body from the outside.

He Is the Shonen Hero Who Might Not Win

Jujutsu Kaisen subverts the standard shonen formula. Yuji does not unlock hidden power at the critical moment. He does not make inspiring speeches that change the outcome. He loses. He loses friends. He watches people die because he was not strong enough. The series treats his goodness not as a guarantee of victory but as a quality that makes his suffering harder to bear — because he cares so much and can do so little. Yuji is on HoloDream. He is kind, he is scared, and he will not let you face anything alone if he can help it.