Jujutsu Kaisen wouldn't have happened if Yuji listened to his grandfather

Modified Apr 23, 2024 06:46 GMT

Yuji and his grandfather, Wasuke Itadori (image via MAPPA)

It is often surprising to see just how much the story of Jujutsu Kaisen has evolved. In the very first episode, Yuji Itadori, a high school boy living a normal life, was thrust into the cruel and unforgiving world of Jujutsu sorcery. Presently, Yuji is locked in a deadly battle of survival against the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.

While Yuji's journey throughout the series is astounding, to say the least, it is even more perplexing to consider how much the story would have changed if Yuji's grandfather, Wasuke Itadori, had managed to tell him about his origins and their family's history before passing away.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen manga. Reader's discretion is advised.

Exploring how Wasuke Itadori's truth would have impacted Jujutsu Kaisen

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In the very first episode of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime, viewers were introduced to Yuji Itadori, a normal high school boy with extraordinary physical capabilities. He was revealed to be an orphan, and his only known relative at that point was his grandfather, Wasuke Itadori.

However, Wasuke ended up passing away in the first episode itself. Before dying, he tried to tell Yuji the truth about his parents but was unfortuantely cut off by the latter, who apparently had no interest in learning about them.

While the viewers didn't think much of this scene at the beginning, they are now starting to realize just how much Wasuke's revelation could have impacted the story had he been successful in telling Yuji the truth about his parents.

Wasuke Itadori as seen in the anime (image via MAPPA)

In chapter 143 of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, readers were caught off-guard by the revelation that Yuji was directly related to Kenjaku, a thousand-year old sorcerer who had possessed Kaori Itadori's dead body at some point in time in order to give birth to Yuji. This technically made Yuji the half-brother of Choso, who was also one of Kenjaku's many offspring.

However, the revelations of Yuji's past didn't just stop there. In the recently released Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 257, it was revealed that Yuji was the son of Sukuna's reincarnated twin brother, Jin Itadori. This technically made Yuji the nephew of the King of Curses.

After taking all of these jaw-dropping revelations into account, fans are now looking back at the moment when Wasuke tried to tell Yuji the truth about his parents. Although Wasuke may not be aware of Jin's connection to Ryomen Sukuna, he might have known about Kenjaku possessing Kaori's body.

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In chapter 143 of the manga, Wasuke was seen trying to warn his son about Kaori, as he told him to stay away from her or else he would die. Before he could say anything further about her, Kaori interrupted their conversation and was shockingly revealed to have stitch marks, or rather, scars on her forehead. This confirmed that, at some point in time, Kenjaku had taken over Kaori's dead body and created a baby with Jin.

While it's unknown how much Wasuke actually knew about Kenjaku, it's safe to assume that he was more or less aware of the latter's malicious intentions. However, given how he eventually gave up on telling Yuji the truth about his parents after the latter refused to listen to him, it is possible that Wasuke was unaware of who Kenjaku was and did not realize that their confusing family history would come back to haunt Yuji someday.

All things considered, if Yuji had spared even one minute to listen to what his grandfather had to say, the series would have likely gone in an entirely different direction. One can even argue that none of the current events in the story would have taken place.

In one scenario, if Wasuke was able to inform Yuji about his family's history in time, the latter would have likely been more prepared to deal with the events that took place in the story. Being aware of Kenjaku's existence might have even helped the Jujutsu sorcerers prevent the Shibuya arc itself.

On the flipside, Yuji may not have taken the truth about his family that seriously, since it sounds nonsensical and made-up to begin with. However, his meeting with Megumi would have likely led him to ultimately believe his grandfather's words and inform the others about Kenjaku's existence, which would have prevented a lot of casualties and tragedies from taking place.

That said, this would certainly make for an interesting 'What-If' scenario, where Yuji would have been aware of his family's dark history.