Naoya Zen'in deserves to be Jujutsu Kaisen's most hated character

Modified Oct 12, 2024 10:00 GMT

Jujutsu Kaisen fans have valid reasons to dislike Naoya Zen'in (Image via Shueisha).

Jujutsu Kaisen fans are known for having a lot of strong opinions and one of the most notorious is their dislike for Naoya Zen'in. The young sorcerer is one of those characters who is very easy to dislike and while some may argue that his treatment of women is the main reason, there are other motives that lead to him being perceived that way.

From the moment he was introduced in Jujutsu Kaisen, Naoya was a despicable individual who showed no redeeming qualities whatsoever. However, unlike other sociopaths of the series, such as Kenjaku, Mahito, Sukuna, and even Mei Mei, the issue with Naoya is how he is portrayed and the way he carries himself in battle, which is why he doesn't carry a strong fanbase as other antagonists in the series.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

Explaining why Naoya Zen'in should rightfully be the most hated character in Jujutsu Kaisen

Naoya fighting Maki in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

One major reason why a lot of fans hate Naoya is his hatred and mistreatment of women as he deems them inferior to men and should be just followers. This is something that already rubbed a lot of people the wrong way since, while this is just a fictional character, this might remind some fans of some bad experiences or simply find his behavior unappealing.

However, there are a lot of other reasons why his character is disliked and some of them are even more valid. A major one is a simple waste of characterization and potential since he was a candidate to be the head of the Zen'in clan but his ambitions and motivations are often underdeveloped, which is a running issue that author Gege Akutami had with the series.

Moreover, unlike other sociopathic characters in the series, Naoya doesn't have a tragic origin like Suguru Geto nor does he have the feats of Mahito and Ryomen Sukuna. Therefore, there isn't a way for readers to have sympathy for him. Furthermore, the character does not have a moment to impress people, such as winning a major fight or killing an important character.

The character's personality and the way he carries himself

Naoya's biggest contribution was giving Maki a victory (Image via Shueisha).

Another major issue that made Naoya a very unlikable character was how he was introduced as a very arrogant individual and, ultimately, lost his first fight against a version of Choso that struggled against Shibuya Incident-era Yuji Itadori. While there is an argument that Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami wanted to make Naoya look pathetic on purpose, it devalued his image and threat level.

This is very telling since he was constructed to be Maki Zen'in's natural rival during the Culling Games arc but Naoya never truly managed to impose himself as a serious threat. And since he doesn't have the kind of characterization that is overly complex or sympathetic, fans are left with an arrogant individual who doesn't have the strength to back his words.

Ultimately, Naoya Zen'in fails as an antagonist to Maki and also as a character study of what unearned arrogance can lead to. Even his ambition of ruling the Zen'in clan is dropped since Maki killed the vast majority of their family, so audiences couldn't see him do anything about it.

Final thoughts

Naoya Zen'in deserves to be the most hated Jujutsu Kaisen character since he doesn't have any redeeming qualities from a human and writing perspective. There is very little potential that was seized with his character and that has led to these reactions from the fandom.

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Edited by Tiasha