"Stand proud, you are strong": Sukuna's famous quote in Jujutsu Kaisen, explained

Jujutsu Kaisen generates a lot of discussions online and Ryomen Sukuna is probably the character that has the most debates surrounding who he is and why he is that way. Sukuna is a very mysterious figure in the story as his backstory and motivations are never fully explained, but he shows a different side when fighting Jogo in the Shibuya Incident arc.

After Sukuna defeats Jogo in a very memorable battle, the latter is dying and the former tells him to "Stand proud, you're strong". A lot of Jujutsu Kaisen fans have never fully understood this moment because it didn't fit with his ruthless and sadistic personality. However, in many ways, it is very much in character and fits with the character's philosophy.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen series.

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Explaining Sukuna's "Stand proud, you're strong" quote to Jogo in Jujutsu Kaisen

Sukuna took over Yuji Itadori's body and decided to run havoc across Shibuya, which included fighting one of the Disaster Curses, Jogo. While the fight was amazing and Jogo was defeated, the most interesting part was Sukuna telling him to "Stand proud, you're tough" in his final moment before dying.

That quote has been heavily discussed since it first came out in the manga, with a lot of fans not fully understanding why Sukuna of all people would say something like that to Jogo. He has never been one to show empathy or compliment others, thus, it seems weird that someone like the King of Curses would do something like that.

However, when analyzing Sukuna's character, it could seem logical in the sense that he has always been one to praise strength and he views that as the biggest currency in the world. This is why he praises Jogo, even though he had before that the latter lacked ambition and selfishness: because he is ultimately very strong and that is what Sukuna values above all else.

This is perhaps the reason why he deems Yuji Itadori weak and hates him so much because Yuji is a selfless person who doesn't pursue strength for selfish reasons. They are direct opposites and represent what the other hates the most.

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Sukuna's philosophy on life

Ryomen Sukuna is one of the most prominent Jujutsu Kaisen characters and his ideology might be one of the most interesting in the series. While he is certainly evil and his actions validate that statement, he also has an interesting moral code where strength is the most important thing, which is further emphasized by the way he goes about things.

Throughout the vast majority of Jujutsu Kaisen, both in the anime and in the manga, Sukuna doesn't have a big plan or a great ambition like most villains in fiction. He simply does as he pleases and goes about his business without caring for the consequences of his actions. In many ways, he represents absolute freedom, with all that entails.

This is probably why he praised Jogo: he viewed him as someone who had a great understanding of Jujutsu and was a very capable fighter. However, he was also fairly straightforward about Jogo never lived up to his potential: he lacked ambition and selfishness to go to the very top. That is why the "Stand proud, you're strong" quote seems so out of character at first but is actually befitting of Sukuna's entire life philosophy.

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Final thoughts

Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (Image via MAPPA).

Sukuna is one of the most enigmatic characters in Jujutsu Kaisen and is always fun to see moments like this that bring out something different from his personality. Hopefully, Gege Akutami will show a lot more of his backstory and philosophy before the series concludes.