JUNPEI YOSHINO

" Junpei Yoshino is a side character in Jujutsu Kaisen. He is a high-schooler who was born with the ability to see curses which regular people cannot see, because of this he feels seperated from his peers. He was also the target of physical harassment and bullying and often avoids going to school all together. He loves movies and the horror genre and bonds with Yuji Itadori over this shared interest. He was severely manipulated by Mahito, a curse, who granted Junpei the ability to use jujutsu. Junpei is able to summon the shikigami which he named 'Moon Dregs' (澱月 / おりづき) "

"PEOPLE DONT HAVE HEARTS."

Junpei is one of my favorite anime characters, and my most favorite character from Jujutsu Kaisen. He fits my tendency to be obsessed with random side characters that get barely any screen time and nobody in the fandom remembers or cares about, LOL. Sorry Junpei but it's true. . . .I understand why given his story arc but he has faded into obscurity.. especially after Season 2 and there are more characters to make merch that aren't him.

STORY

[ TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of bullying, abuse, grooming, death, SPOILERS FOR JUNPEI'S ENTIRE ARC IN JJK ]

I was really moved by his character arc and found him really fascinating. Especially in the world of JJK where many characters were constantly hopeful and always 'fighting the good fight' or just directly evil like Sukuna and Mahito. Junpei was a character who was wronged and abused by the world around him, making him naturally distrustful of others, but once he did he was friendly and kind. Itadori was something that Junpei really needed, which made him grow into a much more hopeful person that could resonate with Itadori and his desire to fight evil. I like that he didn't immediately start thinking like Itadori, who was a character who didn't really struggle socially with others. Junpei's enemies also were not comically unnaturally strong 'monsters' that are so common in the Jujutsu world, they were real people, making their own choices to mentally, physically, and emotionally abuse Junpei. Junpei also didn't have the same power that Itadori did, to deal with his enemies. He couldn't just beat them up and be left alone, he lacked the strength both physically and with his sorcery.

I think Junpei's relationship to Mahito was especially well-written due to this. It's natural for someone like Junpei to want to learn more about sorcery and to be stronger. Not only will it protect him, but he's been detached from the non-sorcerer's around him who find him weird for his ability to see curses. Being granted the ability to use jujutsu meant that he could finally protect himself, as well as connect with those in the jujutsu world. He isn't just looking up to Mahito because he wants to be evil for the sake of it, he wants control of his life back that he finds that possible thru the use of jujutsu.

Also, sidenote, the fact that Junpei was absolutely groomed by Mahito I feel gets overlooked by the entire fandom. The amount of fanart that exists of Junpei and Mahito 'together' is really disturbing given the context of their relationship. I don't understand how anyone can see their relationship as anything other than that. Not only that, but the idea that Junpei is somehow stupid or an evil character for his actions is something I see passed around often in what little discussion I see about him.

The story even addresses this in his fight with Itadori, Junpei is unable to see the world as good because of what happens to him earlier in the story. His only other relationship besides Itadori and Mahito, his mother, is abruptly taken away from him due to her murder. Itadori, at the time, still held the belief that killing another person was unthinkable no matter who they were or what they did. He saw Junpei's actions- attempting to kill his bully and rendering his classmates unconscious through the use of jujutsu- as overly aggressive and unwarranted. When in Junpei's eyes, he was enacting revenge on a person who he not only believed killed his mother, but continuously abused him, as well as a group of seemingly complacent bystanders. His justification for killing is not unnatural or silly, it's entirely realistic for such an extreme situation.

I love how his issues aren't resolved by simply being swayed by Itadori's 'main character speech' against violence, instead, it's Itadori who has to understand that he was in the wrong. He didn't fully realize the extent of Junpei's pain, and as a result said a bunch of privileged words that of course made no sense to Junpei. Junpei struggled with the morality of violence, he used to think that he was indifferent to death for so long, until he met Itadori. Itadori showed him that there were people out there that were not evil, who wouldn't 'deserve' death because of their kindness and their 'heart'. Suddenly his view shifted, and he found himself thinking he would be opposed to the death of someone with heart. Only once the murder of his mother does he regress, which is why Itadori's words of "killing is wrong because all humans have heart" don't connect with him. Once Junpei expresses that he cannot process that anyone with a "heart", with good intention, can also be someone who killed his mom. As well as meaning that he would still have to stand by and "accept" the person who would do this, because their heart still ultimately makes them a good person and not deserving of death. It's Itadori who steps back and reflects, because he simply couldn't put himself in the shoes of Junpei. There are characters who reach the sort of deadly hatred that Junpei harbors, but they desire to kill for the sake of evil. Junpei's desire to kill was cultivated by years of abuse, manipulation, and the trauma of losing his mother. For the first time, Itadori starts to understand what would realistically drive an individual to kill another person. Itadori stops fighting Junpei, and instead tries to reconcile his grief and apologizes, offering Junpei an escape to Jujutsu tech where he can learn jujutsu together with him and his friends.

Of course, it's not Jujutsu Kaisen if it's not reminding you that the world is an unfair and cruel place. Despite Junpei being primed for 'redemption' and a happy ending, he is killed off by Mahito, who planned on using and killing him from the start. After being transfigured, Itadori begs Sukuna to heal Junpei as he was healed by him earlier in the story. Of course it's not a simple fix that Itadori wishes it could be. Instead he is mocked and disregarded by both curses, and is left with nothing to help Junpei.

I didn't mean to write his whole character arc but oh well ( ̵˃﹏˂̵ ) There aren't many 'trivia' facts about Junpei other than his favorite food (which is crab omelet on rice!) and some other basic stuff. I wish he got to be more fleshed out, but the time he spent alive was very compelling and interesting. I also am a firm believer that if he did not die in episode 12 he would eventually die in the story anyways. Gege clearly does not care who he kills off regardless of how well liked or popular they are, Junpei would likely be axed in some arc for plot reasons anyways. So I'm in a way 'satisfied' with the ending he was given, especially when he got additional scenes in the anime than in the manga to make him more grounded.

Merch

I wish he had more merch that wasn't just keychains or folders lolol, but I think I have a good selection of whats available~

OTHER

I'm not big on shipping in general, in fact I have a ship that I am wayyy more passionate about in JJK that doesn't even involve Junpei! (SATOSUGU!!!!!!!!) But I still really enjoy ItaJun aka Itadori x Junpei, I found their interactions really sweet and wholesome. AND THEY DEVASTATE ME!!!!!!!! I wish Junpei could've gone to Jujutsu tech with him and met his friends, but like I said I doubt that happiness will last. I wish I could put them in a universe where they weren't fighting to live like every 3 seconds and severely traumatized.... I really love the merch I have of them together >_< they're sooo cute sigh

All Mahito x Junpei shippers can go to hell tho fr why are you guys even doing that YOU'RE WEIRDDDDD

(...anyways Ill fill this up with other stuff when I remember...)