Junpei: His Role and Significance in Jujutsu Kaisen Manga

Junpei Yoshino is a character in the Vs. Mahito Arc of the Jujutsu Kaisen series. He used to be a high school student at Satozakura High School and was friends with Yuji Itadori. However, his life took a turn when he encountered Mahito and became a curse user. Junpei was a slender young man with green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. His hair was parted to the side, with a chunk of bangs draping over the right side of his face, concealing a group of circular scars he got from bullies’ cigarettes.

At first, he often sported either a purple and pink striped t-shirt or a plain white one with a green rectangle design on the front. He paired these with olive green pants that reached his calves and off-white sneakers featuring black laces and golden accents on the soles and toes. After his mother passed away, Junpei mourned by wearing one of her black jackets.

History

Junpei is a quiet and indifferent person who strongly dislikes others. He holds pessimistic opinions about people and society in general. While he wouldn’t press a button that would eliminate everyone he dislikes, he would do so instantly if given the chance to press a button that would remove those who hate him. He argues that feeling indifferent towards people is no different from hating them.

Junpei’s indifference towards other humans stems from his belief that people are inherently evil, likely influenced by the trauma of being bullied and rejected throughout his life. Despite experiencing the deaths of others, he remains unaffected, seemingly desensitized by his past experiences. Junpei has always been a loner, but he finds solace in movies and attempts to establish a school club. However, the club fell into the hands of bullies who not only took it over but also subjected Junpei to further torment by burning him. Sadly, no one intervened or reprimanded his attackers, worsening his sense of isolation and distrust towards others.

Despite being a normal student, Junpei’s dejected attitude made it easy for Mahito to manipulate. Mahito fed into Junpei’s darkness and encouraged him to take his indifference a step further into hate and revenge. This resulted in shortsightedness that made Junpei unable to see Mahito for what he truly was. Yuji, someone else who is around Junpei’s age and who’s interested in movies, became one of Junpei’s only friends. Even after Junpei had rejected all those around him, Yuji was able to begin to bring Junpei out of his troubled mindset.

Junpei grew up in a typical family setting, raised by his mother after his parents’ divorce. Despite his relatively normal upbringing, he faced bullying from classmates, including Shota Ito. During one incident, the bullying escalated, leaving Junpei with cigarette burn scars on his forehead as a painful reminder of the cruelty he endured.

While watching a movie at Kinema Cinema, Junpei spots three familiar faces in the front row—three former school bullies. Their constant chatter irritates him, making it impossible to focus on the film. Suddenly, Mahito appears and uses his powers to distort the bullies’ heads, killing them instantly. As Mahito leaves, Junpei confronts him, questioning if he’s responsible. Mahito responds with a question of his own, asking if the boys meant something special to Junpei. Fueled by memories of his torment, Junpei demands to know if he can do the same.

Junpei tracks Mahito to his hideout in the sewers, where they engage in a discussion about cursed spirits. Curious, Junpei inquires about Mahito’s nature as a cursed spirit. Mahito reveals that he embodies the collective hatred humans harbor towards one another. As their conversation progresses, Mahito demonstrates his experiments on humans to Junpei. He showcases his research on human experimentation, including studies on how large or small a human can become, delving into the extremes of physical transformation.

Later, as Junpei walks home, he encounters his teacher, Sotomura, sitting on his doorstep. Sotomura’s presence annoys Junpei, prompting him to prepare to use his powers, but before he can, Yuji arrives just in time. Yuji creates a distraction, allowing Junpei to escape Sotomura’s aggravation, and they decide to have a chat elsewhere.

They find themselves at a riverbed, where Yuji brings up the incident at the theater. Junpei covers for Mahito, claiming he didn’t notice anything significant and has only recently started to see curses. Their conversation then turns to movies, discover they share similar tastes.

Shortly after, Junpei’s mother, Nagi, joins them, and Junpei introduces Yuji. Nagi invites Yuji for dinner, and after the meal, she falls asleep. Junpei and Yuji discuss family, with Yuji revealing he barely remembers his mother and discusses his reluctance to take a life, even if it’s necessary to stop a bad sorcerer. Yuji believes crossing that line would blur the value of life and potentially alter his perception of those he cares about. After Yuji leaves, Junpei reflects on their conversation and realizes that despite his belief that people lack compassion, he couldn’t bring himself to kill someone without tarnishing his soul.

Following his mother’s tragic death caused by a curse drawn to Sukuna’s finger, Mahito manipulates Junpei into believing Shota is responsible, despite Mahito planting the finger in Junpei’s house. Consumed by grief and despair, Junpei unleashes his powers at school, incapacitating most students during the morning assembly. Sotomura, bewildered by the chaos, tries to revive a fallen student when Junpei confronts him, demanding answers from Shota. Unsatisfied with Shota’s response, Junpei corners him and inflicts slow torture, starting with disintegrating his arm. Despite Shota’s attempts to apologize, Junpei remains unfazed. Before the situation escalates, Yuji intervenes, preventing Junpei from causing further harm.

Junpei and Yuji engage in a fierce battle within the school premises. Junpei insists that Yuji has no right to interfere in his affairs, but Yuji disagrees, asserting that it’s not solely Junpei’s decision to make. Yuji forcefully throws Junpei out of a window, frustrating Junpei as his poison seems ineffective against Yuji. Despite Junpei’s attempts to retaliate, Yuji overpowers him and sends him crashing back into the building.

Yuji tries to reason with Junpei once more, questioning how he could deny the existence of human hearts, especially in front of his own mother. Junpei starts to crack under the weight of his emotions, questioning if he and his mother were cursed by others’ hearts.

In a moment of vulnerability, Junpei strikes out, surprised when Yuji doesn’t defend himself. Yuji apologizes and implores Junpei to explain what happened. Hearing the truth, Yuji is devastated and offers to take Junpei to a technical college where he can find support and seek justice for his mother’s curse.

Their reconciliation is interrupted when Mahito appears suddenly, restraining Yuji and referring to him as “Sukuna’s vessel.” Yuji warns Junpei to flee, but Junpei, still believing Mahito’s deception, hesitates. As images of Mahito’s cruel experiments flash through his mind, Junpei realizes his mistake. Mahito taunts Junpei, mocking him for his impulsiveness and likening him to the people he used to mock.

Before Junpei can react, Mahito utilizes his Idle Transfiguration technique, transforming Junpei into one of his monstrous creations. Yuji, stunned by the sudden turn of events, is momentarily paralyzed as the transformed Junpei delivers a blow. Despite the pain, Yuji remains focused on trying to reach Junpei.

Desperate for help, Yuji attempts to invoke Sukuna’s power, but Sukuna cruelly denies him assistance, mocking both Yuji and Mahito. With no other options, Yuji can only watch helplessly as Junpei collapses to the ground, clutching at his clothes and whispering a faint question: “…Why?…” before succumbing to death.

Skills:

Before encountering Mahito, Junpei was considered weak and average among his peers. He endured constant bullying and harassment without the ability to defend himself. However, Mahito transformed Junpei into a sorcerer, granting him the power to seek revenge. To those around him, it appeared as if Junpei had gained psychic abilities they couldn’t perceive. His newfound jujutsu skills were invisible to others, allowing him to inflict harm on Shota Ito without being detected. With the ability to summon a relatively strong shikigami, Junpei could even hold his own in battle against Yuji, despite Yuji being a newer sorcerer at the time.