There is some garbled audio for about 30 seconds in the video starting at around 7:10 - sorry about that, had to do it due to a copyright claim. Luckily it corrects itself very quickly and the rest of the video is fine, but apologies for that!
The fact that all the other disaster spirits went out with dignity during their last moments while Mahito was crying and running away so pathetically proved that he truly embodied the worst aspects of human nature. Even when some human beings can be evil and greedy they’re truly cowards when karma comes back to bite. Man I truly love Jujutsu Kaisen. Mahito learned that it's no fun being the hunted.
They still died in battle, showing resolve, determention. Dagons last words were "ITS NOT OVER YET" despite Toji beating the crap out of him and impaling him. Sure he got owned but he never gave up or showed fear.@@chuchojuarez95
I still think Mahito is Gege best written character only behind Geto it’s not often we get a villain we love to hate by simply being a reflection of humanity
@@Lum1s-yf6jfgeto was challenged psychology from toji's point of view, Geto is the hero who had fallen from grace to being one of the jujustu's world evilest sorcerers. Geto extermination of the humans/monkeys believe to be a just cause to stop the rise of cursed spirits being born. He had believed his way was the only way.
Mahito unlocking black flash after killing Nobara was terrifying and beautiful. He was an incredible antagonist who succeeded at attacking the weak spots of the hero. He'll definitely be remembered. But I'm glad he's gone.
I think the big thing that differentiates a villain from an antagonist is that trait. An antagonist can pose obstacles, but only a villain is equipped to hurt the protagonist on a personal level.
He is completely irredeemable, and I bloody love that! It isn't even technically his fault. He is created from the negative emotions and fears we feel of other people, and thereby he is, without a shiver of a doubt, the most terrifying creature in this show. A lot of villains are written as the opposed but same coin of the hero, but most don't succeed in it to this extend. Yuji is someone that is self sacrificial to a fault. He lives for others and never for himself, and that isn't necessarily a good thing, but it is a very human trait that most people would never fear. It isn't necessarily positive trait, but most people would either see it as a good thing or at least never feel terrified because of it. He is the complete opposed of Mahito in literally all ways. His childish behavior is even seen as a more friendly and naive rather than psychotic and uncaring. I absolutely LOVE the way those two characters show off all traits of humans in both extremes!
Even though Mahito made our blood boil so many times, you have to give it to both Akutami-Sensei and Mahito’s JP voice actor Nobunaga Shimazaki-san. Not only did Akutami-Sensei did a good job at making a great and memorable villain, Mahito’s JP voice actor put in 110% into his role, the man deserves an award.
Mahito really is the perfect villain for both Yuji and Jujutsu Kaisen's first half overall. And seeing him finally lose at the end of Shibuya was so satisfying.
I really hope that one day audiences will stop dismissing and disrespecting JJK and realize the type of story it is and the depth in what it does. It gets so much unfair criticism from people not interested in trying even a little bit, people with agendas. Thanks for doing your part, I’m happy you love it.
Lots of people aren’t interested in analysis or subtext, and JJK requires both to full appreciate it. But people are lazy as hell. So unfortunately, it makes sense. I do agree, hopefully it’ll get its flowers eventually.
imo, Mahito's role in the stroy gets overlooked and its a shame really cuz i truly enjoyed his character arc. the fact that if he wasnt killed then the story would've truly ended right there and then
Mahito is but half a man. As a curse born from the worst aspects of humanity, he lacks any of our virtues. Mahito is the human curse, and that's all he was ever capable of. A particularly rough obstacle in Yuji's story.
Mahito is honestly close to perfection. That doesn’t mean he is one of the best characters of all time, as he’s in the story for a limited amount of time. But for his role? Does everything he needs to, with phenomenal voice acting. Executed the themes perfectly. S tier in every regard. Very nice vid.
There's something in Mahito's character reminiscent of the Royal Guards from Hunter x Hunter. Despising humanity yet it is their own human traits that provokes their downfall. Great video!
I always liked that Mahito felt extremely dangerous anytime he was on screen but never overpowered, especially because he grew in strength with the characters. There was always so much tension
Since Junpei's death I was absolutely in love with Mahito, and as he caused more and more carnage in Shibuya my love for his design only grew more and more. His death was an absolute spectacle too.
One of my favourite shonen villains ever to be honest. I love what he represents thematically, I love his design and how it ties to that theme, his powers make any fight he's in versatile, unpredictable and exciting, his viscious rivalry with Yuji, how he's both intensely hateable and intimidating, and yet, if you didn't know any better, you'd be forgiven for mistaking him as fun and charming. I think people can get so lost in their intense hatred of him they dont appreciate what an effective villain he is - but then again, I guess that also shows his effectiveness lol
Having just experienced the 'Jujutsu Kaisen' anime, Mahito's paradoxical, dualistic self-destruction quite honestly serves as perfect microcosm of the decay perceived across the setting, the systemic rot and subsequent accumulation of suffering breeding 'Curses' to begin with. Humanity's cataclysmic 'Trajectory', the atrocities we commit and the hatred we allow to persist, perpetuates his vile existence, thus ensuring he can further reflect the darkness he was born of, that of the human heart itself. It's an ever-spiraling, self-amplifying cycle of death and desolation, as Mahito deceptively yearns to understand his very being through the violent decconstruction of all those around him, thus encapsulating all that gave rise to him, never to 'Evolve' beyond this pathetic, hateful creature due to his internalization of humanity's sins and scars. Whilst it's admittedly somewhat disheartening that Mahito is both functionally and thematically veritably identical to an antagonist within my own project (Barring their myriad differences, they're essentially one-to-one lol), I can only admire Gege Akutami's robust and integrative creative process, as is fully exemplified within the quality of his work. Excellent video as always, I do hope the New Year is treating everyone well thus far.
Keep representing our dark sides. Learn from gege and don't get discouraged!! It only means you're really onto something! It's not because you're copying him, it means you're both perceiving deeply! Hope to see you finish and share your story one day 😊
@Aleczandxr thank you, always excited to see a new peak RUclips upload. And incidentally, an additional thank you for introducing me to 'Haikyuu!!'. I decided to finally bite the bullet and watch it recently, and it has rapidly become one of my favorite fictional narratives period, accompanied in that regard by your sublime videos pertaining to it. Apologies if this is too terribly personable, but I do sincerely appreciate your work.
@@PrincessUbiquitous you didn't really, just the relatively normal occasional crippling existential breakdown artists have in the process of creating, especially when they see a great artist do their thing. Not overly whiny, pretty normal! Wanna be friends and keep each other accountable and share advice while writing our stories?
JJK isn't afraid to do the unexpected, but one of its best surprises is that it didn't have Yuji go "I won't kill you because that'd make me just as bad" when he had Mahito at his mercy.
Because unlike all these goody 2 shoes protag, Yuji have seen hell and back and knows deeply how dangerous and powerful Mahito is. And if it isn't for Sukuna, no one could contest Mahito
The no killing rule is so ass man Like this guy killed a bunch people and the mc just let's him go The worst example of this is the last of us 2, Ellie just slaughter a bunch a camps And just let's go abby after she bite her finger off Trash game
This might be super crazy to you, but I recognized your name because I saw you comment yesterday under AniNews newest Solo Leveling video. Just wanted to tell you that haha
Honestly i think JJK as a whole could undergo some good literary analysis regarding morals, what it is we fight for and what it means to be human. I love Mahito bc his existence is a call out to just how twisted we are as humans, us just going about our day resulted in this absolute abomination of an individual, we completely screwed ourselves over by being the way we are and bringing him into existence. We can spread as much love and kindness as we wish and are capable, but the darkness is still there, and there will be another individual like Mahito just ready to come into existence bc of our own faults
insane take even in jjk geto is significantly better. even if you're extending it barely to fighting manga of the past 5 years oda from redline is a way way better villain. If you think Mahito is the best written villain of all time shonen must be the only fiction you read/watch.
@@apologyman376 so hated more = well written? That's a terrible take. Mahito is well written, and is probably top 3 antagonists in new age shonen, but that's as far as I can stretch it. Both Makima and Geto are better written, more interesting and challenges your ideals and thoughts more than Mahito does
@@apologyman376 completely horrible one dimensional take. Getos ideology is crafted way better and he is much more realistic. The way i view it geto was basically an allegory for a lot of real world genocidal people and the fact gege was able to get a lot of people to sympathize with that perspective shows how amazing the character is.
Yuji tried to embody the aspects of humanity that Mahito lacked…empathy and trying to do better. He saw Yuji as prey…at first and an obstacle later on. Curses cause harm and taint the virtue of humanity. Mahito built up the conflict in a childish fashion and like a child never looked at himself and found out via a harsh reality. He was definitely “human”
Mahito's facial expressions are amazing. I like to think he's subconsciously using his ability to make himself more expressive and that makes his design so interesting.
5:33 - "which he firmly BELIEVES" one of the biggest points and caveats. "Yuji is NOT representative of that side of humanity" THANK YOU!!!!! the arc featuring the main students before Shibuya directly shows Itadori feeling empathy for what he thought was a pure curse seeing his brother die. Then he discussed with Kugsaki about their feelings over the deaths, who was shown to be the one who is *actually* like Mahito with zero remorse killing the other side. Mahito was wrong, they weren't even truly 100% opposites In that way described until Itadori finally was forced to make that change. the moment of Itadori feeling empathy for eso and ketchizu, going from that to the literal image of his heartless shadow standing over Mahito, is so compelling seeing how this cruel world forces us to squash the inherent empathy we have in order to get by without an impossible to surmount level of suffering. Mahito really is the curse of the worst of humanity, of the collective of society showing us as individuals that our youthful ideals are to be slowly wrung out of us till we have sacrficied our values and become selfish, only caring about ourselves and the ones we have chosen to care about. If Mahito is the worst of Humanity, how could Yuji be the exact same as him throughout the whole story? They had to be in opposition to be compelling adversaries. Mahito slowly walks Yuji down and breaks down his heart. From the pain we saw Yuji have putting the transfigued humans out of their misery, to Nanami, to finally Nobara. Yuji has had enough. He becomes more resolute than we've ever seen, more anumalistic than ever seen. The collective of humanity has gotten to another of us, sadly stripping away our best qualities, bringing out the most monstrous Yuji we've ever seen. Akutami really is incredible, for so many people to love Mahito and this "I'm you" moment but to misunderstand the main point. The JJK reading comprehension cruse strikes again, the two sides of the brain dead, takes everything literally fans and the ones who actually think past the surface. I knew Alex would not let us down and make a video pointing out this. Thank you again, you are one of the best doing it 🙏
1:11 “An unlikable character that is written well and benefits the narrative is automatically likable to me.” THIS! You put into words something I always have trouble explaining to my friends and why they always end up saying that I have terrible taste! Thank you, haha!
Mahito is a reflection of humanity and uses humans as the source of his cursed technique. It's kinda fitting that his idle transfiguration is countered by Geto's Cursed spirit manipulation. Althought Mahito seemed like peak villianhood, he's countered by what he was created from.
Mahito has to be Gege Akutami’s magnus opus of a character only rivaled by my boy Suguru Geto. To be able to craft such a fascinating, layered yet revolting piece of shit cannot be trivialized. I felt every ounce of suffering that Mahito afflicted on Yuji to the point where I had to stop while reading the manga. Homie had me gasping for air and fighting to keep my dinner inside my stomach. I think both Yuji and Mahito are truly their respect « YOU.ARE.MY.SPECIAL » because they just reflect each other on so many levels while being very different. It’s like you said they are both Light and Darkness in a way. Anyway 🎵 Where you go, I go What you see, I see 🎵
Only by accepting one's humanity can one hope to overcome it. "I count him braver who overcomes himself than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self" -Aristotle
"I am a jujutsu sorcerer" thanks to Mahito, Yuji saw his purpose. Just like Mahito's "I'm a true curse". Yuji and Mahito they molded eachother into the embodiment of their works. Which is sad because Mahito being chased by wolves is representative of curses and sorcerers relationship, he was hunting a human he was being hunted by a sorcerer
What I always found interesting is the fact that Jogo, the volcano/fire curse, truly believed that cursed spirits were the real humans. And from his perspective, it can make sense. Cursed spirits are born from negative emotions, their fears. And because they were never born into love, or from love, all they understand is fear and hatred for the humans who would view them as monsters. And it shows how little they actually all think of humans. Since they were born from negative emotions, they believe that's all humans are: just a collection of negative emotions, fear, hatred, etc. And from their point of view, they'd be right. But it's only half of what makes a human. If cursed spirits got to experience love, kindness, happiness from things that don't cause pain, then I believe they'd all have turned out a lot differently. And it goes to show the tragic cycle: cursed spirits will always be born because there will always be people who are overcome by their negative emotions, by their fear, by their hatred.
Mahito is HIM. Or was, anyway, until Yuji took that title from him. I seriously don't understand how people can hate him. I get the reasons but I can't force myself to dislike him, he's just too good and fun to watch.
Kento Nanami expressed his belief that children become adults by accumulating despair throughout their lives. Mahito, despite being a living accumulation of human despair, remains a child up until he is defeated by Yuji Itadori and exorcised by Pseudo-Geto. He believes himself to be superior to everyone else in terms of wisdom, power, and importance, only to have this narcissistic self-perception broken apart right before him.
Mahito is my favourite character. ever since we first met him in season 1, I started rooting for him. he stands for everything I love about stories. by the way, something I love is that the story itself agrees with Mahito. do you recall what Mahito said to Itadori after he killed Nobara? well, lets compare that to the lyrics of 'REMEMBER', the song that plays during the season 1 finale and season 2's Choso fight. "It's not right or wrong, it's not right or wrong. Here in this war, nobody wins in the end. We fight to breathe for another day. It's not right or wrong, it's not right or wrong. Here in this war, we're gonna find in the end. The will to survive, fear to die, comes the same." need I elaborate? anywho, It's really sad that he's gone now, just an extracted cursed technique for Not-Geto to use. for me most of all! I lost both my favorite character (Mahito) and the side I was rooting for (Curses). Jogo, Hanami, Dagon and Mahito were my side in this war, and, as we can see, neither won in the end. Just death and devastation on both sides. so I guess i'll move to rooting for Choso and Maki, lol, since every other character I like is dead, sealed, or Sukuna (who, lets be real, isn't coming out any time soon or the other half of the cast would die instantly lmao). rest in piece Curses, you were the true humans. 🙏🙏
@@Green-3c34y65vrbu Why would you talk about attraction after what I said lol, you're weird man (or girl idk) I said that because your point is close to that of an edgy adolescent. But maybe you're just an edgy adult with some kind of... slowness? In which world are curses the true humans? You're literally contradicting your first statement which is that none of those sides are right or wrong, and then you say the curses are right? Also, curses are just humans but stupid, so is Mahito... I guess that's why you relate to them now that I think about it.
The lesson I learned from Yuji and Mahito is simply this. The more you treat darkness as something to be eradicated. The more wild and blood thirsty it will become, Yuji proves this when he accepts Mahito for what he is. A child with far to much inherent power. They thought that they had to kill each other 😂. Peace is always a better option, I like to imagine a way for them to heal their differences. True love is the acceptance of all.🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 I really enjoyed the video and I also appreciate the work it must have taken. PEACE 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Before I get any further in this video, I'm actually so excited you posted an analysis for Mahito. The scene you started with is so fascinating to me and I'm so interested in hearing your take on the character. Edit: As an anime only who got spoiled on "Pseudo-Geto"'s real name, even though it's such a minor spoiler, it shows your meticulous effort to not spoil any part of the narrative for others. Very considerate :) Edit 2: SO BEAUTIFUL. Thank you. We all must acknowledge and gain as much awareness of this darkness inside of us as possible. It's existence is undeniable, and the more we run from it and avoid it the more power it has over us. Some of the nicest people are miserable inside because they haven't confronted this side of themselves. Some of the kindest people are so kind because they have. And it's so genuinely valuable to acknowledge this darkness within so that it does not engulf us. "Do not neglect your potential for commiting atrocity. And also don't underestimate how much joy you could experience while doing it." - Jordan Peterson
Admittedly not the point of this video, but Mahito never fully scared me because he did horrific things. Mahito scared me because he was a villain that power scaled with the main cast. Most villains are introduced as obscenely powerful and subsequently stay at that level for the protagonists to catch up to; then becoming stronger after getting the MacGuffin. But Mahito kept growing in battle, not bringing in some new mess thanks to some off-screen BS. And it made him a bit sympathetic - his strength was earned. He truly was like Yuji - a shonen protag who grows stronger through life-or-death battles.
Mahito is a great example of a pure evil monster. Cruel, sadistic and full of malicious feelings, Mahito represented the true darkness in the world of JJK.
When discussions around the dark side of humanity arises, I can't help but think one thing: Potential for depravity isn't inherent to only humanity, but all living beings, given high enough consciousness. Any other apex predator in our positions would behave much the same way. Mahito thinking that humans alone don't deserve to exist because of the universal potential for cruelty, is short sighted, as all beings are capable of those act curses included.
I didn't even need to watch the whole video before I pressed the like button, because I knew it would be a thoughtful and original reflection And it was/is!
One of the interesting aspects of mahito is he's supposed to represent like the dark version of the Buddha. Theres this RUclipsr, Metinotthebadguy, that goes in depth on the Buddhist aspect of mahito
Great video. I was doing some thinking after rewatching the snow and I honestly feel like Gojo and Mahito could work better as parallels while Geto and Itadori would seem to mirror one another as well.
I really liked when Mahito attacked Faux-Geto one last time, turning on his prior conspirator, it hit me how he was the human curse. Not exactly bravery, just one last struggle to live. Funnily enough, had he managed to touch him, both of them would probably die since they were surrounded by sorcerers at the time.
I... don't know what to say It's a lot to take in, definitely something I'll think about for a while I actually prefer Mahito to Sukuna in most aspects, so this breakdown is really interesting to me A very, very good video, you deserve my like and so many more
It’s a damn SHAME that there aren’t more villains like Mahito in anime, and just in general. I hope Sukuna ends up forming some kind of dynamic with Yuji like Mahito did, because I honestly miss that so much. *Prefacing this next section with MASSIVE CSM and JJK Spoilers* It always seems like villains are so distant, yet my favorite part of any series has got to be when the protagonist and antagonist just interact with each other. The movie Heat had a really, *REALLY* good example of this with the diner scene. That’s definitely the one thing that I’d say CSM needs too. Makima was nice, but she was more so the Aizen style of manipulator behind the scenes. Her torment of Denji was impersonal, and she felt nothing towards him. Denji slicing her open with a chainsaw still had to be one of the most cathartic moments in manga, but I still feel like it lacked that personal feeling of the “I’m you” moment. I hope we get more of that in both CSM and JJK
I think it's actually a fitting punishment, how many people had he turned into little beans and shoved down his throat to weaponize? First, he got to witness the exact acceptance he'd been goading out of Yuji. Now he gets to spend his days trapped along with all the other curses that "Geto" has subsumed. And to top it off, he has no standing upon which to protest getting the short end of either stick. The implications of a more intelligent and intentional threat possessing Mahito and his power as little more than tools are horrifying. But in terms of poetic justice, those scenes were like a full course meal.
@@jimihendrix23456 yeah, I’m fine with the result, mostly because of the fact that mahito finally is the one to get game ended like that after everything
doing horrific things to others only to cry and wail when they're done to you, lamenting your fate, sounds aboyt human. would've even been more so if mahito gave some excuse about following orders, doing it out of necessity, or just plain whining about how unfair it is.
Every villain makes sense if you allow your heart to open up to their hopeless in the face of over whelming freedom or their disgust in who ever they’re attacking. The joker is a funny one because he doesn’t make sense untill he does. Then you laugh at yourself.
Mahito would have won against yuji if he didn't transform in his last fight. He threw away what made him a threat, his adaptability and creativity for a new shiny body that looks much more like a curse, but even if he is a curse he is the HUMAN curse. He should have stayed human to win, and not try to be just a curse.
There is some garbled audio for about 30 seconds in the video starting at around 7:10 - sorry about that, had to do it due to a copyright claim. Luckily it corrects itself very quickly and the rest of the video is fine, but apologies for that!
I legit thought it was my headphones tweaking again, so glad it's just on your part. ;-;
Ur good lol
"Being in opposition of something doesn't mean your free of it" this just blown my mind
It’s very true.
Love that phrase
The fact that all the other disaster spirits went out with dignity during their last moments while Mahito was crying and running away so pathetically proved that he truly embodied the worst aspects of human nature. Even when some human beings can be evil and greedy they’re truly cowards when karma comes back to bite. Man I truly love Jujutsu Kaisen. Mahito learned that it's no fun being the hunted.
I feel only jogo went out with dignity. The others got obliterated
@@chuchojuarez95 I can see that, I was more talking about them accepting their fate
@@chuchojuarez95they die in the heat of battle, fighting until the end. Mahito cry, whimper like a pathetic child and its beautiful to see
They still died in battle, showing resolve, determention. Dagons last words were "ITS NOT OVER YET" despite Toji beating the crap out of him and impaling him.
Sure he got owned but he never gave up or showed fear.@@chuchojuarez95
Human to the end in every regard.
I still think Mahito is Gege best written character only behind Geto it’s not often we get a villain we love to hate by simply being a reflection of humanity
How is geto well written?
How is he not?@@Lum1s-yf6jf
@@kanyerahming idk I'm asking you
@@Lum1s-yf6jfgeto was challenged psychology from toji's point of view, Geto is the hero who had fallen from grace to being one of the jujustu's world evilest sorcerers. Geto extermination of the humans/monkeys believe to be a just cause to stop the rise of cursed spirits being born. He had believed his way was the only way.
"How is geto well written"@@Lum1s-yf6jf
Mahito unlocking black flash after killing Nobara was terrifying and beautiful.
He was an incredible antagonist who succeeded at attacking the weak spots of the hero. He'll definitely be remembered.
But I'm glad he's gone.
Him experiencing this metamorphosis was darkly beautiful.
I think the big thing that differentiates a villain from an antagonist is that trait. An antagonist can pose obstacles, but only a villain is equipped to hurt the protagonist on a personal level.
MF killed all the favorites: Nanami, Nobara AND Boogie Woogie...
Yeah I'm also glad he's gone.
@@Lazar-TSwhen bro reborn if he can after becoming a special grade IF he can who is he gonna kill what do you think he will if he comes back???
@@Nuggetchungus Sorry, I don't speak gibberish 😔
He is completely irredeemable, and I bloody love that!
It isn't even technically his fault. He is created from the negative emotions and fears we feel of other people, and thereby he is, without a shiver of a doubt, the most terrifying creature in this show.
A lot of villains are written as the opposed but same coin of the hero, but most don't succeed in it to this extend. Yuji is someone that is self sacrificial to a fault. He lives for others and never for himself, and that isn't necessarily a good thing, but it is a very human trait that most people would never fear. It isn't necessarily positive trait, but most people would either see it as a good thing or at least never feel terrified because of it.
He is the complete opposed of Mahito in literally all ways. His childish behavior is even seen as a more friendly and naive rather than psychotic and uncaring.
I absolutely LOVE the way those two characters show off all traits of humans in both extremes!
Even though Mahito made our blood boil so many times, you have to give it to both Akutami-Sensei and Mahito’s JP voice actor Nobunaga Shimazaki-san. Not only did Akutami-Sensei did a good job at making a great and memorable villain, Mahito’s JP voice actor put in 110% into his role, the man deserves an award.
Shimizaki brought out 120% of his potential fr
Dude he went all out for real. But this was his last performance so it made sense.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO SHOUT I CAN HEAR YOU ITADORI YUUUUUUUUJI
@@ihavenoname.6078did he quit being a VA?
@@djsjdh-hoahdino mahito is dead also same goes for nanami
0:20 I hear Markieplier
Mahito really is the perfect villain for both Yuji and Jujutsu Kaisen's first half overall. And seeing him finally lose at the end of Shibuya was so satisfying.
I really hope that one day audiences will stop dismissing and disrespecting JJK and realize the type of story it is and the depth in what it does. It gets so much unfair criticism from people not interested in trying even a little bit, people with agendas. Thanks for doing your part, I’m happy you love it.
Lots of people aren’t interested in analysis or subtext, and JJK requires both to full appreciate it. But people are lazy as hell. So unfortunately, it makes sense. I do agree, hopefully it’ll get its flowers eventually.
I think JJK as a whole could be literary analyzed in regards to morals, what it is we fight for exactly, and what it means to be human
imo, Mahito's role in the stroy gets overlooked and its a shame really cuz i truly enjoyed his character arc. the fact that if he wasnt killed then the story would've truly ended right there and then
I also love how much he forced Yuji to grow, both for better and for worse
True. People naturally gravitate to Sukuna and Kenjaku but he’s awesome too.
Exactly
Mahito is but half a man. As a curse born from the worst aspects of humanity, he lacks any of our virtues. Mahito is the human curse, and that's all he was ever capable of. A particularly rough obstacle in Yuji's story.
Mahito is honestly close to perfection. That doesn’t mean he is one of the best characters of all time, as he’s in the story for a limited amount of time. But for his role? Does everything he needs to, with phenomenal voice acting. Executed the themes perfectly. S tier in every regard. Very nice vid.
Yuji and Mahito: The Extremes of Humanity
There's something in Mahito's character reminiscent of the Royal Guards from Hunter x Hunter. Despising humanity yet it is their own human traits that provokes their downfall. Great video!
Thanks! I love the Royal Guards comparison, there’s a paradox in their very characteristic of their “programming”
@@Aleczandxr can you ban ruclips.net/channel/UCiS4jK5B41o6pquqghMxDlg hes posting spoilers
Mahito = Pitou (Neferpitou for short)
Yuji Itadori = Gon Freecss
Curses usualy bleed purple/blue but it seems like Mahito bleeds red, which further emphasizes how "human" of a curses he is
I always liked that Mahito felt extremely dangerous anytime he was on screen but never overpowered, especially because he grew in strength with the characters. There was always so much tension
S3 hasn't even started and I already miss Mahito. Good character piece.
Since Junpei's death I was absolutely in love with Mahito, and as he caused more and more carnage in Shibuya my love for his design only grew more and more. His death was an absolute spectacle too.
One of my favourite shonen villains ever to be honest. I love what he represents thematically, I love his design and how it ties to that theme, his powers make any fight he's in versatile, unpredictable and exciting, his viscious rivalry with Yuji, how he's both intensely hateable and intimidating, and yet, if you didn't know any better, you'd be forgiven for mistaking him as fun and charming.
I think people can get so lost in their intense hatred of him they dont appreciate what an effective villain he is - but then again, I guess that also shows his effectiveness lol
Having just experienced the 'Jujutsu Kaisen' anime, Mahito's paradoxical, dualistic self-destruction quite honestly serves as perfect microcosm of the decay perceived across the setting, the systemic rot and subsequent accumulation of suffering breeding 'Curses' to begin with. Humanity's cataclysmic 'Trajectory', the atrocities we commit and the hatred we allow to persist, perpetuates his vile existence, thus ensuring he can further reflect the darkness he was born of, that of the human heart itself. It's an ever-spiraling, self-amplifying cycle of death and desolation, as Mahito deceptively yearns to understand his very being through the violent decconstruction of all those around him, thus encapsulating all that gave rise to him, never to 'Evolve' beyond this pathetic, hateful creature due to his internalization of humanity's sins and scars.
Whilst it's admittedly somewhat disheartening that Mahito is both functionally and thematically veritably identical to an antagonist within my own project (Barring their myriad differences, they're essentially one-to-one lol), I can only admire Gege Akutami's robust and integrative creative process, as is fully exemplified within the quality of his work. Excellent video as always, I do hope the New Year is treating everyone well thus far.
Keep representing our dark sides. Learn from gege and don't get discouraged!! It only means you're really onto something! It's not because you're copying him, it means you're both perceiving deeply! Hope to see you finish and share your story one day 😊
@djsjdh-hoahdi thank you so very much for the kind words, I shall strive to. Have a wonderful day
Cheers, thanks for sharing your thoughts and I’m glad you enjoyed! Hope 2024 is treating you well as well.
@Aleczandxr thank you, always excited to see a new peak RUclips upload.
And incidentally, an additional thank you for introducing me to 'Haikyuu!!'. I decided to finally bite the bullet and watch it recently, and it has rapidly become one of my favorite fictional narratives period, accompanied in that regard by your sublime videos pertaining to it. Apologies if this is too terribly personable, but I do sincerely appreciate your work.
@@PrincessUbiquitous you didn't really, just the relatively normal occasional crippling existential breakdown artists have in the process of creating, especially when they see a great artist do their thing. Not overly whiny, pretty normal! Wanna be friends and keep each other accountable and share advice while writing our stories?
JJK isn't afraid to do the unexpected, but one of its best surprises is that it didn't have Yuji go "I won't kill you because that'd make me just as bad" when he had Mahito at his mercy.
Mahito isn't human, so it's not surprising.
Because unlike all these goody 2 shoes protag, Yuji have seen hell and back and knows deeply how dangerous and powerful Mahito is. And if it isn't for Sukuna, no one could contest Mahito
The no killing rule is so ass man
Like this guy killed a bunch people and the mc just let's him go
The worst example of this is the last of us 2, Ellie just slaughter a bunch a camps
And just let's go abby after she bite her finger off
Trash game
This helped me better understand why I loved his character so much.
MaGOATo is my guy and the voice acting from his actor in S2 was so phenomenal it's crazy great
Mahito running away from Yuji was SO satisfying 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
This might be super crazy to you, but I recognized your name because I saw you comment yesterday under AniNews newest Solo Leveling video. Just wanted to tell you that haha
Satisfying, but also sad because 1) Yuji had had his hopes buffered, and 2) it meant Mahito was gonna die :(
No it wasn’t 😭😭😭
YES IT IS FUCK MAHITO@@TheMoon32_O
Honestly i think JJK as a whole could undergo some good literary analysis regarding morals, what it is we fight for and what it means to be human. I love Mahito bc his existence is a call out to just how twisted we are as humans, us just going about our day resulted in this absolute abomination of an individual, we completely screwed ourselves over by being the way we are and bringing him into existence. We can spread as much love and kindness as we wish and are capable, but the darkness is still there, and there will be another individual like Mahito just ready to come into existence bc of our own faults
It’s crazy how everyone agrees how twisted mahito is when in reality he is just a reflection of us. Humans.
he is the reflection of all the bad things human could be. he doesnt have the good things tho, that's why he lost.
I think Mahito might be the best pure evil character.
One of the best villains. Mahito is the coldest, especially when he made his arm transform into June Pei forcing Yugi to relive his death and failure.
Best villian in fiction ever, the emotions I see Mahito get out of people shows how well written he is.
insane take even in jjk geto is significantly better. even if you're extending it barely to fighting manga of the past 5 years oda from redline is a way way better villain. If you think Mahito is the best written villain of all time shonen must be the only fiction you read/watch.
@@Shoegaze- More people haye Mahito then geto, that's one of the main points of a villian.
@@apologyman376 so hated more = well written? That's a terrible take. Mahito is well written, and is probably top 3 antagonists in new age shonen, but that's as far as I can stretch it. Both Makima and Geto are better written, more interesting and challenges your ideals and thoughts more than Mahito does
bro hating on anothers opinion yet names another mid villian the irony is real@@Shoegaze-
@@apologyman376 completely horrible one dimensional take. Getos ideology is crafted way better and he is much more realistic. The way i view it geto was basically an allegory for a lot of real world genocidal people and the fact gege was able to get a lot of people to sympathize with that perspective shows how amazing the character is.
Yuji tried to embody the aspects of humanity that Mahito lacked…empathy and trying to do better. He saw Yuji as prey…at first and an obstacle later on. Curses cause harm and taint the virtue of humanity. Mahito built up the conflict in a childish fashion and like a child never looked at himself and found out via a harsh reality. He was definitely “human”
I wonder if Mahito came into being after Twitter became a thing.
The story does take place in 2018
mahito is a great villain
Mahito's facial expressions are amazing. I like to think he's subconsciously using his ability to make himself more expressive and that makes his design so interesting.
5:33 - "which he firmly BELIEVES" one of the biggest points and caveats. "Yuji is NOT representative of that side of humanity" THANK YOU!!!!!
the arc featuring the main students before Shibuya directly shows Itadori feeling empathy for what he thought was a pure curse seeing his brother die. Then he discussed with Kugsaki about their feelings over the deaths, who was shown to be the one who is *actually* like Mahito with zero remorse killing the other side.
Mahito was wrong, they weren't even truly 100% opposites In that way described until Itadori finally was forced to make that change. the moment of Itadori feeling empathy for eso and ketchizu, going from that to the literal image of his heartless shadow standing over Mahito, is so compelling seeing how this cruel world forces us to squash the inherent empathy we have in order to get by without an impossible to surmount level of suffering.
Mahito really is the curse of the worst of humanity, of the collective of society showing us as individuals that our youthful ideals are to be slowly wrung out of us till we have sacrficied our values and become selfish, only caring about ourselves and the ones we have chosen to care about. If Mahito is the worst of Humanity, how could Yuji be the exact same as him throughout the whole story? They had to be in opposition to be compelling adversaries. Mahito slowly walks Yuji down and breaks down his heart. From the pain we saw Yuji have putting the transfigued humans out of their misery, to Nanami, to finally Nobara. Yuji has had enough. He becomes more resolute than we've ever seen, more anumalistic than ever seen. The collective of humanity has gotten to another of us, sadly stripping away our best qualities, bringing out the most monstrous Yuji we've ever seen.
Akutami really is incredible, for so many people to love Mahito and this "I'm you" moment but to misunderstand the main point. The JJK reading comprehension cruse strikes again, the two sides of the brain dead, takes everything literally fans and the ones who actually think past the surface. I knew Alex would not let us down and make a video pointing out this. Thank you again, you are one of the best doing it 🙏
You’re very welcome! Thanks very much for the kind words and for sharing your thoughts, I’m happy you enjoyed.
1:11 “An unlikable character that is written well and benefits the narrative is automatically likable to me.”
THIS! You put into words something I always have trouble explaining to my friends and why they always end up saying that I have terrible taste! Thank you, haha!
Mahito is a reflection of humanity and uses humans as the source of his cursed technique. It's kinda fitting that his idle transfiguration is countered by Geto's Cursed spirit manipulation. Althought Mahito seemed like peak villianhood, he's countered by what he was created from.
Mahito has to be Gege Akutami’s magnus opus of a character only rivaled by my boy Suguru Geto. To be able to craft such a fascinating, layered yet revolting piece of shit cannot be trivialized. I felt every ounce of suffering that Mahito afflicted on Yuji to the point where I had to stop while reading the manga. Homie had me gasping for air and fighting to keep my dinner inside my stomach. I think both Yuji and Mahito are truly their respect « YOU.ARE.MY.SPECIAL » because they just reflect each other on so many levels while being very different. It’s like you said they are both Light and Darkness in a way.
Anyway 🎵 Where you go, I go What you see, I see 🎵
Only by accepting one's humanity can one hope to overcome it.
"I count him braver who overcomes himself than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self"
-Aristotle
"I am a jujutsu sorcerer" thanks to Mahito, Yuji saw his purpose. Just like Mahito's "I'm a true curse". Yuji and Mahito they molded eachother into the embodiment of their works. Which is sad because Mahito being chased by wolves is representative of curses and sorcerers relationship, he was hunting a human he was being hunted by a sorcerer
What I always found interesting is the fact that Jogo, the volcano/fire curse, truly believed that cursed spirits were the real humans. And from his perspective, it can make sense. Cursed spirits are born from negative emotions, their fears. And because they were never born into love, or from love, all they understand is fear and hatred for the humans who would view them as monsters. And it shows how little they actually all think of humans. Since they were born from negative emotions, they believe that's all humans are: just a collection of negative emotions, fear, hatred, etc. And from their point of view, they'd be right. But it's only half of what makes a human. If cursed spirits got to experience love, kindness, happiness from things that don't cause pain, then I believe they'd all have turned out a lot differently. And it goes to show the tragic cycle: cursed spirits will always be born because there will always be people who are overcome by their negative emotions, by their fear, by their hatred.
Mahito is HIM. Or was, anyway, until Yuji took that title from him. I seriously don't understand how people can hate him. I get the reasons but I can't force myself to dislike him, he's just too good and fun to watch.
Kento Nanami expressed his belief that children become adults by accumulating despair throughout their lives. Mahito, despite being a living accumulation of human despair, remains a child up until he is defeated by Yuji Itadori and exorcised by Pseudo-Geto. He believes himself to be superior to everyone else in terms of wisdom, power, and importance, only to have this narcissistic self-perception broken apart right before him.
Thank you for making a video about JJK's best ever character. I am happy beyond words. 💖
My pleasure!
mahito was the nightmare😎 a masterpiece character👏
Great video as usual
Mahito is my favourite character. ever since we first met him in season 1, I started rooting for him. he stands for everything I love about stories. by the way, something I love is that the story itself agrees with Mahito. do you recall what Mahito said to Itadori after he killed Nobara? well, lets compare that to the lyrics of 'REMEMBER', the song that plays during the season 1 finale and season 2's Choso fight.
"It's not right or wrong, it's not right or wrong.
Here in this war, nobody wins in the end.
We fight to breathe for another day.
It's not right or wrong, it's not right or wrong.
Here in this war, we're gonna find in the end.
The will to survive, fear to die, comes the same."
need I elaborate?
anywho, It's really sad that he's gone now, just an extracted cursed technique for Not-Geto to use. for me most of all! I lost both my favorite character (Mahito) and the side I was rooting for (Curses). Jogo, Hanami, Dagon and Mahito were my side in this war, and, as we can see, neither won in the end. Just death and devastation on both sides. so I guess i'll move to rooting for Choso and Maki, lol, since every other character I like is dead, sealed, or Sukuna (who, lets be real, isn't coming out any time soon or the other half of the cast would die instantly lmao). rest in piece Curses, you were the true humans. 🙏🙏
Are you 12 years of age?
@@winterbeast6326 sorry, I'm 20. i'm sure that's too old for you. better luck next time.
@@Green-3c34y65vrbu Why would you talk about attraction after what I said lol, you're weird man (or girl idk)
I said that because your point is close to that of an edgy adolescent. But maybe you're just an edgy adult with some kind of... slowness?
In which world are curses the true humans? You're literally contradicting your first statement which is that none of those sides are right or wrong, and then you say the curses are right?
Also, curses are just humans but stupid, so is Mahito...
I guess that's why you relate to them now that I think about it.
@@Green-3c34y65vrbu song is called "REMEMBER", not "REASON" lol
sukuna takes over megumi’s body and kills gojo. sorry for the spoilers, ig im just tapping into my inner mahito 🤪
Still the absolute GOAT of anime critical reading!
MAHITO IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER!! I adore him and how vicious and silly he is!!!! I love this video so much aaaaa
YES he's just a silly sausage!!
@@Green-3c34y65vrbu silly slaughter sausage
The lesson I learned from Yuji and Mahito is simply this. The more you treat darkness as something to be eradicated. The more wild and blood thirsty it will become, Yuji proves this when he accepts Mahito for what he is. A child with far to much inherent power. They thought that they had to kill each other 😂. Peace is always a better option, I like to imagine a way for them to heal their differences. True love is the acceptance of all.🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 I really enjoyed the video and I also appreciate the work it must have taken. PEACE 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Imagine if mahito was actually 16 years old like the mcs at the beginning. He would be one of the most terrifying villians ever
oh hell no. If he was 16 the series would have ended in shibuya.
Before I get any further in this video, I'm actually so excited you posted an analysis for Mahito. The scene you started with is so fascinating to me and I'm so interested in hearing your take on the character.
Edit: As an anime only who got spoiled on "Pseudo-Geto"'s real name, even though it's such a minor spoiler, it shows your meticulous effort to not spoil any part of the narrative for others. Very considerate :)
Edit 2: SO BEAUTIFUL. Thank you. We all must acknowledge and gain as much awareness of this darkness inside of us as possible. It's existence is undeniable, and the more we run from it and avoid it the more power it has over us. Some of the nicest people are miserable inside because they haven't confronted this side of themselves. Some of the kindest people are so kind because they have. And it's so genuinely valuable to acknowledge this darkness within so that it does not engulf us.
"Do not neglect your potential for commiting atrocity. And also don't underestimate how much joy you could experience while doing it." - Jordan Peterson
This voice actor did such a good job bringing this character to life
Loved this, thank you. What a twisted character.
I love him for all of this, but also cause he's just a cute lil guy :3
Mahito is one of my favorite villains in shonen. It’s nice to see a villain that is just absolute evil.
He’s by far my favorite Jjk character
Admittedly not the point of this video, but Mahito never fully scared me because he did horrific things. Mahito scared me because he was a villain that power scaled with the main cast. Most villains are introduced as obscenely powerful and subsequently stay at that level for the protagonists to catch up to; then becoming stronger after getting the MacGuffin. But Mahito kept growing in battle, not bringing in some new mess thanks to some off-screen BS. And it made him a bit sympathetic - his strength was earned.
He truly was like Yuji - a shonen protag who grows stronger through life-or-death battles.
Mahito is a great example of a pure evil monster. Cruel, sadistic and full of malicious feelings, Mahito represented the true darkness in the world of JJK.
When discussions around the dark side of humanity arises, I can't help but think one thing: Potential for depravity isn't inherent to only humanity, but all living beings, given high enough consciousness. Any other apex predator in our positions would behave much the same way.
Mahito thinking that humans alone don't deserve to exist because of the universal potential for cruelty, is short sighted, as all beings are capable of those act curses included.
I didn't even need to watch the whole video before I pressed the like button, because I knew it would be a thoughtful and original reflection
And it was/is!
Have a drinking game every time Aleczandxr says humanity
Pass out within 2 minutes
One of the interesting aspects of mahito is he's supposed to represent like the dark version of the Buddha. Theres this RUclipsr, Metinotthebadguy, that goes in depth on the Buddhist aspect of mahito
I'm happy for watching this video so early,your content is amazing
Great video. I was doing some thinking after rewatching the snow and I honestly feel like Gojo and Mahito could work better as parallels while Geto and Itadori would seem to mirror one another as well.
The goat... Oh yeah and mahito's a good character.😅
I really liked when Mahito attacked Faux-Geto one last time, turning on his prior conspirator, it hit me how he was the human curse.
Not exactly bravery, just one last struggle to live.
Funnily enough, had he managed to touch him, both of them would probably die since they were surrounded by sorcerers at the time.
Seeing Mahito become the prey and being terrified warmed my heart and put a big smile on my face
For all these reasons, Mahito is the best written villain in the series.
Mahitos curse womb spawned when League of Legends was released
10:52 "and he died like a human"
*Spoilers below*
Pseudo Geto said something similar mockingly in one of his recent fights...
☹
As a character i love Mahito as he drives character development.
Nothing a Balam Industries sponsored field trip to Shibuya can’t handle.
Definitely an awesome villain.
Goat dropped
I... don't know what to say
It's a lot to take in, definitely something I'll think about for a while
I actually prefer Mahito to Sukuna in most aspects, so this breakdown is really interesting to me
A very, very good video, you deserve my like and so many more
Mahito is an anime Judge Holden
mahito is clearly a self insert of gege
In what sense?
@@Aleczandxr because gege like to torture the audience
The villain we deserved
Ive never felt so much hatred for a character in any piece of fiction
I wish mahito had encountered toji the representation of body over soul alot could have been done there
Where Mahito went, Yuji went
And zesty asf☠️
It’s a damn SHAME that there aren’t more villains like Mahito in anime, and just in general. I hope Sukuna ends up forming some kind of dynamic with Yuji like Mahito did, because I honestly miss that so much.
*Prefacing this next section with MASSIVE CSM and JJK Spoilers*
It always seems like villains are so distant, yet my favorite part of any series has got to be when the protagonist and antagonist just interact with each other. The movie Heat had a really, *REALLY* good example of this with the diner scene. That’s definitely the one thing that I’d say CSM needs too. Makima was nice, but she was more so the Aizen style of manipulator behind the scenes. Her torment of Denji was impersonal, and she felt nothing towards him. Denji slicing her open with a chainsaw still had to be one of the most cathartic moments in manga, but I still feel like it lacked that personal feeling of the “I’m you” moment. I hope we get more of that in both CSM and JJK
Mahito was so creepy and even more scary than Sukuna. I'm glad he died already. If he had lived, he would have been a terrible disaster
I can’t remember a villain that made me hate them as much as Mahito has
Mahito running away from yuji 10/10 moment, shame “geto” absorbed him instead of Yuji erasing him
I think it's actually a fitting punishment, how many people had he turned into little beans and shoved down his throat to weaponize? First, he got to witness the exact acceptance he'd been goading out of Yuji. Now he gets to spend his days trapped along with all the other curses that "Geto" has subsumed.
And to top it off, he has no standing upon which to protest getting the short end of either stick.
The implications of a more intelligent and intentional threat possessing Mahito and his power as little more than tools are horrifying. But in terms of poetic justice, those scenes were like a full course meal.
@@jimihendrix23456 yeah, I’m fine with the result, mostly because of the fact that mahito finally is the one to get game ended like that after everything
The only thing that could probably make me forgive mahito is if he has a super tragic backstory (but he probably doesn't have one)
Nah, Mahito isn’t meant to be forgiven. But I think the nature of his existence does make him pitiable to an extent.
Awesome
Mahito is simultaneously one of the most evil, yet also not totally complicit for his depravity because of how he was created. It’s interesting.
Funny how both him and junpei are my favorite characters
Nothing deserves more fear than the malice of a powerful scorned child.
I think it would be cool to do a video comparing Mechamaru from JJK with Robot from Invincible. They're just so eerily similar!
That wouldn’t be something I’d do but very cool idea! Maybe someone would be down for it.
love ur videos
doing horrific things to others only to cry and wail when they're done to you, lamenting your fate, sounds aboyt human. would've even been more so if mahito gave some excuse about following orders, doing it out of necessity, or just plain whining about how unfair it is.
I hate and love Mahito as a character because as you said, he is arguably the most human character in the series, for good or bad/better or worse.
What disturbs me the most about Mahito is how often he makes sense...🤷♂
Every villain makes sense if you allow your heart to open up to their hopeless in the face of over whelming freedom or their disgust in who ever they’re attacking.
The joker is a funny one because he doesn’t make sense untill he does. Then you laugh at yourself.
Mahito would have won against yuji if he didn't transform in his last fight. He threw away what made him a threat, his adaptability and creativity for a new shiny body that looks much more like a curse, but even if he is a curse he is the HUMAN curse. He should have stayed human to win, and not try to be just a curse.
Yeah probably. Seems like he tried to one up Yuji in physical prowess. Apparently he halted his evolution for that.
Idk It looks like he would've died If he didin't transform, the transformation gave him some stamina
If sukuna is the king of curses then Mahito is the jester of curses.
He Just Like Me Fr
Tq i wanted to know why yuji said yes at the end to mahito after he pushed his luck too far .