So after the spoilers for Chap 257 dropped, I saw some tweets clarifying the meaning of the Kanji Sukuna used in the chapter when referring to his mother, and the overall reveals in the chapter got me thinking.
I’m making this post as a way of gathering my thoughts, personal speculations and where I think all of this connects to Sukuna’s character and the information Gege has given us over the years. Nothing I say is by any means new information, but like I said, I’m just collecting my thoughts here. By the way, just a warning, this post contains SPOILERS for the JJK Manga! If you don’t like that, please don’t read this!
Something I’ve noticed is that the theme of “Hunger” and symbolism of “Cooking/Food” is heavily referenced with Sukuna throughout the Manga. Gege in a previous Fanbook has disclosed Sukuna’s favorite Hobby to be “Eating”.
This theme is again very much ingrained within Sukuna’s cursed techniques and even his Domain Expansion, the “Malevolent Shrine”. With his two main techniques being “Dismantle” and “Cleave” are cutting-type attacks. He is also able to use a Flame-Arrow, and Fire is essential for making Food. The Shrine in his Domain Expansion literally has mouths on all sides, looking eager to chew down anything in-front of them!
This symbolism also heavily influences Sukuna’s own manner of speech, and the way he speaks to other characters in the series as well. With his post-fight chat with Jogo before his death, Sukuna mentions Jogo lacking the “Hunger” to take control of his desires, preventing him from reaching the heights of Gojo Satoru. Before the Start of their fight in Shinjuku, Sukuna called Gojo a “Nameless Fish on top of his cutting board”, and that he was going to start by “Peeling off the scales”(refering to Gojo’s infinity). There’s also further symbolism that supports this by analyzing the Kanji and meaning of Sukuna’s “Malevolent Shrine” but I’m not very educated on that so I won’t be opening that point here.
What all of this points to is that Eating and Food……is extremely important to Sukuna, to the point that it literally affects him in manners innumerable.
Eating is an instinct, a necessity for the survival of every single living being.
And In the face of extreme Hunger and starvation, even those with the strongest will could lose their Humanity and revert to the basic animalistic side of their existence. (The Heian Period also had a Famine, although I believe the timing to be a bit off, but do with this info as you see fit)
In JJK Chapter 257, it is revealed to us that Sukuna and his Twin were most likely starving in the womb of their starving mother.
On the brink of starvation, Sukuna had to consume his “other self”(his twin), so that he could survive.
Btw, this tweet and this thread gives additional characterisation to Sukuna:
Link to the original thread: Link.
More context (and reactions :P):
Link to original thread: Here
This reveals to us that indeed, Sukuna was born a twin. And as we all know, “Twins” are seen with extreme scrutiny in Jujutsu Society, they’re not well liked. This too in a period where Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcery was at its peak, it is not far-fetched to assume that his Mother may not have been treated very well by the people in her surroundings, especially as she bore twins.
When Kashimo asks if Sukuna was born the Strongest or if he made himself the Strongest, this is the response Sukuna gave to him:
When you think about it, how do you think the people around them would have reacted when the woman: who was supposed to birth two twins, gave birth to a single child instead? and that child had consumed his other twin in the womb itself?
No doubt people would’ve been horrified, disgusted and even revulsed. With the woman and her newborn child.
This would’ve led to their further ostracisation in the already very close-minded society. Unable to fend for herself and her newborn child, it must’ve been difficult for Sukuna’s mother to survive. I feel like somewhere along the line, Sukuna was left alone to fend for himself at an extremely young age. To protect himself from both Curses and Society alike.
This is why I believe Sukuna knows what true starvation, weakness and hunger feels like. Both in the emotional and literal sense. He was left without another person caring about him or his well-being, in a cut-throat period where it was “Fight or be killed”.
Powerful curses roamed all across Japan, nowhere was safe. Simply be strong, or you'll die. There's no room for weakness. And initially, a kid!Sukuna was weak, as anyone would be in the beginning when they're just starting out in this world. (and maybe, he didn't have much to eat, leading to long periods of starvation? :') )
I believe it is this debilitating hunger, and feeling of weakness that eventually led to Sukuna’s current Hedonistic mindset.
He’s essentially traumatised by it, and believes that it was his own weakness that led him to experience this sheer starvation. That he deserved to feel this way because he was weak then. Perhaps, the people around him were right, that as long as they have the power and strength to overcome anything, they’re free to do as they please; And there is nothing anyone else could do about it.
I feel like the irony here is that Sukuna himself, must’ve been a “weakling” before eventually rising the ranks to become History’s Strongest Sorcerer. This is also why he values Strength so much.
Ultimately, Sukuna has decided that there was nothing more important than being strong enough to fulfill your own desires. And “eating” is one of his most important desires. It’s his favourite thing to do, the one he derives the most pleasure out of. And like an animal, whose main focus is to consume, consume and consume. He too, simply consumes.
Most morals likely have no meaning to him. He doesn’t care who he hurts, what he does, as long as he’s able to get what he wants. And this isn’t limited to eating.
This is why people referring to Sukuna as a “Natural Disaster” is so befitting of him. Because Natural Disasters also don’t care about what or who they’re destroying, they just come and go, wreaking havoc appropriate for their nature and magnitude.
I believe Sukuna himself has said lines similar in nature, when talking to Kashimo:
Now I’m not sure how Sukuna perceives or even experiences this “Love”, because I think he has a rather very warped idea of it. I do think that this definition of love is similar to the one that Gojo also understands, but I don’t think he knows what “love” truly is. I’m not sure how I could comment on this, but I do think that Sukuna’s emotionally starved, whether he realises that or not.
Because, like Kashimo himself asked Sukuna “What is the point of dividing your soul into 20 different parts and then traversing across time if you’re satisfied with this?” we do not know the answer to that yet.
But many people have speculated that “Black Box” panels in JJK manga represent a curse (either self-inflicted or put by someone) on the speaker. Like, take a look over here where Sukuna reiterates the same dialogue, except it looks like he’s trying to reassure himself:
This once again shows that Sukuna has only ever strived for himself, in the same hedonistic fashion, to a very very extreme degree. It is possible that he's been lacking something, and he himself does not realise that he’s lacking it. Maybe it was this subconscious feeling, that led to Sukuna agreeing to Kenjaku’s plan of dividing his soul into 20 different parts, and to traverse across time as a Cursed Object.
Sukuna’s an incredibly complex character, and I’m excited to see where this goes. Gege has put extra care in the way he characterizes and depicts Sukuna, and again, I’m really sad that a lot of that characterization gets lost in translation. Still, I’m going to try my best to understand and get the most accurate feel of his character as I possibly can.
If you made it this far, Thank you for reading! And if you would like, please do leave a comment in the tags or replies because I would love to read what other people think of this and just Sukuna in general. I do not see a lot of people doing critical analysis of him, and a lot of his actions are seemingly swept under the rug. I don’t like that, so hopefully this contributes to people focusing more on Sukuna and his character. (/^v^)/ <3
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I think there’s something really powerful about the way Tes thinks of Kell…
About the way she never sees him as anything other than a person. The way she has to actively force herself to think of him as an object in her shop when she tries to fix him.
Kell has spent his whole life being seen as something to be used. An object. A weapon.
His birth parents saw him as something to be sold - he was simply a currency used to remove a pair of limiters.
His adoptive parents saw him as something to be wielded - he was the prince’s protector, and then his life force. He was a way of communicating between worlds. A symbol of power for Vesk and Faro to see.
Aside from Rhy and Lila, no one had ever seen him for himself.
And then we meet Tes, who clearly has some form of admiration for Kell - having named her bird after him - and she can touch the threads of magic. Manipulate them. And yet she never once sees Kell as just his magic. Never sees him as a test subject or a source of magic to tinker with, despite the fact that of any magic she could ever touch or handle, the type he possesses is the most rare, the most unique.
I think the fact that she always sees him as a person, more than she sees him as an antari is really important.
She wants to help him because she can see he’s hurting, can see he’s broken, but refuses to reduce him to something to be tinkered with. And even after copious threats from Lila, who wants nothing more than for Kell to just be ok again, and being asked by the King, and seeing what she was really capable of, she still has to force herself to see him as anything other than a person.
I just think it’s really powerful when you consider how he’s been treated his whole life by literally everyone but his partner and his brother.
Tes, Lila, and Rhy always see Kell as Kell. Magic or no magic. He is a person, and not something to be used or exchanged for personal gain.
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so yeah I still feel the same way I felt at the beginning of the ahsoka series
there are things I really REALLY liked about it. but there are also things that I find frustrating and like. not really fleshed out at all?
like.
ezra's whole arc was amazing. his dynamic with sabine? him getting to make a new lightsaber that looks like kanan's? him finally getting to go home and reuniting with hera? i was almost CRYING at that part and I literally screamed when it cut away before we could see them hug. all of it was AMAZING.
but I'm also like. frustrated with the way that they didn't really explain sabine's past? or like, the things that connected her from the end of rebels to now. like I feel like I still don't understand what happened between her and ahsoka before the events of this show. there was that moment where huyang talked about it to ezra a bit but it's like. so quick and just like "oh ahsoka was worried about sabine turning to the dark side" and then it's never mentioned again???? it's just like how baylan mentioned mandalore's destruction in ep4 and how it drove sabine and ahsoka apart as like a throwaway line and then it's never brought up again? i'm??????
but I also really REALLY liked baylan and shin, and the fact that the mortis gods are referenced at the very end of this season INTRIGUES me. i need to know where this is going.
every time hayden showed up in this series he was INCREDIBLE. probably definitely my favorite part of the series. episode 5 is definitely my favorite episode.
but I'm also like. not feeling great about how ahsoka seems to think about the jedi at the time of the clone wars. she says this line about how anakin was the only one to stand by her, even when no one else would, when homeboy literally turned to the dark side and later tried to kill her in rebels? did she forget about that?
did she forget about all the jedi who mentored her during tcw? about plo koon, luminara unduli, tera sinube, aayla secura? about obi-wan? we haven't seen her even mention any other jedi from that time other than anakin (and kanan, in today's episode, but that's literally because of ezra).
i'm just hnggggggggggg so conflicted. the show does some things so WELL and I'm in awe of those things but then it also just. completely misses the point or confuses me or just makes me vaguely upset and it just leaves me in this state of being frustrated
anyways.
overall I did enjoy the show, even if it sounds like I didn't. It's just. I think it would've been better if the ahsoka series and the rebels sequel were two different things, y'know? it would've given more time for both of these storylines to be fleshed out more properly.
but here we are, I'm accepting that this is the show that we got, and I think it was good. I'm intrigued to see what happens next.
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Theory: All For One gave Tomura the Decay Quirk
I was thinking this for a while. Midoriya learned that Tenko was originally Quirkless, already being five, so there was no way for him to have the Decay Quirk; All For One gave it to him
Isn't it awfully convenient that right as Midoriya wonders "Who is this guy?", that All For One showed up?
All For One knew Tenko was a blank slate without a Quirk (yet, or at all).
Going back to ch. 235, we see that after Tenko was playing heroes with other kids, he got walked home by a man in a suit
Suit, shadowed face, hat, tall, and Tenko still has black hair? This matches this memory, and we can see there's a lot of shading in the palms
All For One walked home Tenko. He could've given him a Quirk during that time. Right after he brought him home, Kotaro got mad that Tenko was playing and talking about heroes. Already, while Kotaro is upset at him, we see Tenko scratching. According to Nao, his allergies got worse, and if he was just given a Quirk, his allergies could've been fueled by the new Quirk as his body adjusts
Even if it's just a mutation, we do know that his itchiness was related to Decay, since the itching went away after he destroyed what he didn't like (his Quirk revolves around de-constructing and destroying, so natural leanings toward those urges, etc)
Yes, Tenko's Decay may very well just be a mutation like Eri, but I just want to bring one more thing to attention about the theory (All For One gave Decay when walking Tenko home):
When Tomura used Decay and was fighting Re-Destro, back when he only had Decay, Machia was in shock, because it reminds him of All For One long ago. Not only his figure as a ruler that Machia remembers, but All For One could've done the same thing as Tomura (Decay), long ago
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Been thinking about museumshipping. (And the ships that could be the same thing like ripshipping and floatshipping)
Like how Ishizu is probably very neutral about the whole Atem v/s Bakura thing because she can see into the past.
How she probably looked into the past and saw the complete and utter destruction of Kul Elna after looking into Yami Bakura's past, seeing his hatred for Atem, how he became evil and stuff like that.
How she might've wanted to at least try and save him, but because of her sacred duty just couldn't find any sort of excuse to try.
How she might've thought about if anyone felt the same way. If anyone ever cared enough about him to at least try and save him.
Did the former holder of the necklace notice? Did she try and save him? Did she see he was a lost cause and never bothered? Did she still want to try and help, even if she knew it was impossible? Did they even formally meet?
Ishizu and Yami Bakura never met. They know the other exists, Ishizu more than Yami Bakura, but they've never spoken a single sentence to each other. Even so, a great sense of pity swells in her chest for him.
He did so much wrong and hasn't stopped. But at the same time, she knows why. She wants to help him, but that won't help the Pharaoh. So she has to sit back as he ruins and kills himself.
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