Aadi: Week 4 - Judgement
Ever since I read the Jujutsu Kaisen manga in ninth grade, I have always found Hiromi Higuruma particularly interesting. Part of it stems from my interest in law, but his constant doubts about the true meaning of upholding justice certainly interested me. However, his abnormal nose is likely what made his character stand out to me (kidding...).
Keeping this as brief as possible, Jujutsu Kaisen takes place in a world where humans’ negative emotions are consolidated into dangerous “curses.” These “curses” are fought by jujutsu sorcerers, individuals born with the ability to see curses and the inherent talent of manipulating cursed energy into their own unique cursed techniques—superpower-like abilities which can range from being able to swap places with others to bringing the concept of infinity to reality and using it to manipulate space.
Due to an event known as the Culling Games, nearly a thousand non-sorcerers are suddenly bestowed a cursed technique and the ability to manipulate said cursed energy. Hiromi Higuruma is one of them.
Higuruma is initially a defense lawyer in Japan, and is shown to carry an overwhelming sense of justice, as by his own words, “The goddess of justice binds her eyes for equality under the law…even if no one else does, I want to keep my eyes open.” Japan’s high conviction rate of 99.9% makes his form of justice extremely difficult to uphold, he simply did not have the power necessary.
Awakening his cursed technique, he kills the judge and prosecutor of his case out of spite; finally favored with power, his ideology shifts to an idea that “people are weak and ugly,” supplying himself a reason to kill everyone who opposes his idea of justice.
Although he believes that he is now truly “opening his eyes” to the world around him, in reality, he has sealed them off from all reason, mirroring the criminal justice system that he wished to surpass.
However, upon meeting the main character, Yuji Itadori, and fighting against him, Judgeman eventually accuses Itadori of committing genocide in Shibuya. Higuruma is given the evidence beforehand, so he knows that Itadori was not in control of his body during the massacre, therefore his cursed technique would most definitely fail-
Higuruma instantly bursts out:
“Itadori! All people are weak and ugly! No matter how high-minded they aspire to be!”
His anger is not truly directed towards Itadori, rather himself, as he attempts to justify his ideals, the mass killings he committed, as if he was wrong, what had he been fighting for?
Justice? Or for himself?
Itadori is Higuruma’s personified ideal self, someone who despite carrying the same immense guilt as him is able to continue to do the right thing; blaming themselves rather than the world. Higuruma surrenders his new ideals, returning to his question he asked Itadori at the start of their fight and the start of my blog:
“Have you ever killed someone who ticks you off? Didn’t it feel awful?”
The way you framed Higurama’s idea of “opening his eyes” really stood out to me. You show how his desire and wish for justice slowly becomes something that prevents him from seeing his actions clearly; instead of questioning whether he has become what he originally opposed, he establishes a new perspective to justify what he has done. I think this makes the character much more interesting and adds layers of complexity than just describing him as someone who becomes let down with justice. I really liked your explanation that shows the internal conflict of the character as a driving force behind that change.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that the crux of the blog is the idea of guilt and how people respond to it differently. Your comparison between Higurama and Yuji makes the idea of guilt being a central motif clear. Both characters carry responsibility for the things that have happened around them, but Yuji responds to it by repeatedly blaming himself and trying his best to do what he believes is right, while Higurama redirects that guilt to the people around him, That contrast exemplifies why Yuji affects Higurama; it’s because he represents the version of himself Higurama could have become if he faced his guilt.
I also thought that there was a really interesting connection between the way you wrote about Higurama and the way you approach what you love and your interests in your blogs. You focus on the deeper questions behind the characters’ actions and what they say about the characters.
Aadi, it was interesting how you pointed out that you felt a connection to Higuruma because of your interest in law. We are drawn to characters who we share an interest in, creating a unique kind of affinity.
ReplyDeleteSince I don’t understand the full storyline of the anime, having only watched the first episode, I liked how you briefly described the occurrences that lead up to Higuruma’s introduction. The way you summed it up helped me grasp what was going on in the first place.
Higuruma is the character who believes they are doing the right thing, but from an outside perspective, he seems like a selfish person. I think those types of characters are particularly interesting. Until they come to the realization (or if they ever do), they are unable to look at their actions with an unbiased lens.
I enjoyed how you included a picture of a panel of Itadori’s line to Higuruma; it helps to illustrate that Itadori admitted he created a genocide with a straight face, he was serious about it, which caught Higuruma off guard.
I liked that you incorporated the beginning of the battle’s quote at the beginning of your blog and the response to it at the end of your blog. It was a unique way to start and end your blog.