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Jujutsu Kaisenhas had many fans hooked since its first season, and the story is only getting more exciting in the anime. Over the years, the series has become a phenomenon, and fans have come to love it to bits, which is quite apparent from its booming popularity. That said, not all fans are aware thatJujutsu Kaisencould’ve been very different from what they know it to be today. Many fans might be unaware of the fact that theJujutsu Kaisenprototype revealedthe original plans Gege had for Yuji, which are certainly shocking.
Yuji Was Not Supposed to Be Jujutsu Kaisen’s Main Character
Revealed in the Jujutsu Kaisen Prototype
A while back,Jujutsu Sousen, known to beJujutsu Kaisen’sprototype was revealed to fans of the series. This prototype was the perfect way to see Gege’s original plans for the series and compare them to the final draft of the story. As is very apparent, some major differences appear. Undoubtedly, the biggest difference is the character of Yuji. As fans know, in the current story that’s published by the author Gege Akutami, Yuji is the main character. However, in the prototype, he was not the choice for this role. Instead, the role of the main character went to Megumi.
It might be a huge shock for many to discover that Gege had originally planned for Megumi to be the story’s main character. If Gege had stuck with those plans, the story of Jujutsu Kaisen would’ve been very different. Not only is Yuji not the main character in this prototype, he wasn’t even the vessel of Sukuna. Instead, that role also went to Megumi. Megumi also becomes Sukuna’s vessel in the last arcs of Jujutsu Kaisen, but that’s after Sukuna hopped from Yuji to him, and that had its own effects on the story.
If Sukuna had been with Megumi from the beginning, that would have changed the story drastically in multiple ways. For example, Sukuna would possibly have access to Mahoraga from the beginning, which is definitely not a great thing for Gojo and the others, as Mahoraga was the only way he could bypass Gojo’s Infinity.
When it comes to Yuji Itadori, he plays the role of the side character in Jujutsu Sousen. It’s important to note, however, that Yuji’s story, aside from him not being the main character and Sukuna’s vessel, remains pretty similar in the beginning. His story with his grandfather is pretty much the same. Together with Megumi, Yuji visits Tsumiki in a hospital, which is also very different from the final JJK product. Yuji and Megumi are known to be from different schools, and it is in this hospital that the beginning arc of the story is set up.
In general, the story seen in the prototype is very different from the final product fans got. The final story ofJujutsu Kaisenstarts a lot slower than the prototype. The prototype jumps straightinto the Culling Game arcfrom the get-go, which in the main story was one of the last arcs, and one of the most intense ones at that. Fans should definitely read the prototype for themselves, as it’s quite long and detailed, and definitely worth a read for the lovers of Jujutsu Kaisen series.
Would Megumi Have Been a Better Protagonist?
The Difference Wouldn’t Have Amounted To Much
Yuji has often gotten overshadowed in his own series. For one, Yuji is not the most popular character in the series, as that title goes to Gojo, and until the last arcs, Megumi was also preferred to him by fans.Jujutsu Kaisen 0also had its own protagonist, Yuta, who some fans preferred to Yuji, in fact.
“You’ve Done Enough. I Wanted To Create A World That Wouldn’t Expose Tsumiki To Injustice And Unhappiness. And If I Couldn’t Do That, Then At Least I Wanted To Preserve Our Fragile Lifestyle As Much As I Could While I Was Still Alive. I Wanted To Eat Food That I’m Used To Making And Gaze At The Laundry Hanging In The Sun And See Tsumiki Off As She Walked Side By Side With Someone Like You In The After-Noon Light. Then I’d Think About How Happy I Was” — Megumi Fushiguro
Of course, at the end of the day, it comes down to personal taste, but some fans would definitely have preferred Megumi asa main character to Yuji. That said, Yuji does his job as the main character decently, and Megumi being the main character would have changed the final story far too much.
Knowing how important Megumi was going to be initially, it is shocking that he was cut out of the plot entirely after Culling Game, right to the very end. The only main character that was handled worse than Megumi was Nobara, which, sadly, shows how rushedJujutsu Kaisenwas at the end and the wasted potential of these two characters.
Yuji’s Potential Role As The Side Character
As for Yuji Itadori, fans loved the growth he showed towards the end of the story, going on to beat someone as strong as Ryomen Sukuna himself. But, as a side character, Yuji probably wouldn’t have been half as effective. It is highly likely Megumi would’ve taken all the spotlight in the last section of the story, even thoughYuji still maintained a connection to Sukunain the early version of the story, much to the surprise of the fans. Yuji’s role in the final arc, such as his one-on-one battle vs Sukuna, along with the bigger fights in Shibuya, would all have gone to Megumi.
At the end of the day, Gege changed his initial plot because he felt the story was too boring with Megumi as the main character and he decided to go ahead with Yuji instead, while Megumi was shifted to the sidelines. Fans will forever wonder how it would’ve been had Megumi stuck to his original role as the more charismatic main character. For what it’s worth, despite everything, Megumi remains to be the more popular character of the two. Even though the author couldn’t do him justice in the end, fans still love Megumi.
With another JJK exhibition likely to come next year, fans can only hope that the author speaks more about his original ideas concerning the likes of Megumi Fushiguro, Yuji Itadori, and Nobara Kugisaki. Fans have grown incredibly attached to these characters, so any additional information from the author on them would be absolutely amazing.
Available on Crunchyroll And Manga Plus
Jujutsu Kaisenis one of the most popular shonen series of recent times, and that’s quite clear from the popularity of its anime and manga. The anime was an instant hit, right from its first anime season, especially thanks to the amazing animation and big fights. Jujutsu Kaisen has two Seasons out so far, with a third one on the way which fans couldn’t be more excited for. Jujutsu Kaisen can be found on Crunchyroll to stream. The manga, meanwhile, concluded last year in late 2024. On Christmas, the final volume of Jujutsu Kaisen dropped. Fans can catch up with the manga onManga Plus.
