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The fanbase for creator, author, and illustrator Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen manga series has found itself embroiled in battle yet again with another new-gen fandom. Long-time enthusiasts of the aforementioned series are finding themselves locking horns with fans of creator, author, and illustrator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man manga series.
This latest debate, which fans of the two series are now involved in, focuses on comparing and contrasting Jujutsu Kaisen’s protagonist Yuji Itadori with Chainsaw Man’s Asa Mitaka. While Asa isn’t the central protagonist of the series overall, she can undoubtedly be called the protagonist of the series’ second part.
However, the trouble began when a Chainsaw Man fan alleged that Jujutsu Kaisen’s Yuji Itadori is the worst protagonist in anime history. This was in response to a post from another Twitter user who alleged that Asa Mitaka is the least worthy protagonist in history. With this, the stage was set and the fuse lit to kick off the social media war that soon ensued.
Jujutsu Kaisen fans restlessly berate Chainsaw Man fan who claimed Yuji to be worst anime protagonist ever
Fan reactions
Unsurprisingly, Jujutsu Kaisen fans didn’t take well to the assertion that Yuji Itadori is the worst anime protagonist of all time. At the very least, these fans are seemingly “correcting” the opinion without attacking Asa Mitaka and Chainsaw Man as a whole. This, hopefully, shows that fans aren’t interested in tearing down another series, but rather debating and correcting the bad take on Yuji.
Fans are primarily responding by simply letting Twitter user @vgbvxndd, who made the claim about Yuji, know just how bad and incorrect the take is. While one is certainly allowed to have an opinion on a character, asserting that Yuji is the worst protagonist in anime history is likely a step too far considering Akutami’s high-quality writing.
Other Jujutsu Kaisen fans are instead defending the take not by attacking Chainsaw Man, but rather involving the protagonists of other series as better choices for the title of worst protagonist than Yuji. Black Clover’s Asta, Demon Slayer’s Tanjiro Kamado, Sword Art Online’s Kirito, and My Hero Academia’s Izuku Midoriya are all being put forth as better candidates for the title than Yuji.
While it’s nearly impossible to objectively comment on who the worst protagonist is, fans at least understand that no one is the worst anime protagonist of all time. Especially when comparing and contrasting new-gen series such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, tribalism tends to take over, resulting in claims such as those mentioned above.
In reality, any series that makes it to a major publication such as Shueisha’s Shonen Jump lineup or similar big-name magazines is unlikely to have the worst protagonist in anime history.
To make it to such a grand stage without a well-written protagonist, in at least some regard, would be essentially impossible to achieve. While there may not be a clear answer as to who the worst protagonist of all time is, there are clear means of determining who isn’t.
Be sure to keep up with all Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
