Jujutsu Kaisen: Is Toji Fushiguro really a villain? Explored

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 was brilliant for a lot of characters. Still, there is an argument to be made that Toji Fushiguro was the one who benefitted the most from MAPPA's adaptation. Toji went from being a beloved character in the series' fandom to becoming one of the most popular in the entire anime community, which says a lot.

Therefore, it is not surprising to see a lot of Jujutsu Kaisen fans discussing Toji's story, especially considering his complicated relationship with the Zen'in clan and wondering if he was truly a villain. Sure, his actions in the Hidden Inventory arc were bad, and he had a major influence on future events, but it is interesting to debate whether he is a villain, an antagonist, a good guy, or a mix of all three.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen series.

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Exploring if Jujutsu Kaisen's Toji Fushiguro was a villain or not

Very few characters in Jujutsu Kaisen have the impact of Toji Fushiguro, with his actions in the Hidden Inventory arc being decisive for the character arcs of Satoru Gojo, Master Tengen, Suguru Geto, and even, to some degree, the likes of Kenjaku (getting Geto's body) and Yuta Okkotsu and Yuji Itadori (due to Gojo's decision to become a teacher).

Considering that he was only part of a flashback arc and had a minor comeback in the Shibuya Incident, it is quite impressive, although some fans have wondered if he was truly a villain.

Toji was abused and rejected by his own clan, the Zen'in because he was born without Cursed Energy despite having incredible and borderline superhuman strength due to his Heavenly Restriction.

He was cast aside by Jujutsu society and built a reputation as a sorcerer killer because of his work as a hired gun, making a living through shady jobs. That is how he ran into Gojo and Geto: he was hired to kill Riko Amanai under the two sorcerers' protection.

He is not a villain in the traditional sense because his actions in the Hidden Inventory arc were guided by a desire to make money, even if he hated sorcerers. There is the possibility he would have accepted working with sorcerers if he was paid enough money to do so, for example.

While the abuse and neglect he received from his own family was undeserved, Toji still committed a lot of awful acts, so he isn't a good person, either, but rather an antagonist.

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The appeal of Toji's character in Jujutsu Kaisen

Toji has several reasons why he became such a popular character in the series, one of them being his fighting style. Due to him not having Cursed Energy, he adapted with special weapons and his superhuman strength. Thus, he had a fighting approach that was quite unique to the point that author Gege Akutami repeated it with Maki Zen'in in the following arcs.

Furthermore, Toji had a very good design and was a brilliant foil to the likes of Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto. On paper, these were two Special Grade sorcerers who should wipe the floor with the former Zen'in member. Still, Toji relied on strategy and planning to get the upper hand, which is quite telling when fighting Gojo because only Ryomen Sukuna would manage to defeat the white-haired sorcerer in future arcs.

Plus, his connection to Megumi Fushiguro due to him being the latter's father was also another selling point. By the time Toji was introduced in the story, Megumi was a fairly beloved character in the fandom, so seeing who his father was was another element that made the latter more interesting.

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Final thoughts

Toji Fushiguro is probably not a villain in Jujutsu Kaisen because his actions in the Hidden Inventory arc were driven mostly to make money. However, he is still not a good person, and his impact on the story leads to many negative things in the development of several characters.