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Riko Amanai changed Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru's lives forever in Jujutsu Kaisen. They went in polar opposite directions because of her being in their lives. What started out as a job, albeit an extremely important one, turned into a life-changing event for all involved and set the stage for the events of the series.
The story of Jujutsu Kaisen involves more characters apart from Geto and Gojo, each with their own importance. For a character that only appears in one arc, Riko Amanai's life had further reaching consequences for Jujutsu Kaisen's story than most fans would think.
Disclaimer: The following article contains major spoilers for Gojo's Past arc in Jujutsu Kaisen's anime and manga. The opinions in this article solely belong to the writer.
Riko Amanai's life and impact on Jujutsu Kaisen
Tengen's vessel
What little is known about Riko Amanai's early life, other than her parents dying when she was four years old, is that she was raised by her caretaker Misato Kuroi. They grew incredibly close, as Misato cared for Riko to the point of defending her multiple times even against Toji Fushiguro.
When Gojo and Geto met her, Riko was a high school student with aspirations of her own. Being the Star Plasma Vessel for Master Tengen was always on her mind and she gleefully accepted the assimilation with Tengen. She even boasted about it to Gojo and Geto when they first met, to no effect as they ignored her.
Doubt, however, crept into her mind as Jujutsu Kaisen's Gojo's Past arc played out. She knew she was special ever since she was a kid. It was lonely, but bearable since she realized that nobody would miss her. It led to her, as the anime chose to symbolize it, feeling trapped underwater with nobody able to hear her.
A change of heart
Riko Amanai was feisty, outspoken, and genuinely believed herself to be Tegen's new vessel. She didn't go around advertising it, but she really wanted it at first because she felt like she was alone in the world. Then her life began spiraling out of control: her school was attacked, she was the target of assassinations multiple times, and Misato got kidnapped.
Eventually, she began to see that she wasn't alone. Gojo and Geto became friends with her and she revealed that she considered Misato her family. The extended time in Okinawa also helped to let her relax, reflect, and be a kid. She especially wanted to say goodbye to Misato before the assimilation. She broke down and expressed her love to her before heading to the assimilation grounds.
When they were finally at the grounds, Geto gave her a choice to either proceed with the assimilation or turn back with him and live a regular life. Riko broke down and confessed her desire to live her life, see everything, and be with everyone longer. Tragically, she was killed by Toji Fushiguro as she was about to leave.
Impact on Geto
Gojo was considered too arrogant, and Geto too serious. Geto, however, gave Riko much more leeway and took on the assignment with far more seriousness than Gojo did. Geto promised Riko that she would be protected by him and Gojo no matter what future she chose while giving her that choice.
Riko was then shot and killed, Misato was seemingly killed, Gojo was defeated in a rather bloody fashion and left for dead, and Geto was similarly trounced by Toji. The first crack in Geto's unshakable belief in the goodness of humanity and protection of the weak manifested with Riko Amanai's death and seeing the Star Religious Group cheering on Riko's death.
Geto's misanthropy wouldn't explode into full hatred for humanity until a year later. It was over a number of things including Riko's death and Yu Haibara dying for a thankless populace. The final straw was choosing to massacre over a hundred people he had just saved, following learning that they abused two sorcerer girls.
Impact on Gojo
Gojo started out as an arrogant individual who didn't even bother to put a veil over a cursed spirit house during Jujutsu Kaisen's Gojo's Past arc. He constantly made jokes, treated Riko like she was a brat, and mocked Geto's ideals of the strong protecting the weak.
However, he showed how seriously he took life by keeping Infinity on at all hours, barely sleeping, and even came up with the idea of extending their stay in Okinawa for Riko's sake. He ended Toji's life in Riko Amanai's name and asked Geto if he wanted to kill the Star Religious Group as revenge. Critically, Geto refused, citing that jujutsu sorcerors needed reasons to take lives.
Gojo took that to heart. Though his pride and arrogance skyrocketed due to perfecting his reverse cursed technique, Riko Amanai's death profoundly shook him. Riko caused Gojo to be a better person, to see the 'weak' as people. It's why he was shaken by Geto's shift towards darkness, and adopted Megumi as his own.
Impact on Jujutsu Kaisen as a whole
Riko Amanai not only had a major impact on Geto and Gojo but was the catalyst for the entire story. While Tengen was able to stabilize following her death, several key pieces that affected Jujutsu Kaisen's story wouldn't have fallen into place had she managed to live.
Geto wouldn't have turned misanthropic and probably would've avoided death and possession by Kenjanku. Tengen partially merged with the world and is in a position to be absorbed by a curse, which may not have happened if Riko had lived. Gojo and Geto's rivalry wouldn't have exploded, and Gojo probably could've avoided being sealed in the Prison Realm.
Riko Amanai said that she wanted to see everything, so she didn't totally reject the possibility of being assimilated. She just wanted to live her life. Misato probably would've been right by her side, along with Geto and Gojo.
She's akin to Rin Nohara from Naruto, as her life and death impacted the entire story.
In the end, Riko Amanai doesn't deserve to be forgotten by Jujutsu Kaisen or its fans. Her life and death both had a massive impact on the narrative. She was a good friend and person, who deserved to choose her own path, and was cruelly killed before she could.
Geto and Gojo were never the same following that mission. Neither was Jujutsu Kaisen's entire story, as Geto's misanthropy led to him declaring war on all Jutjutsu sorcerers. This led to Geto's subsequent death at Gojo's hands.
