Suguru Geto: A Brief Analysis
Suguru Geto: Descending a stairway of madness
Jujutsu Kaisen
Shounen media has produced so many infamous villains in the past few decades. Every Shounen manga/anime must have at least one villain that will always be the talk in the best villain discussion. I have seen many shows with unique villains, but honestly, I can’t seem to name the perfect one. There are a lot of good villains in Shounen, and their impact on pop culture is worth mentioning, such as Madara, Aizen, Yhwach, Meruem, Eren, and many more. But right now, we will talk about Suguru Geto from Jujutsu Kaisen, arguably one of the best villains in Shounen media.
Jujutsu Kaisen was first adapted to anime in 2020 and has become a sensation ever since. While Jujutsu Kaisen is still considered new, its impact is incredibly tremendous. It became one of the highest-selling comics in 2022. Jujutsu Kaisen’s first film, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, was released in 2021, introducing its villain, Suguru Geto. His past later being explored in Hidden Inventory Arcs, anime’s season 2. Despite several villains from Jujutsu Kaisen, Suguru Geto remains the best in the universe. What makes him a great villain? The vivid portrayal of his declining sanity? How does Jujutsu Kaisen vividly portray his sufferings? Let’s delve into Suguru Geto’s journey to madness and disdain toward humanity.
Suguru Geto Background
Suguru did not have abusive parents or traumatic childhood experiences; the show did not give that impression. He was a villain, not because of his past; his hate against humanity wasn’t caused by people who did him wrong as a child. I think that’s what made him interesting.
Suguru Geto differs from your typical traditional Shounen villains. He’s strong and powerful but not necessarily the most powerful character in the show. He’s smart but not the smartest. So why does everyone like him? Aside from his looks and gorgeous hair, the way Gege Akutami described him was perfect. The process of Suguru Geto turning into a genocidal maniac was delivered impeccably in manga and was adapted perfectly into animation. Every manga panel and every anime frame tells implicit stories, a metamorphosis of Suguru Geto, slowly peeling off his skin, layer by layer, until the new being appears. Every little detail of him is like puzzle pieces that finally complete itself and reveal a bigger picture. There’s something about his depiction of madness and his journey. His journey from a kind, compassionate, true humanist into a genocidal priest consumed by rage and loathing toward humanity.
Descending a stairway of madness
Suguru Geto wasn’t evil at first. In the early Hidden Inventory arc (season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen), Suguru is portrayed as kind and has a positive view of humanity. He believed the gifted (Jujutsu Sorcerers) were responsible for protecting the weak (defenseless humans). In a way, it looks like Suguru Geto is an embodiment of a maternal figure, always caring and taking care of everyone around him, but that’s also the thing that will eat him slowly from inside.
It all started with a mission. The mission he received directly from the higher-ups was to protect a young girl named Riko Amanai. She was supposed to be the new vessel for Jujutsu High’s immortal being, Lord Tengen. Lord Tengen is an immortal sorcerer and the protector of Jujutsu High, but the price of his immortality is his mental-state dissipation; even though he’s immortal, at a certain point, his body will make adjustments so it can maintain its immortality, and that includes the erasure of his true identity. In order to maintain both his consciousness and immortal body, he needs a new vessel every once in a while. Riko Amanai was the perfect fit for Tengen. However, there’s a big problem; there are cult groups who believe that Lord Tengen’s immortality must be preserved in its purest form, which means they want Lord Tengen to be in a state where he lost his origin consciousness. A being that is Lord Tengen in appearance but without Lord Tengen’s consciousness. Thus, he and Satoru Gojo were given a mission to protect Riko Amanai from the cult groups that wanted her dead.
During his mission with Satoru to protect Riko Amanai, he was emotionally invested and empathic toward Riko. He cared for seemingly exhausted Gojo because he stayed up all night for a few days to watch Riko. He was willing to abandon the mission so Riko could live the dream life she wished for. That is, until she was shot in the head by Toji Fushiguro, an assassin who was hired to kill Riko. Suguru watched as her life was taken abruptly in front of him.
This incident is the beginning of Suguru Geto’s decline in sanity; it put a heavy toll on Suguru’s psyche. Even after quite some time after the event, he was still in awe and was seen grieving. We can see how he became skinnier, and his eyebags became more visible. His shirt looked loose, which indicated he lost some weight. The anime did the scenes justice; Suguru was depicted as someone who’s tormented. He constantly wondered about his view and whether his way of living was correct. He became distant from his friends, Satoru Gojo and Shoko Ieiri. At a certain point, he was sick of swallowing curses, which, in his opinion, ‘taste horrible.’ Who did he do this for? Human? The same human who clapped and was joyful at the sight of the dead Riko Amanai? The one thing he fought and swore to protect betrayed him.
Later, he met a powerful sorcerer, Yuki Tsukumo. Yuki Tsukumo is one of a few special-grade sorcerers from Jujutsu High. She sparked a significant conversation with Suguru about how flawed the way Jujutsu High handled problems (protecting humans from curse spirits). Rather than solving the issue’s root, Jujutsu High only focused on treating the symptoms. She wanted to find a way to eradicate the whole problem instead of focusing on sub-problems. Yuki claimed there are two ways that humans could be protected against cursed spirits: first, to erase humans/ cursed energy, and second, to make humans able to control their curse energy. However, Suguru Geto thought of another radical alternative idea: to kill all the non-sorcerers and create a world that could handle cursed spirits. Later on, this would be the base of his belief. He was wavering at the thought of that radicalized idea, but he still held his old belief dearly.
Nails on the coffin
Not enough misery to put on Suguru, Gege Akutami decided to give him another traumatic event to drive him to the edge of the cliff, which is the demise of Yui Habara. Yui Habara is the friend of Nanami Kento and Suguru Geto’s junior, a freshman who got killed due to a fight with a mighty curse above his grade while on a mission. Suguru already looked numb in front of the lifeless body of his junior.
Sometime later, Suguru was sent to a village to investigate the occurrence of a curse. After asking around the locals, he was brought to a particular isolated place where he saw two little girls were severely injured and imprisoned. He found out that a pair of twins was caged and tortured. The villagers blamed them for the existence of curses that ravaged the village. They thought the twins’ power attracted curses to the village. He was in awe, surprised, and confused about why two little girls were in such conditions. This was his breaking point. This was the time he jumped off the cliff of his well-being. He decided to massacre an entire village (112 people) with his curse manipulation and adopted the two little girls, Mimiko & Nanako. This was the moment of clarity for Suguru Geto when he saw the two little girls, it almost feel like he already knew what to do. His monstrosity wasn’t necessary, but he did it anyway. He even went as far as to kill his parents to prove his point.
After the incident, Suguru seemed to be in better condition (or at least physically). He even met with his former friend Shouko Ieiri and chatted briefly. He admitted that it was really him who did the massacre. After that, Shoko called Satoru Gojo to tell him she had met with Geto. They later met each other. Satoru Gojo, who couldn’t believe what he did, demanded an explanation from him, but all Suguru gave him was vague philosophical answers.
In the end, Suguru lost the battle with himself, and in exchange for his sanity, he gained a rotten sense of humanity. A series of unfortunate events hit him, and finally, his mind couldn’t take it anymore. He ended up despising the people he had sworn to protect. He forged a new path based on his anger towards humans. His descent into madness, his struggle with the ideals he always dreamed of. Thus, the death and the birth of Suguru Geto.
