Gojo‘s past story arc is brought to a close in Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9 and readers finally see what prompted Geto to turn defect from the Academy. The popular Shonen Jump manga is by Gege Akutami, and centers on a group of teenage sorcerers attending Jujutsu High in Tokyo. Eager Yuji Itadori gets a death sentence put on his head after swallowing the finger of special grade curse Sukuna and merging with him. He bargains to get the sentence postponed while he attends the academy and learns to fight curses. Volume 9 is published in English by VIZ Media under their Shonen Jump imprint. It is translated by Stefan Koza and lettered by Snir Aharon; with design by Joy Zhang, edited by John Bae and has Erika Onabe.
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Megumi’s father, Toji Fushiguro, is fulfilling his title of “sorcerer killer” by running Gojo through with a sword. In contrast to his extremely gifted son, Toji doesn’t have any cursed energy, so he was shunned by the Zen’in family. In retaliation, he honed his senses to the point where he couldn’t be detected by jujutsu sorcerers, and became the sorcerer killer. He can however, use cursed tools, and it leads to Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9 having some of the more interesting fight sequences in the series. Toji uses everything from swords on chains to a gun. Because of the way his cursed inventory curls around him (yup, you read that right) the art can get a little bit crowded, and it takes a panel two to adjust to the change in fighting style. However, it is more than worth it.
Toji’s resentment towards the gifted jujutsu sorcerers opens up a much greater discussion about the world of the series. It was alluded to briefly last volume, but becomes much more clear here. While jujutsu sorcerers protect non-jujutsu sorcerers, many view the latter as lesser beings to them. The protection is out of a sense of duty and superiority, rather than goodwill. Geto is a fascinating villain for this series, because of his descent. Geto disagreed with Gojo’s apathy towards non-jujutsu sorcerers. However, the trauma he suffers due to this mission leads him to question everything. It makes complete sense. It is also even more fascinating that his defection was spurred on by Gojo, albeit unintentionally.
Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9 will be a treat for Gojo fans. His arrogance is profound, to the point of madness even. It makes the beloved teacher more than a little disturbing. Readers ultimately will root for him, but it is the mark of a good story that it makes us question it for a moment. A lot of Volume 9 really illustrates the repercussions of the jujutsu sorcerers’ traditions. Geto’s defection and Gojo’s madness are stark reminders that majority of the characters in the manga are in their teens or early twenties, and have been required to fight at a young age. They have watched friends die in horrific ways, and while Geto’s actions are inexcusable…it definitely reads as though the higher ups reaped what they sowed.
Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9 is a great wrap up of the flashback to Gojo’s student years. It provides a grim insight into how two major players got to where they are. It also makes readers question who they are rooting for at times, which make for an incredibly compelling read on top of all the fantastic action.
Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9 goes on sale April 6th, 2021 wherever books are sold.
Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9
TL;DR
Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 9 is a great wrap up of the flashback to Gojo’s student years. It provides a grim insight into how two major players got to where they are. It also makes readers question who they are rooting for at times, which make for an incredibly compelling read on top of all the fantastic action.
