Jujutsu Kaisen has got to be one of the best anime shows released in recent years and there’s one major reason for that—the characters. Gege Akutami’s manga is rich in world-building and filled with interesting characters, so let’s devote some time to one particularly kick-ass group: the women.
Things can get a little dicey when it comes to female characters in manga and anime, with many of them being drawn and written as, to put it bluntly, typical male fantasies. So when an anime comes along that does a decent job in its portrayal of women, it seems almost refreshing. Jujutsu Kaisen may still have the typical shonen male lead and a host of powerful male characters that tend to run the plot of the story along, but the female characters are powerful in their own rights, as well as complex and nuanced.
Here we will look at the best female characters from the anime and movie.
8. Momo Nishimiya
Momo is a student at the Kyoto branch of Jujutsu High who has a distinctly witchy look about them, opting for a long black dress and a broom. The broom allows her to take an aerial advantage and act as a scout for her team, whilst also generating strong winds when she whips it. She left a lot to be desired when we first met her, as she plotted to kill Yuji along with the other Kyoto students.
However, we come to realize just how strong and self-possessed she is as a sorcerer, determined to show just how strong women sorcerers can be. She is loyal and passionate and an enormous team player, working with her fellow sorcerers to achieve the end goal.
10. Riko Amanai
As one of the rare Star Plasma Vessels, a woman able to merge with Tengen to continue their immortality, Riko had resigned herself to her fate. Star Plasma Vessels essentially lose themselves during the merger, making them essentially sacrifices.
Despite her fate, Riko takes everything in her stride, even taking some pride in the task she must accomplish. She proves herself to be a cheerful, opinionated, and social character, one who simply wishes to have stronger connections with others. When she realizes this, she decides not to merge with Tengen, but just as she turns away she is executed at long range by Toji Fushiguro.
8. Shoko Ieiri
Without this woman, many of the characters would have perished long ago. Shoko is gifted with a rare skill that not even Satoru could perform, a reversed curse technique that allows her to treat wounds of varying severity, including regrowing limbs. She is also a doctor, allowing her to combine real medicine with jujutsu sorcery.
She goes about her role calmly and methodically and is an enormously valuable member of Jujutsu High, who keeps her out of battles where she can do more good by healing those brought to her.
7. Mei Mei
Mei Mei is a Grade One sorcerer, able to keep her cool as she battles against powerful special-grade curses. She is a classic femme fatale figure and goes about despatching her enemies without showing any sign of emotion, whipping her scythe around to slice through any who are foolish enough to get close to her. Her use of manipulating crows to have them act as scouts and as weapons is also pretty awesome.
Mei Mei is extremely money-focused, only getting out of bed to work if she is offered monetary compensation, making her seem a little cold and calculating at times, she even left during the Shibuya Incident despite the ongoing fighting. Mei Mei would have been higher on our list if it wasn’t for this and her creepy and borderline abusive relationship with her younger brother Ui Ui.
6. Yuki Tsukumo
She may not have been seen much during the anime, but this super-powered sorcerer makes quite the scene when she does get the opportunity. She is bold, outspoken, and comfortable in herself, even if that makes others uncomfortable. She split from Jujutsu High to tackle curses her way, believing the school to be ineffective in its method.
She is one of the strongest sorcerers in the story, one of the four special grad sorcerers who possesses extremely unorthodox abilities as well as extreme skill in hand-to-hand combat. We cannot wait to see more of this woman’s strength and abilities on screen.
5. Kasumi Miwa
Kasumi is a truly sweet and likable character, being one of the more normal jujutsu sorcerers that we get to meet in the show. She works hard to become stronger so she can support her friends and her two younger brothers. Kasumi wishes to overcome her weaknesses to help others and prove herself worthy of the title of sorcerer.
Her relationship with Mechamaru is extremely sweet, and her grief over losing him makes her an extremely sympathetic character. Despite her loss, she still joins in the fight during the Shibuya incident showing true dedication and guts.
4. Utahime Iori
Utahime is Kyoto Jujutsu High’s student supervisor, and as such has authority over the students from the school. Being able to balance being cool with being tough, Utahime commands the respect of her students who look up to their teacher. However, her calm nature appears to dissipate whenever she is around Satoru, who just loves to push her buttons to get a rise out of her. Satoru may be powerful, but he doesn’t scare Utahime, who pours a cup of hot tea on him after he pushes her a little too far.
On top of her duties, Utahime loves to have fun, whether at karaoke, through sports, or simply drinking quite a lot of beer.
3. Mai Zenin
The younger twin sister of Maki, Mai was born with cursed energy but that doesn’t mean she had the best time of it either. Though she may not have undergone the same treatment as Maki she was still considered below par by her family’s standards. Unlike Maki, Mai was content to let her family control her and would get on with chores and whatever else was asked of her. When Maki rebelled though, it was Mai who was punished, with her family forcing her down the path of becoming a jujutsu sorcerer.
Because of this, Mai became an irritable and frustrated individual, turning her anger on others, especially her sister. Despite her rude personality, Mai does appear to care for her peers at the Kyoto branch.
2. Maki Zenin
Despite a cruel upbringing at the hands of her family, Maki is an extraordinary individual having overcome prejudice, abuse, and her own limitations as a sorcerer. Maki was born without any cursed technique, or even the ability to see curses, but despite that she trained harder than anyone to prove herself a capable jujutsu sorcerer.
She is incredibly headstrong, focused, and extremely skilled but it often makes her seem cold-hearted and sometimes even cruel. She has no patience for those she deems much weaker than her and even calls Satoru a moron due to his over-the-top goofy behavior, but once she connects with people, she will route for them all the way.
1. Nobara Kugisaki
She may not be the most powerful female character, but she has been one of the series’ central protagonists so far. No matter what enemies she faces, whether they are clearly stronger than her or not, she stares them down and takes them on. Nobara is focused on her goal of becoming a powerful sorcerer and is extremely headstrong, sometimes to the point of arrogance, but her confidence in her abilities is astounding.
As well as this, Nobara is funny, acting up with Itadori, easily baited into an argument, and extremely proud which can make her a little abrasive at first. Once you get to know her and get on her good side, she reveals a rarely seen sweet side showing herself to be loyal and kind. Nobara has an unshakeable core and throughout the anime stays true to her principles and who she is.
What do you think of this list? Let us know!
(featured image: MAPPA)
