Many are calling Fushiguro Toji a “chad” for going out in front of his son without explaining who he really was. Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 has no fillers, and episode 16 starts with an iconic fight from the manga—among other explosive scenes.
Spoilers ahead for Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, episode 16!
Elsewhere in Shibuya, Ryomen Sukuna and Jogo were in an all-out battle to the death to see who’d live to be the strongest. The fate of the group that Megumi was separated from after being attacked by Toji is still unclear in this episode, leaving Megumi to fend for himself against the mysterious man endowed with unusual levels of physical strength.
Toji is so cool that he even has his own Matrix scene when he kills off a swarm of rabbit shikigami released by Megumi. Toji, who long passed on, is reanimated by Granny Ogami through her cursed technique. Unfortunately for her, Toji’s body is too strong for her to control; he takes charge and kills Ogami. That doesn’t mean that Toji remembers everything—all that’s left of him is his unusual strength and an insatiable bloodlust.
What could possibly go wrong when a man who has “Heavenly Restriction” is revived without memories? His indiscriminate killing in Shibuya is a good, short answer. It’s not all bad, since his search for the strongest curse or person near him leads him to Dagon, who is about to kill Nanami Kento, Zenin Maki and Naobito, and Fushiguro Megumi. He technically saves them and manages to give Naobito a shock. Maki, in particular, is surprised that Toji was able to take the Playful Cloud away from her grip since she’s physically the strongest in the Zenin Clan.
He could’ve stopped after defeating Dagon, but Toji’s bloodlust naturally leads him to target who his instincts deem to be the strongest in the room. It’s rotten luck that it’s his own son, Megumi. Toji essentially chases him all over Shibuya and exhausts Megumi’s ability to fight through hand-to-hand combat and his shikigami. If Megumi hadn’t gotten up close to Toji by blocking his own father’s attempt to stab him, then Toji probably wouldn’t have remembered his son at all.
In a brief instance, Toji regains some of his memories. He recalls how he “sold” Megumi to his own clan in hopes of giving his son a better life as a cursed technique user. Toji quickly leaps away and asks his son what name he went by. When Megumi responds with “Fushiguro,” Toji is greatly relieved that Megumi kept his mother’s last name. Toji proceeds to take his own life in order to protect his son.
Megumi always operated under the assumption that his father didn’t care about him and abandoned him for no good reason. He even thought that his father gave him the name “Megumi” because he didn’t care what his gender would be when he was born, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Toji gave Megumi his name because he considered his son to be a blessing to him, and perhaps it’s telling that Toji ultimately rejected his blessing because he didn’t feel deserving.
Toji’s definitely not a great dad for not sticking around, but he was an assassin for hire who understood that his son’s potential would be wasted because of him. If only he stuck around longer to explain all this to a bewildered Megumi—before he unknowingly witnessed his father’s death.
(featured image: MAPPA)
