Los villanos más grandes de Jujutsu Kaisen tienen competencia después del estreno del anime en la primavera de 2024

Dado que la industria del anime a menudo profundiza en géneros de fantasía y, a veces, de ciencia ficción, no todos los personajes serán humanos. Si bien la suposición de monstruos solía presentarse bajo una luz negativa y espantosa, cada vez hay más personajes no humanos que debutan con una sorprendente cantidad de toque humano. Hay muchos héroes no humanos en el anime que rompen el tropo de los monstruos, pero los monstruos antagonistas y los villanos a menudo todavía están atrapados en el mismo tropo.

Estos personajes a menudo son representados como completamente carentes de humanidad porque no son humanos y hacen cosas malas. No hay mucha historia sobre villanos monstruosos con matices, pero entre las series que han desafiado el tropo, la más grande es Jujutsu Kaiseno JJK para abreviar. Los principales villanos de la franquicia sorprendieron a los espectadores con capas de personalidad y motivaciones comprensivas, humanizando a los monstruos de una manera nunca antes hecha. Los fanáticos de JJK pueden sorprenderse al saber que ya ha debutado una nueva serie con un enfoque similar. para personajes monstruosos.

Los espíritus malditos de grado especial de Jujutsu Kaisen agregaron una nueva capa a los monstruosos villanos

• Al clasificar a los espíritus malditos, cuanto menor es el número, más débiles son.
• Los mismos términos de clasificación se utilizan para Jujutsu Sorcerers y sus armas malditas.
• Las blancas son inferiores a las notas.

*=quotes are from episode 4 of season 1

Like many supernatural shonen anime, Jujutsu Kaisen at a glance is about a superpowered human alliance — Jujutsu Sorcerers — fighting against monsters known as cursed spirits. In episode one, the protagonist Yuji fights against these horrific mindless creatures to protect his high school friends. Through the first five episodes of season one, the viewer learns about cursed spirits, the danger they cause for humanity, and how dangerous they can be with a tiered ranking system.

Among the strongest cursed spirits are the Special Grades, but in episode 7 and beyond the main cast is surprised to find a growing number of them with intelligence and human personalities. JJK’s most intriguing detail is its approach to villain characters in general. Though their intentions against humanity are undoubtedly heinous, the way they are humanized and deeply developed with sympathetic motivations makes it hard to completely hate all of them — the one exception of course being the villain Mahito.

There are moments throughout the anime, especially in season 2, where the villains Jogo and Hanami are struggling for their earnest causes that at least push the viewer to want more for them. These villains are depicted with needs of their own, which is what gives their motivations a sympathetic touch. As far as villains go, this is excellent and intriguing writing at hand, but the fact that these are essentially monster characters adds a nuance to the monster villain trope.

Kaiju No. 8 Has The Potential To Change Up The Formula

• Kaiju are classified based on their size and power levels. Small Kaiju are called «Yoju»; large Kaiju are called «Honju.» The third classification is «Daikaiju,» which is a special category reserved for Kaiju that exceed a fortitude power level of 8.
• Fortitude is ranked 1-10, with 10 being the most powerful level of Kaiju.
• In the manga, there are 15 Kaiju that have been ranked.

Following the shonen trend, Kaiju No. 8 is about a superpowered human alliance — the Defense Force — fighting against monsters known as Kaiju. Kaiju No. 8‘s human characters are interesting to watch in battle considering their strength technically comes from the enemy. After putting on specially designed combat suits, they can channel the superhuman strength of Kaiju. At first, this appears to be the most complex part of the battle against Kaiju since most of these creatures are mindless killing machines.

In a twisted poetic sense, Kaiju are more like the natural disasters that plague Japan in real life. However, the protagonist Kafka Hibino’s transformation into a humanoid Kaiju and the sudden existence of other humanoid Kaiju, are a huge twist in the plot and the monster villain trope. It comes as a huge surprise for the main cast, but on top of dealing with overwhelming strength from Kaiju, they have to worry about intelligence and human-like moitvations as well.

The Defense Force lucks out with Kafka as he gradually uses his powers for good, but two major villains pose unique threats to humanity’s survival. Episode 4 debuts the recurrent villain, Kaiju No. 9, who takes the intelligence and appearance of the humans they consume. Combat-wise, No. 9’s threat doesn’t last for long and its intelligence apears to be limited so far, but there’s a dangerous potential in this villain.

In the latter half of season one, the most powerful villain makes its debut. The Defense Force is used to Kaiju that use very basic military strategies, but episode nine shows how one intelligent Kaiju can reshape lesser Kaiju into a formidable army. This is what Kaiju No. 10 does during the Tachikawa base raid. Its military-grade leadership pushes the Defense Force further than they’ve ever been pushed. Even by itself, No. 10’s aggressive desire to fight the strongest opponent is almost a direct hit on the heart of the base. If Vice Captian Soshiro Hoshina didn’t survive his battle against No. 10, the Defense Force would have crumbled.

Non-Human Antagonists Are Usually Flat, With One Classic Exception

Monster antagonists are pretty common in anime, but they rarely become layered characters let alone major villains. Two major examples of the monster antagonist trope in anime are Nomus from My Hero Academia and Titans from Attack On Titan. Older fans may already be aware that there is one precursor to this rising trend of layered monster villains.

Nomus and Titans Reflect the More Traditional View of Monsters

In My Hero Academia, the bioengineered Nomus are mindless soldiers to be used by the villains. They definitely pack a punch and a couple of them take part in the most intense battles of the franchise — one against Endeavor in season 4, the other involving Mirko and other Pro Heroes in season 6. Outside of battle Nomus are easily forgettable. They don’t make decisions that alter the plot like the major villains, and they have no personality or thoughts of their own to make them more layered.

With a little more nuance to the involvement of monsters, Attack On Titan’s title monsters have a little motivation because some of them are actually human. Humans like Eren, Annie, and Reiner, to name a few, can transform into the giant monsters to land overwheling attacks. The humans who remember the experiences of being in the Titan form are rare, so actual control over the Titan form is often questionable. It’s more likely that a human transforming into a Titan has a high risk of losing control of themselves in the heat of battle. The message in this series is that becoming a monster means losing ones humanity.

Bleach’s Espada Characters Are A Beloved And Interesting Part of The Classic Franchise

• The levels of Hollows are as follows: Hollow, Arrancar, Espada, with the Espada being the strongest.
• Espada translated from Spanish means «Sword», but translated from Japanese means «Ten Blades.»

Though JJK and Kaiju No. 8 have a wonderful twist on monster characters, they are not the first series to do that. Airing in 2004, the series Bleach opens with the basic premise of a superpowered alliance — the Shinigami — fighting against monsters known as Hollows, the main difference is the lack of human involvement in the war. In the same way that JJK and Kaiju No. 8 surprised its main cast with villain monsters, Bleach did the same with the sudden appearance of the Espada.

Debuting in season four, the existence of Arrancar is discovered with the appearance of the Espada. Arrancar are Hollows who have removed their masks to acquire the powers of both Shinigami and Hollow. The top 10 strongest Arrancar are grouped under the name Espada. These 10 individuals become major villains throughout the next several seasons, many with their own personalities and motivations, like any other human. They may not be as humanized as JJK’s Special Grade Cursed Spirits, or as immediately influential as Kaiju No. 8‘s Daikaiju, but the Espada are the earliest example of cleverly-written monster villains.

Jujutsu Kaisen Has The Better Monster Villains, But That Could Change With Kaiju No. 8’s Second Season

JJK’s Special Grades Break The Mold Of What A Villain Looks Like

Among the biggest conversations that JJK stirred, the Special Grade villains caused a huge commotion in the community. This is becuase the creators poured so much time into developing these characters and at times almost making them out to be heroes. A blur of morals is the recent trend in anime and the characters Jogo, Hanami, and even Mahito blur what is right and wrong. Despite their actions, they do have likable personality traits, a reflection of how complexly humanized they are.

Even as far as the heroes, Gojo has some intense villain moments, especially during his fight against Jogo and Hanami. Sometimes, the heroes are a challenge to root for — this is more towards the older Sorcerers. This blur of morals and huge question of how to find peace in war is an added complication when the labelled villains — the Special Grades — are so well-developed and sympathetic. This was a detail of the series that few fans could have expected, since the monster enemies are usually created without much nuance.

Kaiju No. 8 Portrays Its Layered Villains With An Air Of Mystery And Potential

Comparing the Special Grades with the Daikaiju villains, the latter pales in comparison. The problem is that Kaiju No. 8 doesn’t focus much on the villains or antagonists for that matter, but that’s because its taking more time on the human characters. The villain Kaiju No. 9 appears to be growing in strength and intelligence, so a season two could see more development for this character.

The first season of Kaiju No. 8 left many details a mystery, including the presence and threat of the intelligent Daikaiju. The final episode hints that No. 9 will continue to be a recurrent villain, potentially growing into more of a threat if the Defense Force doesn’t exterminate them first. If No. 9 continues to grow, that could mean better character development for another monster villain. The series has a very slow approach to developing plot and characters, so in time there is a possibility that it could grow into a better series than JJK.

Jujutsu Kaisen has the most well-written and nuanced villains in anime, and by extension breaks the stereotype that non-human villains are just killing machines. The Special Grade Cursed Spirits are surprisingly beautiful characters who are fighting for what they believe in. Following in this trend of nuanced monsters, Kaiju No. 8 has immense potential to do the same with its Daikaiju villains, who already show intriguing intelligence and impact on the plot. These franchises may not be the first to break the mindless monster trope — the first being Bleach — but the evolution of monster characters is an exciting twist in the anime narrative.