Jujutsu Kaisen: Is Sukuna one of the most misunderstood characters? 

Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, is arguably one of the most fascinating yet frustrating characters in Jujutsu Kaisen. From the moment Sukuna first appears, we know that we are dealing with someone different.

A thousand-year-old sorcerer-turned-curse, sealed away in twenty fingers, worshipped by curses and feared by the strongest sorcerers in the world, Sukuna’s mythos is heavy. Gojo, the strongest sorcerer alive, couldn’t even destroy his cursed finger. That’s how much weight Sukuna carries in this world.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, he wasn’t just a hidden boss waiting to awaken. He was the story in so many ways. His influence stretches from Yuji’s resurrection to Megumi’s downfall, and he dictated the rhythm of every arc after Shibuya. But for all that narrative presence, there’s an emptiness that lingers.

Sukuna is terrifying throughout Jujutsu Kaisen. He slaughters with precision, he toys with lives, and never apologizes for it. He’s the embodiment of cursed energy: rage, hate, and malice. The issue isn’t that Sukuna lacks depth; it’s that we were never witness to it.

There are glimpses that hint at him being betrayed, discarded, or isolated in his human days. Poetic lines spoken to the dead suggest more than just a bloodthirsty demon. But those moments are fleeting. They raise questions but never answer them.

In a story like Jujutsu Kaisen, a manga obsessed with trauma, humanity, and legacy, it feels like a missing puzzle piece. When villains like Mahito, Toji, and even Choso get layers peeled back, Sukuna remains distant. Symbolic. Powerful. Empty even?

There’s no denying that Sukuna is cool. His abilities are among the most diverse and destructive in the entire series. His domain expansion, Malevolent Shrine, is a work of genius. He uses Dismantle and Cleave like an artist uses a brush. After taking Megumi’s body, he elevates the Ten Shadows Technique to levels Megumi could never reach.

But for all his strength, Sukuna never felt human. And that’s the core of the debate. Characters like Meruem (Hunter x Hunter) or Griffith (Berserk) are just as monstrous, if not more. But their stories reveal the tragedy of their existence. Their motivations are complex, and their downfall hits hard. Sukuna, on the other hand, doesn’t get that same emotional investment.

He’s a force of nature more than a character. His only consistent trait is his disgust toward weakness. Even when he shows a rare flicker of respect, like when he compliments Jogo before killing him, it feels more like admiration for strength than any deeper connection.

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What was Sukuna really looking for?

Here’s where the misunderstanding might come in. People think Sukuna was just evil for evil’s sake. That he was a force of destruction with no rhyme or reason. But what if that’s not the full picture?

Sukuna respected strength and hated weakness. His philosophy wasn’t that of a tyrant; it was of a lonely god. Someone who stood at the peak for so long that everything beneath him looked pitiful. When Jogo fought him with courage, Sukuna complimented him. When Gojo fought him, Sukuna smiled.

Yorozu told him that ultimate strength brings ultimate solitude, and maybe that’s what Sukuna truly embodied: a god in search of an equal. His cruelty wasn’t just malice, but rather boredom. His indifference wasn’t emptiness; it was isolation. He wasn’t just looking to rule; he was looking to feel.

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Sukuna’s legacy in Jujutsu Kaisen: Power without purpose

Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen was misunderstood. He was a monster, yes. But not just a beast. He was a reflection of cursed energy’s purest form, unfiltered, unrepentant, chaotic. He didn’t crave power. He was powerful. But power without purpose is a tragedy. And that’s what Sukuna became.

In this series, he wasn’t evil like Geto, wasn’t twisted like Mahit, or wasn’t broken like Toji. He was simply there, always watching, killing, and waiting for a world that could give him meaning. His death wasn’t satisfying, but more in the lines of a whimper. And maybe that was the point. Maybe in Jujutsu Kaisen, he was never meant to be understood.

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Final thoughts

So, is Sukuna misunderstood in Jujutsu Kaisen? Yes, he is, but not in the way fans might think. The story has established that he is evil, but he is misunderstood in the sense that his narrative never gave us enough to fully understand why.

He showed flashes of philosophy and openly respected power, but we were never allowed to step into his mind. And maybe that’s why his character feels so hollow to some fans. Almost tragic. Almost mythic. Alas, the story didn’t give us the final pieces.