About Yuta as a character
Jujutsu kaisen gives us 2 versions of yuta. Yuta in vol 0 and Yuta in main JJK series.
Yuta in JJK 0:
Yuta starts as someone without anyone or anything. One of his very first words to Gojo are about killing himself. He doesn’t have anyone close to him and he just wants to stop being a danger to random pepole and to stop his own pain. JJK 0 is about Yuta growing up. He makes his first friends (Maki, Inumaki, Panda, Gojo), he stops being a danger and hating himself for that. Since he started with nothing and only got friends, that also makes his friends the only thing he cares about. When geto tries to get him on his side he doesn’t support or oppose his radical idea UNTIL Geto becomes hostile towards Maki. He also doesn’t care about entire clan conflict. He supports Maki’s dream about taking over the Zenin Clan but ONLY becuse he cares about Maki herself. He has little to no regard about rest of the word, poltics or future of jujutsu socielity. This is honestly very intresting development that leaves a lot space for main JJK. Yuta can become both good and bad guy since the only thing he cares about are his friends and not socielity as a whole.
Perfect Preparation - the nothing arc:
Yuta doesnt get big upscale or downscale here. He is just introduced back to the story. Its fine choice for me, its a battle shounen so dont expect yuta getting character development in his first apperence.
Sendai Colony - The build up
Sendai gives us Yuta’s motivation. He wants to help gojo bear his pain and kill kenjaku, so Gojo doesnt have to kill Geto twice. Its honestly good starting point. It works with entire thing that yuta was in vol 0. Its just good start, some clear motivation. He still just cares about his friends and wants to help them, nice, very nice.
Pre-Shinjuku - the monster plotline:
One of Yuta’s main plotlines in main jjk is him wanting to become a monster. Its a continuation of his goal from sendai but expanded. He wants to become next Gojo to helps his friends and becuse its a right thing to do. Its honestly very intresting idea becuse its opposing Yuji’s main goal. Yuji wants to be usefull and die a good death surronded by friends, Yuta wants to live and bear others pain, the pain of being the strongest just like Gojo.
Kenjaku’s Execution - kinda works?
Yuta kills Kenjaku, but the execution is poor. The entire build up to Yuta killing Kenny was based on the fact that Yuta wants to do that so Gojo doesn’t have to do that. Killing him AFTER Gojo died kinda wastes the build up from sendai, but to some degree it fits into yuta taking gojo’s role so i can understand it, its not good but not bad either.
Sukuna vs Yuta - happened? Thats all?
Yuta has his fight against Sukuna and… it doesnt really bring much to the table. It doesnt progress sukuna, yuji or yuta himself. Its just there as a good fight and to make sukuna even weaker so the team can beat him later. Its just okay fight but its a wasted apperence of yuta that doesnt progress his character.
Yuta becomes Monster - action before reaction
Yuta takes over Gojo’s body to fight Sukuna. In a big action - reaction game we see the thing that will define yuta’s ending. He switches body and uses his sensei as a weapon. Its kinda… it kinda breaks the vol 0 concept of yuta seeing Gojo as a real friend and not just a weapon, smiliary to Geto but i can forget about it.
Post-Shinjuku - so…. This all was for nothing?
Yuta becomes the monster, the build up started in Sendai thanks to character development from vol 0… is wasted, forgoten and went to shit. Yuta takes no real consequences for all his actions. He doesnt die or stay in gojo’s body, Gege finds a way to allow yuta to stay alive and even swtich body after 5mm runs out. He also doesnt become an outcast, no one has a problem with it. He doesnt lose Rika, his power, his life, his body, his relationships… The entire narrative and Yuta’s only plotline, him becoming new Gojo and taking his pain was IGNORED. He does all the stuff he wanted gojo not to do but doesnt get a fraction of the pain Gojo had.
JJK Aftermacht and Modulo - ITS GETTING EVEN WORSEEEEEE
Yuji… who’s main plotline was to live a life withotu regret and not to die alone becomes immortal new gojo-like being… Menwhile yuta… gets ONLY FULLO CONFIRMED HAPPY ENDING. He marries to Maki, gets a free clan, lives a happy life, is rich and has chlidren… its one of most DOOGSHIT things this manga ever did. Yuta’s entire build up, his writing, his only and main plotline was ignored. It feels like Gege swapped Yuji’s and Yuta’s endings. This makes no sense. I say this again, this is most unfit, asspull character ending out of all the JJK character’s endings. Even pepole like Kashimo, Geto or even freaking Reggie star got more fit ending. I wont even compare this to Mahito or Nanami becuse its a joke. Yuta takes no consequences, doesnt bear the pain he was supposed to bear the Gojo’s pain of being the strongest and he just… doesn’t do that. Yuta’s entire character development from CG Arc and Vol 0 was wasted on aura farming, hype figths and upscales AND disney ass ending for Geges fav character.
Conclusion:
Yuta really is an intrestinc character at the start. He has character development, he gows up, gets new goals in life but its all fully ignored by Gege the closer we get to the ending. He gets good ending as one of the few characters who SHOULDN’T HAVE. I can say it with all its consequences, if we ignore vol 0 KASHIMO is more consistent character than Yuta. The only thing that Yuta has above kashimo is having a fully original concept for character arc (insted of Kashimo being other variation of ,,the strongest’’) and more hype moments and upscales. Thats all.
This is my private reason why its so hard for me to like Yuta. He gets all the upscales, all the hype, all the build up but it just ends horrible. Gege made him his pet and its his biggest problem.