Hidden Inventory
This arc follows Satoru Gojo during the year 2006 back when he was a second-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Together with Suguru Geto, Satoru must escort the Star Plasma Vessel to Master Tengen as curse user groups conspire against them.
Tropes associated with Gojo's Past Arc:
- An Aesop:
- Being the strongest doesn't mean you're fine with being alone and having no friends at all, and having great power comes with great responsibility that must be accepted, less the strongest become overwhelmed by their power and care for nothing but themselves. Satoru starts the majority of the arc being arrogant and overconfident because he has no equal aside from Suguru and believes there is no point in protecting humanity at all, and only becomes the humbled, dedicated, and genuine teacher that he is in the present after losing Riko and Geto.
- Regardless of your power, personality, and composure, experiencing the feelings of grief can be overwhelming at first sight, and how the person with power takes it depends on their state of mind and heart and can easily vary. Not opening up about your traumas are also unhealthy and can lead to the person who suffered to go off the slippery slope. Both Suguru and Satoru did their jobs as Jujutsu Sorcerers but they have never really gotten attached to anyone they protected before until Riko Amanai came along. Her sudden death and their helplessness to save her was the first time they felt genuine deep-rooted sorrow and anguish, and tragically causes them to become the people we know in 0.
- Any Last Words?: Gojo says this to Toji after killing. At first Toji declines, but then he thinks of something to say to his assassin.Toji: Two or three years from now, my son will be sold to the Zen'in Clan. Make what you will of that.
- Became Their Own Antithesis:
- Satoru, having previously never cared for anyone before and only did his duty as a sorcerer because it helped him prove he was the strongest, finally realizes how valuable and important humanity and responsibility truly are and dedicates himself to honoring Amanai’s memory by being more sociable and dutifully protecting the "weak people" he previously didn't give a damn about.
- Alternatively, Suguru, who was previously a moral man, became disillusioned seeing the cruelty of the Star Plasma Group and unlike Satoru, who opens himself up more, Suguru instead becomes more isolated in his grief. Subsequently, Satoru remains on the good side and expresses genuine horror at Suguru for wanting to eliminate all non-sorcerers.
- Badass Normal: Toji Fushiguro, the Arc Villain, to a greater extent than Maki.
- Barrier Maiden: Master Tengen due to protecting the barriers of Jujutsu High.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Satoru spends most of the arc constantly making it clear he wants nothing more but to be the strongest, and he was arrogant enough to not even want to protect humanity. By the end of the arc, he gets his wish, but at a very severe cost to himself: His best friend and someone who he genuinely saw as an equal ended up being isolated due to Satoru now being stronger than him and ultimately fell because Satoru just couldn't be there for him anymore. Satoru also only earned that power after he lost to someone who relies on a completely ordinary skillset and failed to save someone he was possibly in love with, meaning he realizes how important humanity truly was only when he's lived to suffer the feelings of remorse and regret of failing the people he cared for. This is clearly the reason why he now seeks to shape the next generation into as much as possible being capable of working alongside him and for the ones with the right gift, becoming his equal, and his constant desire to unite the new generation of Jujutsu sorcerers, having lived to regret how it sucks to be alone and isolated independence is very unhealthy.
- Bittersweet Ending: The whole arc is what transforms Satoru from an arrogant young student who doesn't even see any need in protecting humanity to the responsible teacher who seeks to reform the Jujutsu world we all know and love, but in return, Satoru loses the dearest things to him in process: Riko Amanai, someone who he may or may not have feelings for dies, the first normal human he genuinely cared for, the grief and helplessness he feels being what shatters his self-importance and humbles him to finally being dedicated to protecting "weak people". And as Foregone Conclusion mandates, Suguru Geto, Satoru's best friend, snaps from the death of Riko and the trauma he suffered from the Time Vessel Association's cruelty and becomes the threat we see in 0, forcing Satoru to kill him himself. The ending of the arc shows this clearly: Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi wake Satoru up from his sleep, revealing most of what we see of this arc is Satoru remembering the good times he had with Suguru and Riko, and the solemn smile he shows makes it clear he still hasn't forgotten everything he's been through that lead to him becoming the person that he is now, but then he looks at his students and the arc ends with him giving a sincere smile, showing that he's hopeful for the future and his goals of reforming the jujutsu world will continue on.
- A Day in the Limelight: As the arc name suggests, Satoru Gojo is given importance here.
- Foregone Conclusion: Anyone who has read/watched the 0 special will have a pretty good clue about what will happen here:
- Something will happen that will end the friendship between Satoru and Suguru, and Suguru will live on until Yuta fatally injures him and Satoru kills him for good.
- We all have seen the haughty but genuinely good and responsible teacher Satoru becomes in the present time, so we know something deeply changing will transform him from being overly self-important to a more humble and truly dedicated sorcerer he is now.
- And of course, Toji will fail to kill Gojo because he's still alive in Jujutsu Kaisen and 0.
- Hope Spot: Riko decides to reject being Tengen's vessel under encouragement of Geto, and deciding to live life her way. Enter Toji...
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: We've seen Gojo be angry, cold, and mocking at certain occasions, be it when Yuji died, when he's dealing with higher-ups, but never overly emotional. Nothing shows just how much Riko changed him that he goes from being uncaring towards the weak to being visibly heartbroken as he lifts her corpse and going as far as to say he wouldn't feel anything if he kills the Time Association applauding at her corpse. Likewise, how deep and sincere Satoru's friendship is with Suguru is clearly shown by his clear horror at Suguru's defection and near-desperation as he tries to reach out to his former friend.
- Power Incontinence: What threatens Master Tengen, unless a suitable vessel isn't brought to him.
- The Reveal: Megumi mentioned earlier his father sold him to the Zenin Family. This arc details how it all happened.
- Whole Episode Flashback: This arc takes place in 2006 and 2007, roughly a decade before the events of Chapter 1.
