Spoiler-light: roles and first impressions only. No deaths or late twists are named.
Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 2018–2024, 30 volumes; English edition by VIZ Media) has a large cast, but you only need a handful of names to follow the anime or start the manga.
The first-years
- Yuji Itadori — a kind, physically absurd teenager who swallows Sukuna’s finger and is sentenced to death, with the execution postponed. His rule is simple: help people die surrounded by others, not alone.
- Megumi Fushiguro — the quiet one, who fights by summoning shikigami through shadow and hand signs. He chooses whom to save, and says so.
- Nobara Kugisaki — from the countryside, loud, stylish, and fearless with a hammer and nails. She came to Tokyo on purpose.
The teachers
- Satoru Gojo — the blindfolded strongest sorcerer, playful to the point of rudeness. The whole jujutsu world is arranged around how strong he is.
- Kento Nanami — a former office worker turned sorcerer, who treats curse-hunting like overtime he resents but does properly. A fan favourite for exactly that reason.
The second-years and the prequel
- Maki Zen’in, Toge Inumaki, Panda — the older students. Maki has almost no cursed energy and fights with weapons; Inumaki can only safely speak in rice-ball ingredients; Panda is, mostly, a panda.
- Yuta Okkotsu — hero of the prequel Jujutsu Kaisen 0, haunted by the curse of a childhood friend. Read that volume first if you want his story.
The threats
- Ryomen Sukuna — the King of Curses living in Yuji. See our Sukuna guide.
- Mahito — a curse born from human hatred of each other, able to reshape souls; the early arcs’ most personal enemy.
- Kenjaku — a very old sorcerer behind several plots. Saying more would spoil the middle of the series.
Where to watch
The anime is produced by MAPPA; its third season, The Culling Game Part 1, aired from January 2026. A movie, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, adapts the prequel.
How the cast is built
Akutami’s cast works in pairs and mirrors more than in teams. Yuji and Megumi disagree about whom a sorcerer should save: Yuji wants to save everyone, Megumi admits he chooses. Nobara is the counterweight to both, a character who knows exactly why she is here and refuses to be anyone’s tragedy. Gojo and the school’s conservative elders are another mirror: a teacher who wants to raise a generation strong enough to change the system, against old families who want the system preserved. Once you see those pairings, the plot’s big conflicts become easier to predict, and its surprises hit harder.
The clans
Three old sorcerer families matter: the Gojo, the Zen’in and the Kamo. The Zen’in clan in particular is the source of Maki’s and Megumi’s most painful backstory. If a scene starts talking about inheritance, techniques passed down by blood, or who counts as a “real” sorcerer, it is usually about these families, and the series is reliably critical of them.
Techniques, briefly
Each sorcerer has an innate technique, plus the shared tools of cursed energy and, at the top level, Domain Expansion, a kind of personal battlefield. You do not need to understand the rules to enjoy the fights, but two tips help. First, the series often explains a technique mid-fight on purpose; revealing how it works can make it stronger in the story’s logic. Second, characters who look weak usually have a rule-based trick, so pay attention when someone states a condition out loud.
Who to watch for first-time viewers
If you are starting the anime, focus on Yuji, Megumi, Nobara and Gojo in season 1, add Nanami and Mahito in the second half, and treat Yuta as the lead of the prequel film. That covers most of what people mean when they search “JJK characters.”
FAQ
Who is the strongest character? Gojo is presented as the strongest sorcerer of his era, and the series is built around that fact. Sukuna is his natural rival.
Do I need to watch Jujutsu Kaisen 0? It is not required, but Yuta becomes important later, and the film or volume is the best introduction to him.
Is Nanami a teacher? He is a grade 1 sorcerer who works with Yuji, not a classroom teacher, but he acts as a mentor.
How many volumes is the manga? Thirty, plus the prequel volume 0.
Quick facts
- Manga: Gege Akutami, 2018–2024, 30 volumes plus volume 0.
- School: Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High.
- Anime: MAPPA; season 3 The Culling Game Part 1 from January 2026.
- Prequel: Jujutsu Kaisen 0, volume and film, centered on Yuta Okkotsu.
Our take
The cast is the main reason the series outlasted its hype. Akutami gives even minor sorcerers a clear rule for how they fight and a clear reason for why they do it, so a new character can become memorable within a single chapter. The trade-off is that the manga is willing to lose characters readers love. Go in knowing that attachment is part of the design, and the big arcs will hit with the weight they are meant to have.