Jujutsu Kaisen emerged with many exciting characters, but none like its protagonist, Yuji Itadori. He starts as an oblivious high school student with exceptional physical abilities until his fated introduction to Jujutsu. Through the series, Yuuji shows outstanding growth as a person and as a Jujutsu sorcerer and has had his perception of society altered to accept the reality of the Jujutsu world.
Tasked with being the vessel for Sukuna, Yuji demonstrates power, which has seen him quickly become a formidable character. However, for all his strength, he has evident flaws, highlighting the apparent room for more growth in his character. Regarding these, here are some of Yuji's most evident weaknesses.
8 Naivety
Due to his kind and compassionate nature, Yuji finds it challenging to accept the reality of jujutsu sorcerers, especially when he realizes it involves taking lives, be it human or cursed spirits. Firmly believing that humans are inherently good-natured, he hesitates to exorcise even possessed humans.
Unable to steel his resolve, his hesitance endangers not only himself but even the lives of his allies, as was the case against Junpei and even the cursed spirit Eso, who, even though he was not only trying to kill Yuji but also Nobara, Yuji still felt remorse for killing his brother during the heat of battle. Fortunately, the slight hesitation did not prove to be fatal.
7 Prone To Irrationality
Another evident flaw of Yuji is allowing his emotions to get the best of him at crucial moments, which results in him making illogical decisions. His irrationality is also closely related to his naive personality. Being open and honest, Yuji gets emotionally invested in battles despite cursed energy requiring a level head and concentration.
This flaw is apparent in most of his fights throughout the series, from the battle against Mahito because of Junpei to his team-up with Todou against Hanami. Honorable as his love and affection for those dear to him may be, these feelings often hinder him in battle.
6 Constant Inner Conflict
A firm conviction is something that every jujutsu sorcerer must have. It may be a redundant ideal rooted in familial schemes, but a solid belief must exist. This is an aspect where Yuji falls considerably short. Having no previous known connections to Jujutsu, Yuji is in constant turmoil regarding cursed spirits, jujutsu sorcery, and his abilities.
Although driven mainly by the desire to allow people to die good deaths, this ideal can not be said to be his own because it resulted from a promise made to his grandfather. By masquerading his grandfather's wishes as his own, Yuji's moral lines blur repeatedly, leaving him to question his place in the grand scheme of things.
5 Close Range Attack Specialty
For any Jujutsu sorcerer, versatility is critical in determining the outcome of a battle. Despite being one of the strongest hand-to-hand combatants of the series, Yuuji's greatest strength is also one of his most significant weaknesses. Yuji can only fight at close range as he has no attack capable of dealing long or medium-range damage in his arsenal.
Although his Divergent Fist is a devastating technique, it is only helpful if he can get close to his opponent. Yuji has yet to face many long-range specialists so far. In the battle against Eso and Kechizu, Yuji could do nothing but dodge Eso's Maximum: Wing Technique, making this weakness evident. His inability to counter long-range attacks with similar attacks leaves him at a disadvantage and may be fatal in future battles.
4 Vulnerability To Cursed Techniques
Cursed techniques vulnerability is a general flaw of Jujutsu Sorcerers and not limited to Yuji alone and is especially evident in Domain expansions, where every attack of the Domain's creator is a guaranteed hit. This is more evident for Yuji due to his reckless approach to fights and close-ranged specialty.
Due to his confidence in his abilities, Yuji rushes into battles without a clear strategy or plan, leaving him very much exposed against more vigorous opponents or more experienced ones. This was particularly evident against the special grade Finger Bearer at the Juvenile Detention Center. Only knowing to attack, Yuji does not prioritize defending himself from his opponents' attacks, leading him to take unnecessary physical damage, which Sukuna usually cancels out.
3 Limited Techniques
Unlike his comrades and allies, Yuji does not have a lot of cursed techniques. Leaving aside his prowess at hand-to-hand combat and his Divergent Fist, he has nothing else in his arsenal. Although he is skilled at using Black Flash, it is not a technique personal to him.
Despite being able to access Sukuna's cursed energy, Yuji also still shows no sign of manifesting a domain expansion as fans have seen with Megumi or even an additional cursed technique. This lack of diversity can be attributed to his relative inexperience in Jujutsu. However, it is a crippling flaw to Yuji as a Jujutsu sorcerer.
2 General Inexperience
Unlike his comrades and other Jujutsu sorcerers, Yuji is relatively inexperienced, as he has only been a Jujutsu sorcerer for a short while. His inexperience, although a significant flaw, is not a fatal one, given the capabilities of his allies. Still, when isolated, it becomes glaring as it was against the Special Grade Finger Bearer.
This weakness is masked by his ability to learn at a frightening pace. Still, against more experienced and powerful sorcerers, it may be the difference between a victory and a crushing defeat.
1 The Presence of Sukuna
Yuji's relationship with Sukuna, contrary to what it may seem, is his biggest weakness. Despite being the King of Curses' vessel and accessing his cursed energy, Yuji's ability to keep Sukuna in check is not as firm as the story implies. It has been established that Sukuna is not an ally, making the prospect of Yuji losing control of Sukuna even more dangerous, given the aftermath of events on the occasions it has happened in the series.
Although Sukuna has yet to wreak significant havoc, it remains to be seen if it'll stay that way as the story progresses. Besides losing control, Sukuna's mere presence inside Yuuji is a beacon of danger to Yuuji himself and his comrades. The implication is that he and his friends constantly stare down the barrel of danger from curses and enemy sorcerers.