Todo Aoi Is 'Besto Friendo' Of Yuji - Todo: Full Character Analysis
Todo is one of the strongest, smartest, and most controversial characters in Jujutsu Kaisen. He has a ridiculously fast-paced character Arc and goes from brutal borderline berserker to charming gentle giant in under 3 episodes, he has a self-proclaimed IQ of 530.000; judges people based on their type of woman; manages to creep Itadori out, which is a real feat. And on top of all that, with Boogie Woogie, he has one of the most fascinating powers in the story.
In these next lines coming up, you will learn everything there is to know about Aoi Todo. How strong he is, How smart he is, that his awesome voice actor is actually German, and of course the hidden genius behind his philosophy and design as a character, that makes him one of the most loved characters by fans and one of the most disliked characters in the story... This is the character analysis of Aoi Todo.
It's time to unleash my technique! So there is only one thing I can say to you. Believe in me! Don't stop!
Okay! Remember how these guys are all supposed to be high schoolers? Well, Todo looks like a 28-year-old philosophy student who took a truckload of protein powder. In terms of power, Akutami Gege introduces Todo Aoi as a realistic measuring stick for Itadori and co. Someone who is a whole level or two above them all, but more in reach than the walking and talking calamity that is Satoru Gojo. In fact, Todo is undoubtedly one of the strongest, if not the strongest among current students, and yes, Fushiguro doing a Kamikaze attack does not count. Despite being only a second-year student, Todo is already a full-fledged first-grade sorcerer. Just so you have some comparison, that is the same grad as Nanami or Yaga, who is a school principal. As if this wasn't enough, however, most of the time Todo doesn't even use his extraordinary cursed ability, but simply raw physical strength. Not only does he have a ridiculous amount of brute power, but is also surprisingly agile.
When things turn dark, however, which pretty much only means special grade kind of dark, Todo unpacks his innate Jujutsu ability: The Boogie Woogie, which allows him to switch the positions of anything with Cursed Energy within his range with a clap of his hands. For instance, he can change himself out with the location of another person, or switch two different objects other than himself as well.
My technique swaps my position with my opponent's. Boogie Woogie!
Now is this technique ridiculously powerful? Obviously. But I want you to appreciate for a moment, what an unusual match-up this power is for a hulk-like guy like Aoi Todo. Because once again here, and as you know, Akutami loves playing with expectations. Usually, the trope of the beefcake character in Anime is kind of predictable, Either he is a lot weaker and more stupid than all the weak-looking people around him, or gets a boring power, like making his body harder than it already is... or a big weapon or something... Basically, that's the enemy guy who always goes down first. The idea being is that we as the audience, we always ask the question that depends on body measurements: How will our skinny hero beat him? And then we are surprised how powerful the small guy actually is.
Todo flips that trope on its head in the sense that he looks incredibly strong, and he actually is incredibly strong. And not only that he also has an ability that requires him to basically play 4D chess with his opponent all the time, trying to figure out if, what, when, and where is he gonna switch. A buff dude, who is actually buff and has an elegant ability that requires brains. Because on top of his power, Todo is a pretty sharp cookie, not sure if he's 530.000 IQ points sharp, as he likes to claim, but he is definitely no dummy either. So let's talk about Todo's big brain, and what exactly is going on in there. So, let's talk about him.
Out of all the things to love about Todo, my favorite thing is probably the way he gets introduced into the story. Basically, Akutami hits us with all the worst parts of his personality to paint this picture of a blood-hungry idiot, who judges people based on their taste of women... which he does, but as you will see, surprisingly there is a lot more behind this. So after basically beating Megumi into a pulp for having a decent view of women, we got a pretty rapid turnaround for his character. First, we see him going against the plan to assassinate Yuji, basically having as little respect for his classmates and teachers as for Megumi. Still, no reason to like him, but at least we get that this man acts on his own principles and isn't just a hindrance to Megumi. And then, of course, we get his interaction with Itadori.
After making up a completely fake flashback in his head, that has more plot development than most regular Anime do, Todo suddenly sees Itadoti as his best friend, and from then on mentors Yuji and brings him to a completely different level in several minutes, suddenly turning him into an absolute fan favorite. Now we don't really know if these fake memories have something to do with Yuji or whether they simply are part of Todo's quirky personality, as I personally like to think. After all, in his fight with Hanami, Todo has an entire imaginary tactical meeting with his favorite Pop idol in the plink of a second. So I think that crafting a made-up back story for some of the few people actually, he can respect in this world, next to anyone stronger than him, which are basically all the Special Grades, is very much in character for Aoi Todo. And I think it's this step that proves how smart a cookie he actually is. After all, I think you will find it pretty hard to describe this creative ability together with the ridiculously fast analytical information processing he has, like anything, but intelligent!?
On top of all this Todo is an extremely smart and dexterous fighter when he has to, immediately unpacking his cursed technique to its fullest against Hanami, after realizing that this is an enemy that he cannot beat with power alone. However, this sort of intelligence, while without any doubt impressive, pales in comparison to the part of Todo's character that I find truly impressive. And the truly impressive part about Todo is his philosophy and approach to the central moral question of the story, which makes him one of the most wise-looking characters in the story.
We exist in this world with our entire mind, body and soul as one who one whole. It's such a given that everyone forgets about it.
Todo's answer to "what makes a good life worth living?" is basically existentialism. While just like Nanami or Mahito, he understands that life doesn't have meaning in itself and that is very much in the Buddhist way of thinking. Everything is fleeting, Todo also believes that people are capable of making their own purpose and find a reason to love and embrace life. His clear understanding of the natural world even gives him a better understanding of the flow of cursed energy. And other than Mahito, who as it's known, wants to fully embrace his nature and instance, Todo gives Yuji agency, by telling him to yes accept being part of nature, but also having his own will by swallowing his anger.
But that rage is too much for you. Put it away for now.
So basically, Todo is someone who fights against the natural order of things, for the sake of the love he feels for other people. He even fights Hanami, who literally is an embodiment of nature. In fact, as ironic as it might seem, love is actually the big theme behind Todo's character. So much so, that Akutami even draws his Cursed Energy as taking the form of little hearts. Love, in general, is a very prominent theme in Jujutsu Kaisen, that often is contrasted with the curses.
However, what appears as comical and over the top on the outside, when Todo Aoi suddenly treats Yuji as if they have known each other since birth, is actually Todo embracing his friendship and sudden brother love for Yuji as one of the driving factors in his life, just as his love for Takada. And even though, they aren't real, to Todo they are and they give him meaning and happiness. Not by accident, but by choice. And even his seemingly macho-like habit of judging people based on their type of partner gets twisted on his head when we learn that he isn't just a superficial duch, but actually has inherited this quirk as well as his philosophy from this mysterious motorcycle woman we meet in his flashback. And so, I believe what Todo actually does by asking the question, is figuring out whether or not people can actually state their true feelings and know what they love.
I don't think it's that everyone needs to love the same person, it's that Yuji has no issues saying what he loves, while Megumi does. The fact that not everyone is able to state clearly what they love or even know what they love is something Todo has to learn to understand, his basic need as a character.
As a result, Todo is written as a twist on the unwind trope that strong guys are always are stupid and for some reason weak, making him one of the strongest and wisest characters in the story. He is one of the central guides to Itadori's growth and without any doubt part of the relationships that Yuji someday has to discover as his true source of meaning and happiness in life.
In short, pretty much as most characters in Jujutsu Kaisen, Aoi Todo might as well be the main character. Like Maki or Fushiguro, he's pretty much peak Shounen protagonist material. And that's what makes him such a lovable character.
What's a better way to continue, than talk about Todo's major enemy in the story, both physically and philosophically. Here is my analysis of Hanami, an absolutely fascinating character, by clicking right here.
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