Is Hanami Actually The Real Victim? - Hanami: Full Character Analysis

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 Do you know the hidden meaning behind Hanami being the embodiment of nature? So the unquestionable highlight of the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen is the battle between the special grade curse Hanami, and several of the strongest sorcerer students during the invasion of Tokyo Jujutsu High. Not only do we get some of the most stunning fighting animations I have seen in a while, but the Arc is filled with important moments of character development and growth across the board. But I think the excitement over this spectacular display of collaboration, effort, and determination by Itadori and co, the secret hero of this scene's success got ignored by most fans, which is a shame, because when you take a moment to think about it, Hanami is so much more than just another curse. I'm gonna go so far and say that you probably didn't even realize all the symbolism united in her character, the message Akutami is sending by having the students literally fight Mother Nature, and the fact that Hanami is more a good guy than a bad guy. Further than that, her character design and powers are just the most pleasing mix of creepy, elegant, and badass. This is the character analysis of Hanami, the spirit of nature...

 Number one, to get it out of the way, I am gonna call Hanami a 'her' for reasons you'll understand in a bit. Moving on! The first time I saw Hanami, I immediately thought that this is one of the most badass character designs I have seen in a while. The muscular white body, the hidden arm, the helmet-like head the teeth exposed, and finally the branches for eyes, I was absolutely blown away by the design here. And on top of all that it was speaking in this eerie tongue with a female voice, that gave it that vibe of something ancient and mystical. 

 Now, the next time Hanami shoed up, I was completely startled to see her approaching Gojo, the strongest being alive, without being noticed, use by far the most beautiful cursed technique in the story that drains away one will to fight, divert Gojo's attention by attacking Itadori and actually being able to escape with Jogo, who otherwise would have fallen into the sorcerers' hands. 

 I loved the writing of this scene because we got so much power-scaling and set-up. As soon as Jogo is introduced, despite his power, he loses against Gojo, who also finally fully demonstrates his strength. However, that same loss is used as an opportunity to show how intelligent Hanami's way of thinking and fighting is. And even more than that, it shows us that these curses actually care for each other. Hanami doesn't have to save Jogo, but she does so anyway. So at this point, Hanami was probably the most intriguing curse for me that I wanted to see more of, her character promised an immensely enjoyable and engaging fight, based on power and ability.

And despite that... My delight in this battle isn't waning!

 The battle during the exchange event, both animation, and plot-wise, was some of the best I've seen in Anime to this point. Finally, I saw Hanami fully express her personality and powers, which did not disappoint. Using a variety of nature-based attacks, ranging from cursed buds that suck out cursed energy, over floating wooden balls that allow her to attack and levitate, to the manifestation of enormous roots, that she can summon and erase from reality, the special grade curse was able to take on six of the school's most elite Jujutsu students, rendering the majority of them unable to fight after encountering them. And, the plan here was pretty much good, Use Hanami's unique abilities to hide her presence to sneak into the arena and cause chaos, distracting everyone enough to allow Mahito to steal Sukuna's fingers and the cursed wombs. 

 Given her wide-range attack and sturdiness, Hanami was the perfect candidate to buy time. and One again, it took Gojo for her retreat, badly wounded from his attack. What I found awesome here was that, while the curses were successful in their mission, this battle allowed many of the top students to really shine as well, especially Todo and Itadori.

 Itadori Yuji growing immensely in his use and control of cursed energy, and Todo has an idealogical clash here with Hanami. because Todo, while acknowledging the fleetingness of things and the importance of being one with nature, also believes in the ability of humans to go against this flow and leave a lasting impact on the world. The reason Hanami is such a wonderful opponent for Todo and his eternal love for his new 'Besto freindo' Yuji, is that Hanami is the embodiment of nature itself, which you think might be trivial, but given the importance of nature in the story, what I found is that Akutami has actually given Hanami a very unique position in the story in terms of Jujutsu Kaisen's main take away message.

 Jogo, Hanami, and Dogon are curses born from humans' fear of nature, the earth, the sea, and the forest. And yet, to me, it seems like Hanami takes a bit of a special role within the curses, as the embodiment of living things. Mahito and Jogo want to destroy human dominance in order to live out freely in the world as they please and rule, they see themselves as the true humans and the superior race. Hanami does share that view but has a different desire. As a dark twist on Mother Nature, that's why I say 'her', see, at least that makes sense. As I was saying, as Mother Nature, Hanami seems to not only be born from humans' fear of nature, but also of nature's wrath toward humans.

I wish to protect the planet, that's all.

 Based on all her dialogues, it seemed pretty obvious that Akutami writes Hanami as a physical representation of nature fighting back against all that we as a species have done to this planet, to all the living things around us. But, isn't Hanami one of the bad guys?

 Gojo actually describes Hanami's presence as almost spirit-like, and I think her life-based abilities support the idea, that she is a mix between curse and spirit. Yes, she clearly has traits of a curse, her wish to destroy humanity, her ability to take life from living things around her, and encouraged by Mahito, she even starts embracing her curse nature a bit more during the fight with Todo and Yuji.

 And yet, on the other side of things, it never feels like Hanami was about to kill pretty much anyone. The very first word she speaks with Fushiguro, Kamo, and Inumaki is calling them children, as a Mother would. Hanami, who must be very ancient indeed, until now clearly has to coexist with humanity and has come to a breaking point: humans are no longer bearable to nature. However, her wish here is to protect, not to hurt humans. Her name Hanami literally means Cherry Blossom viewing in Japan, an activity associated with the beauty and fleetingness of nature.

 Up to this fight, she purposefully has covered her left arm, that contrary to the pure white of the rest of her body is dark black and has a much more curse-like vibe, as it is the source of her ability to drain nature of energy itself. Now, it clearly looks like she doesn't like to associate herself with her curse powers. On top of that, Hanami's only weakness on her steel-hard body, are the two branches growing where eyes should be. These branches symbolizing nature and its softness are her only weakness, once again showing the mix between spirit and curse.

 So when you really think about the context of the story, Hanami doesn't even properly qualify as a villain. without saying that she is justified in her actions, which is obvious she isn't, she still has a more peaceful and noble approach to life than many of the sorcerers do.

 In the end, even if Hanami is on the evil side, for now, it is still obvious and so clear that all actions she takes, confirm that she is a half spirit and a half curse. And so, with that, Akutami let the door of predictions about Hanami's future open so widely for us, and that means, that either we'll still see her on the show as a villain, or maybe we can be fascinated by Akutami's genius on how managing and changing events in Jujutsu Kaisen, so we can see another fate for her.