Explore The Life of Naoya Zenin in Jujutsu Kaisen

Naoya Zenin is a character from the manga and anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, not Tokyo Revengers. He is an antagonist who belongs to the Zenin clan, one of the three major families of jujutsu sorcerers in Japan.

He is the youngest son of Naobito Zenin, the previous clan head, and believes himself to be the rightful heir of the clan. He is also the leader of the Hei, an elite unit of jujutsu sorcerers under the Zenin clan.

In this article, we will explore Naoya Zenin’s personality, abilities, and role in the story of Jujutsu Kaisen. We will also compare him with some characters from Tokyo Revengers, a manga and anime series about delinquents who travel back in time to change their fate.

All about Naoya Zenin

• Kanji: 禪院直哉
• Rōmaji: Zen’in Naoya
• Species: Human (Former)-Vengeful Curse
• Age: 27
• Gender: Male

Naoya Zenin’s Appearance

Naoya is a relatively tall young man with a fit build. He has sharp brown eyes and dyed blonde hair accented with his black roots.

He almost always has an arrogant grin plastered across his face and believes himself to have an appearance befitting a clan head, implying he’s much better looking than other members like Jinichi. He has three piercings in his left ear, one in his ear lobe, and two more toward the top.

Naoya wears a traditional attire that resembles most of his clan members. He sports a white long sleeved shirt that buttons at the color underneath his dark blue kimono. He completes his outfit with light colored hakama bottoms and sandals.

Vengeful Spirit

Following his reincarnation as a vengeful cursed spirit, Naoya has a much more monstrous appearance befitting a curse. He no longer has a human shape, instead, his body is large and long like a caterpillar.

He retains human-like arms but the face of the worm like body is covered in a mask shaped like a star with six holes. Although barely recognizable, Naoya’s human face can protrude from one of these holes. This form was only Naoya’s cursed womb state, and he soon evolved.

His fully realized cursed form resembles a chrysalis with a skull-shaped face capable of extending tendrils that band together to function like humanoid limbs.

Naoya Zenin’s Personality

From a young age Naoya was always praised told by others that he was a genius. He was severely spoiled as the youngest and most promising of the Naobito’s children, conditioned to view himself as his father’s successor.

As a result, Naoya’s arrogance grew to unbridled levels even as a small child. He looked down on all those he views as weaker than him, which is the vast majority of the people Naoya came across.

The only person Naoya ever appeared to have any respect for was Toji. He went to visit him as a child to mock the pitiful man without cursed energy but was instantly able to recognize Toji was extremely strong in spite of that.

This led Naoya to embrace the ideology that the sin of the insignificant is the ignorance of true strength. Naoya felt he was one of the only ones who understood Toji and strived to be as exceptional as he was.

Naoya confidently pursued strength to the point where he viewed everyone else as inferior to himself. He refused to acknowledge anyone’s talent, referring to his elders, Jinichi and Ogi, as weaklings despite their experience as senior members of the clan.

Naoya’s reckless and conceited attitude irritates even his fellow clansmen, to the point where Ogi and Jinichi attacked him for being excessively pompous.

Raised in an environment that breeds superiority, Naoya developed several sociopathic and narcissistic tendencies and strongly embodied all the stigma about the Zenin clan. He has no family values whatsoever other than trying to outdo everyone to become head of the clan.

He didn’t express any amount of concern for Naobito, his father, on his death bed and has said more than once that he hates all his older brothers as well. Naoya views women only as wives and casually told Maki and Mai’s mother that a woman who can’t walk three paces behind a man should be stabbed in the back.

Upon learning that Megumi usurped him for the head of the clan, “Naoya” didn’t hesitate to plot a way to kill him. Naoya was well aware that his clansmen might prefer Megumi to himself but didn’t care at all for their approval. He had no issues attacking Megumi’s allies in an attempt to draw him out and was willing to kill them in order to do so.

Naoya set his pride aside momentarily to work alongside Yuta Okkotsu, but only did so to achieve his own self-serving goals. Even after Yuta checked on him after his loss to Choso, Naoya was irritated with the young man for looking down on him.

Dissatisfied with his plans going awry, Naoya took out his irritation with Maki and mocked her repeatedly upon her return to the Zenin clan’s property. He called her scum, taunted her for her scars, and devalued her as a person not only for her appearance but her inability to use jujutsu as well.

He called her a lapdog for following Yuta and Megumi, and threatened to abuse his own cousin in the same manner that he used to bully her in the past.

Upon learning of the Jinichi and Ogi’s refusal to leave Megumi the family fortune, it was confirmed that Naoya was not the clan’s first choice. This irritated Naoya, but he was fine with the conspiracy to get rid of Megumi, Maki, and Mai so long as it served him in the end.

Mai sacrificed herself in exchange for granting Maki a body with power comparable to Toji’s. As Maki massacred her way through the Zenin clan, Naoya didn’t show the slightest hint of distress for his family members. In fact, he was amused by Maki’s power and simply teased her for being so ruthless.

Naoya refused to acknowledge Maki as being in the same realm of strength as Toji. That is a title that Naoya desired and he fought Maki to deny her that more than he did to avenge his own clan. Up until the moment he was defeated, Naoya remained in denial and referred to Maki as nothing more than an imposter.

Even after being brutally bested by Maki, Naoya mocked her for not finishing him off. However, fate’s sense of irony came for Naoya in the form of Maki’s mother stabbing him in the back, just as he said women deserved. As Naoya was losing his life in such a pitiful manner, all he could do was use his last words to insult his assailant.

Naoya Zenin’s Abilities and Powers

Naoya Zenin is a powerful jujutsu sorcerer who possesses a special grade 1 ranking, which means that he can exorcise special grade curses, the most dangerous type of cursed spirits. He specializes in using cursed techniques that manipulate space and time, such as:

• Projection Sorcery: This technique allows Naoya to create a projection of himself that can move independently from his real body. He can use this projection to attack or distract his opponents, or to escape from danger. The projection can also use other cursed techniques that Naoya knows.
• Limitless: This technique allows Naoya to manipulate space around him, such as expanding or shrinking it, or creating portals to travel through it. He can also use this technique to enhance his physical abilities, such as speed, strength, and reflexes. This technique is inherited from the Gojo family, another one of the three major families of jujutsu sorcerers.
• Ten Shadows Technique: This technique allows Naoya to summon and control up to ten different types of shikigami, which are cursed spirits that take the form of animals or mythical creatures. He can use these shikigami for various purposes, such as attacking, defending, scouting, or tracking. This technique is inherited from the Zenin family.

Naoya Zenin’s abilities are similar to some of the abilities that some characters in Tokyo Revengers have or acquire through time travel. For example:

• Projection Sorcery is similar to Time Leap, which allows Takemichi and Naoto Tachibana to travel back in time by shaking hands. They can use this ability to change their past actions or influence their future outcomes.
• Limitless is similar to Super Strength, which allows Draken, Mikey’s best friend and vice-leader of the Tokyo Manji Gang, to fight with incredible strength and endurance. He can overpower multiple opponents at once with his fists or his weapon.
• Ten Shadows Technique is similar to Leadership, which allows Mikey to command and inspire his gang members with his charisma and authority. He can use his gang as a force to fight against other gangs or enemies.

Role in the Story

Naoya Zenin plays an important role in the story of Jujutsu Kaisen as an antagonist who opposes the main characters and their goals. He first appears after the Shibuya Incident, a major event that results in the death of many jujutsu sorcerers and civilians, as well as the disappearance of Satoru Gojo, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in the world.

Naoya Zenin learns that his father has died during the incident, and that he has left a will that names Megumi Fushiguro, Naoya’s second nephew and one of the main characters, as his successor. Naoya is enraged by this decision, and decides to kill Megumi and Yuji Itadori, another main character who is the vessel of Sukuna, the king of curses.

Naoya Zenin tracks down Yuji and Megumi in Shibuya, and attacks them with the help of his Hei members. He also encounters Choso, a curse-human who is Yuji’s ally, and Yuta Okkotsu, a special grade jujutsu sorcerer who is sent to execute Yuji.

Naoya fights against Choso and Yuta, but is defeated and poisoned by Choso’s blood. He is then healed by Yuta in exchange for lying to the higher-ups that Yuji is dead.

Naoya Zenin later reappears during the Culling Game, a deadly event that forces jujutsu sorcerers and civilians to kill each other using cursed techniques. He joins forces with Hajime Kashimo, a former jujutsu sorcerer who is the leader of a group of curse users called the Hei. They plan to use the Culling Game to eliminate their enemies and take over the jujutsu world.

Naoya Zenin confronts Megumi and Yuji again during the Culling Game, and tries to kill them with his Projection Sorcery. However, he is stopped by Maki Zenin, Naoya’s cousin and another main character who has gained immense power after killing most of the Zenin clan members. Maki defeats Naoya and kills him with her sword.

Naoya Zenin’s role in the story of Jujutsu Kaisen is similar to some of the roles that some characters in Tokyo Revengers have or acquire through time travel. For example:

• Antagonist is similar to Kisaki Tetta, who is the main villain of Tokyo Revengers. He is a manipulative and ruthless person who wants to take over the Tokyo Manji Gang and use it for his own benefit. He is responsible for many of the tragedies that happen to Takemichi and his friends, such as Hinata’s death, Draken’s coma, Mikey’s corruption, and Baji’s suicide.
• Hei Leader is similar to Hanma Shuji, who is Kisaki’s right-hand man and the leader of Valhalla, a rival gang of the Tokyo Manji Gang. He is a sadistic and violent person who enjoys fighting and killing. He is loyal to Kisaki and follows his orders without question.
• Culling Game Participant is similar to Akashi Takuya, who is a former member of the Tokyo Manji Gang who joins Valhalla after being brainwashed by Kisaki. He is a skilled fighter who uses a metal bat as his weapon. He participates in the Bloody Halloween, a massive gang war between the Tokyo Manji Gang and Valhalla that results in many casualties.

Naoya Zenin is a character from Jujutsu Kaisen, not Tokyo Revengers. He is an antagonist who belongs to the Zenin clan, one of the three major families of jujutsu sorcerers in Japan. He has an arrogant, selfish, and misogynistic personality, and uses powerful cursed techniques that manipulate space and time.

He plays an important role in the story as an enemy of the main characters who tries to kill them and become the clan head. He has some similarities with some characters from Tokyo Revengers in terms of their abilities or roles in the story.

We hope you enjoyed this article about Naoya Zenin in the anime Tokyo Revengers. If you want to learn more about Jujutsu Kaisen or Tokyo Revengers, you can check out their official websites, or watch their anime adaptations on Crunchyroll . Thank you for reading!