Fans have spotted a familiar face in the lineup of Jujutsu Kaisen's second season, as this is not Geto Suguru's debut in the popular anime. The curse user was the main antagonist of the hit film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 but overall has remained a bit of a mystery, especially considering teenage Geto is a kind-hearted, considerate sorcerer. This varies massively from the villain status he achieved while fighting Yuta, Maki, and other jujutsu high students.
As was quickly assumed, Geto Suguru wasn't always the villain he appeared to be. In fact, he was quite the opposite, often keeping Gojo Satoru on track. Following the disaster of the Riko Amanai incident, Geto began to deteriorate, and seeing Gojo flourish in newfound strength didn't help his struggles. Here's everything you need to know about the sorcerer, and how he found himself giving up on the jujutsu society.
Geto Suguru Is One of Four Special-Grade Sorcerers
There's a reason Geto and Gojo were always considered the strongest, as both are very capable of making short work of any opponent with minimal effort no matter the rival's skill level. Within the entire jujutsu society, there are only four special grades (the highest rank to be given to sorcerers) and Geto falls under this umbrella. One of these is Yuta Okkotsu, so in the teenage years the anime's second season has focussed on, Geto is actually one of three sorcerers under this rank. Gojo Satoru of course is the second, followed by the mysterious Yuki Tsukumo. This puts into perspective just how strong Geto is, and why he is such a major figure in jujutsu society.
Suguru's cursed technique is a formidable one, and it is exactly why he was so feared as a villain. Cursed Spirit Manipulation allows Geto to summon and control an abundance of cursed spirits, as the name implies. In order to add a curse to his army, the sorcerer must dominate the spirit and then consume it, meaning he has to beat stronger curses to submission before he can control them. However, if he is two or more ranks stronger than a curse, Geto can immediately absorb them with no consequence.
He also has a great reserve of cursed energy, meaning he can control multiple curses at the same time, giving him the ability to essentially release an army. This is what happens when Geto uses his maximum technique, Uzumaki, which combines a massive amount of curses into a single attack. The sorcerer's level of cursed energy can also be manipulated to hide residuals of cursed energy or be manifested into a weapon.
On top of having such an incredible innate technique and levels of cursed energy, Geto is a master at hand-to-hand combat. This works heavily in his favor as most opponents assume he would fight like a shikigami user, keeping his distance and letting his army of curses fight for him. However, the young sorcerer uses this misconception to his advantage, surprising opponents with his expert knowledge of martial arts. Even Panda, a master of close-quarters fighting, was easily defeated by Geto in JJK0 when the pair came to blows.
Geto Was the Only Sorcerer in His Family
Geto's life as a sorcerer got off to a rocky start, as he was born into an entirely non-sorcerer family. Of course, his parents were confused by his eerie abilities, and young Geto was ostracized as a result. Still, he was scouted by Jujutsu High at a young age, bringing him together with like-minded sorcerers and teaching him that he could be accepted.
The result of his upbringing manifests in how Geto views family. As opposed to valuing familial bonds through blood, he massively favors found family. To the sorcerer, his fellow students are his family, and he understands Riko and Kuroi's bond because of this. When Kuroi, the young Plasma Star Vessel's caretaker begins talking about the schoolgirl's late parents, Geto instantly concludes that they are each other's family. This is right, as the pair share a strong familial bond despite having no relation.
Even as an antagonist in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Geto upheld his strong caring attitude toward sorcerers. When he stumbled across the twins Nanako and Mimiko who were neglected by their village, he took them under his wing in a heartbeat. Geto cared for the two girls, as well as other sorcerers he was close to, like family. The next time any blood relations were mentioned, it was to state that Geto had massacred his own parents, along with the twin's entire village.
Geto Didn’t Always Hate Non-Sorcerers
The Geto Suguru that fans are more familiar with isn't the understanding teen shown in Gojo's past, but a cruel sorcerer who refers to humans as "monkeys," a term he first heard from Toji Fushiguro after being defeated by the assassin. An unfortunate string of tragedies pushed Geto to become a curse user, which began after he and Gojo failed Riko Amanai.
A lifestyle as a jujutsu sorcerer comes with an unending flow of tragedy, stemming largely from witnessing the deaths of strangers or colleagues. In the beginning, Geto had a strong ideology and was able to maintain the ebbs and flows of sorcery because of his solid mindset. While they were teens, Geto even acted as Gojo's moral compass as the latter often became nonchalant in his power. For example, when the Star Religious Group applauded the death of Amanai, Gojo suggested killing them all. At the same time, Geto talked him off this ledge insisting that sorcerers need a better reason to kill.
However, Geto's ideology quickly began to crumble after this as his path became more blurred with devastation. Consistently witnessing hideous evil, mixed with learning non-sorcerers are the main reason curses are born changed something within, pushing him to spiral into the antagonist recognized from Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Geto began to view his life as a jujutsu sorcerer as a marathon where at the finish line there is a mountain of deceased sorcerers, all of whom he revered as family.
Geto Suguru was not always the sorcerer who abandoned jujutsu for a life as a curse user. He was an incredibly powerful student who grew up neglected and alone. Once scouted for jujutsu high, Geto's life changed and his friendship with Gojo flourished, building a bond that never truly broke despite everything the duo experienced. The two were the strongest for a long time, but while the vicious tendencies of the jujutsu society chewed Geto up, Gojo learned to navigate them, eventually leading to the former's abandonment. Geto was never a true villain, but rather an unfortunate victim of his circumstances.
