This article provides comprehensive information about Naoya Zenin from "Jujutsu Kaisen," including his cursed technique, past, and key scenes. We'll also cover his fate up through the final volume of the manga, so please be aware of spoilers!
※This article contains spoilers up to the final chapter of the original manga.
Who is Naoya Zenin?
Age: 28 years old
Cursed Technique: Projection Sorcery
Origin: Kyoto
Grade: Special Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer
Gender: Male
Voice Actor: Koji Yusa
Naoya Zenin is the son of Naobito Zenin, the 26th Head of the Zenin clan, and one of the candidates for the position of the next clan head. He is a cousin to Toji, Maki, and Mai, but appears to pay little mind to anyone other than Toji.
Despite his decidedly "un-Zenin-like" appearance—with sharp, upturned eyes, blonde hair, and piercings—his power and ability are absolutely proven (literally, "guaranteed"). His personality involves speaking exactly what he thinks without any hesitation. Because he places little value on anything other than "strength," he hurls insults (which are objectively rude, but which he considers simple facts) even at his own family members.
He is a popular character whose infamous quotes include: "Do you even have a human heart?" and "You piece of gutter trash."
A Man Who Wants to Stand on "That Side"
As a member of the Zenin family and a powerful sorcerer, Naoya lives with unwavering conviction. Because of this straightforwardness, he treats those he doesn't acknowledge like vermin. However, his visual design, blunt speech, fighting style, Kyoto dialect, and other appealing elements have made him consistently rank high in reader popularity polls.
He shows no hesitation in delivering harsh words to the "failures" Maki and Mai, and seems barely affected by his own father's death (who died after being critically injured during the Shibuya Incident). However, in his childhood, he experienced the strength and ominousness of Toji Zenin—a weak man who, despite being male, had no cursed energy—and developed an admiration for him. He also acknowledges Satoru Gojo, the strongest sorcerer of the Gojo family, showing that he properly evaluates those who are truly strong.
This attitude toward the strong is one of his most appealing traits. His desire to stand on "that side"—meaning to achieve the absolute strength of people like Toji and Gojo—and the glimpses of this earnest admiration make it easy to understand why readers are drawn to him.
Projection Sorcery
Like Naobito, Naoya possesses the Zenin family's inherited technique, "Projection Sorcery." While somewhat complex, it can be simply explained as a technique that allows the user to "trace movements imagined in their mind." However, there are conditions: the user must imagine 24 movements per second, execute those movements exactly as imagined, not violate physical laws too severely, and if these rules are broken, the user becomes immobilized for one second.
The technique requires imagining powerful movements that are both reproducible and advantageous in combat, as well as the physical sense to execute them flawlessly. It's a technique that demands considerable training even from the user, and one can imagine the immense effort Naoya invested to master it.
Like Naobito, he can use it to make bewildering quick movements, and by using the technique continuously, he can even achieve speeds approaching the speed of sound. Additionally, by touching an opponent with his palm, he can impose the "24 movements per second" condition on them, leaving them defenseless for one second if they cannot respond.
His Actions in the Culling Game [Spoilers Up to the Final Chapter]
In his early battle against Yuji and Choso, Naoya fully displays his strength and delivers memorable harsh lines. However, he's ultimately defeated by Choso's original Blood Manipulation technique, "Supernova." After this humiliating defeat, he faces off against Maki, who has come to destroy the Zenin family.
He continually denies Maki's attempt to stand alongside Toji after her awakening following Mai's farewell. Using "Projection Sorcery," he corners Maki, but is defeated when the now truly physically gifted Maki sees through his technique. He is then stabbed to death by Maki's mother (and delivers his famous "gutter trash" line).
However! Not having been killed by cursed energy, Naoya returns as a cursed spirit and enters the Culling Game. Liberated from his human form and now standing on "this side," he challenges Maki Zenin and Noritoshi Kamo in the Sakurajima barrier. Retaining "Projection Sorcery" while possessing a cursed spirit body, he overwhelms them both at an absurd speed of Mach 3. However, thanks to the efforts of an "interloper," Maki gains even greater freedom and strength approaching Toji's level, once again cornering Naoya.
As a cursed spirit, Naoya deploys his last resort—his Domain: "Timecell Moon Palace." This vicious Domain not only applies the effects of "Projection Sorcery" throughout the entire Domain (extending film-like tendrils to touch opponents) but also imposes the condition on every cell of the opponent's body, making even a one-second freeze lethal (as cellular-level movement stoppage or deviation destroys the body). However, the further-awakened Maki easily overcomes this. Naoya, now a cursed spirit, is ultimately slain by a replica of the Soul Liberation Blade (a cursed tool that can even cut souls) left behind by Maki and Mai.
Naoya Zenin is Voiced by Koji Yusa!
Name: Koji Yusa
Pronunciation: Yusa Koji
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: August 12, 1968
Blood Type: B
Birthplace: Kyoto Prefecture
Agency: Freelance
© Animate Times
*Some parts of this text have been translated using machine translation
