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Team Gojo and Team 7
Team Gojo and Team 7 (Image via Games Horizon)

Jujutsu Kaisen: Is Team Gojo the New Team 7?

Priya MajumdarBy Updated:11 Mins Read Anime

When the anime trailer for Jujutsu Kaisen came out, many otakus, who are fans of Naruto, started comparing the characters with Masashi Kishimoto’s series. However, the trend fizzled out little by little following Jujutsu Kaisen season 1’s premiere. Devoted Naruto fans who earlier alleged that the Jujutsu Kaisen character designs were similar to Kishimoto’s series saw that it was the hair colors of three characters and a few personality traits that bore the similarities.

The dynamic of the original Team 7, which comprised of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, along with teacher Kakashi Hatake, was different from Team Gojo. The latter saw Satoru Gojo bringing Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki as first years in Tokyo Jujutsu High. Given the setting and the anime universes are different, it entails different tasks that would make their presentation as a group more impressive. As it is now, the establishment of Kakashi’s Team 7 as the more iconic group speaks volumes and will hold the title for generations to come, but it doesn’t mean that another team can’t overpower their influence.

Note: This article contains spoilers from Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto.

The possibility of Team Gojo being the new Team 7 is considerably high 

As mentioned earlier, the physical attributes of some of the characters are similar along with personality traits. This includes the eccentricity of teachers/mentors Satoru Gojo and Kakashi Hatake, who both have white/silver hair and exhibit a behavior that is similar. Then there’s the knucklehead protagonists Naruto and Yuji, whose hair color may not be similar, but both have a fun personality, are loud, and show a great display of camaraderie for their friends. Besides, they both are the hosts of a supernatural entity.

The third member of the respective group is Sasuke and Megumi, both of whom sport calm and serious persona but are geniuses in their fields. With similar shade of black hair, they both belong to reputed clans. Lastly, the female members of each team include Sakura and Nobara. Although the latter has brown hair, she is shown to have the largest difference with her counterpart despite being incredibly strong. 

However, each of the Jujutsu Kaisen characters need to be detailed with their respective Naruto counterparts to see if they fit the dynamic of Team 7.

Satoru Gojo and Kakashi Hatake

Satoru Gojo and Kakshi Hatake
Satoru Gojo and Kakshi Hatake (Image via Games Horizon)

Since their formative years, these two have been extremely independent and self-confident. Moreover, the two often exhibit a nonchalant and playful attitude, but in case of any dangers towards their students and friends, they can be fierce fighters, and even unsympathetic, if need be. Moreover, both of these characters have an apathetic nature, which is seen more prominently in Gojo than in Kakashi in regards to how they act upon hearing/seeing a friend’s death.

A similarity between the Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto character is that they both had best friends who greatly impacted their life. For Gojo, it was Geto, who strayed from the righteous path of jujutsu sorcery to become a villain. Although Gojo had killed him at the end of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Geto returned under the possession of Kenjaku, one of the main antagonists in the series. Meanwhile, Kakashi had Obito Uchiha, whose alleged death was unknown to Kakashi until the two met again during the Fourth Great Ninja War on opposite sides. But Obito eventually came to help the heroes by the end of the war.

However, what sets them apart as adults is their arrogance or pride. The Copy Ninja of Konoha is modest about his skills despite being one of the strongest ninjas of his generation. In the case of Gojo, the Six Eyes user is arrogant to the point that he even declared to Toji Fushiguro that “throughout the Heavens and earth, he alone is the honored one.” While fighting, he seems to rely more on offensive attacks that can be called aggressive as he believes his ultimate goal is victory. As such, he will prioritize finishing his enemy over thinking about civilians’ safety, but this is something Kakashi differs in.

Another difference between the two is their teaching. Kakashi is much better educator than Gojo, and this becomes clear when he takes the leadership role in Team 7 and looks forward to bettering each students’ weaknesses. Besides, he is the flagbearer of teamwork, which he imparted on his students as well. In contrast, Gojo’s methods may be eccentric but at his core, he expects his students to get stronger so that they can come out of any situation. The teamwork is hardly stressed upon, and his focus on individuals training is neither effective nor bad, unlike Kakashi who went out of his way to help Sasuke develop Chidori. Even if he takes responsibilities for his students, he often sees them as his comrades rather than disciples, which is why the seriousness in his teaching is often lacking.

Yuji Itadori and Naruto Uzumaki

Yuji Itadori and Naruto Uzumaki
Yuji Itadori and Naruto Uzumaki (Image via Games Horizon)

The protagonists of Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto, Yuji had a fairly different start to life than Kishimoto’s hero. Naruto grew up as an orphan who was ostracized by the villagers for hosting the Nine-Tailed Fox. Growing up without family or friends, he eventually made it his mission to gain Konoha’s acknowledgement as a ninja while forming meaningful relationships with people and chasing his dream to become a Hokage. Meanwhile, Yuji may have grown up without his parents but he had his grandfather to look after him until his death.

By his teenage years, Naruto was already a famed personality and gained many friends and foes. Moreover, his skills, abilities, and influence only grew over the years. On the other hand, Yuji also seemed like a popular high school student who was friends with everybody and had no qualms speaking his mind, much like Naruto. But whereas the blond ninja was infused with the power of Kyuubi right after his birth, Yuji had to swallow the fingers of Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, to host him inside his body and get his strength and powers. 

As for their personality, despite showing an obvious crackhead energy, the two have a deep regard for life and living. As such, they would fight other humans but are often hesitant to take life unless necessary. Besides, they both are naïve. For Akutami’s protagonist, it stems from the fact that he has been unexposed to the jujutsu society and cursed energies. As for Naruto, his naïvety is rooted in his childhood years of isolation, rendering him helpless in trying to read the room or not using honorifics to address certain people. Still, they are headstrong when it comes to learning, so they observe and easily pick up on the techniques, making them fast learners.

Along with that, they are both loyal to a fault. For Naruto at least, despite seeing the flaws in people like Gaara or Sasuke, he was stubborn and vowed to bring them back to their right path while remaining faithful to the principles of Konohagakure and the ways of a ninja. Similarly, he would bare down his life to protect his closed ones – a trait that echoes with Yuji as well and was first seen when he swallowed Sukuna’s finger to save Megumi from the cursed spirit’s attack. Although he is seen as friendly and good-natured, with the right motivation, such as Junpei’s transformation into a curse and his death, he can be easily angered. He is also committed to saving his ‘nakamas’ as much as possible.

Megumi Fushiguro and Sasuke Uchiha

Megumi Fushiguro and Sasuke Uchiha
Megumi Fushiguro and Sasuke Uchiha (Image via Games Horizon)

The deuteragonists of their respective anime series, Megumi and Sasuke hail from reputed, influential clans – Fushiguro and Uchiha. Often seen sporting a poker face, both of them have stoic personalities with a calculating mindset. Moreover, Megumi has a slightly irritable personality which comes out when he is in the company of Yuji, Nobara, or Satoru Gojo. When younger, Sasuke also had the same trait as he expressed irritation over Naruto’s actions, but over the years, he has suppressed that trait as well.

However, Megumi and Sasuke have been entirely different in their approach to life. Despite having similar personalities, they two eventually found different goals in life. As a result of his older brother, Itachi, massacring their entire clan, he sets out on his revenge journey and becomes a rogue journey, committing atrocities over the years and showing a general apathy towards anyone on his way. But this changed after his confrontation with his brother, his subsequent death, reunion with his brother’s spirit, achieving resolution/closure to finally reunite with Team 7 to assist them in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

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In this respect, Megumi is nothing like Sasuke. Surely he is affected by his sister Tsumuki’s comatose state, but that is not reason enough for him to choose a different path. Instead, he became a sorcerer to save her. Besides, unlike Sasuke, he isn’t apathetic, showing an active care for his classmates, seniors, and civilians. Although Megumi is later possessed by Sukuna and becomes the reason why she gets killed, it remains to be seen how he actually feels about the entire situation. 

Another thing that is common about them is that they both are insanely powerful. Although they are sidelined by the protagonist’s presence, both of them have exercised great techniques on the battlefield. For Sasuke’s case, it is more advanced as he has had the advantage of years. However, Megumi, despite being in his first year, is already a proficient sorcerer who is yet to unlock his full potential – a fact acknowledged by Sukuna as well as Gojo.

Nobara Kugisaki and Sakura Haruno

Nobara Kugisaki and Sakura Haruno
Nobara Kugisaki and Sakura Haruno (Image via Games Horizon)

Sakura has the bad luck of being called a useless character. Although she was placed in Team 7 on the criteria of her intelligence and adaptability, she didn’t become a respectable figure within the fandom until her later years. While she has grown over the years to become a strong kunoichi of Konohagakure and an extremely able medical practitioner, there were reasons, such as her initial treatment of Naruto, that made her hated by many fandoms. However, just like other characters in Naruto, Sakurai’s depiction lacks depth and direction.

On the other hand, Gege Akutami has been aware of the downside of portraying depthless female characters. As such, Nobara Kugisaki shares no such fate as her arrival immediately made her an admirable figure within the fandom. She is confident, gorgeous, practical, and is a skilled curse user besides being a strong fighter. Most importantly, her femininity isn’t compromised during her portrayal as a female character, who is on the same level as her classmates.

While in an actual fight between the two, Sakura may emerge as the winner, it’s the way Nobara carries herself that makes her different from her Naruto counterpart. One may say that both the female characters have an abrasive nature, but they also show a caring attitude towards their friends and family. While that’s true, Nobara’s childish attitude and initially arrogant nature felt like a fresh break from characters like Sakura. 

However, both of their situations have been different, which is what conditioned them to develop a persona that made them likeable to the fans. In Sakurai’s case, the effect was late as compared to Nobara.

Verdict

Team 7 has become a model of portraying anime friendships over the years. As a result, the model will be used time and again to compare and contrast various anime teams. Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Team Gojo happens to have the same response from the fandoms of two shows.

While on an individual scale, the Jujutsu Kaisen sorcerers and Naruto ninjas have their similarities and differences, it’s not reason enough to say that they can be replaced. For example, Yuji Itadori ‘s characterization has a darker aspect than Naruto Uzumaki’s. Similarly, the past of each character has shaped their current selves to take their respective actions.

As a team, it’s Kakashi and his students that are more tight knit as a group and have been seen forming bonds through teamwork. While Sasuke may have defected from Konoha and left his team behind, he eventually came around to reunite with them. Meanwhile, Team Gojo have mostly shone in solo missions/battles, which is why their screentime impacts their impression as a group. 

All in all, Team 7 and Team Gojo are different as they belong to different points in time and AU. But, as mentioned earlier, if Team 7 is just seen as a criterion to set friendship or team goals, Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, and Satoru has a good chance of fitting into the model.

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Priya is an anime lover and writer at GamesHorizon. A graduate from EFL University, she is deeply interested in anything remotely anime, manga, and fan culture. In her free time, she likes to draw, cook, visit cafes, and read fanfiction on a variety of anime fandoms' ships.