@fleursdodette: Megumi Fushiguro; the Shadow S...

Megumi Fushiguro; the Shadow Self
A dive into the Jungian shadow as the basis of Megumi’s character and what it forebodes for his future.

art: @n06ara

One of the major conversations happening right now in the community is on whether or not Megumi will have a role to play out in the furthering of the story. I think what Megumi is going through right now is essentially the rock bottom he has to hit before emerging fully

As with all major sorcerers we have seen so far in the series CT’s reflect major characteristics of those they belong to.

What is a shadow? It is a dark shape caused by an opaque obstruction in front of light. There’s two important aspects to derive from this; light is needed for a shadow to be cast and a shadow is ever adapting to the figure that casts it.

Now, where does Jungian psychology come in? Jung developed multiple interconnected psychoanalytic theories. The shadow within ourselves is a part of our unconscious self that harbors our repressed feelings, thoughts, desires and ideas, often those we find shameful to be seen by

others. It is not only negative traits that the shadow consist of, it can also contain good qualities. The figure that casts that shadow is the persona; the part of ourselves that we want to be seen as from others, the socially “desirable” part of ourself which at the same

time serves to conceal the parts of ourselves we want to remain hidden in the shadow. Megumi’s morality is a big part of his character and something that is emphasized time and time again. After Tsumiki got cursed, Megumi put her on a pedestal, his light that became his purpose

in life. He had essentially lost the only family he had, the only person he’d have an emotional bond with and that left him alone. He held the idea that she could still be saved while knowing he couldn’t be the one to do so leading to him projecting this concept of saving Tsumiki

unto others like her that he could save. This external drive of a life purpose has kept him from looking to his internal self, distracted from the shadows by the light. It is striking how quickly he gave Itadori an almost equal position of importance, after having met him just

once, he opposed his self established standard of who is to be saved and who is not. This due to the fact that he saw in Yuji the same standard of “good” that he had derived from Tsumiki. This standard being awfully close to someone that simply didnt leave him, someone that

took the effort to protect him, like Tsumiki did. There is a sense of selfishness in how Megumi decides to categorize good and bad people. It seems as if Megumi has a low sense of self esteem, as he deems himself unworthy of receiving the same protection and care as good people

like Yuji and Tsumiki do, apparent in how easily he is willing to sacrifice his life to save them. He doesn’t consider himself worth saving because he himself falls outside of the rigid structure of justice he has established. At the same time he seems desperate to be a hero for

those good people, even if he denies that fact. That hidden feeling of unworthiness is part of a larger framework of suppressed thoughts and feelings. We haven’t seen Megumi have any thoughts about his parents, something quite odd seeing as to how his only left over “family”

member is central in his life. These emotions and worries are hidden in a part of him he is unaware of yet still affects his mood and behavior. As much as he seems nonchalant about his parents, the reality of the lack of parents in his life from early on informed much of his

outlook on life, morality and the formation of his persona. Megumi’s biggest fear is losing the few people he cares about and subsequently being alone. The fear of loneliness being a worse reality than death is what has informed most of his decision early on in the story.

It is also why he keeps projecting Tsumiki unto Yuji; he’s afraid of being alone but somehow all the people he considers good have bad luck; life is unfair. Someone who is led by their shadow always lives below their level, just like when Gojo made a statement on how Megumi has

constantly been trying to match others, and who has unconsciously held himself back. Gojo tells him to be more selfish, this is a part of Megumi that he has been supressing, a part that conflicts with the version Megumi sees as ideal for himself.

He desires a compassionate self; someone who stays near those he cares about, even in strength. However, the extreme altruism (selective) he has been shown to portray is what has stunted his growth, in both strength but also the development of his own person.

His nonchalant attitude also stems from the fact that his strong emotions have been suppressed in order to protect himself against confronting what hurts him the most.However, it is important to bring these hidden aspects into light because it allows one to correct themselves but

if they are repressed and never corrected, it will come out in moments of emotional turmoil.

This perfectly describes how Megumi’s initial reaction had been to give up his life, essentially give it up easily even if it was unnecessary to win, but later on we see, how after his

new realization and from that following resolve, he has become much better in fights and calculative; he is willing to work together with others. Because he hasn’t allowed to himself to revisit and reflect on his past and his childhood , the negative feelings, insecurities and

trauma continued to rule him. He hasn’t been able to grow past the black and white view we have as kids. The age of reason occurs when children start to understand the world rationally, they start to see the divide between good and bad can be blurry

but Megumi has only started to understand that in his teens. Still his lack of self reflection has become apparent throughout the story. He doesn’t want to categorize himself as a hero, even though he is willing to save people but he also doesn’t necessarily categorize himself

as a bad person, even though we have seen him ruthlessly kill in the CG. While Megumi has had a share of development since the start of the series, it is clear there is a lot thats still to be addressed. Especially with Tsumiki dead, and he himself being Sukuna’s vessel, he has

most likely been blaming himself for all that has happened so far. The weight of his shadow has only been increasing which is why it is important to deep dive in it before it becomes unbearable.

So far, whenever Megumi unleashed his domain a certain edge of madness took him over; as if his unconscious, his shadow gained more power of him. He hasn’t been in control and thus hasn’t even scratched the surface of what he is capable of.

Through this suffering and through being forced into his own shadow for an extensive period of time, I expect Megumi to eventually be able to accept these parts of him; the fear of being alone, the inability to save the ones he cares about, how his strict divide of good and bad

had always put himself in “bad”, his dad “abandoning” him; by accepting these harsh truths that have subconsciously affected him throughout his life, he can find a sense of peace and wholeness. With nothing holding him back, he will be able to unleash his full potential.

A Megumi that isn’t driven by unconscious emotions, instincts and desires but one that has instead embraced all of himself.