BUCCHIGIRI: Mahito, Is That You?

MAPPA’s latest project, this season’s BUCCHIGIRI?! is a fun and interesting original anime by the director of SK8 the Infinity that blends together anime’s delinquent trope with an interpretation of the One Thousand and One Nights collection of stories from the Islamic Golden Age. With vibrant colours, aesthetically pleasing character designs and backgrounds, as well as fluid animation, particularly during fights, BUCCHIGIRI?! is shaping up to be one of Winter 2024’s best new anime.

That being said, BUCCHIGIRI?! has one element in particular that anime fans may find amusing: the Sigma group leader, Marito, whose appearance is oddly reminiscent of a highly infamous Cursed Spirit from JUJUTSU KAISEN.

RELATED: Bucchigiri?!: What To Expect From MAPPA’s Upcoming Delinquent Anime

Who is Marito?

At the time of writing, BUCCHIGIRI?! is only two episodes in, so not much can be said about Marito’s character beyond the fact that he is the leader of the Sigma Gang at Ichizu High, and, to Aladdin’s disdain, he is the older brother of the cute girl he sits next to in class, Mahoro. Aladdin doesn’t realize it, but Mahoro is the central piece of an Ichizu High hazing tradition, in which unsuspecting new kids are charmed by Mahoro’s beauty and initial kindness. She invites them on a date to a particular spot where her battle-hungry brother can brawl against the poor soul unfortunate enough to fall for her. In the second episode of BUCCHIGIRI?!, Aladdin temporarily merges with Senya the Djinn and manages to get a powerful hit in against Mahito, who still wins the fight but has his interest piqued by Aladdin’s strength and wants him to join Sigma. While his introduction is quite intense, Marito has a flippant, playful; almost childish personality which comes out after his fight against Aladdin.

There’s a goofiness to Marito’s character that undercuts the fact that he is a ridiculously adept fighter, not to mention completely insane and unafraid of going beyond the limits of regular people. At one point, Marito jumped through the classroom window so he could have a conversation with Aladdin. With the introduction of two leaders in the series so far, it seems that director Hiroko Utsumi’s penchant for creating or breathing life into casts of likable male characters shines through once again, especially with the presentation of bishonen (“beautiful boys”) as seen in SK8 the Infinity. Marito’s character design is perhaps the most out-there of the BUCCHIGIRI?! cast, and it isn’t because he has long, flowing green hair with a heart-shaped bun adorning the back, but because the placement of his various piercings and body modifications, the aforementioned hairstyle, as well as his flippant personality make him look and feel like an alternate universe of one of the biggest menaces of the JUJUTSU KAISEN universe: Mahito.

It Probably Isn’t A Coincidence

JUJUTSU KAISEN has a massive global audience and has gained the kind of popularity that has it invoked in the mainstream more than its contemporaries. The reach of JUJUTSU KAISEN makes it a global phenomenon that’s reaching levels of ubiquity that have previously been seen by major titles like Naruto in particular, and from celebrities to sports teams and athletes, JUJUTSU KAISEN has become renowned. Characters like Nanami and Mahito have become fan-favourites, and even fans who, despite the latter for his actions during the Shibuya Incident arc (and prior), Mahito’s character is very highly regarded for his childish and chaotic brand of villainy and journey towards “Self-Perfection”. His manner of speaking, flippant and playful personality all contrast Mahito’s pursuit of what he deems the perfect expression of his existence as a curse, and because of this ideal, Mahito’s flippance highlights just how sadistic he can be. This “gap” between the violent sadism of a malevolent force, and the lighthearted goofiness of Mahito as a character adds to fans’ hatred of his character, particularly after he kills Nobara Kugisaki.

As a nod to Mahito’s core value, which is to find himself and perfectly express what he is as a Curse, his appearance features sutures that run across his face in a way that’s reminiscent of depictions of Frankenstein’s monster. This is also why his goofy manner of speaking, which is complete with youthful mannerisms, is particularly ominous despite its humour because it’s a sonic reminder of Mahito’s aspiration towards being a fully-fledged “true human”: a Curse. The name “Mahito” is written 真人, which combines a character that translates to “truth” or “reality”, with the character for “person”. Interestingly, “Marito” from BUCCHIGIRI?! is a similar name, except it replaces “truth” with 摩利, the “Mari-” from “Marishiten” or “Marici”, a God of War in Japanese Buddhism, which fits Marito’s love of violence. As mentioned before, BUCCHIGIRI?! director (and original creator) Hiroko Utsumi has a penchant for bishonen, and Mahito is considered by many JUJUTSU KAISEN fans to fall under that category. Given that BUCCHIGIRI?! is also a MAPPA production, with the same art director as JUJUTSU KAISEN in Kurumi Suzuki, Marito looking like the “actor” Mahito was simply cast in another show, especially after Mahito’s demise, is an incredibly entertaining aspect of the Winter 2024 action comedy anime, whether it was intentional or not.

More

The Overlap Between JUJUTSU KAISEN and BLEACH

What if the world of JJK were an alternative expression of a BLEACH universe in which the realms were never separated?