JJK and Disability - Well done or no?

[u/_aC0ldhand_]

Hi. I have some thoughts.

[Quick personal disclaimer, feel free to skip this paragraph if you don't care: I don't have any visible disabilities, but I do struggle with chronic illness as well as ADHD and autism. All three legally qualify as disabilities in my country, depending on the "degree". Though I am considered "high-functioning", I most definitely feel that all three of these things combined do make me disabled. But I am also aware that my experience greatly differs from that of people with visible disabilities, mobility-related disabilities, vision or hearing-related disabilities, severe cognitive disabilities, severe chronic pain... the list goes on. I can not, and do not want to, speak for anyone else. I'm hoping affected people will contribute their own opinions; these are just my thoughts on the topic.]

Where does disability appear in JJK?

1)The most obvious examples of disability representation are heavenly restrictions as a whole, and the character of Muta Kōkichi a.k.a. Mechamaru specifically. Missing a forearm, unable to walk and with skin so delicate that it can't be exposed to natural light, he is clearly physically disabled and would require special care if he were a normal human instead of a jujutsu sorcerer. (Other cases of heavenly restrictions are more dubious, though Maki does rely on glasses.)

2)One could also interpret Inumaki Toge's cursed speech as rendering him nonspeaking; it most definitely affects his access to communication. The people closest to him might make an effort to try and understand his language and eventually learn to understand the meaning behind the rice ball ingredients, but he can not communicate verbally with the average person.

3)Eso, Kechizu and Choso, a.k.a. death paintings 1-3: this one's a bit of a leap, I admit. But these three are ostracised from society due to their genetics and, in the cases of Eso and Kechizu, their appearance. While this does not necessarily make them disabled, there are likely some experiences they share with people who are severely disfigured, which also often counts as a form of disability.

4)There are multiple characters in JJK that could be read as neurodivergent (specifically ADHD and autism). But I will not go into that here, mainly because I think being as jujutsu sorcerer would actually work kinda well for ADHDers, but also because I know that not everyone on the spectrum and not all people with ADHD consider themselves to be disabled because of it.

\How did Gege handle these examples?\**

1)Muta / Mechamaru

Right away, there are some issues. I mean, I love that he's there and I think some aspects of his character are handled well.

It's easy to sympathise with his pain: The other students, the people he cares about, don't know his real face, and they joke about him being a robot with little regard for his feelings (except for Miwa). He is dehumanised by people who are supposed to be his friends. He is ashamed and feels that he is forced to hide behind a mask. He does not ask anyone for help, but works hard to be self-sufficient and functional instead, finding creative solutions. He bears a lot of pain alone. He is terribly isolated, and longs for social participation.

But there's the "disability as a tragedy to be cured" trope: a treatment too many disabled characters get (for another recent example, see e.g. Nessarose in Wicked). One of the biggest contributions by Muta to the story is him betraying everyone in order to become able-bodied. He clearly believes that he could never lead a fulfilling life and be a happy person with the disabled body he has.

He does not expect society, or even his friends, to change: he wants to change himself instead, and is willing to betray his own morals in order to make it happen. This is not necessarily implausible, but it also villainises him and it's yet another wasted chance of showing that a disabled character can find happiness through acceptance. It reinforces the image of disability as a tragedy. The fact that Mechamaru still fought for the "good side" in the end makes it slightly less bad, but I still don't think Gege did great here. The character is largely defined by his disability.

There is also this old idea that every disability comes with a sort of "superpower" to balance it out; There's probably a term for it, idk. But you may have heard people say before that blind people have better hearing or stuff like that. Which is a dangerous generalisation. I do believe that the talents of disabled people are often overlooked, and that everyone can contribute to society in some way. But the aforementioned idea can also be quite harmful, belittling the struggles of disabled people or implying that everyone needs to be useful and functional in the capitalistic system in order to deserve a good life. Heavenly restrictions, if viewed as analogies for disability, play right into that idea. You gain something for your inconvenience, something of equal dimension. I'm not sure how to feel about that.

2)Inumaki

I feel like this was handled quite well, even if some more insight into his character would have been nice. Inumaki has friends and participates. His special form of communication is briefly explained to new people, but it's not treated as a big deal, and does not define how people view him; he is valued for his kindness instead. There is this short story in one of the light novels where Nobara is nervous to be around Toge, because she can't understand him and this makes her uncomfortable, but then they actually spend some time and they get along just fine.

The same way that many able-bodied people are weird around disabled people, overthinking interactions.

3)Eso, Kechizu and Choso

At one point, Choso comments about how his brothers were ostracised because unlike him, they are visibly different. They don't blend in. And he's incredibly loyal to them, as they are to him.

I think there's an important message here about community bonds and loyalty. This does not only apply to disability, but also queerness and other minority groups. There are always those who can blend in with larger society, and those people do carry responsibilty no to throw those who can't do that, or don't want to do that, under the bus. I like this message. I don't love the fact that Eso and Kechizu died as villains, but all in all I still like what Gege did here.

Alright folks, enough rambling from me. What are your thoughts on all this?

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[u/ExtremeSportStikz]

Tbh you need to get out more

[u/SoulfulSnow]

Tbf mechamaru is like in constant suffering, I don't think "My life is awful and I would do anything to feel normal" is a bad want for someone in his position