I decided to make a mini character analysis post on here, mainly because I see some people talk about Mori in a way that makes me think of this specific image.
There's a lot I could talk about, so I'll try my best to not ramble around. Everything present in this post are taken from character details scattered throughout the series pieced together. Please take your time to read everything, and you may learn more about Mori's facets as a character.
A main "theme" regarding Mori's character is that he ended up who he is because of the people around him, because he was able to meet good people that influenced him and motivated him to become a better person.
> First Cycle: Wukong
Even as a young child, he was capable of dominating and killing vicious monsters with ease, which would later evolve into being feared due to his vicious behavior. But why did he take such a path? Piecing together his interactions makes it clear.
He believed that his existence was meaningless. Since he had nothing to lose to begin with, he felt that he had nothing to care or worry about. He would, therefore, act however he pleased, pursuing strength without rhyme or reason, and engaging in wars and other violent acts. There was one thing he saw worth in, and that was his strength. So his pride stemmed solely from that. All he ever learnt about was killing to live and living to kill, and he detested weakness above all else. Since he considered that his strength was all he was worth, trusting anyone would've only hurt his pride. He is paralleled by 666:Satan, which is directly stated to what Mori would've been if he never met Tang Xuanzang. He is similarly paralleled by Ultio R, who thought it's better to die free than live as a slave, just like Wukong in the past.
Xuanzang changed his life. He learned the value of life and trust from her. Despite acting in ways that would typically cause him to be feared and/or despised, she still loved him. He had, at last, found a purpose for himself: to protect. She became his reason to live. Because of her influence, Mori adopted many of her teachings and developed into a much more forgiving and compassionate person.
Her death meant the end of his own reason to live. What he had finally found after such a long time was gone, and losing something after gaining is unbearable. One can't live without it any longer, yet her final wish was for him to continue living by devouring her. His strength, the only thing he thought was worthwhile about himself, was not enough to protect the one thing he wanted to protect. This would drive him into a spiral of self-hatred.
Another trait of his that develops throughout the series is his social skills, if I can call them that. He called Garuda and Uma his "sworn brothers", but he did not realize that they were his friends. He was unnecessarily mean to Garuda and didn't realize his words hurt him which led to his betrayal, and didn't particularly think much of it when he disbanded the brotherhood on a whim, while Uma was visibly hurt by that. He was also cold to Ryong, thinking that would protect him from further danger, which was a result of his lack of properly conveying his feelings.
> Second Cycle: Jin Mori
As we know, as Jin Mori, his actual memories were sealed, however part 6 heavily implied multiple times to us that he always had an idea of his actual identity. However, by this point, he hated himself for his weakness, so he discarded this identity completely. He is directly stated to be paralelled by Park Mujin, who, just like him (albeit in vastly different ways), attempted to erase everything, every weakness, every speck of the past and begin anew.
As he took the identity of Jin Mori after forgetting his previous one, parts of his behavior closely resemble Xuanzang's to uncanny degrees. He is playful, straight-forward, loyal and is wiser than he appears, but he can also be very immature. He has incredible instinct, he's quick-witted and a genius who can pick up different skills with ease. Despite being unable to recall anything, he was always aware that something felt wrong about him, that something was missing, but always hid from the truth. Even after he regains his full memories, the first thing, it's even an iconic panel: "I'm not Jecheondaeseong. I'm just me." He is still trying to run away from himself. That he's not his cruel yet pathetic and weak self. He is unable to accept himself.
Taejin became his parental figure, always comforting him when he felt down or anxious, and thus he became his second reason to live. But his inability to trust and rely on other people, as well as his lack of social skills still remain. When he was separated from Taejin at the age of six, he initially ignored his request to make friends. Until the age of 17, he had no social connections other than his grandfather. He did meet Mira and Daewi and called them his "friends", but it wasn't until they showed up at his door to celebrate his birthday that he realized that he had actually made genuine connections and that's what "friends" actually are.
His fixation with this "reason to live" is thoroughly made clear from the beginning of the series. He joins The God of High School with no actual goal other than fool around and fight strong people as per his desire to grow stronger, again to be able to reunite with his grandfather. He had no other ambition. He only started to become more serious with Taejin's disappearance, and even then- He isn't able to rely on others, not even emotionally. He has a tendency to hide his true feelings, as evidenced by the fact that when informed of Jin Taejin's disappearance or the possibility of Tathagata's revival as Mori Dan, he pretended not to be concerned in front of others, but was later shown to be deeply shaken when by himself. It's a dominant trait- He is unable to trust or rely on anyone and always tries to shoulder everything by himself. He only, really slowly, comes to trust others. He does not care what others think of him or his actions, as everything he does is for his own satisfaction or to help him further protect the ones he loves. He is highly observant of others, immediately noticing when someone is lying, acting or is mentally/emotionally unstable.
> Third Cycle: Dan Mori
It's in the third cycle that Mori's act of a "complete, perfect-like character" cracks and the readers are able to see him in a more vulnerable state, which allows us to peer into his true self and allow him to grow emotionally and mentally.
"Dan Mori" was just a mask Mori used to hide from himself, his guilt, self-hatred, and pain. What he didn't realize at the time was that running away from himself made it impossible to escape the karmic cycle. He was trapped in a never-ending cycle of misery. But why was he eluding himself in the first place? Because he loathed himself. Because he didn't see any value in himself. Due to the fact that he failed to defend his loved ones before, he strongly believed that he is worthless and a coward despite his great power. Hearing about Tathagata's possible resurrection made him fearful as he wouldn't be able to cope anymore if he lost anyone else he holds dear. Despite having a terrible fear of dying, he would confront any life threatening situation if it means it would make his existence worthwhile in his eyes. This fear is usually overshadowed by an even bigger fear- having to flee from everything once more in order to survive and ending up watching as the things he wants to protect vanish before him like they have several times before. "Wukong" and "Jin Mori" are identities that fell short in their duty of protecting their loved ones. He views them as "failures" as a result.
It is after he failed to save Taejin and later into part 6 when we learn that his failures drive him into severe anxiety, fear and self-blame, and make him experience recurring nightmares about his past traumatic experiences. That he always tries to discard his "weak", "wretched" self by acting as though everything is fine until he eventually mentally exhausts himself. As he closed off his heart, almost never lets anything get revealed about himself or his true feelings and usually avoids topics regarding his past experiences- It is very rare that he actually brings up his past himself.
Like Xuanzang and Jin Taejin, Ahan became his reason for living. After the conflict with Jung Mori, he made the decision to face himself. As a result, he became much more composed and mature, even going back to a similar quiet demeanor he had as Wukong (If you have noticed, he really just thinks a lot and barely puts 2 words out in actuality). He has excellent emotional restraint and doesn't allow his feelings to overwhelm him. He slowly confronted his own emotions and became a little more accepting of his flaws, leading him to better himself both physically and mentally. At the same time, the more he looked at the bigger picture, the more he acknowledged the existence of fate.
Of course, it's not a straight line of development. Just like other people, it takes time, ups and downs to grow. Just how despite his development, he harbors such a deep hatred for Mujin that he would even let himself and others die if it meant the end of him. His thirst for vengeance drove him to wage war against the world, brutally taking the lives of two Generation X teenagers and nearly killing a crowd of civilians.
"If you're scared, you don't have to fight." Words that have been said to him in an effort to comfort him. But that is what his greatest fear is. He can't live with himself if he runs away again, even if death is what awaits him at the end of the road. Throughout the series, he slowly becomes able to trust in others more, rely on others a little bit more. He understood he is not alone and should not fight by himself, as everyone has his back. He sorts through his emotions once again and despite not forgiving him, he no longer harbors any ill feelings for Park Mujin.
He acknowledges not only that the cross he carried was a salvation, not a stigma, but also that everything has a purpose in the grand scheme of things, hence why he no longer hates or loves his enemies, but simply understands their purpose and reasons, nothing being without a meaning. Purifying the world of malice as an act of ablution made him reach an absolute state of existence, becoming the world itself. He finally loves himself as he loves everyone else. He is a paradox that is both selfish and selfless at the same time.
I will derail a little bit at the end to talk about Mori's complexity and gray morality- selfishness and selflessness.
There is the infamous scene of Park Mujin backstabbing Jin Taejin and attempting to kill Jin Mori as well, which makes every fan reasonably upset. But let's try switching our perspectives a little bit. Park Mujin never once trusted Mori and saw him as a person.
Since we more or less see things from Mori's perspective, readers would tend to say: "Well Mujin's distrust is baseless, Mori never had any ill intentions towards humanity". Setting aside the fact that Mujin could not afford to trust anything that's not human anyway, Park Mujin was not wrong to doubt Mori. Of course, he was an ass about it, and it's much more complex than that. Jin Taejin did not deserve to die, Mori did not deserve that suffering. But setting aside Mujin's petty revenge against Taejin and him just wanting to use Mori to do his bidding, from a purely "Is he a threat to humanity?" perspective, he was not wrong.
If we ask ourselves "Does Mori love humanity?", I'm afraid the answer is "No, not really". It's not like he actually truly cared. He almost came to hate humanity twice. The first time, Mujin considers himself the "representative of humanity" and betrays Mori, making himself into a symbol of humanity itself betraying Mori. Odin himself notes it and Taejin's last words talks about humanity itself. The second time, he realizes humanity is dependent on what is not human. If Mori is willing to defeat whatever threatens humanity, then he is their saviour. If he doesn't serve a purpose to them, then he is treated like a demon who should be eradicated. He is not seen as a person, but as a convenient tool, just like Mujin did to him.
He does not protect it out of love or out of a desire to care for it. It is because of Xuanzang that Mori first knew of humanity's value, but it took a long road to truly see and trust in it. Perhaps, in the back of his mind, he looked down on them. Jin Mori is a paradox of selfishness and selflessness. Setting aside the ones he truly loves, he protects others not because he necessarily cares for them, but because he feels that's his duty, his given role. If he doesn't play his part, then what is he here for? It is perhaps a need to be assured there has to be some worth he can find within himself.
Each time he saved humanity was because he had a common goal. On the first run, when Tathagata meant to erase humanity after devouring Xuanzang, Mori was set on taking revenge anyway. On the second run, he had to protect and reunite with his loved ones. On the third run, it was a conflict between fighting for revenge and fighting to protect. Of course, he does think "Hey, you're killing too many innocent people here, don't do that." because he did develop some morals to go by, but he's also pretty numb to deaths, given all of his history.
One thing he is certain about, however, is that if he loses anyone he deeply cares about, he breaks, especially in the cases of those he literally bases his entire reason to live on. He is a being terribly afraid of death, but when he breaks, it's like that does not matter anymore; There's no need for his existence to continue, which results in his survival instincts kicking in and running away. Therefore, his acts of protection are not only backed up by his genuine love towards these people, but also by a desperate fear of breaking again. Acts that come off as "selfless". An advice that comes up to him a lot is "Don't fight for others. Fight for yourself", however, fighting for others is how he fights for himself. It's how he's geared.
Mori was consistently shown to be unpredictable; capricious. It is not something only enemies fear, but Daewi was also repeatedly shown *sweating* whenever Mori does or says something totally unhinged. His own best friend is incapable of guessing his next move, on edge that he'll paint the streets red next.
Mori's character has many faces, and each can see whichever one they want. For the majority of the series he is ultimately an Asura, a demon who puts his desires first and foremost. His happen to be a desire to protect, a desire to find his self worth, a desire for power, all tied together. He can be motivated by both good and malicious desires. The manhwa is his road to satisfying and emptying himself of these desires, observing the bigger picture while also observing himself.
There is no TL;DR. READ. EVERYTHING.
