Shinjū Makino

## Shinju Makino

**Shinju Makino** (牧 (まき)野 (の) 真 (しん)珠 (じゅ) *Makino Shinju*?) is a supporting character in the *Jujutsu Kaisen* series. He is a third-year student at Kyoto Jujutsu High School and a grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer. The majority of his childhood was spent trapped in the stomach of a massive Special-Grade curse, to which he was, against all odds, raised by a group of lesser curses.

## Appearance

Shinju is a tall, pale young man and seen almost always with a brazen smile. He has long, sharp black hair that falls down his back. A long fringe covers his left eye, and a few strands are tied up at the back of his head. His eyes are a bright orange-ish red, with notable bottom lashes.

Shinju wears a modified version of the Jujutsu High uniform, resembling a long, billowing cloak with open slits for his hands. Underneath, he has the gall to wear striped pajamas, to which he wholeheartedly believes to be acceptable. His cloak is normally fastened shut with a clasp to conceal his inappropriate attire.

During his time in the psychiatric ward, he wore a simple medical gown and his hair was down.

During the Shibuya Incident, he gains large burn scars along his collarbone to upper-arm after being burned by Jogo.

## Personality

Growing up surrounded by curses who were friendly, Shinju did not develop the fear and distaste most people would. Instead, he treasured them as friends. He did not see them as family due to them lacking a certain "maternal" presence. He was reliant on them as they would regularly leave the special grade curse's stomach to steal food and recreational items for him, like toys and books.

Remaining in the psychiatric ward's care for a time after his escape, Shinju's mentality drastically changed. His socially stunted actions shine brightest during this time, where instead of being predictably reclusive and shy, he had no concept of boundaries (due to growing up around only friends - no notion of "strangers") and treated everyone with overbearing friendliness. He was exceptionally fearless, and the idea of "stranger, danger" had to be taught to him. The doctors and nurses at the facility feared his bold demeanor, especially for someone who's been through so much. Even currently, he's still an incredibly eccentric and intense person. He is brazenly open and social anxiety is a foreign concept to him.

Shinju was conflicted when he was first enrolled in jujutsu high, tormented when he learned curses were in fact violent and inherently evil creatures who were born from negative human emotions. His perception of curses was forcibly corrected when his classmate was killed during a misleading mission. It made him wonder why the group of curses decide to raise him, and if they had ulterior motives before their deaths.

Most likely due to growing up around curses who did not have a honorable moral code, Shinju struggles to grasp "good" and "bad" things, especially with controversial topics. He's unfazed by the sight of blood due to his *friends* often coming home covered in it, and he only learned the grief of mourning after his classmate died. In terms of conventional things, he has much to learn.

## Abilities & Powers

**Overall Abilities:** Shinju is a rather unique sorcerer, with his innate technique allowing him to exorcise curses without actually doing anything himself. It is on the morbid side, but incredibly effective, which upon mastering it gained him the potential to become a Grade 1 Sorcerer. This accomplishment is further respected when taking into account he is still a student- and from a non-sorcerer family.

**Enhanced Agility and Flexibility:** Shinju is one of the most agile students in Kyoto Jujutsu High, with his insane flexibility aiding him greatly in combat. He is triple jointed in his shoulders, ankles, and right wrist, making his mobility much freer than the average person. Upon training, Shinju discovered his flexibility and took up acrobatics to further improve it, and is now a skilled gymnast. He can navigate through crowded locations (i.e, dense forests, Tokyo streets) with ease while still retaining grace akin to a dancer.

**Enhanced Strength:** Due to vigorous training and natural talent, Shinju is much stronger than the average human. While not monstrously strong like Itadori or Maki, he can incorporate his strength with his acrobatic fighting style to overwhelm his opponent.

**Immense Confidence:** Shinju is unfathomably confident, possibly due to his naivety, and its with his overwhelming presence that actually intimidates lower-ranked curses. Although it doesn't border on arrogance, he retains a laid-back and spirited disposition no matter the situation.

### Jujutsu

 **Black Flash** (黒 (こく)閃 (せん) *Kokusen*?): A technique that creates spatial distortion when a user connects with an impact of cursed energy within 0.000001 seconds of a physical hit. The phenomenon causes cursed power to flash black, creating a more potent attack to the power of 2.5 of a normal hit. Currently, Shinju is shown to be able to use it twice in a row, although his limit is unclear.

 **Stage 2:** The final stage and the most important; the curse will attempt to kill themselves with cursed energy. It will not stop unless physically prevented or when the technique is turned off. Suicide by the curse's own signature technique is most common.
If the curse is exceptionally strong or resistant, they can break free from the induced delirium and instead attack the nearest other curse, if applicable. This is shown most clearly when Jogo finds himself in the range of Shinju's technique, crazed, the only option in his limited movements being murdering a wandering curse that happened to pass by.

## Background

The Special-Grade curse known as "Honoe" swallowed Shinju when he was only five, where he survived due to his potent cursed energy. The curse's stomach was also home to four other curses, ranging from grade two to one. They were abnormally compassionate, and in the only case known to jujutsu history, raised a human child. They frequently stole toys and other fun things for him along with necessities, and taught him rudimentary topics.

When he was 14, a sorcerer exorcised Honoe along with the lesser curses, freeing Shinju. The sudden change and death of his "friends" caused him to suffer a mental breakdown, where he was taken to the psychiatric hospital. The hospital staff were fed a cover up story fabricated by the Jujutsu higher ups and he was given time to rehabilitate. Shinju was surprisingly not behind on much education-wise, as one of the curses who raised him taught him middle-school level topics. The curse was later revealed to be a former junior high teacher who transformed into a curse after death.

The doctors spent their efforts teaching him modern skills, such as using a phone, transportation, and so on. They were most likely under the impression he was kidnapped by a criminal his entire childhood, kept in a dingy basement.

His parents still believe him to be dead, as the police dropped his missing child case half a year after it was reported. He has yet to reunite with them, and seems to have no desire to.

## Trivia

* His first name, Shinju, can be spelled as 心中, which means 'double suicide'. It usually refers to a multi-person suicide bound by love.

* According to Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook:
	+ Enrollment method: Jujutsu High placed him in the ward to recover, and enrolled him in time for his second year of high school.
	+ Shinju's hobbies include playing first-shooter video games and watching hallmark rom-coms.
	+ Favorite dish: Limited time holiday-special treats (Claims they taste better than the originals despite the zero difference in recipe)
	+ Least favorite dish: Stale crackers
	+ Cause of stress: Pretending to have done nostalgic childhood things to fit in
	+ His first official mission was with Noritoshi Kamo, where Shinju made an off-handed joke about Kamo being a vampire's favorite treat. It resulted in the rest of the mission being awkward, although he was completely oblivious to it.
	+ His parents think he's dead, with no hope of returning.