Kenton Namami

Introduction

Kento Nanami (七なな海み建けん人と, Nanami Kento?) is a major supporting character in Jujutsu Kaisen. He was a former student of Tokyo Jujutsu High where he was an underclassman of Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto. Nanami initially left Jujutsu High after graduating to become a salaryman, but returned four years later to continue working as a jujutsu sorcerer. While working as a Jujutsu High sorcerer, Nanami was ranked grade 1 and operated primarily out of the Tokyo campus. With Satoru's introduction, he also became a close mentor to Yuji Itadori.

Bio

Physical Appearance

Nanami is a tall, well-built man with blonde hair styled with a neat part. Nanami has very thin eyebrows as well as small eyes that are usually covered by his signature sunglasses, which don't have arms that wrap around the ears.

Outfit

After graduating from Jujutsu High and working for corporate, Nanami wore a vertical striped jacket over a white button-down shirt and dark-colored tie with white dots all over it, vertical striped pants, and black shoes. As a student, Nanami wore a normal Jujutsu High uniform. His hair was styled slightly differently when he was younger.

Personality [1/2]

Nanami is a very wise and reserved kind of man, often appearing so calm and indifferent that he comes off as stoic and aloof. He seems like the kind of person who's too serious about his work, but Nanami just knows how to separate sentimentalism from service. He's blunt and straight to the point in most conversations and doesn't care for impractical optimism or questions left open to interpretation. Additionally, Nanami is very avid and quick to express his irritation, either on his face and verbally with his words. Nanami is often very impatient. He hates working overtime and is very serious about not going a single minute over what's required of him. Beneath his tough exterior, Nanami is actually quite sociable and doesn't mind intelligent conversations. He's practical and overly serious to an almost comedic point on occasion as well. He claims he only became a jujutsu sorcerer because it's slightly less idiotic than being a salaryman. In the role of one of Yuji's mentors, Nanami is a very big contrast to Satoru, who is far more outspoken and easy-going. Yuji and Satoru describe Nanami as "gloomy" and the former didn't believe they would get along at first Nanami is just a normal man weighed down by the mundane day-to-day practices of life that stole his youth from him. Nanami doesn't believe age or life-threatening experience propels one into adulthood. Instead, he feels that it's the build-up of all the little inconveniences throughout life that transform people into adults. He initially treated Yuji as a child because he didn't want to see him abandon his youth for the sake of being a jujutsu sorcerer. However, Yuji eventually proved himself and forced Nanami to acknowledge him.

Personality [2/2]

Nanami knows being a jujutsu sorcerer is a dangerous and demanding job for crazy people, and so he has a hard time respecting people in the profession. Even though Nanami and Satoru are longtime friends, the former claims he doesn't respect Satoru despite their mutual trust in one another. He returned to being a sorcerer from the life of a salaryman because he never felt truly appreciated and didn't believe his work had any significant impact on anyone. In contrast, work as a sorcerer allowed him to build up small bits of appreciation from innocent people. For Nanami, this was more than enough to allow him to live without regrets. Nanami had a similar yet naturally less mature personality while he was a student at Jujutsu High. He saw missions as a burden but his negativity was always offset by his classmate Yu Haibara's extreme optimism. Haibara's death affected Nanami greatly and likely played a role in his initial decision to leave life behind as a jujutsu sorcerer. One of the reasons he believes jujutsu sorcerers are trash is because they must force their comrades to accept that they must willingly sacrifice themselves. He recognizes that this lead him to "run away" from the profession, admitting that it's a more befitting phrase than suggesting he "quit". Nanami wants to believe he's never been frustrated by his own uselessness, but many of his failures haunt him, such as allowing Haibara to die.

Overall Skill Level [1/2]

Nanami is a model example of what a grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer should be. Yuji and Takuma Ino both look up to Nanami for his demeanor when actively approaching a difficult situation as well as his incredible skill when it comes down to solving it. Satoru Gojo entrusted Nanami with looking after Yuji due to these traits as well and it paid off well for Yuji's growth. Ino, a powerful grade 2 sorcerer, approaches every tough decision with "what would Nanami do" in mind because he believes Nanami always handles things the right way. When it comes to combat ability, Nanami is capable of fighting on par with special grade cursed spirits such as Mahito. While Mahito was still in the infancy of his existence, Nanami was able to keep up in several of the exchanges. With a lack of information on Mahito's ability, Nanami suffered a direct blow to his soul but was still able to survive, something no one Mahito faced before had been able to do. Mahito himself considered Nanami to be exceptionally strong and a worthy opponent, far stronger than the average sorcerer. During the Shibuya Incident, Nanami showcased his leadership ability alongside great intellect and fighting strength. Upon learning about Satoru's sealing, Nanami was able to deduce what would be the best move for his team and helped carry out Mechamaru's rescue plan without delay. Understanding that Kiyotaka Ijichi and the managers are crucial for communication in a large-scale mission, Nanami went alone to put protocols for the operation in place while also delegating the others on another task.

Overall Skill Level [2/2]

Trapped inside Dagon's Domain, Nanami was unable to take any offensive position whatsoever. However, he miraculously survived Dagon's endless stream of Death Swarm shikigami for over a minute, something that surprised him the domain's caster. Once Megumi arrived and nullified Dagon's automatic hit with his own Domain, Nanami focused on protecting Megumi and was easily able to dispatch any shikigami that tried to attack the student despite his injuries.[23] Despite being heavily injured by Dagon and later burned by Jogo, Nanami massacred an entire swarm of transfigured humans attempting to kill him.

Master Swordsman

Nanami mainly utilizes a blunt sword in battle and does so with incredible proficiency. Combined with his cursed technique, Nanami can cut through anything, including a blocking opponent that is using cursed energy to defend themselves. Nanami wields his blade with grace and balance, striking with extreme speed and precision with every swipe of his sword.

Master Hand to Hand Combatant

In addition to being adept at armed combat, Nanami is an extremely capable unarmed fighter as well. His innate technique works with his fists as well as it does with his blunt sword. Nanami used this method to effortlessly overpower the curse user Haruta Shigemo. Each of Nanami's blows were incredibly devastating, a simple backhand was enough to send Shigemo flying across the room. There was never a point in the fight where Nanami was any danger fighting at close range, he delivered one bone-shattering blow after another and Shigemo would have died if not for his cursed technique.

Great Tactical Intellect

Nanami's greatest assets in battle outside of his cursed technique are his astute fighting instincts and deductive reasoning skills. Both times he fought Mahito Nanami knew he was outmatched in terms of raw cursed energy, however, he survived both accounts and overwhelmed Mahito on several occasions thanks to quick thinking and masterful execution. When Nanami was assigned Mahito's case, he was able to effectively utilize his team to track down the proper clues that eventually lead them right to Mahito. He was also able to recognize that Mahito was purposely leading them into his hideout, and decided to go alone to prevent harm from coming to the others. During their first encounter, Nanami eventually realized his cursed technique could not win against Mahito's. As a countermeasure, Nanami used the environment around them to pin Mahito down. In their second fight, Nanami quickly realized that Yuji could land attacks that actually damaged Mahito. Instantly, Nanami came up with a strategy to overwhelm Mahito together that completely worked, and if not for Mahito's sudden evolution, would have killed the special grade cursed spirit. At the mercy of Mahito's Domain Expansion, Nanami was able to instantly assess his situation and what it meant for Mahito's advantage.

Enhanced Durability

Nanami is incredibly durable for a human even by sorcerer standards. As previously mentioned, he was able to survive being touched by Mahito's Idle Transfiguration and continued to fight and eventually escaped with his life and body intact.[29] When Shigemo fought Nanami he attempted to cut and kick him right after. However, Nanami was unscathed from the slash and didn't move as much as an inch from the curse user's kick. Shigemo compared hitting Nanami to a stone wall and said it felt like he wasn't even hitting a person.[30] Additionally, Nanami was able to survive an endless swarm of man-eating fish shikigami for over a minute and was attacked by Jogo shortly after that. He was miraculously able to survive both and was even able to continue fighting, unlike Maki and Naobito who were completely incapacitated and near-death.

Superior Precision and Technique

Nanami is an extremely technical fighter who plans on using his every move to exploit an opening in his opponent. His aim is always extremely precise, as he never misses his target's weak point when it's exposed by his cursed technique. Against stronger opponents, Nanami fights by breaking them down and creating constant weak points until they eventually fall. This same level of precision allows Nanami to evade his opponent's attacks with clever maneuvers. For example, by sticking his sword into a wall, Nanami was able to raise his legs high enough to avoid a ranged attack from Mahito.

Cursed Energy

Cursed Energy Manipulation

Great Cursed Energy: Nanami has remarkable levels of cursed energy for a jujutsu sorcerer. He can utilize his innate technique while reinforcing his body with cursed energy without showing any signs of running low. His control over his cursed energy is also shown by his ability to assign a Binding Vow to himself and limit it for a given amount of time. Even after being injured by Mahito, Nanami's cursed energy rose to levels that even intimidated and excited the special grade. Against Mahito's Idle Transfiguration, Nanami subconsciously guarded his soul with cursed energy to survive the initial impact with his opponent's innate technique. Nobara and Shigemo both immediately felt Nanami's presence when he took over their fight. His overwhelming cursed energy froze them both up and got their full attention as he walked through the door.[33] Shigemo attempted to cut Nanami but having already reinforced his body with cursed energy more than sufficed to avoid being cut. It was so effortless that Shigemo couldn't even figure out what happened.

Black Flash

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 a span of 0.000001 seconds of a physical hit. The phenomenon causes cursed energy to flash black, creating an attack that is equal to a normal hit to the power of 2.5. Before Yuji fought Hanami, Kento Nanami was the record holder for most consecutive uses of Black Flash. He claims he got lucky.

Innate Technique

Ratio Technique (十とお劃かく呪じゅ法ほう, Tōkaku Juhō?): Nanami's Innate technique can divide his target with ten lines and forcibly create a weak spot at the ratio point of seven to three. The target's lines don't have to match up with the target's length or wingspan. Nanami can freely choose which part to divide, including the subjects, head, torso, arms, and legs. This technique is also applicable to non-living objects.

Collapse

Collapse (瓦が落ら瓦が落ら, Garagara?): An extension technique that creates a weak point in the surrounding environment, allowing Nanami to destroy it with a single blow. Nanami first used this technique after unleashing both his Binding Vows in order to destroy the underground tunnel and trap Mahito.

Cursed Tool

Nanami primarily goes into battle with a blunt sword wrapped in a cloth with a splattered black dot design. The sword itself is short with a wooden handle. The same dotted design is also on Nanami's tie, which he will sometimes wrap around his fists. He uses both to activate his Innate technique and strikes his target's weak point.

Early Life

Nanami formerly attended the sorcerer college and during his first year, he had teamed up with Yu Haibara to back up Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo while they are at Okinawa. A year later, Nanami teams with Yu on a mission but the mission turns out to be more difficult than they realize. After the mission is finished, Nanami is in the morgue while Geto examines Yu's dead body and explains how the mission was more difficult. After Nanami graduated from the college, he decided to quit being a sorcerer because he found it to be a pain. Nanami then started to work as a businessman, but found that the job only cared about money. After taking care of a cursed spirit that was causing a baker problems, Nanami decides to return to being a sorcerer.[1] Nanami is introduced to Yuji Itadori by Gojo, since Gojo can't teach him at the moment. Nanami and the two talk, where Nanami reveals what kind of sorcerer he is and how he doesn't approve of Yuji. Yuji responds that he wants to get stronger and that he will make them approve of him, which Nanami tells Yuji to tell the higher ups about that.

Mahito Arc [1/3]

Nanami along with Yuji investigate the theater incident, where Nanami manages to teach Yuji to see remnants. As they follow the remnants, Nanami and Yuji talk about how there might be a witness to the murder. After following the remnants, the two come across two cursed spirits and each take one to face off against. Nanami begins to explain how his technique works and shows Yuji how it works. Nanami then watches Yuji and figures out how Yuji's technique works. Nanami notices that there is something wrong with the cursed spirits and stops Yuji from killing his spirit. Nanami has the cursed spirits examined, which Shoko Ieiri reveals that the cursed spirits were once humans. After learning of this, the two head out to continue investigating. After finding out that there have been multiple missing persons and mysterious deaths, Nanami decides to have Yuji investigate Junpei Yoshino while he follows up a different lead.

Mahito Arc [2/3]

Nanami heads into the sewers where he comes in contact with Mahito. Nanami begins to fight against Mahito and plans to finish the fight quickly since he doesn't like to work overtime. Because Nanami manages to break Mahito's arm, Mahito stops fighting to explain how his technique works and heals his arm. As Mahito wonders what would happen if he uses his technique on a sorcerer, Nanami simply looks at his watch and says that he will finish this by six. Nanami continues to fight Mahito, which results in Mahito injuring Nanami. Once it hits 6 o'clock, Nanami wraps his tie around his hand and starts to explain how his technique works. Nanami then uses his technique on a wall so that a large amount of rubble falls on top of them. As Mahito watches the rubble, Nanami uses his technique on him to injure his leg and retreats. Afterwards, Nanami contacts Kiyotaka Ijichi and reveals what had happened. After hanging up, Nanami thinks about what kind of character he is.[15][16] Later, Yuji finds out what happened to Nanami and asks Nanami to take him next time, Nanami explains how its not necessary and asks Yuji to continue observing Junpei.

Mahito Arc [3/3]

The next day, Nanami is handling Mahito's cursed spirits in the sewer with Takuma Ino. Nanami contacts Yuji about not heading to Junpei's school, Nanami then leaves Ino to handle the creatures as he thinks that Yuji will most likely head to the school anyway.[18] Nanami manages to show up and defends Yuji, when Mahito was about to land a blow on Yuji.[19] Nanami asks about the situation and Yuji reveals everything that had happened. After finding out that Yuji can harm Mahito, Nanami has Yuji fight Mahito with him. As Nanami and Yuji battle against Mahito, Mahito decides to change tactics and have cursed spirits attack Yuji.[20] Nanami fights against Mahito, but Mahito manages to restrain Nanami. As Mahito goes to finish Nanami off, Yuji shows up and frees Nanami.[21] Nanami and Yuji continue to overwhelm Mahito, until Mahito uses his Self-Embodiment of Perfection to trap Nanami.[22] Nanami thinks about the situation he is in and comes to the conclusion that he is in the palm of Mahito's hand.[23] Nanami prepares to take on Mahito since he has no regrets but Yuji shows up and Sukuna wounds Mahito causing the Domain Expansion to be undone.[24] Yuji tries to finish Mahito off but Mahito manages to get away. As Nanami makes plans to cut off Mahito's escape route, he notices that Yuji is laying on the ground and goes to check up on him.[25] Later that day, Nanami meets with Yuji and they talk about the situation that happened that day.

Kyoto Goodwill Event

On the day of the event, Nanami is with Gojo and they talk about what had happened at Satozakura High School.