Jujutsu Kaisen: Sukuna’s Cursed Energy Technique, Explained

Warning: Contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen #119.

Ryomen Sukuna emerges as the undisputed King of Curses in Jujutsu Kaisen, especially due to the formidable use of his Cursed Energy Technique. Cursed techniques are wielded by most of the jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, as they are a form of advanced jujutsu that grant users with user-specialized abilities. These techniques can be used in ways inherent to the user, which include barrier techniques, shikigami, and domain expansion.

In order to understand Sukuna’s Cursed Technique better, it is crucial to have a grasp on the basics of how cursed energy works. Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Cursed spirits are essentially birthed from cesspools of loss, fear, and despair, with the essence of these cursed energies fueling their respective abilities. Cursed energy can be used both as a weapon and a shield, although the efficacy of each technique is completely dependent on the user. Being a 1,000-year-old cursed spirit who once used to be a human sorcerer, Sukuna terrorized one and all during the golden age of jujutsu, and his power traversed through the ages in his remains of 20 indestructible fingers. After Yuji Itadori consumes one of Sukuna’s cursed fingers as a means to save Megumi, Sukuna is incarnated, using Yuji as his vessel.

Mirroring the trope of the sealed demon within – much like the figure of Kurama trapped inside Naruto Uzumaki – Sukuna shares his consciousness with Yuji and wreaks havoc whenever he gets the chance to assume control. While explicit details about the full extent of Sukuna’s powers are still shrouded in mystery, one of the first abilities revealed to audiences is his ability to manipulate Yuji’s physical body. On transformation, Yuji’s body develops a second pair of red, glowing eyes at the tip of his cheekbone, with mouth-like slits appearing on various parts of Yuji’s body. This ability to control his vessel is exemplified in the Cursed Womb Arc, wherein Sukuna rips out Yuji’s heart as he would not be able to survive without it.

Over time, it is revealed that Sukuna can utilize the Reversed Cursed Technique to heal himself and others, such as when he helps Yuji regrow a part of his hand after a fight with a cursed spirit. However, these actions are solely based on Sukuna’s covert and ever-changing whims, as he had refused to use the Reversed Cursed Technique to save Junpei, who had undergone an Idle Transfiguration at the hands of Mahito. Nevertheless, Reversed Curse Technique is a rare ability to possess even for a Special Grade cursed spirit, and even the formidable Gojo Satoru was unable to wield this ability during the heat of battle. Apart from this, Sukuna also possesses an innate Cursed Technique, although the exact nature of the same has not yet been revealed in the anime.

Moreover, in Chapter #119 of the Jujutsu Kaisenmanga, the narrator explains that Sukuna can wield two separate slashing attacks, namely Dismantle and Cleave. While Dismantle is a basic slashing offense move, Cleave can be tailored as per the nature of the attacker at the receiving end of the technique in question. Also, during Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Shibuya Incident arc, Sukuna displayed the ability to manipulate fire and kill Jogo in the process, which only serves to point towards the fact that his knowledge of jujutsu far exceeds that of even the most advanced of cursed spirits, such as Hanami and Choso. It is also interesting to note that Sukuna’s Domain Expansion has been termed as a divine technique, and encompasses a full 200 meters, allowing him to cause large-scale destruction with brutal efficiency.

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Debopriyaa Dutta
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Apart from being a features writer and critic at ScreenRant, Debopriyaa is a news writer at /Film. She is also a contributor to High on Films & Fansided, and an editor at Digital Mafia Talkies. Her poetry has been published in a wide array of journals, such as Gideon Poetry, White Noise Magazine, and Literaria. Find her on Twitter @angelusatani.

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