This feature contains spoilers for the Gege Akutami's manga Jujutsu Kaisen.
Ryomen Sukuna has become one of the most well-known villains in the Shonen genre. His bloodshed, hate for the protagonist, and interesting character motivations have made him a character with such a dedicated fanbase that fans were expecting and even hoping that he would come out victorious for the final arc of the manga. Considering the massacre, he's led not only on civilians but also the main cast. For a moment, it appeared they might get their wish.
Like anime favorite Satoru Gojo, a large part of the fanfare surrounding Sukuna is his abilities. Titled the Strongest Sorcerer of History, Sukuna showed excellent combat skills, intellect, and more. The highlight of his skillset is the cursed techniques he is ready to use immediately. This guide explains the intricacies of Sukuna's cursed techniques now that the manga has concluded and his abilities are fully revealed.
Sukuna's Innate Technique: Shrine, Explained
With Shrine, Sukuna Can Cut Through Anything
Sukuna's Shrine is likely one of the most potent techniques in the anime, despite its simple premise. Shrine acts like a knife with which Sukuna can carve his way through the world and his opposition. Shrine has various ranges and applications, but two applications are the most prominent of Sukuna's technique: Cleave and Dismantle. Dismantle is the default range of the slash and has an excellent output that can cut through any sorcerer or spirit despite their cursed reinforcement. The only sorcerer that Dismantle could not reach was Satoru Gojo because of Limitless. He used Mahoraga, the strongest shadow of the Ten Shadows, as a model to do this. Sukuna could enhance and target the world.
Because the dismantling targeted the world and not Gojo himself, it could bypass the Limitless technique and cut him in two. The second application, Cleave, was a slashing attack that auto-adjusts depending on the target's roughness, intended to cut them down in one attack. To use this ability to the fullest extent, Sukuna had to ensure that he was contacting the target.
Sukuna's Fire Arrow: Divine Flame, Explained
The Fire Arrow That Exceed's The Cursed Spirit Jogo
Divine Flame was a mysterious attack that Sukuna used against the Cursed Spirit Jogo, whose pyrokinetic skills were so strong it made him an unregistered special-grade curse, and against Mahoraga. Fans did not know that Sukuna had a second ability that came with his Shrine technique. Still, after obliterating Jogo in a heat hotter than his own, there was anticipation to understand how Sukuna's Fire Arrow worked. In the Shinjuku Showdown arc, Sukuna opens the black box, which is him using the Fire Arrow.
The heat of the furnace spread the detonations immediately, birthing scalding, instantly compressing and decompressing shockwaves, ensuring the death of all living beings within the domain.
After chanting, Sukuna can launch the Divine Flame, an arrow of flame bombs. Whatever is touched by the fire is engulfed in flames with explosive, cursed energy. It unleashes thermonuclear energy, causing near-fire bomb-level explosions on opponents. This is Sukuna's strongest Curse Technique and a completely devastating one that reduces his foes to ash.
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Sukuna's Ten Shadows, Explained
After Taking Megumi's Body, Sukuna Gains His Powerful Techniques
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Sukuna's interest in Megumi was found after he saw the boy's Cursed Technique: The Ten Shadows. Once Sukuna took over his body in Chapter 212, he could summon the Ten Shadows, the Zenin Clan's prized technique. While Megumi's Ten Shadows were strong in their own right, Sukuna's plentiful cursed energy upgraded the Shikigami summoned to such an insane degree that it made Megumi look like a real child in comparison.
Shikigami
Explanation
Divine Dogs
Twin dogs with powerful noses. Sukuna can increase their range and uses them to find his targets.
Divine Dog: Totality
Fusing the two Divine Dogs into one, Sukuna's is noticeably stronger and can break the ground with a single punch.
Nue
Sukuna's Nue is much larger and has two additional arms that look like snakes. It also discharges stronger electricity.
Max Elephant
Has Sunken Eye Sockets and curved tusks. Can imitate Piercing Blood by firing a beam of water.
Rabbit Escape
Summons multiple rabbit shikigami to use as a distraction or to obscure Sukuna's foe.
Round Deer
Can perform reverse cursed technique.
Piercing Ox
Dominated by Sukuna it now does more damage when it travels.
Mahoraga
Unlike Megumi and many other Ten Shadows users, Sukuna was the first to tame Mahoraga.
Nue: Totality
Fused Nue with Great Serpent, Round Deer, and Tiger Funeral.
The main difference between Sukuna and Megumi's Ten Shadows is that while Megumi's Ten Shadows seemed younger and less powerful, Sukuna's are devastating creatures over which Sukuna has complete control. Even Mahoraga, who made his debut taking out Megumi as it was untamed, listens dutifully to Sukuna, who used his skills to bypass Gojo's infinity. However this may only be a former technique for Sukuna, as once he turned into his complete form, he may have lost the ability to use the Ten Shadows Technique, according to Higuruma.
Sukuna perhaps lost the ability to use ten shadows from the fight with Gojo Satoru.
Sukuna's Various Utilities
These Techniques Aren't Limited Only to Sukuna, But He Does it Best
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Sukuna is also equipped with multiple utility and defense. These three defenses are the reverse cursed technique, Domain Amplification, and Hollow Wicker Basket. Sukuna uses reverse cursed techniques to recover injuries, like regenerating lost limbs. Part of his skillset with the technique also includes being able to heal others with reverse cursed technique. This technique was exclusive to one of Jujutsu Kaisen's underutilized characters, Shoko Ieri. Sukuna is also a quick study, as after seeing Gojo use a reverse cursed technique to heal his burned-out cursed technique, Sukuna could do it.
Because of his time in Yuji and incarnating through the fingers, Sukuna could also repair the soul using the reverse cursed technique. Domain Amplification is when Sukuna uses his domain to form an aura around himself. This aura allows him to neutralize any opponent's cursed technique or domain expansion. He could land physical hits on Gojo without the world-cutting slash. Hollow Wicker Basket is a predecessor to Simple Domain, which allows Sukuna to neutralize a guaranteed-hit factor from a Domain Expansion.
Sukuna's True Form Gives Him Unique Abilities
Sukuna's body is unlike many other sorcerers. In his true form, Sukuna has four arms and two mouths. Because of this, he can perform hand signs with two hands while keeping the other two hands-free to fend off opponents with his physical capabilities. The second mouth lets him continuously chant without straining his heart or lungs. This gives Sukuna an advantage many other sorcerers can't hope to compete with.
Sukuna's Restrictions thanks to Binding Vows.
Through the anime Sukuna took on four different binding vows. Binding Vows were essential tenets of Jujutsu and are contracts that indivudals can make to achieve greater power or achieve a goal. The reprecussions of breaking a vow are apparently great, though viewers never got to see what the reprecussion actually was. Sukuna has a handful of vows, but in the Shinjuku Showdown he took a few to give him the advantage.
Vow
Explanation
World Cutting Slash
Sukuna agrees to having much more restrictions on the World Cutting Slash technique in the future. (The hand sign + chant Dismantle incantation + Directing the Slash's trajectory) In exchange of bypasings the requirement to cast the World Cutting Slash this one time.
Domain Expansion
Sukuna agrees to give Malevolent Shrine a time limit of 99 seconds for an increased range.
Divine Arrow
Sukuna agrees that he can only use Divine Flame when he isn't outnumbered unless he's in a domain. In exchange, he can increase Divine Flame's speed and range.
Sukuna's Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine
One of the Strongest Domains in the Entire Anime
Sukuna's domain is called Malevolent Shrine. Upon creation, it manifests a Buddhist shrine decorated with skulls, likely representing how Sukuna has defaced and disgraced Buddha's teachings. Beneath Sukuna and the foe is a sea of blood or water. When using his Domain, Sukuna can hit everything in the domain with Dismantle or Cleave. These lashes annihilate everything.
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Its unique traits and refinement allow Sukuna to use the Malevolent Shrine to manifest itself in the surrounding airspace rather than create a separate space. This strengthens the domain and fits more into Sukuna's character, as he simply cuts his way into the space he wants to have rather than cultivate or create it.
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Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen follows the evolution of Yuji Itadori, a boy who swallowed a cursed talisman - the finger of a demon - and became cursed himself. He enters a special school for sorcerers to learn to control his new abilities and gather the rest of the demon's parts, so he can consume them and then be eliminated.
Created by Gege Akutami
First Film Jujutsu Kaisen 0
First TV Show Jujutsu Kaisen
First Episode Air Date October 3, 2020
Latest Episode October 2023
Cast Junya Enoki , Yuma Uchida , Yuichi Nakamura , Asami Seto , Nobunaga Shimazaki , Adam McArthur , Robbie Daymond , Lex Lang (English) , Jun'ichi Suwabe , Kaiji Tang
Where to watch Crunchyroll
Video Game(s) Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash
Manga Release Date March 5, 2018
Manga Volumes 25
Genre Shonen
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