Every shounen anime that utilize a certain kind of power system (nen, chakra, devil fruits, etc.) usually lets its characters have at least two levels of power ups. There’s the standard power boost, such as the first super saiyan state in Dragon Ball or Stand manifestation in Jojo Bizarre Adventures. And then, there’s also a much more powerful state, sort of like level 2, such as Bankai in Bleach or Awakened Devil Fruit's power in One Piece. Jujutsu Kaisen also uses the same principle.
Every Jujutsu Sorcerer has their own unique abilities that they can use by manipulating their innate cursed energy. This is level 1. The next level allowed them to increase their powers and abilities exponentially. This technique is called Domain Expansion. We have seen quite a few Domain Expansions in the series, but some people may not know what Domain Expansion actually is or how it works. With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about Domain Expansion.
Innate Domain And Early Domain Expansion
Before we get to Domain Expansion, let’s talk about the concept of “Domain” first. In Jujutsu Kaisen, a domain, or also called the Innate Domain, is the manifestation of a user’s powers, abilities, and personality that exist within their mind. This kind of domain is usually cannot be seen by other people. Most Jujutsu Sorcerers can’t even see their own innate domain. But once somebody is able to utilize their cursed energy properly, then a domain should manifest inside them, whether they realize it or not. As it happens, Sukuna managed to exist independently within Yuji Itadori precisely because he resides in his own innate domain.
As the name suggests, Domain Expansion is the ability to expand a user’s innate domain into the real world. One thing worth noting, however, is the fact that that definition is actually only applicable to the modern-day version of Domain Expansion. You see, even in this modern time, not many Jujutsu Sorcerers can activate their Domain Expansion. After all, this is one of the most powerful and complicated techniques within a Jujutsu Sorcerer’s arsenal. It requires a huge amount of cursed energy and also the ability to carefully control that energy, which is an extremely difficult thing to do.
That’s why in the olden days, there’s barely any people who could perform this kind of Domain Expansion. Only the highest level of Jujutsu Sorcerers or Cursed Spirits can use this technique. What regular Jujutsu Sorcerers can do, however, is creating a simpler form of the Domain Expansion. This kind of Domain is basically just an advanced version of a barrier technique. Once activated, a user can create a barrier of a certain size, and impose their rules within that barrier. If they manage to trap their opponents into this domain, then their opponents have no choice but to obey those rules. So even though it’s not as complex as the modern day Domain Expansion, this kind of domain is still a highly effective and dangerous technique.
Domain Expansion, Explained
The Domain Expansion that we know today is basically an advanced version of the simpler domain that mentioned above. Because at its core, Domain Expansion is also a barrier technique. However, rather than simply trapping an opponent into a barrier that’s been enforced with our rules, Domain Expansion takes this approach much further than that. In a modern Domain Expansion, a Jujutsu Sorcerer can trap their opponent, force their rules on them, and also exponentially increase their cursed abilities to the point of creating a guaranteed-hit attack.
Once activated, a Domain Expansion will expand the user’s innate domain and manifest itself into the real world. The result is a highly complex and elaborate environment that is under full control of the user. To those that are trapped within a Domain Expansion, the surrounding scenery can drastically change according to the user’s innate domain and cursed abilities. There’s a user that can conjure a peaceful beach within their domain, and there’s also a user that can create a scorching sea of magma and raging volcanoes as part of their domain. To those outside of the domain, however, a domain expansion simply looks like a black ball or a black dome that covers a certain area.
Every user typically strengthens the barrier of their domain expansion in order to prevent their enemies from escaping. In doing so, however, they might make it easier for the outside forces to break into their domain. That being said, not many people are brave enough to do so, because once inside, they will be under the effect of the domain expansion as well. Interestingly enough, due to its ridiculous amount of cursed energy consumption, most jujutsu sorcerers can only activate their domain expansion once or twice a day at most. There’s only a handful of people who can conjure their domain expansion multiple times a day, such as Satoru Gojo or Sukuna.
Although Domain Expansion is such a powerful technique, it also puts a heavy burden on the user’s body and soul. Because even if the domain expansion is powerful, if the user is already heavily wounded when they activate it, then it’s only a matter of time before the domain collapses. In such scenario, activating a domain expansion is actually akin to a suicide attack. That’s why timing is also an important element to consider when activating a domain expansion. And with that last bit of information, you’re finally up to speed about everything related to Domain Expansion.