Jujutsu Kaisen’s new movie, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 has introduced anime watchers to the series’ second protagonist of sorts; Yuta Okkotsu. So how does he stack up to the rest of Jujutsu Kaisen’s already powerful cast?
Even before the movie aired, we had already heard of Okkotsu in the anime. In the lead up to the Kyoto goodwill event, we’re introduced to Aoi Todo and Mai Zenin from the Kyoto jujutsu school. Todo specifically asks why Okkotsu won’t be competing, and ends up fighting Megumi Fushiguro partially out of frustration that Okkotsu wouldn’t be competing. Supposedly, the previous year’s event had been dominated by Okkotsu, which already clued us into just how strong he was, but now we know exactly what makes him so threatening.
His Cursed Energy
The first thing his classmates notice about him when they meet is the immense amounts of cursed energy he emanates. Okkotsu is stated to have almost infinite cursed energy, even more than the strongest character in the series, Satoru Gojo. As cursed energy is the source of all abilities in Jujutsu Kaisen, this means there’s almost no limit to Okkotsu’s ability to boost his own strength, speed and durability, even beyond that of the physically gifted Yuji Itadori. He can also imbue his weapons with this cursed energy, making them do even more damage as well.
All that cursed energy would be useless if he didn’t know how to use it though. Luckily, Okkotsu ends up developing several ways to manipulate his energy beyond physical enhancement. Most critically, is his ability to use reverse cursed technique, an exceedingly rare skill that allows him to heal himself and allies by turning his negative energy into positive energy. Very few jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits have access to this ability, and even fewer of them can use its healing capabilities.
Okkotsu can also seemingly copy the cursed abilities of others, as he is shown to be able to use his classmate Toge Inumaki’s powerful cursed speech ability. This brings into question the limits of what he can copy. He might be able to replicate other powerful abilities as well, such as Fushigoro’s Ten Shadows, or even Gojo’s Limitless. Considering that Gojo believes Okkotsu might be able to surpass him one day, it’s definitely possible that this is the case.
Rika
On top of his already formidable powers, what makes Okkotsu a force to be reckoned with is his companion, the cursed spirit, Rika. Rika is a somewhat autonomous cursed spirit, and is stated to be capable of destroying whole towns. Suguru Geto, a collector of cursed spirits even refers to her as “the queen of curses”, and formulates an entire scheme in an attempt to obtain her for himself, stating that doing so will boost his side’s odds of victory from 20-30% to 99%.
While she is dangerous by herself, under Okkotsu’s control, Rika can help him make longer ranged attacks, store cursed objects and fire massive beams of energy. She also provides him with an extra pool of cursed energy to replenish any he loses in a fight. She is able to act on her own accord, with an instinct to protect Okkotsu even without being ordered to, meaning that Okkotsu always has extra protection his opponents must contend with. For Okkotsu, Rika is his cursed technique; a near unstoppable force to help him channel his near limitless cursed energy.
How Strong He Can Get
While Jujutsu Kaisen 0 only shows the beginning of Okkotsu’s journey, he’s recently reappeared in the manga, giving readers an insight into just how much he has grown. Not only is he more confident in his abilities, but he is also apparently capable of domain expansion, although we don’t yet know what his domain entails. Considering his ability to copy techniques, it might very well be a domain designed to perfectly counter other domains, making him even harder to defeat.
When you take all his abilities into account, it’s no wonder that Yuta Okkotsu is one of only 4 jujutsu sorcerers to achieve the rank of “special grade”. And considering that in his first year he defeats one of the other 3, and his teacher is another, he might easily become the strongest character in all of Jujutsu Kaisen.