Highlights
- JJK chapter 262 was focused on Yuta vs Sukuna showdown within domain clash battle, revealing surprising twists and tactics.
- The short chapter length hints at author Gege Akutami's health struggles, leading to a temporary hiatus for Jujutsu Kaisen.
- Fans can expect intense hand-to-hand combat, emotional moments with Rika, and a cliffhanger as the series heads towards a thrilling conclusion.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen 262, "Inhuman Makyo Shinjuku Showdown, Part 35" by Gege Akutami, translated by John Werry, and Lettered by Snir Aharon, available in English from MangaPlus.
Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 262 dropped officially today and it was certainly a surprising chapter for the fans. This is because the plot didn't advance all that much in this week's chapter, and that is down to it being incredibly short. In fact, it might just be one of the shortest chapters in the series, if not the shortest itself.
Jujutsu Kaisen Author Gege Akutami Takes A 3 Week Break
JJK is going on hiatus for a couple of weeks due to Gege's health. Here's everything fans should know.
This is largely down to the worsening health of the author, as he has fallen sick all of a sudden. Regardless, there are still things to be broken down from this chapter and others that have been set up for the future of the series that fans are very excited about. All things considered, JJK chapter 262 was certainly decent.
Yuta Vs Sukuna Begins
Yuta Takes On Sukuna In Battle
It doesn't come as a surprise to any fan that JJK chapter 262 was largely focused on the battle between Yuta and Sukuna. For those who do not remember, Yuta returned to the battlefield, only this time, he was in control of Gojo's body. This was made possible by Yuta managing to copy Kenjaku's cursed technique upon killing him. Then, after he was struck down by Sukuna, Yuta used his technique and switched to Gojo's body instead. This was a surprising twist in the series that a lot of the fans did not expect. When Gojo's body was seen on the battlefield, most fans assumed that Gojo had returned, and while he did return in a physical sense, the person who was actually in control of the body was later revealed to be Yuta. Without speaking even a single word, Yuta expanded his domain, and of course, in Gojo's body, the domain was Unlimited Void. In response to that, Sukuna expanded his domain as well, and once again, fans got into a battle between Malevolent Shrine and Unlimited Void.
In 3 minutes, I need to inflict enough damage to Sukuna that he cannot maintain Malevolent Shrine.
JJK chapter 262 was entirely focused on that domain clash. For Yuta, dealing with Malevolent Shrine would have been very difficult had he not had prior experience of seeing this domain in action against Unlimited Void. However, Gojo had already provided an answer to dealing with this domain. Essentially, Gojo shrunk his domain to a very small size, and this allowed him to strengthen the external barrier to withstand strikes from Malevolent Shrine for up to 3 minutes. Yuta did something similar, and he was confident that he could withstand 3 minutes of Malevolent Shrine, especially because Sukuna was weakened.
Furthermore, it was also revealed in the chapter that Yuta had actually swapped with Gojo once as well. This allowed him to raise the level of his barrier techniques and, at the same time, of course, get used to the power of the Limitless cursed technique as well. Overall, while this was a very small bit of information in the chapter, it now makes a lot of sense as to how Yuta can control this power as well as he can.
Limitless was penetrated. Was that Domain Amplification? Can he use that while utilizing Domain Expansion?
Inside the domain, fans saw that Yuta planned to destroy the Malevolent Shrine and deal enough damage to Sukuna before the 3 minutes were up, and, with that, they hit him with Unlimited Void. Meanwhile, Sukuna plans to utilize the power of Malevolent Shrine by using its effective range as well and increasing the power output so that he's able to break through Unlimited Void. Once that is done, he plans on expanding his domain and killing everyone in the vicinity. Of course, only one person can win this domain battle, and it will be interesting to see who that is going to be.
Given that both Yuta and Sukuna were inside the domain, fighting, fans saw quite a bit of hand-to-hand combat in the chapter. Yuta tried utilizing the power of Blue; however, Sukuna easily countered this with domain amplification. This was a reality check for Yuta as he realized that Sukuna could essentially utilize both domain expansion and domain amplification at the same time. As such, he can bypass the power of the Limitless cursed technique inside the domain, and Yuta will have to be on his toes.
Rika's Tears
Rika Was Seen Mourning Yuta's Loss
While the vast majority of JJK chapter 262 was focused on the battle between Yuta and Sukuna, fans also got a very interesting panel of Rika. Fans were previously wondering whether Rika would be with Yuta fighting against Sukuna. This chapter of the series confirmed that this is not to be the case. Rika is fully manifested, and that is great; however, she is still attached to Yuta's main body. Essentially, this might imply a connection between the body and the soul, which means that Rika is grieving over the real Yuta, whose real body is lifeless.
Jujutsu Kaisen 263: What To Expect From The Chapter
Yuta’s fight against Sukuna from inside Gojo’s body intensifies in JJK. The clock is ticking and Yuta’s time is almost over.
She held the body of Yuta, and her tears were falling all over his face. Right now, it appears that this moment is going to be significant later down the line. It opens up the door for Yuta's return, as otherwise, both Rika and Yuta will have a terrible ending written for them. At the same time, if Yuta does truly end up dying after 5 minutes, this would mean that Rika would then rage, and Sukuna could be in a great deal of trouble.
Whatever ends up happening with Rika from here onwards is going to be interesting and fans will simply have to sit back patiently and wait to see what happens next from here onwards. JJK is most definitely going to be incredibly exciting moving forward. However, fans will have to wait quite a bit in order to see the story progress.
Gege Akutami Takes A Break
JJK Goes On A Short Hiatus
One of the biggest shocks in this chapter was its length. Overall, the chapter had one double-page spread, and including that, this chapter was about 7 pages long. That isn't all that much, and usually, a chapter is about 17 pages long. It clearly implies that the author is suffering due to an illness and that he will need some time off to recover. As has been confirmed already, Jujutsu Kaisen is going to return at the end of the month. Fans will have to deal with the three-week break that they have ahead of themselves, but this time can certainly be spent theorizing about various topics and plot points that are yet to be resolved in the series.
Fans can only hope that once the series returns from the break, the domain clash between Yuta and Sukuna wraps up, and a proper conclusion to this fight is then delivered. The raid on Sukuna has lasted way too long, and at this point, fans hope for the story to progress in a different direction. Hopefully, it won't be long until that happens, especially now that fans know that the author plans on wrapping up the series by the end of the year. First and foremost, however, the author needs to recover his strength and rest properly before he tackles the remainder of his story.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of JJK, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 263, is set to be June 30, 2024.
