Highlights
- Cursed techniques are special abilities fueled by cursed energy and are categorized into innate techniques, barrier techniques, and extension techniques in the Jujutsu Kaisen series.
- Knowing the inner workings of cursed techniques is often more valuable in battle than simply having a strong cursed technique with a lot of cursed energy.
- Balancing knowledge and strength is crucial in utilizing cursed techniques effectively, as situations may require different emphasis on either aspect.
After the first season of the Jujutsu Kaisen aired, the series gained a massive following and is often regarded as one of the best new-gen anime. As the series portrays Itadori Yuuji’s life in a setting filled with jujutsu sorcerers and curses—dark creatures born from negative emotions—it also portrays cursed energy, cursed techniques, and cursed weapons, which are essential to battle the ever-growing curses.
While having an abundance of cursed energy makes one a more capable sorcerer or curse, the Jujutsu Kaisen series has also shown how knowing the inner workings of various cursed techniques can be more helpful in battle than simply having a strong cursed technique with a load of cursed energy.
16 Strongest Cursed Techniques In Jujutsu Kaisen
Here are the strongest of all the cursed techniques in Jujutsu Kaisen.
What Are Cursed Techniques?
To put it simply, cursed techniques are special abilities that are fueled by cursed energy. These techniques do not need to follow a certain pattern or logic to exist. And so, they exist in different forms. Despite the wide variety of cursed techniques, they are generally categorized into innate techniques, barrier techniques, and extension techniques.
Innate techniques are the general way in which most sorcerers battle. Innate techniques can be subdivided into inherited and non-inherited techniques. Most non-inherited techniques are techniques that are specifically tied to a user. These techniques usually get ingrained in their users over time. Inherited techniques, on the other hand, are usually passed down through generations of jujutsu sorcerers from the same family line over time. These are especially advantageous as they automatically come with an instruction manual on how to use them most effectively based on the experiences of past generations.
Extension techniques are generally more powerful forms derived from the basic ability of a technique. This could often result in the addition or subtraction of certain hand signs, words, or empowered gestures that are used to activate a technique.
Barrier techniques, on the other hand, are exactly as they sound. Barriers are created to trap people within a zone or prevent them from accessing a specific area.
The Significance Of Cursed Techniques
Cursed techniques are particularly important, as they are abilities fueled by cursed energy. While Itadori Yuuji has proven that simply infusing cursed energy into an attack makes it extremely powerful, his allies, mentors, and enemies have all proven that using a cursed technique that is fueled by cursed energy is more effective in bringing down one’s adversaries. Unless Itadori Yuuji disproves it, this shows that having a cursed technique is a great advantage when fighting those who don’t, and it better ensures a sorcerer's chance of reaching the peak of the Jujutsu world. Moreover, the supposed peak of Jujutsu sorcery—domain expansions—are only considered complete when they are utilized with the infusion of a person’s cursed technique.
The Power Of Knowledge
Many times, the knowledge of an individual's cursed technique has often proven to outshine sheer power in the Jujutsu Kaisen series. Given that they are well-known and have undergone study, this is another drawback of inherited techniques. As seen in the Shibuya arc of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime series, Satoru Gojo, the strongest sorcerer of the current Jujutsu world, has been sealed. Gojo was not sealed because he was weak but because various curses knew about his cursed technique. Despite his overwhelming strength, Gojo was sealed by his adversaries, who made use of what they knew about his cursed technique to plan counterattacks against him. This was also seen when Toji Fushiguro attacked Gojo by exploiting the knowledge he had of Gojo’s limitless technique.
Another great example of knowing the inner workings of a cursed technique outshone sheer strength is in episode 35 of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime series. This episode showcases the battle between Itadori Yuuji and Fushiguro Megumi against Jiro Awasaka, an individual with the inverse curse technique. This technique turns strong blows weak and weak blows strong. As Itadori and Megumi threw blow after blow on Jiro Awasaka, they realized that their blows had little to no effect. Thankfully, Megumi quickly deduced that his technique was most likely inverse, and so weak but not too weak blows would be more effective. This strategy allowed Megumi and Itadori to win against their adversary; however, had Megumi not deduced the workings of Jiro’s technique, he and Itadori could have lost the battle.
Balancing Knowledge And Strength
While having good intuition to quickly decipher the workings of a cursed technique is important, having sufficient strength to use the knowledge to one’s advantage is also important. This is particularly useful in cases where sorcerers, curses, or curse users divulge their technique to make them more effective against an opponent. If a jujutsu sorcerer's adversary has divulged their technique to the sorcerer, besides looking for ways to counter the technique, the sorcerer has to be strong enough to implement whatever counter they come up with.
Summarily, while having enough strength alongside knowledge of cursed techniques is important, having a good balance of both is more important, as various dangerous situations would require knowledge and strength to get out of. However, some situations may require more knowledge than strength, and vice versa.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available to stream on Crunchyroll.