Highlights
- The recent episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen have been highly praised for their stunning visuals and presentation, with many considering Episodes 40 and 41 to be the best of the entire show so far.
- Episode 41 introduces a new character, Mahoraga, who is the most powerful of Megumi's Shikigami. The fight between Mahoraga and Sukuna, the King of Curses, showcases their incredible strength and destructive abilities.
- Despite Sukuna's efforts, Mahoraga proves to be a formidable opponent who adapts to any technique or fighting style used against him. The battle ends with Sukuna delivering a devastating attack that finally defeats Mahoraga, showcasing why Sukuna is considered the strongest.
Despite the many controversies circling the animation studio behind the Jujutsu Kaisen anime, called Studio Mappa, the fans have fallen in love with Episodes 40 and 41 and most have praised them for their gorgeous visuals and presentation. Both of these episodes took the stand as highlights of the entire season, with many even crediting these as being the 2 best episodes of the entire show so far.
In Episode 41, fans were introduced to a brand-new player in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, one that can change the entire future of the show; the Divine General of the Shikigami, Mahoraga. Being the final and most powerful of Megumi's Shikigami from his Ten Shadows technique, this absolute powerhouse was strong enough for even Sukuna to be impressed by him. So, let's take a look at how the fight went down!
Build-Up to the Fight
The episode picks up directly after the ending of Episode 40. After Haruta was mercilessly beaten down by Nanami, he escaped the scene and had been silently sulking in the shadows, roaming almost aimlessly in Shibuya. That was when he came across Megumi who, after sustaining injuries in his fight against Toji, was limping away to find help. This was when Haruta managed to sneak up on him and slash him across his back.
However, Episode 41 shows events a little before the final scene teased at the end of the previous episode, where Haruta was screaming at an unconscious Megumi for help against an unknown threat at the time. Episode 41 sheds some light on this as it picks up with Haruta taunting Megumi, who is bloodied and crawling away. This is when Megumi recalls a conversation he once had with Gojo, who tells him that the reason the Zenin and Gojo clans don't get along is due to their leaders from centuries ago getting into a fight where they both died.
This was a conversation that hinted at the true potential that Megumi holds, causing him to apologize to Yuji and make a hand sign to summon his most powerful Shikigami. He reveals that this Shikigami is one that no one in the history of the Ten Shadows technique has been able to tame, but one that they can summon to tame any time. He goes on to say that there is a ritual where 2 people can try to take down this Shikigami which is what he invokes with Haruta, making him a target too.
Just when Megumi summons the imposing Mahoraga, he is swatted away to the side by the monster and is seemingly killed. Just then, Sukuna senses this and quickly makes his way to Megumi's location where he saves both of the participants of the ritual, keeping Megumi alive for his secretive plans in the future. As he stares down the terrifying Shikigami, the fight between the two of them begins!
Sukuna vs Mahoraga
The fight between the King of Curses and the strongest Shikigami begins almost instantly after Sukuna's entrance in the area. After saving Haruta and keeping Megumi alive with some of his energy, he walks towards Mahoraga and blocks a downward slash from a special sword attached to Mahoraga's right arm. Though blocking it was easy, the sword began to turn white, causing Sukuna to move out its way.
After moving, he kicks the Shikigami and then uses his 'dismantle' Cursed Technique but it doesn't cut him to pieces like it does to everyone else. This is then followed by both of them hitting each other into the buildings. It is here that Sukuna walks out and reveals that the sword slash is so powerful that if he were a Cursed Spirit, he would have been killed at the very first instance. This is then followed by the 2 calamities throwing each other through multiple buildings and destroying Shibuya as their fight progresses.
Despite Sukuna cutting off Mahoraga's fingers and his leg, the Shikigami still marches towards him with even more intent to kill. Throughout the fight, the wheel over Mahoraga's head keeps moving slightly and the sound of it rings continuously, but only later do fans find out what that means. For now, though, Mahoraga seems to be impervious to all of Sukuna's slashes, something which the King of Curses notes and keeps in his mind.
As the fight progresses, more destruction is wrought upon Shibuya. Entire buildings are either diced up by Sukuna or ground to dust by Mahoraga, as neither of the two is willing to stop at anything to defeat their opponent. Even when the Shikigami is knocked into a parking lot, he begins to throw a volley of cars at Sukuna, who answers this by sending a massive slash that cuts Mahoraga's head, only for him to put it back into place!
This is the first time in the entire series that we see Sukuna fight with a good amount of effort as he realizes how strong Mahoraga truly is. Even after all the damage he has sustained, Mahoraga does not stop to catch his breath, he just keeps running to Sukuna. The King of Curses even uses his 'cleave' technique that sends hundreds of slashes to finely cut objects, finally putting the beast down for a bit.
However, the wheel finally turns to reveal Mahoraga regrowing his missing body parts and becoming even more destructive than before. The already insane battle amps up further as both fighters destroy entire sections of Shibuya and even the underground infrastructure as seen with the trains being hoisted up from the ground by Mahoraga. It is then that Sukuna realizes that the Shikigami has now started using cursed energy as well!
Sukuna's laughter joins the chorus of destruction as he realizes that the Shikigami can see his Cursed Technique slashes, something which is normally invisible to everyone, even Jujutsu sorcerers. Things flare up even more as Sukuna destroys so much more of the city to defeat Mahoraga but nothing seems to work as he seems to be doing the same thing, picking up entire destroyed buildings and launching them at the King of Curses.
Throughout the entire fight, the wheel above Mahoraga keeps turning. It is then that Sukuna deduces what Mahoraga's true ability is; the ability to adapt to any phenomena. Given any combat situation, Mahoraga can and will eventually adapt to whatever technique or fighting style his enemy uses against him and will overcome it should the fight go on long enough. It is here that Sukuna realizes that he will eventually lose if the fight goes on for a longer time and that he needs to end Mahoraga with a single attack.
Amid all the chaos and destruction, Sukuna opens his Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine. Jujutsu Kaisen reveals Sukuna's Domain Expansion to be a truly divine technique as it does not create its own pocket dimension, but instead, the Domain is opened within the physical world and has no barrier. The total area that this Domain covers is 200 meters but for this fight, Sukuna shortened it to 140 meters to keep Megumi out of it.
Sukuna opens his Domain to kill Mahoraga with an infinite number of slashing attacks coming at him constantly, obliterating the surrounding area and all people inside of it. However, the wheel turns yet again and Mahoraga adapts to the Domain Expansion itself and walks through the damage to get to Sukuna. This causes Sukuna to worry for a second, but he then unveils the fire technique that he used on Jogo at the end of their fight. He summons the flame arrow and uses it on Mahoraga in what ends up being the attack to finally put him down, causing an almost nuclear blast that decimates an entire section of Shibuya.
Aftermath of the Battle
This battle was the perfect one to show fans of the series why Sukuna is considered the strongest and why he is as feared as he is. Though Mahoraga was an absolute tank who simply refused to back down and kept adapting to Sukuna's attacks, the final move proved to be too much for him. As Sukuna finds Megumi alive, he quickly drops him off to the location of Shoko Ieri to get him healed for his plans in the future.
As he gets back to the decimated area, he finally kills Haruta before turning back into Yuji. Just as Yuji returns, he gets glimpses of all the horror that Sukuna committed while inhabiting his body and all the people he killed, causing Yuji to vomit and have a breakdown. However, it is here that Yuji's resolve kicks in as he promises to atone for the actions of Sukuna and put an end to all the evil Cursed Spirits for good.
Jujutsu Kaisen can be streamed on Amazon Prime and Netflix.
