Highlights
- Kenjaku is a cunning and vile antagonist with a selfish motivation for pursuing cursed energy, willing to commit horrific crimes and ruin lives for his own gains.
- Kenjaku's ability to manipulate and betray both allies and enemies showcases his cunning and deceitful nature, allowing him to use powerful beings as pawns in his plans.
- Kenjaku's involvement in the birth of Yuji Itadori, as well as his role in the Shibuya Incident and the Culling Games, highlights his dark games and the devastating impact he has on the Jujutsu World.
Jujutsu Kaisen doesn't suffer from a shortage of powerful and ruthless villains. However, many popular antagonists, such as Sukuna or Jogo, prefer a heads-on approach and fully display their powers and villainy in the heat of battle. This, however, is not the case with Kenjaku, an antagonist that arguably had the most influence over Jujutsu Kaisen's story as readers know it.
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Out of all the villains in JJK, Kenjaku is one of the most cunning and vile, driven by pure scientific curiosity and the nature of cursed energy. Those selfish motivations and pursuit of discovery are enough for Kenjaku to commit horrific crimes and ruin the lives of thousands of people across different generations. Even though he met his end, his cursed legacy continues.
8 Manipulated Disaster Curses
Used powerful beings for his own means
Even though Disaster Curses were malicious beings who sought to replace humans as the dominant race to walk the Earth, Kenajku's manipulation and betrayal of their cause are still morally dubious actions. Since the beginning, he only saw the Disaster Curses as pawns to use in Shibuya, and later claimed their powers.
This is seen in a moment when Kenjaku betrays Mahito. The stitched curse is at its weakest after being beaten by Yuji, and Kenjaku is his last chance at salvation. Yet, instead of helping him, Kenjaku betrays his former ally and absorbs Mahito's spirit just to use his technique, Idle Transfiguration, in the future. This shows Kenjaku's ability to manipulate both sides of the battle.
7 Changed Identities
Wore masks to manipulate history
Kenjaku lived for hundreds of years, and during this time, he stayed true to his deceitful nature. His cursed technique allowed him to take control over the bodies of others, which caused him to wear many different faces across generations. Until his reveal in JJK, no one in the Jujutsu World knew of his existence due to this masquerade.
One of his most notorious guises is that of Noritoshi Kamo. He used the man's body to gain influence and status in the Jujutsu World and, therefore, further his plans and experiments, most notably by being the one to create the cursed wombs while under this guise. The extent of Kenjaku's machinations over those years remains unknown, but it is undoubtedly catastrophic.
6 Birthed A Vessel For Sukuna
Helped Sukuna arise
Yuji Itadori is the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen, and is known as one of the most noble and benevolent characters, even to the point of being naive. However, the tale of his birth is shrouded in Kenjaku's dark games, as Yuji's main role was to play a key part in the mastermind's plan even before his birth. Kenjaku took the body of Kaori Itadori and had a son with Jin Itadori, Yuji.
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The true extent of Yuji's importance in Kenjaku's plan is still unclear. Still, the mischievous sorcerer used him as a vessel for the rebirth of Ryomen Sukuna, the most dangerous and powerful being to ever exist in the Jujutsu World. This also made Yuji feel guilty, as he felt he had a part in Sukuna's atrocities.
5 Killed An Infant Six-Eyes User
Murdered a child in cold blood
One of Kenjaku's goals across many years has been to breach Tengen's seemingly untouchable defenses. Tengen used many measures to isolate herself from the Jujutsu World. Still, her most powerful weapon was Six-Eyes users, powerful mages born in each generation that ensured Tengen's safety. Kenjaku could not defeat them in battle.
He used many methods to try and force those sorcerers out of the picture, but the most brutal attempt was when Kenjaku killed an infant Six-Eyes user. This demonstrates the measures Kenjaku will take to achieve his goals. No method is too amoral for him. A new Six-Eyes user is born soon after, so Kenjaku's cruel machinations prove pointless.
4 Killed Yuki
Ended a powerful sorcerer
Yuki Tsukumo was a defender of the people of Jujutsu World for a long time, being an accomplished and powerful sorcerer. Despite sharing some concerns with Suguru Geto, she never gave up on non-sorcerers and stood by their side. She had a history with Kenjaku as she battled him at the climax of the Shibuya incident.
The two characters battled again during the Culling Game arc, where Yuki helps Choso defend Tengen. Despite her resilience and determination, the sorceress met her end at Kenjaku's hand as he destroyed one of the final obstacles he had to overcome on his way to Tengen. Yuki's death ended up being a turning point in Jujutsu Kaisen's story, bringing Kenjaku's victory closer.
3 Created Cursed Wombs
Forcibly impregnated a woman and engineered children
Out of Kenjaku's individual experiments, one of the most elaborate and grotesque ones undoubtedly led to the creation of the Cursed Wombs. This included impregnating a woman against her will with sorcery multiple times and then aborting the fetuses at different stages of pregnancy, so they could be kept for his experiments.
The surviving children became hybrids of humans and cursed spirits, which Kenjaku saw as nothing more than another project, despite being their father. This portrays the arrogant and uncaring nature of the Curse Master, as well as his eagerness to commit vicious acts of cruelty for his own gain.
2 Orchestrated Shibuya
Caused a mass slaughter
The Shibuya Incident is one of the most well-known arcs in Jujutsu Kaisen, known for its numerous battles and countless deaths, both of innocent civilians who happened to be caught in the crossfire and multiple beloved characters such as Nanami Kento. While Kenjaku didn't participate in the heart of most battles, the Shibuya incident is almost entirely his fault.
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The entire incident was part of Kenjaku's scheme to seal Satoru Gojo and deal a devastating blow to the Jujutsu World, to which end he used the Disaster Curses. Kenjaku's manipulations rid the Jujutsu World of its most powerful defenders and ensured the spread of chaos to come.
1 Orchestrated Culling Games
Ensured that the world will never be the same
Kenjaku did not stop at Shibuya, as it was only the first stage of his plan. After Gojo and the Disaster Curses were out of the picture, Kenjaku took charge and began the Culling Games, using idle transfiguration to awaken cursed energy in countless people around Japan, making them potential sorcerers and victims of the coming carnage.
Kenjaku took all those actions to merge cursed energy with Tengen, pushing the limits of Jujutsu magic and the world. He expected, and even hoped, that whatever the result was, it would end up being catastrophically destructive and entertaining for him. This shows the depths of Kenjaku's depravity, as he is willing to put the entire Earth's role in danger for a few moments of his entertainment.
Jujutsu Kaisen
- Release Date
- October 3, 2020
- Creator
- Gege Akutami
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 2
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll