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Jujutsu Kaisen is a relatively new action-packed anime, following the manga series written by Gege Akutami and published by Shonen Jump in 2018. The mythology-inspired series is set in a world with evil curses and powerful sorcerers that eliminate these manifestations born from negative emotions. Jujutsu Kaisen portrays a bunch of indomitable characters with daunting cursed techniques and terrifying Domain Expansions.
The plot of Jujutsu Kaisen forms after the physically-talented Itadori Yuuji swallows a "Cursed Item," which turns out to be a finger of the widely-feared Sukuna, a powerful cursed spirit that rivals even the best of jujutsu sorcerers. In the First Season of Jujutsu Kaisen, fans glimpsed into the true extent of the cursed spirit’s powers, part of which was his Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine. So, who is Sukuna, and how does his Domain Expansion work?
Ryomen Sukuna, The King of Curses
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To fully understand the being, Sukuna, one must delve into the history of the Jujutsu sorcerers. Contrary to what most people think, Sukuna wasn't always an all-powerful Cursed Spirit that haunted humans and terrorized Jujutsu Sorcerers. Instead, Sukuna was a regular human, albeit a powerful Jujutsu sorcerer. In fact, on a closer look, fans can induce that Sukuna, judging from the mannerisms of notorious sorcerers like the Zen'in Clan, was probably a product of the actions of his fellow Jujutsu sorcerers. Sukuna existed as a human in the Heian era, a thousand-year ago from the story's current timeline. Back then, his name struck fear into people's hearts, and it is unclear whether it was a result of the character's actions or propaganda spread by other Jujutsu sorcerers.
The Heian Era was the prime era for sorcery and cursed techniques; however, Sukuna's name still traveled far & wide as a powerful entity, capable of besting the strongest Jujutsu sorcerers using profound cursed techniques. This gives viewers insight into how powerful Sukuna really is. Realizing that Sukuna was more than they could handle, the Jujutsu sorcerers teamed up to conquer Sukuna, and luckily, they succeeded. However, their actions only served as a temporary solution to the inevitable. After his demise, Sukuna transformed into a cursed spirit, sealing himself into his 20 fingers, presently referred to as “cursed objects.”
Even after being reduced to his twenty-finger seal, Jujutsu sorcerers could not destroy Sukuna’s remnants and decided to store them as a special-grade tool. In the First Season of Jujutsu Kaisen, the anime partially revealed Sukuna's capabilities. Conversely, the manga readers have a deeper experience, scanning through the un-adapted version of the story. Regardless, both fan types share a similar desire: to discover the power Sukuna holds in his final form.
What Is Domain Expansion?
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To fully understand Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine, one needs to completely comprehend the Domain Expansion concept. A Domain Expansion is a space-oriented ability that allows the caster to draw their opponent into a different space or dimension where they use cursed techniques guaranteed to meet their target. Within a Domain Expansion, the caster's strength and abilities increase exponentially, allowing them to comfortably use techniques capable of reaching every crevice within their self-created space.
Domain Expansion is the highest form of power a Jujutsu Sorcerer can obtain, so it is considered a rarity among Jujutsu Sorcerers as only a handful of masterfully skilled individuals can use it. As a result of the skill's nature, it consumes a lot of cursed energy, so only a few Jujutsu sorcerers like Gojo Satoru and Yuta Okkotsu, with immense cursed energy, can use it in quick successions. The only established way to cancel out a Domain Expansion attack is by using an equally or more powerful Domain Expansion to counter it.
What Is Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine?
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True to its name, Malevolent Shrine resembles an evil-looking building hosting a demon resident, Sukuna. Sukuna’s Domain Expansion first made its appearance in the anime in episode four, subtly teasing fans on what to expect from the arrogant being. After Itadori Yuuji’s confrontation with a special-grade cursed spirit, powerful enough to give them trouble, Sukuna takes over Itadori's consciousness and uses his Domain Expansion. Immediately, he chanted the technique, the special-grade curse, Finger Bearer, was instantly sliced into a number of vertical pieces, which burned off a few moments later. Considering the fact that Sukuna has only gained a mere fraction of his full power, anime fans can rightly infer that Malevolent Shrine is an exceedingly powerful technique. After Sukuna consumes all twenty fingers, we can only guess how powerful this ‘malevolent’ being (pun intended) will be.
An interesting feature of the Malevolent Shrine is that it differs from the usual "Domain Expansion" in terms of its manifestation. While the default Domain Expansion transfers the target to a different space, Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine manifests in reality; it comes to the physical realm, exuding a menacing and imposing aura on its victims. According to Gojo, during his fight with Jogo, attacks created by a Domain Expansion user are sure to hit their targets as a result of the restricted space barrier, barring any form of escape.
Surprisingly, Sukuna’s technique defies the Domain Expansion logic as his Malevolent Shrine still allows him to attack desired targets regardless of the lack of barrier, ascertaining the character’s invincibility. Furthermore, the technique can cover a gaping span of about 200 meters, as shown in the Shibuya Arc. Consequently, escape from this Domain Expansion is impossible except with teleportation, which can probably be countered by Sukuna. The baleful technique is the perfected form of Sukuna's basic cursed technique, Cleave & Dismantle. Cleave allows Sukuna to attack entities with cursed energy while Dismantle affects insentient objects.
In the First Season of Jujutsu Kaisen, fans experienced two contrasting characters: Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Satoru, with mind-blowing cursed-energy-oriented attacks. Both characters acknowledge each other as strong, and Sukuna has sworn to get rid of Gojo after he finds all 20 fingers. Most likely, this widely-anticipated battle, if it occurs, may be the best fight in the series.