#tengen's barrier evolved sorcerers in japan

[blackhallow]

throwing this out there before leaks tomorrow but i think kenjaku and tengen are either in cahoots or related somehow :///

[cursedvibes]

Two Types of Ultimate Strength in JJK

I wanted to take the time to break down the two types of The Strongest we meet in the story and the way these four people are representing them. In this case, "The Strongest" means: a person with the power to permanently change (jujutsu) society.

Raw Power

I struggled a bit with how to name the two categories, but ultimately settled on this. Raw Power refers to the people who get called The Strongest in text aka Ryomen Sukuna & Gojo Satoru. The strongest sorcerer in history and the strongest sorcerer of modern times. Their power lies in their attack strength and natural abilities. Their physical superiority lets them shape society and even affect things like the spawning of curses and the power-levels of sorcerers because the lethal threat they pose forces everyone to follow or die. In Sukuna's case there is basically only the option to die, although he did negotiate with the Fujiwara and they incorporated him into rituals and political plays (more like you would use an atomic bomb than him actively participating in discussions, I imagine), so he wasn't in kill mode 24/7. Gojo changed the behavior of curse users just by being born. He could kill the higher-ups at any point and put his own people in power to run society as he sees fit, nobody could stop him. He could block or instate any political system he wants. Recently it looks like that might actually be part of his plan.

Gojo and Sukuna have more differences though than Sukuna just being more destructive and forcing sorcerers to evolve or die. Gojo was special the moment he was born. Tengen literally designed him to be an indestructible weapon from a young age. He's smart too, but his physiology and innate technique already give him a huge advantage over anyone else and nobody besides Sukuna has even a chance at breeching that gap.

As far as we know, for Sukuna that wasn't the case. His cursed technique, Shrine, depends on taking other skills in and collecting them. Add onto that large reserves of cursed energy and quick learning skill. He has a strong understanding of cursed energy and the soul (without a physical advantage like the six eyes) and that is the basis for how he is able to perform techniques like an unclosed domain, turning himself into a cursed object and learning to regenerate his cursed technique after experiencing it once. It relies a lot more on experience and study than in Gojo's case, despite also having intrinsic advantages like his large cursed energy pool. He is also more adaptable than Gojo as his fight against Mahoraga shows very well. Gojo's attitude is more straightforward, but he also rarely gets challenged to do more than shoot his energy blasts very precisely and with a lot of power behind it. He rarely gets forced to rely on other skills or trickery. In that way, he's actually much more the brute force type than Sukuna.

Plotting

This is the category I made up for Tengen & Kenjaku. They aren't very physically strong, not in the sense that Sukuna and Gojo are. Actually they would very quickly die in a straight up battle against the two, but they are still more influencial than them. I mean, Tengen is the reason society exist in the way it does after all and Kenjaku is doing a very good job at breaking the system down. If Gojo and Sukuna are natural disasters that alter the balance of the world, Tengen and Kenjaku are the ones that guide the path these disasters take.

Tengen isn't a fighter, but she is still powerful through her understanding of cursed energy, huge energy reserves and mastery of barrier techniques. She created barriers around Japan to enhance the sorcerer and curse formation inside them (like a greenhouse for cursed energy). Society is dependant on her to exist as it is. If she's gone, all structure would collapse and curses would run wild. It would likely affect future generations of sorcerers as well. She is the reason Gojo even exist and Sukuna...well who knows what she did with him. She did all this "merely" through talking and building connections and subtly influencing people, like when she appeared in the Nara period and preached about buddhism and her vision for jujutsu sorcerers or how she facilitated the creation of the Big 3 and higher-ups and continued to guide them from behind the scenes.

Kenjaku is more of a fighter than Tengen, they know how to defend themselves, but it is not their first instinct and direct conflict is rarely their preferred plan of action. Due to having reduced their body to purely the brain, their physical capabilities rely heavily on the vessel they inhabit and even in the body of someone like Geto whose technique they use much better than the guy himself, they would still easily get killed by Gojo and they have to rely on Sukuna at the moment to not die to him. You can also see it in their fighting style. They rarely get close, instead prefer long-range attacks and tools. Their real speciality lies in using other people to let them do the work for them or enhance their plans in some other way. Even Sukuna and Gojo fall victim to that. Another specialty of theirs is the manipulation of cursed energy and the soul, only that in contrast to Sukuna they use it to create tools, recruit people and create barriers comparable to Tengen's (I think technically they could create the same thing Tengen does, they just lack the energy reserves).

However, both Tengen and Kenjaku get overlooked by history and their influence is pushed aside. Even when entire organizations criticize Tengen for very valid reasons, nobody takes it up with her or actually challenges her in a meaningful way because she is both illusive (the higher-ups are much more present) and also an integral part for the sustainability of everyday life. Take her away and society will crumble and most people don't want such radical change. Kenjaku wasn't known at all until recently except by selected "curse users", despite their clashes with the Gojo clan in the past (I blame Tengen for their late identity reveal). Their actions have great influence and at times even make it into the history books, but they aren't tied back to them personally, just their vessels.

TL;DR: Next to Gojo and Sukuna's very palpable, aggressive power, there is also a more subtle power represented by Tengen and Kenjaku that relies a lot more on manipulation and minimal, longterm actions than physical strength. All this can be seen in the way that both Tengen and Kenjaku often get overlooked, but have both influenced Sukuna and Gojo to a great degree and are even responsible for the rise and fall of jujutsu society.

Kenjaku and Tengen are both barrier users, a very defence-oriented skill, but furthermore heavily tied to mind & imagination and the manipulation of energy. The reason they are so successful is also tied to their experience. Gojo's and Sukuna's power allows them to skip the long game in most cases, while Tengen and Kenjaku rely on it to amass strength. I highly doubt Tengen was just born with the cursed energy reserves she uses for her barriers, she likely collected it over hundreds of years. Kenjaku's plans would also be barely effective if they only had one human life span to enact them. And the interactions with so many other sorcerers allow them to learn a lot more than the other two could ever hope to. Sukuna is kind of immortal now too, but if you take out the time he was just hanging around as a cursed object, he's actually pretty young compared to the Manipulation Duo.

Side Note: I think Maki and Toji could technically qualify too, they have the ability to facilitate change, but both haven't done anything with it so far, not on a larger scale at least. Toji killing Riko had major consequences, but he was ultimately a tool and a stepping stone for Tengen's evolution. I mean, isn't it a crazy coincidence that the people employing Toji have the same goals Kenjaku does? The Time Vessel Association also exists since the Nara period... either way, while Sukuna and Gojo are getting manipulated too, there is still purpose behind their actions. Both the Zenin massacre and Riko's death are more incidental. Their actions don't have the same consistency as Sukuna or Gojo, although Maki is still promising. She can still do something with her new powers. In terms of strength they don't quite measure up to the other two either. Maki might make it with a bit more training, but not based on what we've seen so far. So...I guess, they might be Type 3: unused potential.

[lxmelle]

Overthinking as usual and I’m just going to blab a bit about the “preciousness” of life in JJK.

I think the JJK world is quite heavily influenced by Buddhist principles and beliefs. I could be wrong though; hence me writing this as I try to figure out my thoughts. It is my understanding that in Buddhism, every living creature’s life is precious. Life, birth, death are of importance.

Since there is a belief in reincarnation, every creature’s life is to be treasured as much as possible. From a compassionate point of view, every creature’s life is important to itself. As a human being with higher awareness (for, and of, others), we have a responsibility to care for them and protect. According to the belief over karma / the karmic cycle, this lends itself to a good life, and subsequent death and potentially the rebirth in the next life / realm. (This also explains the emphasis of a good death in JJK).

And from a reincarnation point of view, any animal could have been one’s parent through the infinite lives a soul can reincarnate in the karmic cycle. Thus killing an animal is considered cruel when one has this awareness of the preciousness of life and the soul. This is why many devout Buddhists observe vegetarianism...

In JJK, there is a rule that their powers must never be used to harm humans, which was exploited to use Toji to assassinate Riko to prevent Tengen from renewing its form. This rule was historically instated by Tengen themselves, who travelled to spread their beliefs (if I am not mistaken).

Now of course we understand as humans in this world, the importance of the survival of our race and we know the unspoken rules about morality, compassion, etc.

But going back to if “every life is precious” … I kinda wonder, why is sacrificing crows OK as a means to an end (Mei Mei) and sacrificing humans not OK?

Geto viewed those unable to evolve as the source of cursed spirits. He was willing and open to exterminating the entire human race in order to protect a few.

Gojo (and others I guess?) viewed some sacrifice as “acceptable” as a means to an end, or towards a better good/outcome. This includes sorcerers and students (sorry, but this is true).

I think to answer my own question: This becomes a debate about intentionality. And moral greyness. In our world, necessary sacrifice appears in various forms. We accept (sometimes with understandable difficulty) the fact that we simply can’t save everybody (humans, and any creature of our selection: e.g. dogs/cats but not a vermin). We are also OK with exterminating some creatures, especially if there is what we can rationalise as a just cause. We are selective. It depends on our worldview and what we cherish.

I see how this is what Gege wishes to do when he portrays different characters with different principles and intentions. They’re all debatable and their perspectives are valid (to themselves) but also questionable.

Mei Mei’s characterisation has been interesting where she can be pitted against those who are more righteous, say, like Nanami. Her morals have been depicted as sketchy anyway, as she is driven by the material, personal safety over that of other people, and her relationship with her brother is odd at best. She is one who is likely 100% OK with others (like the lives of infinite crows) being sacrificed for her personal interests.

Others in the recent chapters don’t seem to give much of a thought to the lives of humans, in fact the focus is again on their existences as sorcerers and humans are lowered to the level of “necessary sacrifice” (like ants or animals) towards the merger, for example. I guess this depicts the Heian brutality / worldview.

Tengen themselves were willing to sacrifice a person to ensure they could remain immortal and continue to manage the barriers in Japan. Again, is this what one can view as a necessary sacrifice? It probably highly depends on which character you’re asking. Yuki would say no, and Riko didn’t want to in the end either. Megumi didn’t want Yuji to die, but Yuji wanted to be the necessary sacrifice.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I just thought it was interesting.

I feel like my small brain is missing something though. Thoughts?

Anyone who studied philosophy and ethics care to enlighten me / share their views?

[runabout-river]

So now that the Jujutsu Factions plot point is wrapped up (albeit unceremoniously), the only thing left to worry about is Tengen and her Barriers. It will be interesting to see what happens given that we still don't have a clear assessment of what happened to good ol' Granny.

There are several things that can happen:

1. Tengen is alive. She'll probably end the Culling Games, which would free all the sorcerers from continuing this Death Match. However, her barriers will stay up continuing the optimization of CE in Japan.

This will lead to several countries trying to invade Japan as they see it as a cursed energy gold mine. Powerful curses, sorcerers, and curse users like the Disaster Curses, Kenjaku, and Gojo will keep popping up. This could, unfortunately, lead to new cycles of curses starting and further chaos in the future.

2. Tengen is dead. Her Barriers will come down, which would cause Cursed Energy to dissipate. Depending on how Gege views cursed energy as an element. There are several options:

All the bottled up CE will spread across the world, leading to more sorcerers and curses appearing. However, the strength of the curses and sorcerers will be lower in comparison to past sorcerers fostered in Japan.

OR, the level of CE hits such a low that curses and sorcerers rarely appear in the world anymore. Japan becomes like every other country in the world. This is probably the closet we could get to Yuki's dream being fulfilled without it feeling like an asspull.

3. There's also the third option of Tengen being alive and having a change of heart. She ends the culling games and somehow removes the excess cursed energy from Japan. But honestly, this is my least favorite option as it's too convenient and is too much of a perfect ending.

Good options but I have 2 interjections:

I don't think ending the Culling Games is as easy as Tengen going "Welp, time to finish this" (I need to read up on that whole thing though) but more importantly, I think Tengen is alive but in no state to act on her own at all.

Tengen was an old granny but then she was turned into a baby. (In a metaphorical way, she was turned from evolution through immense age into a devolution into a baby; maybe though the metaphor is meant to say that she evolved so much she turned into a completely new life form that is in its infancy.)

We saw already that she isn't freed from that trapped baby form even after Kenjaku lost his ability to control his CT and her. Instead she went over to Sukuna who had - in Megumi's body - undergone a ritual to house her. There was no indication that Yuji punched her out like he did Sukuna and unlike with Sukuna, Megumi isn't possessed by Tengen anyway.

So it's most likely that Megumi is the one who's pregnant with Tengen right now (Kenjaku even says that Sukuna/Megumi will parent the merger through the CG) and even if Yuji were able to do a c-section on him he might want to reconsider that because Sukuna died during his secession. And even with a proper cut from Megumi, Tengen might still be in that trapped form.

Then again, Tengen's name was heavily emphasised in the last chapter. In other words, next chapter will give us the long awaited answer to all of our questions.

But also, Tengen ending her barriers and suddenly the CE problems go away really is a bad ending. If it had been that simple then Tengen had always been the bad guy in the story and Yuki would've simply killed her to achieve her goal. Geto would've killed her, too.

[blog-of-hubris]

Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 202: The Plot Thickens; Kenjaku starts the next phase.

Conversation Over Tea

There is so much to unpack in this chapter, starting with the insane conversation between Yuki and Granny Tengen aka the Thumb. I have to say, the biggest piece of information that shook me was finding out that Riko was a star plasma vessel with the most potential and Yuki being a star plasma vessel herself. This information changes a lot of what I understood about the Star Plasma Vessels and so I’ll need to see what else Gege adds to that lore to really grasp the concept. 

Other than that, I enjoyed the moment a lot due to seeing Tengen explain themself for not trying to get another vessel to merge. Finding out that they felt like they were delaying the inevitable and instead wanted to embrace the evolution while trying to keep consciousness using barrier techniques is fascinating. I can’t help but agree with Tengen’s choice.. and since there can be multiple Star Plasma vessels (and apparently you can stop being one) makes me feel like Tengen evolving is a necessary part of something bigger. However, I have to agree with Yuki too. Using children to further handle things for him was extremely irresponsible, people forget that even though Geto and Gojo were two special grades they were still teenagers. They weren’t grown adults and they had such an important task on their hands, and were even going to betray the sorcerers to keep Riko alive if thats what she wanted. It adds so much more angst and grief to the Hidden Inventory arc which is why I loved her comment so much. 

(Also, this should let everyone who keeps saying Yuki is going to kidnap Maki know that she most likely wouldn't do that. Would she ask Maki for help, absolutely. But to say she would take her is crazy and im sure Maki would make it very hard for her to do so. Just saying.)

What's even crazier is that Yuki can apparently hear the voices of the previous star plasma vessels. Thats a very layered reveal in my opinion, because it implies to me that the previous vessels aren’t actually dead. It makes me wonder what happened to their souls. And also, I love how Yuki says she won't tell him what the vessels are saying because she knows Tengen will try to justify their actions by trying to use wisdom. I love that Tengen is showing an emotional side to a degree, they want to know what they are saying for some type of personal relief but Yuki doesn't want to give them that satisfaction. She’s such a fantastic character and I really love the way Akutami is fleshing out her character development, showing us what she cares about and how she feels. She’s probably the character I relate to the second most in the series based on what we’ve seen so far. Their conversation ends with Tengen saying they hoped they could speak with Yuki longer but they sense Kenjaku coming into the barrier with Choso waiting. It was a really beautiful transition and I'm wondering if anything else will be shared before Yuki clashes with Kenjaku. 

The Prelude is over

With Kenjaku entering the barrier (like he just knows he about to win), it is clear to me that things are about to get really bad. The first part of the Culling Game ended with the reveal of Kenjaku’s “bomb” (or part of it) which was the implementation of American (and maybe other) troops entering the Culling Game to hunt Jujutsu Sorcerers. If what Kenjaku wants is truly to have everyone merge with Tengen so that he can see if cursed energy evolves then I believe that he will succeed and what will happen is that Tengen becoming a full curse could lead to the whole world being more in tune with cursed energy, and it not be something that affects Japan the most (more in another section). 

So Kenjaku changes the barrier to a movie theatre where he can show off what a possible ending to all of this would be. He explains that the Culling game was a verification of people being sorcerers. He even mentions feeling “happy” that Yuki thought like him when she mentioned the sorcerers being used an energy source, which makes me feel like Kenjaku is like a mad scientist that never had anyone to relate to him. The way he is going about these experiments starting with the cursed wombs is even more proof to that theory, but speaking on the science of cursed energy he impresses me with his honesty. Letting Choso know that he wants to see what form the cursed spirit would take once Tengen absorbs all the non sorcerers is and that it simply fascinates him makes me love Kenjaku very much. I love someone who is “evil” because they are truly intrigued by the path of it, instead of getting an explanation on their world view or what they think the world should be. Kenjaku just wants to push the limits of CE, and he will do whatever he feels is necessary to do so. 

Choso asked Kenjaku “Why are you doing this?” and his response was “it just SOUNDS fun”.. meaning he isn't sure if it is or not. He literally says that he won't know if its fun until he sees the end result. That is a textbook mad scientist response, and it elevated him to one of my all time favorite shonen villains. It really pissed off Choso too, because we went straight into a piercing blood to end the chapter. 

As Kenjaku said the Prelude is over and now the real performance begins. What he has in store for the concert I have no clue but thats what makes him such a fun character. We know the American army is touching down in Shibuya, so will Kenjaku use Tengen to take them too or will he wait until after some sorcerers are taken, or maybe he has no intention of that all and is just using this to create more negative energy to be used for the merger and it has to be done in Japan because that is where Tengen set up home base and there is a deeper spiritual connection which is a secret within the Tomb of the Star? These are the questions I am wondering and formulating theories around if the information presents itself.

New Form of Cursed Energy

Kenjaku mentions to Choso that he is going after the new form of cursed energy. The path to this (he believes) is by having non sorcerers merge with Tengen to create a new level of cursed spirits. Pretty much it sounds like Kenjaku is trying to create a “Gojo effect”, where the birth of this creature will spike the levels of cursed energy creating something brand new that exceeds his own potential. I am wondering what his new form of cursed energy could be but also where does positive energy come into play here? We know positive energy exists due to reverse cursed technique but also general mahoraga’s blade of extermination. So what happens to positive energy if Cursed Energy evolves? 

I think that even Kenjaku doesn't fully understand what he is getting himself into which is why he is having so much fun doing it. He was probably really bored when he started thinking of how to make this all happen. I’m saying all this not because I have a theory but just because I think it should be on everyone's radar. In terms of loose personal theories, I think that Kenjaku will end up giving birth to some type of cursed deities or the heavens will smite the world for the decisions he made. I am still very convinced that Gege is hiding deeper supernatural lore and aspects of the story, especially since we have got 0 lore on Heavenly Restrictions and why they are called that. For people to treat heavenly restrictions as negatives, why give it such a name? I have a theory meta written on it posted here, so check it out if you are interested. I hope I can add more to it as more information drops. 

As I mentioned in the previous section, I think that Tengen becoming a giant curse might not be what actually happens and instead he turns into something that passes cursed energy throughout the entire world. I don't have a comprehensive or well laid out theory yet but based on what Tengen was doing when they first got to Japan (teaching buddhism and jujutsu) I think that whatever his evolved version becomes will make cursed energy spread through the world and may use the energy form those consumed to do so. It may even be that only non-sorcerers can be absorbed at that point, making their cursed energy spread, or he may even become a curse spirit factory; pumping out curses using the cursed energy of absorbed non-sorcerers. 

I had once mentioned I think Tengen might have been sent down from the heavens to be the main “curse” that spreads cursed energy. Why else would he have a cursed technique that turns them into a “monster” with no sense of self. Even the strongest of cursed spirits have a conscious and know who they are and what they believe in (mahito, jogo, hanami, Dagon) but a curse as potent as Tengen has no sense of self? Just doesn't add up to me. I mean even Naoya a vengeful spirit had all of his memories of his original life and his sense of self. I might be reading too deep into it but it just doesnt make sense that if all Tengen is doing is becoming a cursed spirit as he evolves then why lose their sense of self? Thats why I'm convinced there is more to what Tengen is than anyone knows. 

Otherwise, I actually want to see what happens if Kenjaku does get Tengen, because I want to see what the new cursed energy would be and I’m sure this a higher power involved that won't like what happens but I could be entirely wrong. I also want to know what Sukuna and Yuji have to do with all this. With Uraume being willing to assist Kenjaku but clearly being most loyal to Sukuna, what role does the king of curses play here? I have no idea and I like that I don’t, however I am sure I can finalize a couple of cooking theories in a few more chapters.

Conclusion

There is so much I would like to say that won't come out coherent until I get a few more chapters of information but I am ready to see this fight between Choso and Kenjaku and hopefully Yuki vs Kenjaku. I want to see a top notch battle between 2 special grades. Other than that, I am just sitting at the edge of my seat waiting to see what else Kenjaku is willing to reveal to us so I can finalize some things I been thinking! 

I think we are all ready for Chapter 203 and onward!!

[ignitification]

Dissecting What-thefuck-Ever is Happening in Jujutsu Kaisen

Am I crazy? Am I going mad? Is this manga making me delusional? All of this are valid hypothesis. However, onto the content, because I'm confused and trying to give shape to whatever my mind is thinking.

The last couple of chapters really put my English comprehension skills to test: not because I don't get it, but all the different details and the shades which Gege uses to describe and entwine things is so subtle that sometimes I am afraid that the translation does not give it justice. And kudos anyways to those who put this into words, because this is one big mess on 'insert weird jujutsu thing'.

This New Arc (The Culling) is probably one of the most difficult, in terms of events and storyline, arcs in the story. Fair enough, Shibuya was pretty complicated, as events were happening at the same time - but in the end, Shibuya lasted about five hours and that was it. The Culling has origins which go back in centuries, and only that makes it interesting, dangerous and maddening to think about.

One thing which I want to mention before anything else, because I know that I will forget otherwise, is the sentence which Tengen repeats twice in Chapter 145.

Per his saying, he cannot read the Human Heart, once in reference to Yuki, and the other in reference to Kenjaku. The weird thing is that this makes it clear that despite everything and the implications, Kenjaku - is still human at the end. He is physical, material and therefore he is not invincible. I am not sure if this was the intent behind this words (to let them know how Kenjaku is as human as them, and therefore it it possible to stop him) - but I still it has some sort of relevance. Also, this makes me question, whether Kenjaku's technique is limited to the brain and its knowledge, and what generally his technique is.

Tengen tells the Six Adventurers that Kenjaku is at least as old as Sukuna, and the two have been involved somehow. His objective is so force human evolution. And in order to do, he wants to boost up Japanese individuals (likely because of the amount of immense cursed energy present) - and to merge Tengen, who is now more cursed spirit than human, with humankind.

This is because the next stage of sorcery (and humanity, intrinsically), for Kenjaku, lies in optimising cursed energy. But in order to do so, the potential which human retain needs to be exploited fully. Therefore, people have to be aware that there is still potential to be discovered (next stage of human evolution).

The objective of the Culling Game therefore splits into two currents: cull the potential vessels to fuse with Tengen and spread cursed energy like wildfire (with the end goal being a new golden era, Heian Era) by applying the natural law of the survival of the fittest (searching for the one who could completely fuse with Tengen) and making Japan the cull of all cursed energy - which would potentially attract other cursed energy, from other countries (even if as we know it is extremely lower compared to Japan) and as Yuki potentially already guessed in Chapter 136 to make Japan a monopoly on cursed energy.

Another things which gets mentioned, but at the same time I am not entirely sure has anything to do with the things I am thinking of (and specifically Sukuna's fingers and the remains of the clan ancestors - if this is even a thing), however boundaries and restrictions (f.e. Heavenly Restriction that both Toji and Maki have) are a very big thing in Jujutsu Society and Sorcery. A blatant example is the pact that Sukuna made with Yuuji (and that neither can break). However, according to Tengen the bond of fate between The Six Eyes, Tengen and the Star Plasma Vessel has been broken thanks to Toji Fushiguro, who killed Riko Amanai 12 years ago. (Also, the choice of words that Toji escaped cursed energy is very interesting, and worthy of further looking into). This allowed for Kenjaku to carry out his plan to weaken and further let Tengen evolve into an almost cursed spirit, which he could manipulate through Getou's technique (which explains why he seized his body) to finally let the ritual of breaking into the body and finally merging begin (the culling game). To allow this however, Kenjaku had to make different restrictions, one of which is not not be the Game Master of the Culling. But in this case, two questions come up: who is the Game Master and what are the other restrictions? Can this be used as an advantage by Yuuta, Yuuji, Megumi and Maki to beat Kenjaku, free Gojo and stop the Evolution?

And this also prompts the question of, if Kenjaku would merge with Tengen in Getou's body, what would the consequence be? Also, does this merging occur after the end of the Culling? What if Kenjaku finds another body to take advantage of and this way, the vows he made when it Getou's body are not worth anymore? Would that play in his favour? Could it even be possible?

However, in order to do so, and since Tengen's barrier optimises cursed energy, and at the same time protects itself, Kenjaku is striving to eliminate Tengen's barrier. In the end, if the cursed energy is dispersed, yes it would mean chaos, but as well it would mean endless possibilities to evolve. Furthermore, if Is stretch this into unknown territory, what the picture could be is: since for Kenjaku the only ones able to successfully merge with Tengen and have a use out of it are Japanese people (for reasons stated before), and from the things we know of Kenjaku (old as they come, acquainted with Sukuna and Uraume, mad scientist who tampered with the Womb Paintings - creating Choso among the others, and most likely having tampered with the Itadoris') it would create the picture of a mad scientist in full gear striving for innovation, evolution, creating by destruction.

It gets cleared with the content on these next two panels:

Kenjaku wants a chaotic world, one that even he cannot control, in which Cursed Energy is a limitless source and has no possibility to be put down. The question that comes naturally with it is definitely why, because I am afraid that merely 'evolution' is a downplay of the real intentions of someone who experimented so much and has survived different centuries, under different names - all of which (known for now) are of 'evil' jujutsu sorcerers (both Kamo Noritoshi and Getou Suguru), who did not conform with the will of jujutsu society.

Does Kenjaku want the whole to end, to go berserk - because if there are no barriers and one individual goes mad, everyone does? The creation of 'Trascendent Being' which are more than jujutsu sorcerers? To see what's over the threshold of jujutsu sorcery? To have the world as the scene for a new Shibuya but with the possibility to influence and kill more people? Territorial expansion extendable over a certain barrier?

Anyway, I am not sure what the point is, just that Gege's plot is absolutely amazing and I can't wait to know more.

[tempenensis]

the dancing elephants

Special-grade, as its name implies, is at the peak of the power pyramid. Each of them pack a power equal to, as Ijichi said, a cluster bomb. The clash of several special-grades cause Shibuya and Tokyo in extension to be rendered into ruin. And among the few special-grades or similarly leveled, no one is more mysterious than these two; the Brain and Tsukumo Yuki. 

“The next stage of humanity lies in breaking away from cursed energy.” “Wrong. It’s the optimization of cursed energy.”

From these panels alone, we know that these two are designed to be on the opposite side. Not to mention the visual given to them; Yuki with lighter color and background, standing opposing the Brain in Getou’s body with his dark color and background. Looking deeper to their respective characters along the story, they are comparable to two sides of the same coin, as they have the same interest in the connection of curses and cursed energy to not one or few people, but to humanity in general, but has vastly different opinion of what has to happen.

1. the Cause

Curse spirits appear because of leaked cursed energy, a concentration of negative human emotion escapes out of the population which then gathers to be strong enough to take form. Yuki explained this to Getou who was at the verge of spiraling down during the Hidden Inventory arc, and subsequently caused Getou to be “inspired”. 

How this cursed energy gathers and takes form is still a mysterious matter, since apparently human can also become curse, like Sukuna. But the more interesting thing is this leak is specifically happens in non-sorcerer alone and sorcerer does not leak as much cursed energy as normal people, making normal people is to blame for the existence of curse spirits in general. 

So fundamentally, how cursed energy flows within the body of sorcerer is genetically encoded, especially determined by how one’s brain is built. That’s why being a sorcerer is largely decided by bloodline, with exception of few people coming from non-sorcerer family - which can be chalked to something akin to genetic mutation. 

Further, it is explained that Tengen’s barrier is necessary for the purpose of concentrating cursed energy; another reason fundamentals for the making of both sorcerers and curse spirits alike. 

And so, sorcerers are then tasked to protect the normal people, to exorcise curse in secrecy. Curses comes from human, curses exorcised by sorcerers, but as long as there’s normal people, curses will never cease to exist, making this an endless cycle of suffering for the sorcerer who has to exorcise them.   

2. the View

Same with all other species, there’s force of nature that makes human evolve, even if it is not very prominent because of our ability to make our surrounding fits to our existence, and not the opposite like in other species. Some races have developed superior physical aspect in effort to adapt to their lifestyle; like a race who has custom to dive long in the water for food adapts by evolving higher lungs capacity. In jjk, this apparent in sorcerers; basically Tengen is a force of evolution that made sorcerers happens among human in Japan.

Both Yuki and the Brain’s interest lie in the connection of cursed energy to human, and in extension to curse spirit. Yuki wants to free them from the life of exorcising curse, so she’s looking into the root that cause curse spirits to appear.  

“Causal therapy?” “It’s not hunting curse spirit. I want to make a world where curse spirit can’t be born.”

Different from her, the Brain has more mysterious objective. On surface, it is similar to original Getou who wanted to realize a world where sorcerer have more power than being forced to exorcise curses in shadow; a world where sorcerers is superior to normal human.

However, what The Brain does and says doesn’t really align with that objective. His interest lies deeper than simply makes a world where sorcerers reign, especially since he’s also disassociate himself from sorcerer society. In fact, the existence of Gojou who is hailed as the peak of sorcerers is a thorn at his side, so whatever it is that he planned can’t be done unless Gojou is gone. The most obvious answer is like what Yuki also said; the change of humanity as a whole. 

3. the Method

As with their different view, what they want and do are also different. Yuki who wants a society where there’s no more curse spirits suggest these two methods; 

She took Touji as the example of the first method. 

If every human have zero cursed energy, then there will be no energy leaked, so curse spirits won’t come to be. If people gets to Touji’s level, then any curses still linger can be exorcised without the appearance of new curse; which makes Touji a perfect model for her. The second one is obvious.  

And after 11 years, she comes back to her original conclusion; human being should break away from cursed energy as a whole. But in the story, Yuki herself does not do as much to actively realize the objective she wants. She’s seems to be more heavy on exploring, observing, and analyzing, searching the perfect answer that will stumble to her - contrasting to the Brain who actively perform experiment to obtain the answer that he wants.

In a thousand years of his life, what does he seek? What kind of deed he has done to achieve what he seek? The Kusouzu seems only one of his experiments to reach better understanding on the nature of curse energy connection to human being, for human to optimize cursed energy. And now he creates a situation where survival depends on the use of curse energy; essentially the only thing that guarantee their survival is to be a sorcerer. 

What the Culling game is actually addresses before in Yuki and Getou’s discussion.

Evolution in large is a chaotic event, where changes happens one after another to all species ever walked in the face of this earth. A lot of things can be driving force of evolution, but mainly it’s due to change of surroundings. Species who can adapt to things will survive, but for the ones who can’t, they’ll only be left as fossils. Same case as in the culling game; with a huge chaos like the Culling Game, human beings will be forced to adapt to use cursed energy -- essentially forced all human, at least in Japan, to evolve into sorcerers; human who has better grasp and connection to the cursed energy; which actually aligned to the second solution that Yuki offers, but in risk of making human the malicious one instead of curse spirits. 

4. the Confliction

The conflict of Yuki and the Brain is still subtle, as we’re still at the beginning of new arc. But I think there’s a reason why Gege brings Yuki and Yuuta at this point and makes them play more active role, now that Gojo is gone. We know what Yuuta is doing; to substitute Gojo in protecting the students, but Yuki’s role is still not explained clearly. The obvious thing is that she does not see eyes to eyes with the Brain, to the point of suggesting the students to get answer from Tengen himself. 

They want different things for human society; one wants for sorcerer to be non-sorcerer, while other wants non-sorcerer to be sorcerer. But what about human society? What does human society want?

All in all, if two special grades are fighting, literally or metaphorically, it will be like two elephants dancing. 

[tomorrow-and-tomorrows]

The endless cycle of suffering for jujutsu sorcerers

Tengen is like a Buddhist bodhisattva: someone able to ascend to enlightenment, but who chooses to remain on earth to guide others.

“A bodhisattva is one who has attained enlightenment and has chosen to stay on earth and spread his knowledge of enlightenment to others so that they too can gain enlightenment.”

“(in Mahayana Buddhism) a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings.”

Tengen is able to evolve to a higher state, but chooses to remain human to support jujutsu sorcerers.

The question: is this ultimately a blessing or a curse? Why does it seem that Tengen is trapping jujutsu sorcerers in an endless cycle of suffering rather than releasing them from one?

Tengen enables Japan’s high level of both sorcerers and curses: The more powerful sorcerers become, the more powerful curses become.

Tengen’s barrier allowing optimization of cursed energy is like how Gojou’s birth increased energy for both curses and sorcerers, or how as Yuji became a stronger sorcerer, he simultaneously but unintentionally enabled Mahito to become stronger too.

So as Tengen preached the foundation of jujutsu sorcery and cultivated his technique, this shift in power balance likely enabled malignant powers like Sukuna to rise.

This becomes not only an endless cycle, but a highly ironic and self-defeating cycle of creating the thing you want to defeat. In maintaining and shifting the balance of power, sorcerers enable strong curses, which necessitates more sorcerers to sacrifice their lives, and so on.

However, still going by the analogy of Tengen as bodhisattva, Buddhism is all about ending the cycle of suffering. So the unanswered question is still: why does it seem Tengen is worsening it for jujutsu sorcerers, trapping them suffering rather than releasing them from it?

“Buddhism is a religion that offers a spiritual path for transcending the suffering of existence. Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth to which all beings are subject, results from the consequences incurred by oneʼs karma, the sum of good and bad actions that accumulates over many lives. Release from this endless cycle is achieved only by attaining enlightenment, the goal for which Buddhists strive.”

There are so many examples that could be discussed, but Nanami is one particularly poignant one: he envisions Haibara taking the place of Mahito, a figure of death, to point towards Yuji. Haibara embodies stolen innocence and youth cut short by death - and he’s reminding Nanami to pass that burden onto Yuji, the next generation. Generation after generation, this is the path jujutsu sorcerers have been trapped in.

So for now, Tengen’s enhancing of cursed energy is highly questionable to me in its costs vs benefits. Wouldn’t it be better for Japan to be like the rest of the world with both low-level sorcerers and low-level curses? As we’ve seen and needless to say, the jujutsu world is so cruel and brutal.

Also the fact that we’re dealing with cursed energy here - it’s inherently negative, with negative consequences even when used with the best intentions (“no sorcerer dies without regret”). Maybe the logic is that, to understand cursed energy means to better understand suffering, which will help lead sorcerers to a ‘higher state’.

Yet in practice, the cycle of exorcising curses seems to lead deeper into a kind of hell, not enlightenment.

Of course there’s a lot of information we don’t have yet, so my suspicion/skepticism towards Tengen and the entire practice of jujutsu may well change in the future. But coming out of chapter 136, it seems to me that more problems are caused than solved by enhancing cursed energy - unless there’s some key pieces of information that makes Tengen’s existence absolutely necessary even with its adverse consequences, which as of now I can’t imagine what that reason could be.

[bloodstainsontengensfloor]

The Star Plasma Vessel:

When I first read Gojo’s past arc, Riko Amanai and the whole dynamic created between all of the characters and how fast a strong bond can grow, really interested me.

⚠️Spoiler warning ofc ⚠️

But... I was so confused over the Star Plasma Vessel. I was so confused and thought I missed something because I didn’t even know who Master Tengen was. And the site I was reading the manga didn’t have chapter 72, but after re reading it... the Star Plasma Vessel and Master Tengen are... still suspicious as hell.

So Let’s talk about it!

Who is Master Tengen?

In the Nara Period (710-794) Tengen spread Japanese Buddhism and ‘preached what would become the foundation for Jujutsu sorcerers(JJK.wiki)’. They were first mentioned in chapter 53 by fake Geto. 

At this point, the only information about Master Tengen was that of their jujutsu. Jogo asks Fake Geto who’s stronger; Tengen or Gojo? Fake Geto simply states that “it’s immortality not anti-aging” and that Master Tengen doesn’t interfere unless it involves the barrier. He also makes this comparison with a tree? However, I’m not sure if the tree metaphor is comparing Tengen and Gojo or describing/comparing Tengen’s technique. 

During Gojo’s Past Arc, we find out more about the specifics of their jujutsu and how powerful and important they are. Tengen’s jujutsu is immortality but it doesn’t stop the aging process. The cursed technique tries to switch bodies roughly every 500 years. If Tengen doesn’t get a vessel, then they will ‘evolve’ or ascend to a higher state where they have no will. If in this higher state, they could become a threat to humanity. If they do get a vessel, then they rewrite the body’s genetic information. 

On top of all that, Master Tengen’s ability strengthens the barriers that protect the jujutsu world and keep the amount of curses limited to Japan. The Jujutsu world wouldn’t be working the way it has for so long if not for these barriers. It isn’t specified whatsoever what Tengen would do that would make them a threat to humanity, but my guess is that it would have something to do with allowing curses to run free and unrestricted. 

In the reccent chapters, Fake!Geto used a remote activation technique that Yuki orginially mistakes as an attack on the barrier. He’s disrupting the balance that’s for sure, but I believe that  he could have broken the barrier. He had the option and probably the power, but he didn’t. This implies that Tengen is a force that even our antagonists fear or don’t wish to get involve. They said that they were  stabilized even after Riko Amanai died, but... considering Ep. 18 where Principal Yaga goes ‘I’m going to see Tengen” after the Curses break onto school grounds implies that maybe he is weaker. Gojo even talks about how in the end, Tengen’s barrier hides rather than protects and that it’s weak once infiltrated, which raises a lot of questions. And maybe Tengen plays a part in this whole scheme because of  the talk of how much chaos the world would be thrown into had the barrier been broken by Yuki and Fake!Geto’s questionable response. 

Who is Riko Amanai?

Riko Amanai was the Star Plasma Vessel in 2006. It is implied that she was pretty wealthy, and when she was younger, her parent’s died in a car crash, but she survived. Between the years of her parents’ death and her death, she was cared for by Misato Kuroi, a non combatant  jujutsu sorcerer who can fight curses, well educated in the curse world, but might not be able to use cursed energy/techniques. It is unknown with who Misato is affiliated with and if Amanai became aware of her status as the Star Plasma Vessel at an early age. 

 When first introduced, she is very willing and seemingly okay with the merger. When Gojo expresses his surprise over Amanai’s reaction to her attempted assassination attempt and the whole concept of the merger, she simply proclaims “Master Tengen is me and I am Master Tengen!”. She then goes on a rant about how the merger and death are different things and how after the Merger, her will and spirit will live on. However, this statement was contradicted earlier, when Yaga describes the Merger as an ‘eraser’. Later, Geto even talks about how after the Merger, Amanai will just be forced to be beneath the school and has to get rid of all mortal connections. It just happens to be that, she has no relations besides Kuroi... suspicious.... 

  Riko is spunky and fiesty. During her rant, Gojo and Geto comment on how she probably has no friends based on how she talks. She is clumsy, and honestly just... funny. I keep on hoping someone in the main timeline says something similar to the “Liar, you look a liar... and whats with those bangs” line  in reference to Fake!Geto. Getting back at hand, Riko is also brave. When Kuroi gets kidnapped, she insists on coming with Geto and Gojo despite having no fighting or curse capability. When nervous or in an emotional confrontation, she has a habit of scrunching up part of her skirt in her fists. 

 Despite putting up an image of content with the Merger, Riko is a normal teenage girl. Moments before her death, Riko’s inner monologue focuses on how she was always told she was ‘special’ and ‘different’, and how despite everything that happened, she always survived. Now, being told that you are special and different at a young age is something that affects people heavily. Weather  it is being told that you are a ‘gifted’ kid or that you are just ‘different’ can lead to a lot of self separation from others. One might see themselves as better than others because of these skills or believe that someone else like them can’t exist and struggle when meeting someone similar or in a similar situation. Before her appearance in the story, it is implied that she had good relationships with her friends, classmates, and Kuroi, but didn’t really value them as much as she should due to this idea of being special or having a destiny. (Damn, a Gojo parallel maybe hmm)  This led her to be really lonely and she believed that she would be okay with the merger because she thought that the loneliness and sadness would disappear. In the last three days of her life, Riko got to spend time with her friends at schools  (the last she saw of them was them teasing her for her ‘hot cousin’ Gojo), spending time with Kuroi, and developing a strong bond with Gojo and Geto. She realizes that the sadness and loneliness could and would leave as long as she had strong bonds with others. 

“I want to be with everyone more! I want to go to more places, see more things with everyone... More!!” 

  After Riko comes to terms with what she really wants, she dies at the hands of Toji Fushiguro/Zenin. Her death sets an entire series of misfortunes and rifts between the Strongest Duo and she serves her part as... well the plot tool she  doubles as. 

A Choice:

 Before her death, Riko is given a choice. Geto gives her instructions on where to go for the merger, before saying “Or you can turn back and return home with Kuroi.”. He gives her a choice. A choice to go through with the merger and ensure stability despite no one truly knowing what is happening, or a choice to live a life of her choice. We find out that Yaga gave hints that there is something wrong with the Merger due to the way that he described  it as an ‘erasure’ and how he isn’t one to ‘beat around the bush’. 

 We find out that Gojo and Geto decided beforehand that if the Vessel wasn’t willing to go through with the merger, they wouldn’t do it and that they, the strongest duo, would fight Master Tengen. Gojo and Geto were the strongest and Geto says that no matter what she chooses, they will protect her future. 

 Riko decides to go home, wherever that may be, instead of the merger, but of course, dies. 

 As established before, this whole concept is suspicious. Yaga knew there was something wrong with this. Gojo and Geto both knew there was something wrong with this.

 In chapter 138, Yuki goes “it’s about time I confront Tengen.” This opens a box with even more questions. What does she mean by this? Why is it ‘about time’ and how casual is it for sorcerers to talk to Tengen? As mentioned before, Yaga is apparently in communication with Tengen when he needs to be. And Yuki is the one who told Geto that Tengen was stabilized after the failed merger and that the vessel was probably reborn...

Conclusion: 

 I honestly hope more than predict that we get to meet Riko Amanai reborn or the next SPV.  Tengen is a name that is getting thrown around recently so there is no way that he is just.. not going to be relevant in the coming chapters. 

  I know a lot of people have found comparisons to Buddhism and the Jujutsu world, and I am not that well educated in this area, I do know that rebirth plays a big role in it. Rebirth is viewed as a negative cycle one should want to escape from called “Samsara”. I personally headcanon/theorize that the Star Plasma Vessel and the soul of Riko Amanai, is one that gets reborn constantly and is stuck in a cycle where they experience a lonely and sad  life before getting a taste of a full and happy one right before the merger. In terms of the 500 year thing, the Star Plasma vessel would have first been born( created?) during sometime in the in between of the Heian Period (794-1184) and the Muromachi Period (1392-1573). The Heian Period is implied to be the Golden Age of Curses and when Sukuna was in full power despite being known in history as a peaceful time for Japan, so I definitely believe that there is some connection if my math is correct (which it probably isn’t. I hate math). 

Right now in the story, vessels... are really important. According to Fake Geto, he released what is like a thousand Itadori Yujis, so I think that bringing back the star Plasma vessel would fit really well. However, they would roughly be around 12 years of age in 2018, meaning that they might not even be able to do the merger because I think the vessel has to be sixteen and older and have a full moon.

(Edit: added 4/1/21: Also, it might not be Riko reborn, but just another Star Plasma Vessel. Like Yuki says that either they had another vessel at hand, or another one was already born. So like... the new SPV might be the age of our main characters or possibly even one of the characters we already know!)

I also think it will be really interesting to see how it would play off with the fact that Gojo/Geto are no longer involved in the story. Gojo is sealed and the real Geto is dead. When thinking about how the SPV would be in the story, I imagined a picture of a younger girl in a uniform and with a braid holding the sealed Gojo and staring up at the fake Geto. I’m not over what happened to Riko Amanai if you haven’t noticed and I feel like she deserves to have this other chance. I also think it’ll set up the eventual meeting or confrontaion with Master Tengen which I’m personally dying to see.

So what do you think? I don’t really have any solid predictions other than that the SPV reborn will make an appearance, but what about you? Do you guys think Tengen will play a big part? Do you think Tengen may end up becoming a big threat or a good ally? Do you guys want to see Itadori and the SPV interact? Or am I just over analyzing this?

Thanks for reading!

[goldenlaquer]

ha.

do u get tf is happenin rn in jjk? im to small brain to everythin tbat just happened this chapter and i simply cant compute alle thidhwgwkanduqoq *screams*

IIII BARELY got it, like I had to re-read and re-read again because the text was hella small and there were hella words and my brain failed to evolve past kindergarten-- but here’s a gist of what’s goin’ on in this clusterfuck of a chapter:

(MANGA SPOILER BEYOND THE KEEP READING. Ye have been warned)

Yuki Tsukumo crashes the party with a wink and kiss and a “what’s your type?”

She and Getwo exchange philosophical remarks (World with Curses Vs. World Without Curses) with a side of insult-- then something interesting is said: Japan is basically a goldmine for curse users, something in the water over there allows the non sorcerer population to become sorcerers, possible using Tengen’s barrier which optimizes cursed energy (if you don’t remember, Tengen’s that powerful immortal fellow who has amazing barrier techniques that hides the school from the locals) 

Anyway, Mad Scientist over here is kicking all hopes of world peace for his selfish and insatiable desire to test the limits of human potential. Is human potential a start-to-finish race? Or is it infinite continuum? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is something that is beyond Getwo’s capabilities, so he decides to fuck it all and jump-start the apocalypse. 

Dude swallows Mahito, no homo (well maybe, depends on who you’re asking), absorbs Mahito’s cursed technique, and thus Getwo gains the ability to manipulate the soul. 

Alright, here’s where things get a trickier. For a long time now, Getwo has been keeping busy implanting cursed objects within non-sorcerers (similar to Yuji eating Sukuna’s finger). Megumi’s sister was one of those victims. But the cursed objects have been sealed up so it’s not like there are a bunch of non-sorcerers going around with supernatural powers. 

And of course, unlike Yuuji, not everyone can handle becoming a vessel right? 

But using Mahito’s handy dandy technique, Getwo hurdles over this obstacle and manipulates all the souls that he had implanted the cursed objects with, turning them into suitable vessels.

Yuki doesn’t get it at first. Even if Getwo turns all these people into sorcerers, it’s not like the chaos he wants is gonna happen willy nilly and people will just start killing each other. 

Here’s the thing about the cursed objects he used: they’re all remnants of evil sorcerers. Sukuna may have been Public Enemy No.1, but he wasn’t the only one; there were plenty of others who were powerful and just as nasty running amok as well. And Getwo had a contract going on with all these evilles, which became void once he obtained Geto’s body (or so how I understand it, though I don’t know why that became so). 

Once the contract is void, the evil sorcerers are allowed to do as they please. 

Once again, Yuuji is a special case. Him being able to fend off Sukuna from taking over is one-of-a-kind. Even if these non-sorcerers are able to survive becoming vessels, they can’t hope to fight off their counterpart’s control. 

So basically: shit hit the fan, a bunch of evil sorcerers from the Heian Era (a time when curses were at their peak) are back from the dead as powerful special curses, and they are ready to have some fun. 

If I got something wrong, please correct me! Or if you’d like me to clarify any points, shoot me a comment!

[cursedvibes]

Tengen for the character thing (+sukuna or uraume too if you feel like it)

I already answered Sukuna and Uraume, so I'm choosing grumpy grandma :D

favourite thing about them

I love how she falls in such a morally grey area. Dark grey even if you ask me. She's not a villain (yet) and most of the main characters look up to her in some way, don't dare to question the status quo she set up ages ago, but the more we find out about her, the more sketchy everything about her becomes. She uses human lives and bodies to prolong her life and keep it in a state she's comfortable in. In contrast to Kenjaku or Sukuna, she doesn't have to worry about a natural death, so this really isn't necessary for her and yet she uses these people to avoid change. You could say she would threaten civilization or the Japanese population otherwise if she doesn't merge, but we have seen that she can hold on for quite some time with barrier techniques. And if she's such a threat, then wouldn't it be more ethical to take yourself completely out of the equation? Lock yourself up or kill yourself instead of sacrificing others to keep you as you are? That doesn't even touch on all the sorcerers that die almost daily due to the system that she set up and upholds. Add onto that her protecting Kenjaku by keeping their existence secret and likely even ensuring their survival after each six eyes battle. And now we have the new layer of her connection with Sukuna, where she clearly has some sort of fascination with his body and has meddled with it before, not unlike Kenjaku. Love how she's not just some old conservative, but there are layers to her and what she's doing or her inaction.

least favourite thing about them

Need more of her backstory and interactions with Kenjaku and Sukuna. Also, she's just so wonderfully frustrating in her stubbornness. If she has a position, she'll really dig her roots in like the tree that she is and won't budge (although other times she's so whimsical in that "come what may" attitude she shows before Kenjaku breaks her barrier and where she decides that she might as well go along with Kenjaku's plan and evolve because it's inevitable...could've realized that 1000 years ago). Could've avoided so many deaths if it wasn't for that. Not really a "least favourite" because I love her for that, just something that makes me want to shake her a bit.

favourite line

"You asked me what I'm doing. All I need to do is distract you." (distraction=standing around...Kenjaku is so easy when it comes to her)

"It wasn't that I was confident. Just like how the seasons are naturally changing, I thought that it was inevitable for something like this to happen."

"That child's objective is to force the evolution of all human beings throughout Japan."

brOTP

Yuki. Love their forced cohabitation where both clearly want to be as far away from each other as possible, but also can't resist talking. Would've liked to see what their everyday life looked like when they weren't discussing plans to stop Kenjaku.

OTP

TenKen. I absolutely love their relationship. How they contrast each other, how they push each other to further extremes both intentionally and unintentionally and there's just so much to speculate about their past and what they might've been like before they broke off. There are so many little hints at what their relationship used to be like and how they really feel about each other, it makes me insane.

nOTP

Tengen/Sukuna. Just...no. Don't see that at all.

random headcanon

I'm not sure if she was born outside Japan, but I imagine during the 200 years before she came into the public eye and created her cults, she was travelling around China, Korea and India to learn more about jujutsu and especially barrier techniques and that's how she gained such proficiency in it.

unpopular opinion

evolved Tengen > human appearance. I just think that even her "thumb" form is so much more interesting than what she looks like fresh after a merger. I really would like to see her gradual ageing process and how she turns from just an old lady into a more cursed form. Also I'd liked to see her in her old form in general aka before she started the first merger or just before she was planning to merge with Riko or any other Star Plasma Vessel.

song i associate with them

Deebu - River of Memories I often listen to this and other Deebu songs while writing TenKen fics. It has a nice mix of chill, dreamy, but also rooted in the past that fits very well with Tengen I think.

Agnes Obel - Broken Sleep There are a bunch of Obel songs that fit Tengen in my opinion, but this one is the most on-point with the lyrics and music. Fits her isolation and her wasting away in her tree.

favourite picture of them

suit!Tengen <3

I like the way her real body looks now too. Kind of a mix of the more masculine image she projects and how she used to look in that one sketch we saw. So she's thinner, her eyelashes longer, but the rest is the same. Although her biceps still looks relatively muscular all things considered, so I think she must've put on more muscle since we saw her in that volume sketch (around Edo era I'm assuming based on the clothes and this probably being shortly after a merger). There she seemed almost fragile, but not so much here, despite being more withered.

And of course cursed womb!Tengen. She looks so cute. Like a little gummy bear.

[tempenensis]

Hi. I know this is a dumb question 😅 but I'm still confused of what is culling game? Why everyone is a part of it? And I also hope someone interfere the game and screw it "like screw kenjaku and let's not kill each other but him" hehehe

Ah, yes, hello there. This is a copy paste of previous ask, with modification.

1. Kenjaku wants to see the optimized use of cursed energy in human. Sorcerers are evolved from human, so he wants to push that evolution even further to see a being higher than jujutsushi.

2. Among the sorcerers, Tengen is the most evolved, furthest from the point of a human being that he needs star plasma vessel merged with him regularly to ‘reset’ his constitution back to human.

3. When Tengen failed to merge with Star plasma vessel during Hidden Inventory arc, he evolved even further away into something close to cursed spirit, making his constitution can be merged not only with Star plasma vessel, but also with other human.

4. Since Tengen is close to a cursed spirit, he can be manipulated with cursed manipulation technique and merged with others, not only star plasma vessel.

5. But since individuals have ‘barrier’, Kenjaku creates the culling game, a ritual to use up curse energy of all participant and ‘break’ that barrier. You can thought is as making something like a colony from a lot of people, which then will make merging with Tengen easier.

6. Everyone in Japan will be dragged into one colony out of many, but the non-sorcerers are given one chance to get out. If they choose not to get out or leave behind, they will be counted as "swimmers" of the culling game.

7. After the merging with Tengen done, ‘something’ else, ‘higher’ and more evolved version of sorcerer will appear. Let’s call it Jujutsushi 2.0. This is the purpose of Kenjaku. What he will do with Jujutsushi 2.0 is still unknown, but if he can take control of this Jujutsushi 2.0, he can become a practically omnipotent being.