Understanding cursed energy: The power system behind Jujutsu Kaisen

Few modern anime series have captured audiences with such relentless momentum and creativity as Jujutsu Kaisen. While fans are often drawn in by the heart-racing fights, stylish animation, and emotionally charged arcs, the beating heart of its supernatural world lies in its unique power system: cursed energy.

At its most basic level, cursed energy is born from negative human emotions: fear, anger, hatred, and sorrow. Since everyone feels these emotions, everyone technically has cursed energy.

However, most people can’t control it. This uncontrolled buildup often leaks into the world and creates cursed spirits. These are malevolent beings that thrive in places full of fear, like hospitals, schools, and battlefields.

The use of reverse-cursed energy is another vital aspect. Since cursed energy is inherently negative, it can’t heal. But if you multiply cursed energy against itself, it produces positive energy. This process is known as the Reverse Cursed Technique, and it allows sorcerers to heal injuries and regenerate tissues.

Even Gojo, the strongest modern sorcerer, struggled with mastering this until he was near death. That’s how hard it is. But once mastered, it allows techniques like Gojo’s Red (repulsion) to emerge by applying reverse cursed energy to the original technique.

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Binding Vows and Heavenly Restrictions

The power system in Jujutsu Kaisen also hinges on trade-offs.

1) Binding Vows: A sorcerer makes a self-imposed contract or condition. In return for limiting themselves, they gain increased power. For example, if a sorcerer says they’ll fight with only one arm in exchange for doubling their strength during a specific moment (like when a certain person is watching), cursed energy honors that intent and amplifies their power.

2) Heavenly Restrictions: Unlike binding vows, these are innate limitations a person is born with. A classic example is Maki Zenin, who was born with zero cursed energy. In exchange, her physical abilities were boosted to superhuman levels, allowing her to compete with top-grade sorcerers using cursed tools alone.

In contrast, Mechamaru had vast amounts of cursed energy but a frail, non-functional body. These restrictions reflect the Jujutsu Kaisen theme of balance, as no power comes without cost.

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Cursed Tools and Attributes in Jujutsu Kaisen

Sorcerers who lack offensive techniques often use cursed tools. These are weapons imbued with cursed energy over time. Characters like Kusakabe or Maki rely on these tools for combat.

Some sorcerers also possess cursed energy attributes. For instance, Kinji Hakari’s cursed energy feels like sandpaper, making his punches hurt more, or when Kashimo Hajime’s cursed energy has an electric quality that shocks opponents. These attributes are rare and seem to arise naturally, without a clear connection to a technique or clan.

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Cursed Technique Reversals and Maximum Techniques

As mentioned, reverse cursed energy in Jujutsu Kaisen can invert a cursed technique. If a technique usually attracts, its reversal will repel. These Cursed Technique Reversals are incredibly rare and consume double the cursed energy.

Similarly, Maximum Techniques (or Supreme Arts) are a sorcerer’s technique pushed to its limit. They’re often single-use, devastating moves that showcase mastery. Think of them as finishing moves; They are brutally efficient and spectacularly destructive.

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Domain Expansion

Domain Expansion is the pinnacle of Jujutsu sorcery. It’s a manifestation of a sorcerer’s internal world, a “room” filled with their technique, where every attack guarantees a hit.

Creating a domain requires a hand sign and a significant amount of cursed energy. Once inside, the sorcerer’s technique is amplified if they normally generate fire at one point, inside the domain, they can do it everywhere.

There are two types:

• Lethal Domains: Guarantee a hit and focus on killing.
• Non-Lethal Domains: Have specific rules and are usually used for control rather than direct offense.

A few sorcerers like Sukuna and Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen are capable of barrierless domains, where the guaranteed-hit effect remains without forming a full enclosure. These are ultra-high-level techniques and are currently not fully understood even in-universe.

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Final thoughts

What makes Jujutsu Kaisen’s power system so compelling isn’t just how cool it looks in animation; it’s how deeply it’s tied to emotion, choice, and risk. In Jujutsu Kaisen, no power comes free. Every strength is the result of a sacrifice, a vow, or a gamble. And because techniques are often shaped by a sorcerer’s personality and past trauma, the fights always carry emotional weight.

This system is not as complicated as it seems. It’s just layered. Once you understand that cursed energy is about channeling negativity, that techniques are either inherited or manifested, and that domain expansions are the physical expression of a sorcerer’s soul, the rest starts to make perfect sense.