Sukuna is a driving force in the world of JuJutsu Kaisen, being legendary in the lore of the show for being the most powerful curses to ever have existed. In the anime, we are introduced to Sukuna after Itadori is forced to eat one of his fingers to survive a curse attack. As it turns out Itadori is that one-in-a-million person who is able to become the vessel to Sukuna, and while it does save him, it does release the most hateful curse in the world onto a new generation of people.
After that, at least for the first season of the show, Sukuna’s presence is always felt despite making very sparse appearances, especially to any characters other than Itadori himself who speaks to Sukuna in his mind from time to time.
This naturally leads to a lot of mystery surrounding Sukuna, his backstory, his personality and most importantly, his powers. So with that being said let’s get into those right now!
Sukuna’s Backstory
In terms of where the story of JuJutsu Kaisen is in the anime, we don’t know too much about the back story of Sukuna. The most information that we’re given about him comes from the interrogation that good old Gojo conducts on Itadori after they subdue him post eating the finger.
Gojo says that Sukuna, whose full name is actually Ryomen Sukuna, was according to legend an Imaginary Demon, which is a cursed spirit manifested from the cumulative fear of the masses.
In actuality, Sukuna was once human, a human sorcerer specifically. He was very skilled in Jujutsu sorcery and known for his exceptional cursed energy and his ability to manipulate it to create powerful jujutsu techniques. However, he was also known for his cruel and sadistic nature.
When he was a human other sorcerers gave their lives to defeat him and even after their success, in death, Sukuna became a cursed spirit. His curse was so powerful that he brought terror to his era and even when finally defeated his body was still unable to be destroyed. This lead to him being sealed with his 20 indestructible fingers being all that remains of his original form.
Sukuna’s Personality
Sukuna is shown to be sadistic, cruel, and ruthless, enjoying causing pain and suffering to others. When he first gets reincarnated and takes over Itadori’s body he comments on slaughtering women and children and compares them to maggots.
He also has a strong thirst for power despite already being widely considered the strongest cursed spirit and seeks to become the King of all Curses, which drives much of his actions throughout the series.
Sukuna is also shown to be intelligent and cunning, often manipulating others to achieve his goals. He is able to outwit and outmaneuver his opponents, using his vast knowledge of jujutsu and cursed energy to gain the upper hand in battle.
On top of that, he also has a sick sense of humour, enjoying the torture of others, especially those that he is fighting, especially when he is playing with them. He also seems to have a certain level of comradery with other curses, as well as opponents he deems as strong. However, when it comes to curses he is not above eliminating them if they get in his way or even if he just finds them annoying.
Sukuna’s Appearance
When Sukuna appears in the show he obviously looks pretty much like Itadori since he is being housed in his body. When Sukuna takes over Itadori’s body his tattoos show and he gains eyes under his normal set. His teeth also tend to look sharper and some become fangs.
Sukuna can also sometimes take form on Itadori’s body while he’s not in control. This is usually in the form of his mouth somewhere on Itadori’s body so he can talk to other people.
From what is seen of Sukuna’s original body, he does look fairly similar to Itadori, even having pink hair, but in his curse form, he also had two arms on each side.
Sukuna’s Powers
Sukuna is known as one of, if not the most powerful, cursed spirits that we have seen in the Anime. Even when he was still a human he was known for his exceptional cursed energy abilities and being able to make new powerful jujutsu techniques.
In terms of his physical strength, he is immensely strong and able to simply overpower most people with it alone. On top of that, he is also an exceptionally skilled hand-to-hand combatant even when he doesn’t integrate his cursed techniques into the way that he fights.
Sukuna is an insanely skilled user of cursed energy, able to manipulate it to create powerful jujutsu techniques. He can also use cursed energy to enhance his physical abilities, such as his strength and speed.
Some of the numerous cursed techniques that he has at his disposal include the ability to manipulate fire, control objects with his cursed energy, and create powerful barriers. Sukuna is also unique amongst curses since he was a human sorcerer before, which means that he has access to a vast array of powerful jujutsu techniques that were once used by humans 1,000 years ago.
Even if you manage to survive all that and land a bit, Sukuna has immense regeneration abilities and durability. He is able to survive after ripping out Itadori’s heart and holding it and acting as if nothing happened. It’s also shown that he can also grow back limbs like it’s nothing to him.
Finally, we get to what might be his most dangerous ability, his Domain Expansion. Sukuna has the ability to create his own domain, where he has complete control over the environment and any living creatures within it. His domain, known as Malevolent Shrine, is a dark and foreboding space where he can trap and attack his opponents.
Now that you know about JJK’s biggest antagonist why don’t you go learn about other characters like Muichiro from Demon Slayer!
