Cursed Energy

**Cursed Energy** (呪 (じゅ) 力 (りょく) , *Juryoku*?) is a power source aligned with negative emotions fro, human beings and is mainly used by sorcerers and cursed spirits to fuel their jujutsu.

## Description

Negative emotions such as grief and anger are the foundation of cursed energy. These emotions exist to some degree within most humans and as a result, the vast majority of human beings possess cursed energy. If this amount is higher than a certain degree, it grants the person the ability to see cursed spirits. These individuals are known as jujutsu sorcerers and they are very rare among the human race. Cursed energy leaks from the human body, accumulates, and ferments over time until a cursed spirit manifests. This is only the case with non-sorcerers, as sorcerers are trained to control and channel their cursed energy into jujutsu.

Cursed energy is the primary power source for any sorcerer or cursed spirit. Cursed tools, cursed objects, and cursed corpses all contain cursed energy as well. It is ordinarily used to fuel cursed techniques, reinforce the body, or activate talismans, but cursed energy has various uses. The properties of cursed energy vary from person to person and its connection to the human brain is shrouded in mystery. In the anime, most cursed energy is blue in color but there are several exceptions.

## Cursed Energy Applications

**Cursed Energy Perception** (呪 (じゅ) 力 (りょく) 感 (かん) 知 (ち) , *Juryoku Kanchi*?) refers to the ability of humans with above-average levels of cursed energy to sense, and especially see, curses and jujutsu. The minimum requirement for a human to be considered a sorcerer is the ability to see curses. In extreme cases, humans will gain the ability to see curses when their life is in danger. The strength of a sorcerer or curse is generally assessed by their levels of cursed energy. Strong cursed energy can result in physical pressure that instills fear into those who sense it as a method of intimidation. The same concept can be applied to a jujutsu battle where reading an opponent's cursed energy is an effective way to predict their movements. Prediction based on cursed energy can backfire when faced with a fighter in cases where their physical prowess outclasses their cursed energy. Physically fast and strong fighters with low cursed energy are often unpredictable to enemy sorcerers.

**Residuals** (残 (ざん) 穢 (え) , *Zan'e*?) After using Jujutsu it leaves cursed energy behind. Residuals leave spectral footprints that can be used to track the user. Someone can even be identified by the residuals from their jujutsu. Expert sorcerers can be trained to cover up their residuals. The ability to detect cursed energy and understand its flow can be honed, but many cursed spirits are capable of hiding their presence the same way a sorcerer does.

### Cursed Energy Manipulation

A jujutsu user's ability to control their cursed energy and use it to carry out certain functions is the base foundation for all jujutsu. There is a world of difference between being able to sense jujutsu and being able to use it. Yuji Itadori was able to sense the pressure of cursed energy surrounding his school, but was not able to utilize it until enrolling at a jujutsu educational facility. He was first able to utilize cursed energy in combat while he was overwhelmed with anger and fear, but could not do so in a calmer situation a few days afterward. Control over cursed energy requires innate skill and vigorous training. In order for Yuji to develop his skills, Gojo had him undergo special training that saw him controlling his emotions and his cursed energy at the same time. Yuta Okkotsu, someone with an overabundance of cursed energy, was trained to control it by constantly imbuing it into a katana. By training with the katana Yuta learned to manipulate his cursed energy to a degree and was capable of using it to exorcise curses almost immediately.

Satoru Gojo compares cursed energy to electricity: it's volatile in nature and difficult to use in its rawest form. While raw cursed energy can be used for its blunt force, it's best used by sorcerers to power their techniques in the same way electricity is best used to fuel electronics. In this case, cursed energy is flowed into a technique to activate a sorcerer's unique abilities. However, cursed energy does not flow on its own. Yuji Itadori's cursed energy used to lag behind his superhuman speed when he threw a punch, resulting in his Divergent Fist technique. This delay was due to his inexperience with making cursed energy flow properly throughout his body

Proper control over one's emotions is key to channeling cursed energy and every jujutsu sorcerer is trained to do so. This makes it so sorcerers don't waste their power supply even while they're overcome with emotion. This control results in sorcerers leaking much less cursed energy than the average human. So much so, that if every human were a sorcerer, curses would cease to spawn. There are other differences in how sorcerers and non-sorcerers use cursed energy due to their profession, but the real reason lies in how it flows. While cursed energy leaks outward from non-sorcerers, it flows heavily within sorcerers which keeps it contained. Most sorcerers have to make cursed energy flow, so most instinctively believe it starts from the negative feelings in their stomach and flows through the rest of the body. However, thinking of one's body as different sections is what delays the flow of their energy. In order to understand this cycle, one must realize that they exist in the world with their entire mind, body, and soul as one. Aoi Todo helped Yuji stop taking this maxim for granted, greatly accelerating his progression as a sorcerer. The flow of an elite jujutsu sorcerer is difficult to read because they have greater accuracy in controlling cursed energy. Their cursed energy is evenly distributed across their body, making their attack hard to predict until the very moment it's executed.

    The control of said energy results in **Jujutsu** (呪 (じゅ) 術 (じゅつ) , *Sorcery*?), also known as **Jujutsu Sorcery**, is one of the defining features of the *Jujutsu Kaisen* series. Jujutsu or Jujutsu Sorcery is the result of the control and manipulation of cursed energy and was commonly used as an umbrella term that includes all sorcery-related abilities that sorcerers and cursed spirits can access using **cursed energy**. This jujutsu can even further result in **Cursed Techniques** (術 (じゅつ) 式 (しき) , *Jutsushiki*?) abilities fueled by cursed energy and the usage of jujutsu. They are specific abilities that activate when cursed energy is channeled into a process akin to a mathematical formula within the user's body. Cursed techniques are activated by manipulating cursed energy using one of two operations known as "Lapse" and "Reversal". Innate techniques and non-innate techniques are activated through lapse while reverse cursed technique is activated through reversal. Different types include innate techniques, barrier techniques, shikigami, new shadow style, and more.