Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 213 Review: A Long Time Coming

Chapter 213 of Jujutsu Kaisen continues the Culling Game in spectacular fashion. With some of the best art and interesting story revelations in a while, 213 is an incredible follow-up that has been years in the making, leaving us with plenty of questions that need answering.

Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 213 Review: A Long Time Coming

Chapter 213 of Jujutsu Kaisen has just been released and it continues the current arc focused on the truth of the Culling Game as our heroes try and free Gojo from the Prison Realm. You can find links to the chapter either on either Manga+ or the official Viz website here.

This week’s chapter is a crazy ride full of some of the best art we’ve seen in a while and contains a few eye-opening moments when it comes to the characters and Cursed Techniques of the Jujutsu world. Interestingly, Chapter 213 is titled Fearsome Womb Part 5, likely due to its focus on Sukuna and his possession of one of the main characters. The original 4 Fearsome Womb chapters took place all the way back at the start of the story, from Chapters 6 to 9, so this follow-up has been a long time coming.

Here is our review of Chapter 213 of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Summary

Chapter 213 of Jujutsu Kaisen begins with a flashback from our favourite King of Curses, Sukuna. He gives a brief explanation of what he saw in Megumi so long ago (mainly that he had the Ten Shadows Technique and the tolerance to give Sukuna a sufficient Vessel). However, he couldn’t just possess Megumi as he did with Yuji, who he calls a Cage and not a Vessel. Instead, he needed to wait until Megumi’s soul would break. That moment coming at the Tsumiki reveal the last chapter.

Then we return to the present. Sukuna has just invoked his Binding Vow with Yuji, using his one minute of free control to force Megumi to ingest one of his fingers. In a moment that feels like it’s been building for a while, Sukuna (in Megumi’s body) hits Yuji with one of the biggest displays of physical force we’ve seen in the series so far. He blasts him through a skyscraper and leaves Yuji out cold in a single punch. 

Takaba and Maki hear the commotion and begin to make their way over, but before they can Sukuna decides to try his hand at Megumi’s prized Cursed Technique: the Ten Shadows. He summons Nue, the flying lightning Curse that Megumi has used so many times before, but now it’s been changed. Nue is gargantuan and grotesque when powered by Sukuna, towering over the Colony skyline. 

Nue is about to cast its signature lightning attack but Sukuna is interrupted by Angel and Hana. Angel’s entire purpose in the Culling Game has been to rid the world of the Disgraced One, Sukuna, and she demands Hana to do so. However, Hana seems more taken by the fact that Sukuna has control of Megumi specifically, who we learned saved her life so many years ago and is someone she has fallen in love with. With that, she uses an attack called Jacob’s Ladder to try and purge Sukuna from Megumi’s body… and it works.

Sukuna is obviously in pain as Hana repeatedly screams for him to give her Megumi back. Then, to close the chapter, Sukuna pretends to be Megumi, giving in to Hana’s wants. He thanks her and says that he remembers her and Hana, so overcome with emotion and love for Megumi, descends. Despite warnings from Angel, she goes to embrace Megumi, and the final panel reveals a demented-looking Sukuna who seems ready to devour the opposing Vessel.

Sukuna has finally possessed Megumi - Jujutsu Kaisen 213 Review

Finally Got Him

Thoughts

Poor Yuji

The first thing that needs to be mentioned is how much Yuji is getting beaten down in these last few chapters. He was ready to die and take Sukuna with him and (while not a great situation) he seemed content. Now, 3 chapters later, Tsumiki is revealed to be a possessed Sorcerer, Sukuna used his Binding Vow and removed himself from Yuji’s control, he’s missing a finger, his best friend is possessed by the most powerful Curse in history and now he’s been laid out flat by one of the strongest attacks we’ve ever seen. 

This almost seems to be opening the door for Yuji’s own ‘Honoured One’ moment. This is referring to the moment during the Hidden Inventory arc where Gojo, after being killed by Toji, came back and proclaimed that “I alone am the Honored One”. For Gojo, this was a massive spike in both power and presence that only came after a string of bad luck and bad decisions (Toji killing the Star Platinum Vessel, Toji killing him). 

Up to now, Yuji has been relying on his raw strength for most of his fights. Now, though, his back is against the wall and it feels like he needs a bit more than a Black Flash to carry him out of danger. Perhaps his Honoured One moment will be him revealing that he has somehow taken on part of Sukuna’s Cursed Technique or holds some special power over him thanks to being a Cage rather than a Vessel. 

Whatever the case, Yuji needs some kind of win at this point. Especially if he is going up against a Ten Shadows-powered Sukuna. 

The Honoured One

The Honoured One

The True Power of the Ten Shadows

Speaking of the Ten Shadows, their true power has finally been unleashed in this chapter. Megumi has always managed to use them in creative or tactical ways and some, like Max Elephant or Demon Dog, have packed a pretty strong punch. Yet, it did seem to confuse the fandom whenever it would be mentioned that the Ten Shadows technique stood in parallel to Gojo’s Limitless technique. Ten Shadows was good and it was plenty cool, but it couldn’t really compete with Limitless… right?

Chapter 213 is here to prove us all wrong. Sukuna has morphed Megumi’s meagre Cursed Spirits into Kaiju-level threats. Nue already gave Megumi the ability to fly and attack at range with lightning, but Sukuna’s Nue takes up the entire skyline and is the size of a house. Imagine what Demon Dog, Max Elephant or even just Rabbit Escape are going to look like under Sukuna’s control.

This begs the question of how Sukuna is changing the forms of the Ten Shadows. Is it because he has more Cursed Energy than Megumi and so can give more power to each Shadow? Is it something special with Sukuna? Or is it something completely different? No matter what it is, Sukuna powered by the Ten Shadows (alongside his own Cursed Technique, which we still don’t have full knowledge of) is a combination that the Jujutsu Kaisen world isn’t ready for. 

The vast amount of potential that Sukuna has in Megumi’s body has made me lean more towards this being something that sticks around for a while. Sure, Hana, Yuji or even Nobara (if she’s alive) could show up and exorcise Sukuna from Megumi in the next few chapters. However, for the amount of time that the series has been hyping up Sukuna’s desire to get his hands on Megumi, it would be a bit disappointing to see it go so soon. I at least want to see a few more super-powered Shadows before he makes his exit. 

Ten Shadows Potential

Ten Shadows Potential

Helpless Hana

Lastly, let’s discuss Hana and Angel. Sukuna mentions something interesting about them during the chapter. Unlike him and Yuji, Hana and Angel live symbiotically off one another. He says this in regard to how quickly Hana recovered from his attack last chapter, where he knocked her out. Are Angel and Hana completely bound to one another, unlike Sukuna who seems to be able to transfer his possession between Vessels using his flesh? It’s not 100% clear but it’s worth keeping an eye on, especially for what it means for Sukuna and Yuji. 

Next, there are two main possibilities for Hana’s actions at the end of the chapter. The first is her blind affection for Megumi leading to her putting herself (and Angel) in danger of Sukuna. To some, this may seem like dumbing down Hana’s character for the sake of plot progression. But it may serve more of a purpose than that. She has only been a sorcerer for a few weeks at most. Paired with her adoration of Megumi, that lack of knowledge and training may leave Hana susceptible to Sukuna’s traps. Only the strong can survive being Jujutsu Sorcerers, after all.

The other angle is that Hana is planning to surprise attack Sukuna. The King of Curses is certainly arrogant enough to believe that a few soft words from Megumi are all it would take. If Angel or Hana realise this, it would be a great opportunity to get close and deal some real damage to him. Their Jacob’s Ladder was hurting Sukuna, so what could something at close range do? The fact that we don’t get to hear the end of Hana’s sentence maybe points to this. It simply ends with “When it came to you, I’ve always…”

Another interesting point to bring up is what Sukuna plans to do. Whether he succeeds or not, it very much appears that he is about to try and eat Hana and Angel. A very prominent theory is that Sukuna’s Cursed Technique either has something to do with cooking or he can take on the Cursed Techniques of other Sorcerers he eats. We’ve seen him use Dismantle and Cleave (reminiscent of knives) and the unknown flame arrow technique with Jogo (fire used to cook meals). Perhaps there is some significance to him trying to eat Hana, either to rob her technique or fulfil some other condition. If we run with the second idea, maybe he can obtain Angel’s Cursed Technique Removal and use it to finally free Gojo.

A Special Bond

A Special Bond

We’ll find out more when Chapter 214 of Jujutsu Kaisen releases on the 26th of February. 

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