Scene Analysis: Sukuna's rampage
How to write a pure-evil character
It is often said that many villains are the heroes of their own stories. Ryomen Sukuna, the main antagonist of Gege Akutami’s hit manga Jujutsu Kaisen, is not such a villain. I have previously written about him in my article on the Inner Demon trope in anime, which you might want to check out if this article interests you.
An ancient sorcerer inhabiting the body of the main character Yuji Itadori, Sukuna knows he’s evil and thoroughly enjoys being evil. This is demonstrated in the Shibuya Incident arc, where a group of villains try to use him for their own ends. When he temporarily gains control of Yuji’s body, he shows them exactly why he is so feared.
Note: this article contains spoilers for season 2 of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime or up to chapter 120 of the manga.
Sukuna’s Awakening
Despite them helping him temporarily gain control of Yuji’s body, the other villains are terrified of him. Jogo describes his power as ‘overwhelmingly evil’, while the two girls question if they are even allowed to breathe in his presence without dying. When he asks them to kneel, their survival instinct forces them to do so immediately.
Sukuna tells the two girls that he is willing to grant them a favor as thanks for their help, but when they ask him to help them, he immediately and effortlessly kills them both, mocking them for believing that he would do their bidding. Both his power and the sheer enjoyment he derives from making people suffer is on full display.
He then challenges Jogo to a fight, telling the curse that if he managed to land even one hit on him, he would follow his orders.
Sukuna vs Jogo
Keep in mind that Jogo is one of the most powerful villains in the series, and just before this fight he had easily defeated three powerful sorcerers. As he battles Sukuna, they are described as ‘elephants tap-dancing on ants’. However, he gets completely manhandled. Jogo himself says that while he expected to lose, he underestimated just how big the gap in power would be.
When a group of minor characters attempt to escape in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire, Sukuna appears before them and forbids them from moving. At this point, Jogo is throwing a meteor at them. Yet, these characters are so afraid of Sukuna that they would rather risk being hit by a meteor than disobeying him.
Sukuna himself has no reason for forbidding them from moving; he probably just thought it would be funny.
Before killing Jogo, Sukuna mocks him for being unable to achieve his full potential. At the same time, he admits that he enjoyed their fight and that compared to the others he had fought, Jogo was strong.
Jogo, overcome with emotion, starts crying for the first time, and asks Sukuna what his tears were. Sukuna dismissively replied that he didn’t know. This small piece of dialogue shows how Sukuna, despite being born a human, was more inhuman than the curse he was fighting.
Sukuna vs Mahoraga
Sukuna’s next opponent, the powerful familiar Mahoraga, is a much more difficult fight due to the latter’s regeneration and abilities. However, Sukuna remains calm and deduces the nature and inner workings of Mahoraga’s abilities, coming up with a solution that allows him to destroy it.
Their battle completely destroys Shibuya, killing hundreds of innocent civilians. This is a major source of guilt for the protagonist Yuji, whose body Sukuna was possessing. It deepens his hatred for Sukuna and furthers his own internal conflict, which he struggles with for the rest of the series.
Conclusion
Sukuna is an immensely enjoyable pure evil villain, a spiritual successor to the likes of Frieza (Dragon Ball Z) and Dio (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure). His appearance in the Shibuya Incident arc is a masterclass on how to write such a villain - his mere appearance terrifies those around him, his cruelty is on full display, as are his power, intelligence and creativity. Furthermore, his appearance generates internal conflict for the protagonist that further leads to their own character development.