Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223 reveals how Gojo achieved 200% Cursed Energy output

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223 was officially released over the past weekend, bringing an official start to Satoru Gojo’s fight with Ryomen Sukuna (in Megumi Fushiguro’s body). While fans weren’t quite sure what to expect heading into the fight, Gojo was able to kick things off with a major bang, thanks to some help from Utahime Iori, Yoshinobu Gakuganji, and Kiyotaka Ijichi.

This help culminated in allowing Gojo to launch a 200% power Hollow Purple attack at Sukuna to start their fight, which did serious damage to the King of Curses in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223. While fans are excited about this, some are confused as to how Gojo was able to use a move that, technically speaking, surpasses his own capabilities (hence the 200%).

Thankfully, there’s a good explanation as to how this happened in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223, which also explains why it’s possible in the first place. Likewise, it could say something interesting about how the rest of Gojo and Sukuna’s fight will go.

---

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223 saw Gojo play his trump card against Sukuna in the form of his allies

Brief chapter recap

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223 began by focusing on Gojo speaking with his age-wise peers as Uraume told Sukuna how the battlefield was still not set. The latter then revealed he saw Gojo’s Cursd Energy from afar, beginning a flashback that showed Gakuganji apologizing for Yaga’s death. Surprisingly, Gojo calls it his fault for getting sealed, asking for and learning Yaga’s final words after. Gojo implied himself to be excited for Gakuganji leading jujutsu society as it’s revealed that all the higher-ups have been killed.

Returning to the present, Ijichi and Utahime began helping Gojo use a barrier and Cursed Technique, respectively. It’s revealed that Utahime’s Cursed Technique, “Solo Forbidden Area,” enhances the total Cursed Energy output of any sorcerer, Utahime herself included. Despite being skilled enough to avoid such steps, the trio and Gakuganji begin doing the full activation ritual for their Cursed Techniques.

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223 then revealed that this allows Gojo to use a 200% powered-up Hollow Purple on Sukuna. The King of Curses felt intimidated by the attack and tried tanking it, but underestimated it due to not being able to notice the amount of Cursed Energy output in the attack, thanks to Ijichi’s barrier. The final panels saw Gojo remind an angry Sukuna (who’s now missing a right hand) that he’s the challenger here.

---

How Gojo achieved 200% Cursed Energy output, explained

As far as it can be told from the aforementioned events of the latest issue, the main factor in Gojo achieving 200% Cursed Energy output would appear to be Utahime’s technique. While Ijichi and Gakuganji are also said to be involved in the process, their roles seem to have not played into boosting Gojo’s Cursed Energy based on what’s currently known about Utahime’s Technique.

Likewise, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223 gives Ijichi a specific role that is seemingly outside of boosting Gojo’s Cursed Energy output. Instead, his task is to mask the boost in Cursed Energy output from Sukuna by erecting a barrier of sorts. While this boosts the effectiveness of Gojo’s attacks, it does not appear to influence his Cursed Energy output at all.

Yoshinobu Gakuganji’s actions do at least seem to play a role in boosting Gojo’s Cursed Energy output. Given how the scene plays out in the issue, Gakuganji appears to contribute by playing music for Utahime to dance to. Likewise, this allows her to perform the full activation of her Cursed Technique, which helps Gojo in the end.

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 223 also implies that Gojo doing his full Cursed Technique activation ritual helps to boost his power to 200%. While the dialog here is a little confusing, narration states that turning a Cursed Technique into “a ritual boosts its potency to 120 percent,” followed by the claim that “like Utahime, Gojo leaves nothing out to hit 200 percent.”

In any case, Utahime’s Cursed Technique is undoubtedly playing a major role in boosting Gojo’s Cursed Energy output. Although Gojo’s own actions may also be playing a role, Utahime appears to be carrying the majority of the load here.

---

Be sure to keep up with all Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.