Binding Vow: Jujutsu Kaisen's 3 most impactful Binding Vows (& 3 that had little to no impact)

Binding Vows in Jujutsu Kaisen have been crucial in countless circumstances. In a way, they have considerably influenced the story. Be it Ryomen Sukuna's cleverly formed vow with protagonist Yuji Itadori or Kento Nanami's Overtime that gifts him a dramatic boost in physical stats, Binding Vows have proven to be very useful.

With the story 261 chapters in, quite a number of vows have formed over this course. Some have had a moderate to negligible impact, while others have produced far-reaching consequences. Here's a list of the most impactful Binding Vows and ones that have had little to no impact on the story.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Most impactful Binding Vows

1) Sukuna's vow with Yuji

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Jujutsu Kaisen's earliest Binding Vow is Sukuna's vow with Yuji. When the latter had passed away, the Demon King proposed a vow that would heal him in exchange for Sukuna taking control for one minute whenever he chanted "Enchain." He also promised not to kill during that time, subject to Yuji forgetting the vow.

Needless to mention, Yuji was against this proposal and attempted to retaliate. A compromise was reached: Yuji fights Sukuna; the former winning means revival with no Binding Vow, and the latter winning means Yuji must agree to the vow. Sukuna easily came out on top, and thus the vow was forged.

Moving forward, Sukuna leveraged this vow in a scarily clever manner. With Yorozu revealing herself to Yuji and Megumi, Sukuna chanted "Enchain." In control, he took advantage of the confusion by ripping off Yuji's finger and force-feeding it to Megumi, thereby transferring himself into the boy. At this point, things only rolled downhill for Jujutsu Society and Team Jujutsu High.

2) Kenjaku's vow with sorcerers

Kenjaku in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via MAPPA)

An essential and highly impactful Binding Vow in Jujutsu Kaisen was Kenjaku's vow with the ancient socerers. This is what eventually led to the Culling Games. Post-Shibuya, Kenjaku revealed that the cursed objects he gave to the sorcerers were the remnants of the Binding Vow he formed millennia ago.

He also states that he did actually enter into a contract with the sorcerers, but the vow became null once he swapped bodies, i.e., took over Suguru Geto's body. With the Shibuya Incident at its conclusion and having absorbed Mahito, he remotely cast Idle Transfiguration on non-sorcerers.

This was done to reform their brains for Jujutsu sorcery and bestow upon them strength as vessels. Shortly after, he undid the seal on the cursed objects and brought to life thousands of sorcerers from the past to begin the Culling Games.

3) Revealing One's Hand

Todo Aoi in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via MAPPA)

Revealing One's Hand is a Binding Vow quite intriguing and substantially difficult to carry through. It is one that an individual places on themselves. In essence, by revealing their technique to their opponent, the effectiveness and strength of their technique gain a drastic boost.

But this comes with a big risk, considering that a sorcerer revealing their own technique obviously comes with repercussions. Not many rely on this technique, given its tricky nature, apart from those who do know exactly what they're doing.

Sorcerers with skill and experience in utilizing this technique can likely bluff their opponents by misleading them using carefully crafted words. Point to be noted: it doesn't necessarily mean that they are lying, but it does not give away the whole truth either. Users of this technique have been seen in Megumi and Todo.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Least impactful Binding Vows

1) Yuta's vow with the higher-ups

Yuta and the higher-ups in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via MAPPA)

Switching over to the other end now, there have also been Binding Vows which haven't significantly impacted the story. To begin, Yuta Okkotsu's vow with the high-ups comes to mind. Following the Shibuya Incident, the likes of Gojo, Yuji, Masamichi Yaga, and others were blamed for it and sentenced to be punished.

Amidst all this, Yuta returned from his travels and witnessed the aftermath. While convening with the higher-ups, he formed a Binding Vow with them—to become the executioner who would carry out Yuji's death sentence. He did stand true to the vow, seeking out Yuji and stabbing him through the chest, thus killing him.

But almost immediately after, he used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal Yuji. Later, it was revealed that Gojo had made contact with Yuta prior to Shibuya, requesting him to protect the pink-haired teen in case anything happened to Gojo.

2) Mahito and Kokichi's vow

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A shocking truth came to light when Kokichi Muta, aka Mechamaru, was revealed to be betraying Jujutsu High. It was stated that he had formed a Binding Vow with Mahito. Kokichi was to act as a spy and feed information to Kenjaku in exchange for Mahito using Soul Manipulation to heal his broken body, with the condition being that Mahito would not "lay a finger on anyone from Kyoto Jujutsu High."

The Binding Vow was successfully completed after Kokichi provided Kenjaku with all the required information. Thus, in return, Mahito brought back his old body. It was immediately after this that he began attacking the Cursed Spirit. Kokichi believed that there was a breach of contract.

Hanami and other Curse Users attacked students from Kyoto Jujutsu High. However, Mahito mentioned that he was not the one to do so, but rather his comrade Hanami instead. It is yet unclear as to whether this contract was breached or if there were any dire consequences. This did not impact the story much, as Kokichi did not survive the battle despite his best efforts.

3) Overtime

Kento Nanami in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via MAPPA)

To conclude, this list brings in Kento Nanami's Binding Vow with himself, known as Overtime. This one is unique to Nanami, and looking back, it suits his character very well. Essentially, Nanami believes in official working hours and prefers working only during those hours.

So, he formed a Binding Vow which restricted his Cursed Energy output to about 80% to 90% during the working hours at Jujutsu High. If he is required to work overtime after that, he can use his remaining Cursed Energy and its output can be pushed to nearly 120%.

With such a vow in place, Nanami receives a drastic increase in his strength and overall power. He has even been shown to overpower Special Grade sorcerers. However, despite Overtime, Nanami couldn't survive Shibuya and passed away in the most unfortunate fashion. Gege Akutami also confirmed that Nanami was working overtime during Shibuya, despite him forgetting to draw the watch.

This shows the importance of Binding vows in the plotline of Jujutsu Kaisen. Moreover, despite these famous vows, some go unannounced and fans can only speculate as to what importance they hold.

One such Binding Vow was during the Shibuya Arc when Miwa attacked Kenjaku and vowed to never pick up a sword if she didn't hit the antagonist. As expected, Kenjaku evaded her attack pretty easily. This could be the reason why she hasn't returned to the battlefield since then.

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