Jujutsu Kaisen's American military was not wrong, but misguided

Jujutsu Kaisen had several underdeveloped plot points, including the one involving the American military and how they were informed about the existence of Cursed Energy because of Kenjaku.

The United States government's general idea of using this energy was right, even if a bit misguided. Japan is the only country in Jujutsu Kaisen that has a strong source of Cursed Energy. However, the American politicians had a compelling notion that this could power up machines, buildings, cities, etc.

Therefore, while their mission of overpowering the Jujutsu sorcerers was always going to end badly for their military, the idea of using Cursed Energy to develop society was quite interesting.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga/anime and reflects the writer's opinions.

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Explaining why the American military in Jujutsu Kaisen was right about Cursed Energy

Kenjaku revealed the truth of Cursed Energy to the American government (Image via MAPPA).

During the Culling Games, there was a flashback of Kenjaku and Uraume talking with the United States government and revealing the truth about Cursed Energy. While this was an attempt by the villain to goad their military and send it to his games, where they would get massacred, the general idea that their politicians had was correct.

There was indeed a degree of delusion regarding regular military men fighting with Jujutsu sorcerers, but they had a good point regarding Cursed Energy. On paper, this was a type of energy that was renewable and endless, which could have served to power up different types of machines and perhaps even serve an entire city in terms of electricity.

Author Gege Akutami never presents Cursed Energy as something that could help society beyond the different weapons and abilities that sorcerers use to fight evil Curses. In that regard, this flashback presented an idea that could have taken the manga's world-building to a whole new level, although it was eventually dropped to the point a lot of fans wondered why it was added to begin with.

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More possible consequences

Kenjaku as seen in the second season of the anime (Image via MAPPA).

The idea of the world's most powerful nations in Jujutsu Kaisen discovering Cursed Energy and trying to use it for their gain would have probably changed the landscape of the series. It would have gone from a supernatural urban battle shonen to a borderline sci-fi combat series, especially considering that it would have been sorcerers against the military and technology.

It is a fascinating premise that could have pushed the concept of Cursed Energy to more complex territories because of its possible versatility. However, Akutami already established the threats of the Merger, Ryomen Sukuna, and Kenjaku's plans, so adding such a complex topic would make the series too vast for its own good.

Additionally, weapons such as Miguel's Black Rope have shown that cursed objects can be created without a technique, so this could have been a path for the Americans to follow. It would have added diversity to the series in terms of its uses for the battle system.

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Final thoughts

Even if driven for selfish reasons, the American government had an interesting idea for using Cursed Energy in Jujutsu Kaisen. It presents a different approach to the already established battle system and could have taken the story in a different direction.

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