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Jujutsu Kaisen has several characters with unique abilities and quirks. From Gojo Satoru to Ryomen Sukuna to Hiromi Higuruma, each one possesses a distinct technique that sets them apart. One such character is Masamichi Yaga - the Principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Yaga was a Cursed Corpse User who created the beloved Panda. Before becoming Principal, he mentored the likes of second-years Gojo Satoru, Suguru Geto, and Shoko Ieiri. However, there was something a little strange about him and that was his sorcerer grade - he was only a Grade 1 Sorcerer.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Why Masamichi Yaga is only a Grade 1 Sorcerer
Masamichi Yaga was a Grade 1 Sorcerer due to the threat of his Cursed Corpse. The higher-ups felt that there could be a potential menace of him creating an army of sentient Cursed Corpses of Panda’s capability. Panda was the peak of his creations - a mutated Cursed Corpse with three different self-sustaining cores, emotions, and specialties.
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What's more, he created Panda and brought him up, carefully teaching him everything he knew about battle and Cursed Energy. So, Panda stands as the strongest of his creations in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Barring his Cursed Corpses, he was an excellent close-quarters fighter, strong in the art of hand-to-hand combat. He has proven himself previously by fighting sorcerers without his Cursed Corpses. Yaga possessed in-depth knowledge of Cursed Energy and Souls, which allowed him to pull off amazing feats.
For instance, he was able to use Atsuya Kusakabe’s nephew’s soul and create a corpse that aligned with his personality to soothe his mother. This just shows the extent of understanding of the technique and his ability to bring inanimate objects to life.
Puppet Manipulation vs Cursed Corpse
At this point, viewers would associate him with Mechamaru aka Kokichi Muta. But the two are not the same or even similar. Kokichi possesses a technique called Puppet Manipulation, which allows him to control Cursed Corpse Puppets over a wide range remotely. These puppets, like Mechamaru, can use discharging Cursed Energy as heat rays, among an array of other abilities.
An important point to be noted here is that Mechamaru's puppets are not self-sustaining as they run on and are controlled by the Cursed Energy provided by Kokichi. However, that is the opposite when it comes to Cursed Corpses.
At the same time, in Yaga's case, the puppets are completely self-sustaining, as seen with Panda and then others. He was able to create artificial souls and imbue them into dolls/corpses to bring them to life. After that, they had their own Cursed Energy and as seen in the story, served various purposes in Jujutsu society.
In Conclusion
Masamichi Yaga was undoubtedly a very powerful Curse User. He was likely the strongest when it came to puppet jujutsu, coupling that with his intricate understanding of and possession of substantially high levels of Cursed Energy. He solely remained a Grade 1 due to the potential threat of him creating Panda-level corpses.
Following the Shibuya Arc in Jujutsu Kaisen, Masamichi Yaga was sentenced to death by the higher-ups. This was done on the grounds of inciting violence between Gojo and Geto after it was determined that he was behind the Shibuya Incident. However, in truth, they just wanted his formula. He allowed Gakuganji to gravely injure him and in his last moments, passed on the formula but cursed him along with it.
