Kenjaku's origins in Jujutsu Kaisen may relate more to Mechamaru than anyone else

Modified Jan 16, 2025 16:30 GMT

Jujutsu Kaisen could have made a connection between Kenjaku and Mechamaru (Image via MAPPA).

Jujutsu Kaisen left a lot of questions unanswered with its finale and almost everything regarding Kenjaku's character was left with questions. However, the most important one was regarding how he discovered his Cursed Technique. The centuries-old sorcerer can hop from one body to another through his brain but that is almost impossible to discover at first and a new theory suggests he was originally like Mechamaru.

Kokichi Muta is a Jujutsu sorcerer who was born with a Heavenly Restriction that hindered his body to the point of being borderline useless but gaining other unique abilities. Therefore, it wouldn't be out of the question that, long before Jujutsu Kaisen, Kenjaku had a similar situation with his original body but found the solution through his Cursed Technique.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a publication.

Explaining why Kenjaku's original body was as damaged as Mechamaru's in Jujutsu Kaisen

Mechamaru's healed body as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA).

It was stated in the series that Mechamaru's decaying body was the result of his Heavenly Restriction and there is the possibility that Kenjaku endured the same fate with his original body. This could establish a more logical context where he could experiment with his Cursed Technique since it has been shown in the series that sorcerers don't have predetermined knowledge of their abilities.

When considering that Kenjaku was born centuries ago, he didn't have access to the medical support that Kokichi Muta had in this day and age. This means that his body probably deteriorated at some point.

It was probably the moment when his brain managed to break free from the body and keep on living. This is because his brain never seems to have been victim to decay, suggesting that his Cursed Energy keeps it in a viable state.

There is also the possibility that Kenjaku's brain has stayed fresh because of a Heavenly Restriction, which was the other side of his body decaying so much. This would make sense given his ability and the way he has hopped from one vessel to another throughout the story.

More details about this theory

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

Almost nothing is known of Kenjaku's history in Jujutsu Kaisen and the idea of him suffering with an original body that was in decay could explain a lot of his characterization. He is someone moved by self-interest and curiosity, which could probably be the result of someone who finally got the chance to enjoy life, although taken to the most evil extremes.

However, the nature of his Cursed Technique might be the biggest plothole because characters such as Takaba have shown that a sorcerer doesn't understand his ability from the get-go. This means that his being a walking brain doesn't work as an initial concept unless given the previous context, although is also very likely that author Gege Akutami didn't think this through.

Final thoughts

Jujutsu Kaisen is a series that left a lot of questions unanswered and almost everything regarding Kenjaku's character might be the biggest mystery in the entire franchise. However, the idea of him having suffered a similar issue with his body with Mechamaru and having a Heavenly Restriction could explain some aspects of his characterization.

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Edited by Madhur Dave