MAPPA makes the most underrated move in Jujutsu Kaisen the flashiest in episode 44

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 has had many memorable moments, but none of them come close to when Aoi Todo used his Black Flash. The character’s return hyped the entire fanbase. His Cursed Technique is quite interesting since it allows him to switch places with inanimate objects and living beings.

That paired with his hand-to-hand combat makes him one of the most entertaining characters in the series. The entire production team knew that this character’s return needed to be capitalized and MAPPA did just that.

Black Flash was the talk of the town since Aoi Todo used it against Mahito. Let’s look at what Black Flash is and how MAPPA spotlighted this technique.

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Jujutsu Kaisen: What is Black Flash, and understanding how MAPPA made it one of flashiest moves in the series

Black Flash is a specific Cursed Technique used by those specializing in hand-to-hand combat. This technique enhances the destructive force of a user who can apply Cursed Energy into their physical strike in one-millionth of a second after impact. This technique requires monstrous amounts of precision and control.

The result of applying Cursed Energy in just one-millionth of a second after impact is that it distorts space and increases the power output by at least two and half times. When the user manages to achieve this technique, their Cursed Energy develops a color, and that’s how the technique received its name.

The first time fans saw this move was when Todo taught Yuji Itadori in their fight against a Special Grade Curse. Despite its simple appearance, it has incredible versatility and potential. This is one of the most underrated moves in the Jujutsu Kaisen series. It has been shown only a handful number of times despite its versatile nature.

So how did MAPPA make this move flashy in Jujutsu Kaisen episode 44? Animators took this seemingly simple move to a new level by adding certain details while animating this scene.

One of the most apparent observations is that Aoi Todo’s Black Flash had a ton of build-up, and the move resembled the abilities of One For All from My Hero Academia. Fans couldn’t deny that he looked like All Might, one of the greatest heroes in the series mentioned above. They gave Aoi Todo a cosmic background when he was performing this. There were flashes of different colored lights that fused into one.

Furthermore, just before Aoi Todo could complete his technique, it gave the fanbase a quick glimpse of everything he wanted and dreamt of. This had some easter eggs for manga readers as it included parts of the colored pages from a few manga chapters. The Jujutsu Kaisen fanbase absolutely loved every second of this.

Easter eggs from the manga that was incorporated in the animated sequence (Image via Shueisha/Gege Akutami and MAPPA)

Black Flash can be quite useful in the Jujutsu Kaisen series. It is incredibly underrated, and fans would love to see its utility in various scenarios. It’s safe to say that fans almost forgot about the technique because it is underutilized. But MAPPA went guns blazing with this technique and ensured that fans will remember it in the future.

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Stay tuned for more Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.