Yuji Itadori’s body/soul swap with Kusakabe in JJK chapter 222 had caused quite a stir in the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom. A lot of theories regarding the same also started making rounds on the internet.
If you are surprised to hear the terms Itadori and body swapping together, then you probably were affected by the reading comprehension devil.
From Itadori gaining a new cursed technique, to him using it in the fight against Sukuna to save Megumi, a lot of possibilities are being floated at this point of time.
However, for once, I am not completely sold on Itadori’s soul swapping cursed technique.
While I do believe that Itadori ate the remaining Death Painting: Cursed wombs (check the article linked below to know more), I do not believe that the soul swapping is a cursed technique that will be unique to Itadori alone.
Related: Did Itadori Eat The Cursed Wombs?
On the contrary, it could be akin to barrier techniques, and even the Black Flash which is not an inherent cursed technique per se.
But before we get to that, let’s take a look at what actually made Yuji Itadori’s body/soul swapping theories come into existence.
Yuji Itadori’s soul swapping in JJK 222:
Body swapping, soul swapping, call it what you want. All the theories that think this phenomenon to Yuji Itadori stemmed from a small sequence of panels in JJK chapter 222.
In the above mentioned panels, we can see Itadori and Kusakabe both training. However, it has been very subtly hinted that their souls had switched bodies.
Meaning, Itadori’s soul was in Kusakabe’s body and vice versa.
It would be very weird if Itadori was telling himself to master whatever it was in third person. It would be even more weird if Kusakabe was the one replying to it using “Osu”.
That phrase is more in line with Itadori’s personality.
And so, because of this one particular instance you see above, the theory of Itadori having learnt something to do with soul/body swapping took off.
Let me give you a fair warning though – the Itadori’s soul swapping is not a cursed technique that has been confirmed. There is still a possibility Gege Akutami just messed up the panels, and all of these assumptions that we are throwing around is for nothing.
But for the sake of this article, I am going the assume that Gege has not messed up and so let’s proceed.
So, for now Itadori’s Soul swapping is something that happened. However, what I am trying to prove here is that it is not an inherent cursed technique like the Ten Shadows or the Limitless.
The concept of souls in JJK:
Ever since Mahito was introduced, Jujutsu Kaisen manga has posed us readers a major question: the body or the soul, what came first? Or to put it more subtly, what is more important?
While the answer to this question is still debatable, I want to focus more on Mahito’s statement of the body adjusting to the shape of the soul. It was first mentioned by the cursed spirit in chapter 22, while he was fighting Nanami.
The reason why I mention this is because, I believe that this logic of Mahito’s holds water.
Take a look at Sukuna for instance. Whenever he possessed Itadori or Megumi’s body, extra eyes and tattoos came up on the body. If that was not the body adjusting to the soul, then I wouldn’t know what to call it.
Related: Why did Sukuna take over and possess Megumi?
You might be wondering if the tattoos are only there as a visual representation for the readers to differentiate between the host and the vessel. However in chapter 111, we see Jogo noting that Sukuna’s marks were there on Itadori’s body.
This indeed proves that the body, in fact, DOES adjust to the shape of soul.
Another point I want to highlight is how the Jujutsu Kaisen manga often treats soul as a separate entity from the body that can be ripped off and/or placed back.
Reincarnated sorcerers are a prime example of this phenomena. Their souls simply swapped bodies when they reincarnated into their new hosts. This was done by converting their souls in cursed objects.
Both of these instances prove to us that:
- There is already a method for souls to swap bodies.
- Bodies do adjust to the shape of souls.
Also, the soul and cursed energy seem to have some sort of connection just like Mahito said.
Keeping that in mind, I would like to pose a question – if the reincarnated sorcerers’ essence was transferred to the cursed objects, what all did it include? Just their souls? Their souls and their cursed energies? Or everything including cursed techniques expect a body?
The reincarnated sorcerers did come with their own cursed techniques. But we know that cursed techniques are essentially engraved on to a sorcerer’s brain. And no part of these sorcerers’ brains got reincarnated into the vessel.
The brains of the vessels instead got modified according to the souls that came to possess them.
So, I am inclined to believe that CE, and even CT to a certain extent, is linked with souls. Or at least that it acts as a carbon paper holding the information.
So, the soul is essentially like a database of a person, which can be moved from one vessel to another. Keeping this in mind, let us move on to our final and major section.
Links to Itadori-Kusakabe body swap:
In Itadori and Kusakabe’s case, both of their souls managed to switch bodies with each other.
While the reincarnated sorcerers had to turn themselves into cursed objects and wait for a perfect vessel, Itadori and Kusakabe just seem to have gone about it in a different way.
And that could be thanks to Yuki’s book on soul research. The HOW part of it something that is beyond me, only Akutami is the one who can answer it at this stage.
But combining this piece of information with whatever I mentioned in the previous sections, we can say for sure that Itadori’s soul swapping is not an innate cursed technique per se.
Rather, it is more akin to a barrier technique, or even a Black Flash, which can be learnt by anyone.
However…
We know that not everyone could grasp the idea of turning themselves into a cursed object. Kenjaku knew about it and Sukuna instantly learnt it after experiencing it once.
Incidentally these two are also characters who have a very good understanding of the cursed energy and also probably their own souls. Soul and cursed energy links get stronger!
Just like turning into cursed objects, I feel that the soul switching based on Tsukumo’s research too could not be performed by everyone, else all of the main cast would be out doing it.
This is where the choice of characters by Gege Akutami stands out.
Itadori had previously housed a soul in his body, meaning he is able to perceive the contours of soul like Mahito said. I feel that his understanding of the soul and body is just subconsciously more than his counterparts.
Itadori is also someone who has experienced the Black flash. Meaning his understanding of the cursed energy too is better. Did this happen because he was able to perceive souls better, which somehow is related to cursed energy?
While I don’t have an answer to that particular question, I feel that Itadori’s understanding of the soul and his cursed energy made him an ideal candidate for soul swapping.
Let’s move on to the next person in the equation – Kusakabe. Now he is a tricky one.
Kusakabe is the only sorcerer other than Itadori to become a grade 1 without a cursed technique. So, either he has a very good understanding of cursed energy which helped him with the soul swapping, or he is somehow knowledgeable about this thing too. His has been showing off in the Gojo vs Sukuna fight, popping in with much needed details.
TLDR; Itadori’s Soul Swapping is something similar to turning yourself into a cursed object or like the Black flash. It’s not an innate cursed technique, but not everyone can perform it either.
Do you agree with the theory that I cooked up? I’d like to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below! Or you can reach out to me on Reddit/Tumblr.