Breaking Down Takaba’s Cursed Technique in JJK

One has to remind themselves that there are other enemies other than Sukuna. Puppet master here is Kenjaku who is the one causing all the chaos while his ultimate goal is to rewrite the world in his own image. At the end of chapter 239, a certain sorcerer makes an appearance, claiming to defeat the dangerous Kenjaku: Takaba!

Takaba, a goofy comedian, is ready to make his spectacular appearance, but is it all just another mock, or does he stand a chance?

Just come with me to learn more about Takaba and his Cursed Technique that is much funnier than the joke itself.

The Story Behind Fumihiko Takaba

Before the creation of Kenjaku’s Culling Game, Fumihiko Takaba could barely be considered a comedian as he was not very popular. He is the awakened type, the one who awakened a curse technique.

He first emerges during the Culling Game where he intervenes to help Megumi fight Reggie Star and Iori Hazenoki. He appeared like a clumsy hero with an awkward look.

He manages to look after Hazenoki with little trouble, the latter having decided to back down from the fight. In chapter 240 there is a meeting where Angel suggests sending Takaba to fight Kenjaku before the outcome between Gojo and Sukuna. She then proceeds to describe his Cursed Technique which we are now going to do likewise.

Understanding Takaba’s Cursed Technique

Now let me describe the details of his Cursed Technique. This is described for the first time in chapter 173 right after his fight with Hazenoki. It is known as Comedian, where if he comes up with something that he’s certain will make people laugh, then it happens.

It is the same power through which he was able to defeat Hazenoki, another sorcerer who turns body parts into bombs. However, it is virtually impossible to avoid getting hurt from his attacks but Takaba was able to do so.

However, one thing that Jujutsu Kaisen does exceptionally well is the neutralization of powers.and as for what Takaba does know about his own cursed technique, the fact is that he does not know anything at all about it. He has no idea how this power works.

Although surviving a dangerous ordeal like the Culling Game is a thing to brag about without a doubt, Gege decided to drop another hint: It is possible to state that his power can be compared even to Gojo Satoru.

Before going any further, the Kenjaku situation needs to be covered as well because a strategy that involves sending someone like him to deal with the most sinister opponent is not a plan any sane person would consider.

When Kenjaku takes his shot, Takaba shrugs it off, dismissing it as simple childish pranks and mocking him with magic tricks. This is why mockery led Kenjaku to think that the ability of Takaba was the power of the phenomenon that appears and creates objects that are in the mind. He also said that all that Jujutsu knowledge that he had been acquiring for over a thousand years could be useless.

In the Ted Talk about Comedy and how to put jokes and punchlines, Kenjaku also concluded that he may need confidence and certainty, and as it is quite right because Takaba must be sure that his joke is funny.

Angel’s advice of taking Takaba over to someone like Maki or Okkotsu may yet come in handy since the fight is still ongoing. In chapter 241, we finally get to see Takaba’s past and his failed attempts at comedy, and now his new aim to make people laugh. The battle has not ended yet and we are as eager as you are in this war of laughter!

Does Takaba Have the Power to Defeat Gojo?

But one interest dropped by Gege was that with his cursed technique, he has the chance to actually defeat Gojo Satoru. Before we explore Gojo fraud and ‘Nah I’d win’ jokes let us make an impartial assessment on this specific statement.

As it goes without saying, Gojo is arguably the show’s strongest character, or at least one of the strongest, so, there is actually no possibility that one would come out the winner so quickly. Now let’s consider the effect of the cursed technique that Takaba has, if one stands no chance at all against the strongest, then it would make perfect sense that Takaba would take that as some sort of joke that is really quite hilarious.

In fact, it positions for a tragic climax for someone like Gojo if Takaba were to for instance think something like “HAHA, Gojo is so weak I can defeat him with one hand!”without any shadow of a doubt this must be funny because it is simply silly and pointless.

But that is not the case. Here, when Gege said that statement, he was not talking about Takaba. But in this case, he was talking about the cursed technique.

Thanks to the wonderful JJK subreddit, we now have a straight answer to this. This is not to say that Takaba is not as overpowered as most people believe he is. How so?

Firstly, he lacks any knowledge on his own cursed technique. This is the single most important aspect that moderates his capacity to normal levels of power. He is clueless. Secondly, he cannot be thinking of beating someone with the aim of beating someone.

If Takaba were to try to kill Gojo with his death as a joke, it would work because his cursed technique only works if he is thinking about something actually funny.

There is also another point which is known as cursed energy reserves. Cursed energy reserves also play an important part in ensuring that a person can be able to defeat their opponent. We do not know about Takaba’s cursed energy reserves and therefore, we cannot affirm that his cursed technique will defeat Gojo directly.

All that is left is to see how Takaba manages to handle Kenny. We have seen all the tropes regarding classical anime backstory with the near-death experience, but what is it now?