Jujutsu Kaisen fans are all familiar with Yuji Itadori, the high school student who becomes a jujutsu sorcerer and works to eliminate the curse of Ryomen Sukuna. His adventures see him become friends with other sorcerers like Nobara and Gojo, who are also known and beloved by fans of the series.
One character that's crucial to Jujutsu Kaisen's plot is not as widely known, but he's just as important to the franchise. Yuta Okkotsu is the star of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the franchise's prequel series and one of the best anime movies of the 2020s. Fans unfamiliar with the prequel will soon see how Yuta's story not only adds complexity to Yuji's journey but also intertwines with it, too, as the new season of the anime adaptation heads toward one of Jujutsu Kaisen's most thrilling and deadly arcs.
Who Is Yuta Okkotsu in Jujutsu Kaisen?
Yuta Okkotsu was the main protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and went on to be a major supporting character in the main series. He once was a special grade cursed human haunted by one of his childhood friends before Gojo found him and became his mentor.
After enrolling in Tokyo Jujutsu High, Yuta became a jujutsu sorcerer known for his selflessness. His tragic backstory makes him a character that's easy to root for, and his journey in the prequel sees him develop impressive powers and abilities that often make Yuta one of the best Jujutsu Kaisen characters.
Yuta is away from Tokyo Jujutsu High at the start of the main series, so he's not a large part of the franchise when it begins, but that changes with the Shibuya Incident. He goes on to be a larger part of the main series at this point, playing a crucial role in the manga's Culling Game Arc and appearing in the Shinjuku Showdown Arc, too.
Yuta's Tragic Backstory was Explored in Jujutsu Kaisen 0
During Yuta's childhood, he met and became friends with Rika Orimoto, and the two developed a special bond that even saw them promise to marry each other when they got older. Young Yuta gives Rika a promise ring, but soon after their promise to each other, Rika is hit by a car and killed.
Yuta said Rika's name out of shock and this tragically cursed her soul and turned her into a monstrous Vengeful Curse Spirit. Rika went on to haunt Yuta for five years, and one day she proved just how vengeful she could be when she mutilated four students who were bullying Yuta. Rika's immense outpour of cursed energy drew the attention of the Tokyo Jujutsu High. The college recognized Yuta's cursed energy and decided he needed to be executed, and he surprisingly agreed with their decision and even tried to take his own life before Rika stopped him.
Luckily for Yuta, Satoru Gojo noticed the potential in him and stepped in to see that Yuta had been given a stay of execution. Jujutsu Kaisen's strongest sorcerer went on to convince Yuta to enroll at Tokyo Jujutsu High, promising him he could learn to control Rika's curse during his time there.
Yuta Learned to Control His Curse
When Yuta arrived at Jujutsu High, he met Panda, Maki, and Toge Inumaki, and the three students quickly noticed he was cursed and prepared to attack before Gojo explained Yuta's unique situation. While training and going on missions with his classmates, Yuta learned more about cursed spirits and vowed to release Rika from her curse.
During his time at school, Yuta and Rika drew the attention of Satoru Gojo's best friend-turned-bitter rival, Suguru Geto. Yuta and Rika went on to fight Geto's evil curses together, and in the process, Yuta was able to channel enough powerful sorcerer energy to defeat Geto and lift Rika's curse.
In the aftermath of the battle, Yuta learned from Gojo that he was a distant relative of the powerful sorcerer Michizane Sugawara — one of the Big Three Vengeful Spirits and an ancestor of Gojo's, meaning the two are distantly related. Yuta's powerful magical ancestry is one of the reasons why he was able to accidentally curse Rika at the time of her death. With the curse lifted, Rika faded away, and Yuta promised to be with her forever in the afterlife.
Yuta's Powers and Abilities, Explained
With Rika's vengeful spirit cursing him, Yuta was immediately deemed a special grade sorcerer when he arrived at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Although he had high levels of potential power, Yuta was unable to fight or control his cursed energy, so he was still fairly weak in comparison to his classmates.
During his training, Yuta was given a katana to help him contain his cursed energy, and he became skilled with the sword, using it in impressive battles, including the clash against Geto. When Yuta joins the main Jujutsu Kaisen series, his physical prowess gets put on display, with him being revealed to be excellent at hand-to-hand combat and highly skilled at battling cursed spirits since his early days at school.
The Special Grade Vengeful Spirit Rika gave Yuta high levels of power early in his journey, but Yuta's ancestral ties to Michizane Sugawara were responsible for the cursed energy that remained in him after lifting Rika's curse. In Ch. 140, Jujutsu Kaisen's manga reveals that Yuta's cursed energy capacity exceeds even Gojo's, and with his newfound training, Yuta can manipulate his cursed energy into powerful attacks.
Yuta's innate technique allows him to copy the cursed techniques of others, an impressive skill that shows his raw power and limitless potential. His Domain Expansion, Authentic Mutual Love, calls back to his relationship with Rika, with the domain full of cross-like structures and katanas. In the domain, Yuta can wield any of the katanas and use his copy technique without any restriction.
Yuta's Important Battles in Jujutsu Kaisen
During his training at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Yuta took part in some impressive battles that saw him hone his skills and work together with Rika and his classmates to save the day. Yuta first teamed up with Jujutsu Kaisen's powerful student sorcerer Maki Zenin to perform an exorcism on cursed spirits at an elementary school when the two were investigating missing children in the area. In the end, Yuta was able to call on Rika's immense power to save Maki and rescue the kids who were trapped in the belly of the cursed spirit.
Yuta then went on to join forces with Toge Inumaki in battle with more cursed spirits at the Hapina Shopping Center, and in this battle, Yuta quickly realized how outclassed and weak he was in comparison to his classmates. Yuta supported and enabled Toge, allowing him to kill the spirit and leaving Yuta in awe of Toge's power.
After that, Yuta trained harder to control his powers and was then able to deliver his most impressive fight, taking on the extremely powerful Suguru Geto on the grounds of the high school. Geto invaded Tokyo Jujutsu High in an attempt to capture Rika from Yuta, and the result was an impressive battle that saw Yuta channel his emotions skillfully while battling alongside Rika to protect her. In the end, Geto narrowly escaped and Yuta was able to sever Rika's curse once and for all.
The Shibuya Incident Saw Yuta's Return to the Main Series
After Yuta was able to lift Rika's curse and before Yuji Itadori joined Jujutsu High, Yuta left Tokyo and traveled to Africa to train under the tutelage of Miguel Oduol. Following the tragic Shibuya Incident in Jujutsu Kaisen's main story, Yuta headed back to Japan and rejoined the cast as a major supporting character. He was a part of the Itadori's Extermination Arc, which saw Yuta secretly watching over Yuji like he promised Gojo to do, all while deceiving others into believing he would kill him for the Shibuya tragedy.
Jujutsu Kaisen's anime will adapt the Culling Game Arc for its third season, and Yuta will continue to be an important supporting character as Yuji and his allies attempt to rescue Tsumiki Fushiguro and free Gojo from the Prison Realm. The deadly battle royale game will see its combatants kill each other using their jujutsu, and the Jujutsu High students will all be participants as Jujutsu Kaisen's story continues to raise the stakes like never before.
Yuta Okkotsu may not be Jujutsu Kaisen's most well-known character, but his presence has been integral to Yuji's story from the very beginning. In the upcoming Culling Games Arc, Yuta will get the chance to shine and show how far he's come from his days training at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Fans will finally see his impressive physical prowess and unique jujutsu techniques take center stage for the first time in the main series' story.
