Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 35 Review

Barrier Lore

Some of my favorite things in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 are the dumb explanations we get for things. And, in that regard, Episode 35 didn’t disappoint. This week, we got some barrier lore that makes very little sense beyond “plot convenience.”

Before I get into the barrier discussion, though, let’s revisit technique explanations. Maybe you forgot about this, but I didn’t. Back in the first arc of this season, Suguru Getou fought Touji Fushiguro. And, during that fight, we learned how you can scale up your power level. All you have to do is explain your abilities to your opponent.

If your opponent knows all about your abilities, you’ve lost the element of surprise. And, I guess all jujutsu sorcerers get stronger in a pinch. So, if you want to force yourself into that situation, you can divulge how your abilities work.

Apparently, barriers work in a similar way. They get stronger the riskier the position the one casting them is in. If you’re within the barrier, it’s going to be relatively weak. And, you know, that doesn’t make much sense. Most of the time, you’d want to use a barrier defensively.

If you’re outside of your own barrier, though, it’s going to be stronger. And, the more obvious the spot you’re in, the stronger it’s going to be. So, standing on top of a building near the barrier is going to make it stronger than if you’re hiding far away.

We saw this in action in this episode. The sorcerers tasked with keeping the barrier up were on the tallest building in Shibuya. But, isn’t there a riskier spot they could have chosen? Why not sit right in front of the barrier? Isn’t that the most obvious, and therefore the strongest, spot?

The Seance of Touji

We learned the techniques of two of the sorcerers protecting the barrier in this episode. I guess the third guy wasn’t a sorcerer. Or, at the very least, he didn’t matter, as I’ll get to in a bit. But, we also learned the technique of Ino, Nanami’s apprentice.

When Ino covers his face, he can use the powers of the Four Auspicious Beasts. Why does he need to cover his face? I have no idea but I’m sure there’s a reason for it. And what are the Four Auspicious Beasts? They’re from a Chinese legend.

Each of the Beasts represents one of the cardinal directions, North, East, South, and West. There’s the Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, and White Tiger, respectively. Though, in Ino’s case, the Beasts are a little different. The Black Tortoise is there. There’s a dragon that’s not azure. And then there are two other creatures.

Anyway, back to the sorcerers protecting the barrier. The old woman’s technique allows her to summon the dead, in a way. She can perform a seance to summon the spirit of the dead. Then, she can channel that spirit into herself or someone else.

When someone serves as a host for one of these spirits, they physically turn into the spirit. So, when the woman channels the spirit of Touji Fushiguro in this episode, the man with her becomes him. Though, I’m pretty sure the man is still himself; he’s not literally Touji now.

But, I could be wrong about that. And if I am, things might get even more interesting. Gojou killed Touji when Megumi was a young child. And even before that, Touji was estranged from his son. So, I’m curious to see what will happen if the two of them meet.

Cursed Technique: Inverse

The guy who was fighting Megumi and Itadori is the other one whose ability we learned. He has a somewhat interesting cursed technique. Though, it doesn’t seem all that good at the end of the day. It’s kind of like a bad Pokémon ability.

So, basically, his technique inverses the damage attacks do to him. If he’s hit with a strong attack, it doesn’t hurt him. But, if he’s hit with a weak attack, it does a lot of damage. As long as nobody figures out his technique, he can take no damage and win the fight.

But, that whole part about taking a lot of damage from weak attacks seems like a pretty major downside. How does he live his day-to-day life like that? Well, there are two ways he gets around this downside. And, the most important for his survival is that he can turn his ability off.

When this guy is walking down the street and not in a fight, his technique isn’t active. Someone walking by and bumping into him isn’t going to kill him. The technique is only active when he uses his cursed energy to activate it.

The second way he gets around the downside of his technique is that it has a lower bound. There’s a lower threshold below which he takes a normal amount of damage. This is necessary so a random gust of wind doesn’t obliterate him.

Unfortunately for this guy, Megumi is a bit smarter than Itadori. Itadori would have kept slugging away to no avail. But, Megumi realizes that something’s not right. And, he uses his various curse summons to see what kinds of attacks work. In the end, he figured out that they were dealing with the Inverse cursed technique.

Final Thoughts

What do you think about Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 35? Do you think the whole barrier strength thing was only included for plot convenience? Has Touji Fushiguro actually been revived? And, what rating out of 10 would you give the Inverse cursed technique? I’d probably give it a 5. It’s fine.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 36 is available now.