All Types Of Barriers, Explained

Jujutsu sorcery is based on the concept of Cursed Techniques, a power system that arises from a user’s innate cursed energy to form all sorts of godly abilities. At the center of Jujutsu Kaisen’s power system, however, lies a basic concept that has become the backbone of Jujutsu Sorcery — barriers. Whether it’s simple barriers that bar Jujutsu Sorcerers from entering a space to powerful barriers that are part of domain expansions, barriers come in all shapes and sizes.

There are a total of five different types of barriers, with some more potent and complex than others. Jujutsu Sorcery makes use of these zones and territories in unique ways, whether its casting a visual barrier or simply barring a specific person from entering a specific zone. Throughout Jujutsu Kaisen, barriers have been witnessed in almost every major event, either used to restrict movement in a specific area, or to cast domain expansions. These instances throughout the series deem barriers to be one of the most important aspects of Jujutsu Sorcery.

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The Significance Of Barriers in Jujutsu Kaisen

Barriers Are a Central Concept in Jujutsu Sorcery

Barriers in Jujutsu Kaisen are more akin to zones and territories created with cursed energy, usually to protect a certain area. These barriers are created using talismans and binding vows, some that use complicated conditions that result in different functioning of these barriers. Complex barriers come in all shapes and sizes, and creating complex barriers can be an ardent task for even the strongest Jujutsu sorcerers out there.

While creating a simple barrier might be an easy task, erecting a barrier with certain conditions and customized binding vows, such as barring a specific person from entering, is a feat that not even the strongest sorcerers can pull off. Whether it’s a simple domain erected to protect the user from enemy domains, or a complicated, pure barrier to prevent spirits from manifesting, each barrier plays a significant role that is crucial for Jujutsu sorcerers. It’s also worth noting that most barriers can be dismantled by defeating the caster, though more complex barriers can stay afloat even with the caster rendered incapacitated.

Domain Barriers

Crucial For Casting Domain Expansions

Barriers can be used for all sorts of purposes in Jujutsu Kaisen, though their prime usage can be witnessed in the form of domain expansions. A domain expansion is a manifestation of a user’s own innate curse technique in an enclosed space, which is usually formed by casting a barrier first. If a barrier is cast, and it is imbued with a user’s innate curse technique and curse energy, along with the binding vow, it is considered a complete domain expansion.

The barriers used for domain expansions are characterized by their spherical shape, which can either be floating in the air or on the ground, though they maintain a spherical shape from the outside in both cases. Moreover, these barriers are reinforced on the inside, meaning those stuck within cannot escape the barrier easily. However, their weakness lies on the outside, as skilled sorcerers can break into a barrier from the outside, effectively dismissing them.

Other ways to break apart these barriers can be seen in the form of anti-domain techniques, or simply rendering the caster incapacitated with cursed techniques, which would lead to the barrier dismantling automatically. Barriers used for domain expansions are arguably some of the most difficult types in the Jujutsu Kaisen series, which is evident from the fact that there have only been a total of fourteen domain expansions so far in the series.

Curtain Barriers

A Porous Barrier That Works Like a Veil

As the name suggests, curtains are a type of barrier that is used to form more of a visual veil. The purpose of these barriers is to create a zone or territory that cannot be viewed from the outside. These are most commonly used by Jujutsu sorcerers when exorcising cursed spirits in secrecy. However, they can also serve other purposes, such as keeping a specific person from entering the zone while letting others pass by.

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This was witnessed in the form of the Kyoto Sister-School event in the very first season of Jujutsu Kaisen, where Juzo set up a curtain that allowed other Jujutsu sorcerers to pass by, only barring Satoru Gojo from entering. Curtains require a certain level of skill to be cast, though complex barriers can only be cast by highly skilled sorcerers, such as the one used during the Kyoto Sister School Event.

Pure Barriers

Superior Barriers Created By Tengen To Suppress Cursed Spirits

Pure barriers are another form of barrier technique that is much more superior to regular barriers, both in terms of potency and overall area. In the Jujutsu Kaisen series, Tengen is known to be the only one to be able to maintain pure barriers, as these require a high level of Jujutsu sorcery. These pure barriers are maintained throughout Japan to suppress cursed spirits, along with fortifying the barriers put forward by Jujutsu sorcerers.

While Tengen has multiple pure barriers set up across Japan, there are four that are highly critical, as they serve purposes such as keeping cursed spirits at bay and reinforcing barriers set up by Jujutsu Sorcerers. The ones at the Tomb of the Star and the Imperial Palace are of the utmost importance, since these places are quite sacred for Jujutsu Sorcerers. However, pure barriers do not keep Jujutsu sorcerers or regular humans at bay, as they only serve the purpose of suppressing cursed spirits.

Empty Barriers

Vacant Barriers Used For Non-Combat Purposes

Empty barriers are another type of barrier technique that forms zones or territories that are almost completely vacant from the inside. These barriers can be freely manipulated by the caster, such as changing the shape and the outer boundary along with allowing anyone inside the barrier. The purpose of these kinds of barriers is to merely create an open space that can be used by the sorcerer without adding any sort of innate curse technique. If an innate curse technique were to be added to an empty barrier, it would turn into a domain expansion.

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Since the barriers are vacant from within, users can manipulate the inside to visualize and form any kind of environment. A few instances of this type of barrier can be seen in the series, such as Kenjaku converting an empty barrier into a movie theater to showcase his plan to Choso.

Bon Barriers

An Intricate Barrier Formed Using Pure Barriers as a Base

Bon barriers are some of the most intricate types of barriers to be seen in Jujutsu Kaisen. These barriers weren’t introduced until the Culling Games arc, where Kenjaku forced Jujutsu sorcerers to fight each other in a sort of battle royale. The games took place within bon barriers, which were created by Kenjaku using pre-existing barriers. These barriers used Tengen’s pure barriers as a base, which fortified them even more.

This also meant that Tengen could release these barriers and dismantle the Culling Games altogether, though it would have meant relinquishing all of his other pure barriers, which would inadvertently stop the suppression of cursed spirits and make them stronger than before. Since bon barriers used Tengen’s pure barriers as a base, these barriers cannot be formed by any regular Jujutsu sorcerer.

Jujutsu Kaisen is available to stream on Crunchyroll.