On New Year’s Day 2024, the official Facebook page for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) posted an image of the vibrant nighttime lights of Tokyo, Japan, as seen from the International Space Station orbiting 261 miles above Earth.
This post came a day after a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture, leaving over 45,000 households without power, according to the Hokuriku Electric Power company.
While most people saw a standard satellite view of a significant city, devoted fans of the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen noticed an eerie similarity between the NASA photo and iconic artwork from the show’s second opening theme sequence.
Specifically, they connected the darkness spreading amidst Tokyo’s bright urban glow to a climactic battle between Sukuna and Mahoraga, where Sukuna’s ultimate Attack plunges the surroundings into blackness – mirroring the real-life blackouts caused by the earthquake.
Moved by this unexpected bridge between fiction and reality, enthusiastic Jujutsu Kaisen fans flooded the NASA Facebook post’s comments section with thousands of messages quoting the anime’s slogan, “You Are My Special.”
This heartwarming outpouring highlights the ability of stories to unite and inspire communities, even in difficult times.
Just as the characters in Jujutsu Kaisen use special powers to dispel darkness, fans use this pop culture touchpoint to shed hopeful light after a natural disaster.
The Unintended Real-World Parallels and Emotional Resonance in Jujutsu Kaisen
Sukuna’s climactic battle with the fearsome shikigami Mahoraga resulted in mass destruction evocative of the aftermath of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Japan.
During their duel, Mahoraga demonstrates an incredible adaptive ability to analyze and counter Sukuna’s attacks, rotating a mystical wheel to heal and empower itself after each of Sukuna’s strikes.
Ultimately, Sukuna is forced to unleash his devastating domain expansion technique, Malevolent Shrine, which unrelentingly slices anything within a 140-meter radius imbued with cursed energy.
This powerful Attack incinerates Mahoraga before it can adapt and recover. However, the technique’s immense range and persistence lead to indiscriminate obliteration of the surrounding area, mimicking the blackouts caused by a real-life earthquake.
Just as the Hokuriku Electric Power company reported over 45,000 households losing power, Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine not only defeats Mahoraga but destroys buildings and takes civilian lives across multiple city blocks.
The awesome yet horrifying aftermath, leaving swathes of urban landscape barren and darkened, profoundly resonated with Jujutsu Kaisen fans in light of the NASA satellite image.
By mirroring the real disaster, this iconic battle created an unexpected emotional connection between fiction and reality – inspiring fans to come together through messages of hope and resilience when confronted by darkness, both literal and metaphorical.
Sukuna Vs. Mahoraga Aftermath
In the aftermath of Sukuna’s earth-shattering domain expansion, all that remains of the formidable Mahoraga is its mystical eight-handled wheel.
As the immobilized Megumi watches in shock, Sukuna casually approaches with Mahoraga’s wheel in hand, signifies the ritual’s end by tossing it aside to disintegrate.
With his enemy defeated, Sukuna dismissively tells Megumi’s shikigami to begone. The grateful curse user Shigemo flees, joyous at somehow surviving yet again.
However, Shigemo did not escape the lingering effects of Malevolent Shrine – his body graphically splits apart, sliced completely in half by the delayed damage.
Feeling his control over Yuji’s body fading, Sukuna transports the injured Megumi to the Shibuya Tollgate, where healers await, disappearing as quickly as he arrives.
Only Yaga glimpses at Sukuna, unsure whether it is truly Yuji or not. Immediately after, Sukuna relinquishes Yuji’s body back in Dogenzaka, pointedly asking Yuji to survey the absolute destruction wrecked in his absence – mirroring the real-life earthquake aftermath.
Like the NASA satellite image of darkness blanketing city blocks, Sukuna’s apocalyptic Attack left swathes of Shibuya barren and decimated.
By compelling Yuji to witness this disturbing parallel to real disaster, Sukuna creates another complex emotional link between fictional chaos and traumatic reality for the fans.
About Jujutsu Kaisen
In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, all living beings emit a mystical dark energy called Cursed Energy that stems from negative human emotions.
Most ordinary people cannot control the natural flow of this energy within their bodies and instead continually leak Cursed Energy into the environment. The accumulation of this leaked Cursed Energy gives rise to dangerous Curses – ghostly spirits and grotesque monsters that threaten humanity.
However, a group of skilled warriors known as Jujutsu Sorcerers has learned to circulate Cursed Energy properly internally.
This control allows them to harness Cursed Energy for their own purposes, reducing leakage and protecting themselves from Curses.
High-level Jujutsu Sorcerers can even refine this harnessed power to unleash unique Cursed Techniques suited to their abilities and family lineage.
The most powerful Jujutsu Sorcerers master Domain Expansion – creating a pocket dimension suffused with their Cursed Energy, where all their attacks are guaranteed to strike with increased potency.
