Shonen manga is known for its plots, and Jujutsu Kaisen easily has one of the best storylines out there, immersing you in its realm.
The manga created by Gege Akutami first came out in 2018, and just 4 years later, it already has an insane fan following.
With the release of Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie, which premiered in 2021, the series has seen a fresh wave of admiration.
Things are only getting more thrilling for fans, what with the events of the prequel movie and new connections with manga chapters and anime episodes.
But with so much happening, it’s only natural that the timeline of this vast series gets a little confusing.
Today, I will break down the complete timeline of Jujutsu Kaisen, explain the chronology of the story arcs, and tell you where the live-action film fits in. Let’s do this.
1. Year 65: Before the Beginning
We thought we knew where it all started, but the story’s impetus, Cursed Energy, also has an origin.
Before Ryomen Sukuna became a cursed spirit, he was a human sorcerer.
According to legend, he was known as the Imaginary Demon during the Golden Age of Jujutsu 1000 years ago for killing hundreds of other powerful sorcerers.
2. Years 710-784: The Nara Period
This is when Master Tengen first created the Jujutsu Society to establish a system to preach Jujutsu’s moral foundation and protect the non-sorcerers.
This is also a time of destruction in Japan, where several natural disasters cause a build-up of fear and negative energy. This, in turn, directly creates the Cursed Spirits we see in the series today.
Tengen spreads Japanese Buddhism and Jujutsu throughout the land, forming a rival community, the Star Religious Group (aka Time Vessel Association).
3. Years 794-1185: The Heian Period/The Classic Era
Jujutsu reached its height of advancement during this period, and it became known as the Golden Age of Shamans – or the Golden Age of Cursed Techniques.
There are so many new Cursed Techniques whizzing around that a Jujutsu sorcerer named Ashiya Sadatsuna creates a technique – which would later be called Simple Domain – to protect his disciples from evil curses and sorcerers.
Mechamaru would use this technique in the battle against Mahito and Kasuki Miwa against Maki.
The Samurai class began to rise, beginning the feudal period in Japan and the distinction between the aristocrats and the common people.
The Zenin Clan was formed during this period.
Buddhism and Jujutsu see a deeper rift between this period, and the situation gets quite sour, although the period is known as one of peace and prosperity.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the prequel, mentions that Michizane Sugawara, the ancestor of Satoru Gojo and Yuta Okkotsu, was also born around this time.
Techniques like the Six Eyes and Ten Shadows also emerged.
Kenjaku tries to stop Tengen from merging with Star Plasma. However, he is stopped by a Six Eyes user.
Michizane Sugawara turns into one of the Big 3 Vengeful Spirits, along with Masakado Taira and Emperor Sutoku, who all come to be feared by the people of that era.
Sukuna, the King of Curses, is sealed, and his fingers are scattered at the end of the period.
4. Years 1596-1615: Keicho Era to the Years 1603-1868: Early Edo Period
This is when the heads of the Gojo and Zenin clans fight, resulting in their deaths.
This further fueled animosity between the 2 clans.
Kenjaku killed the Six-Eyes bearers and the Star Plasma vessel when they were just infants to prevent their merge with Tengin and the force evolution.
However, he failed as the Six-Eyes bearers and the Star Plasma vessel arrived on the day of the merge.
Kenjaku focused on searching for the Prison realm.
5. Years 1868-1912: The Meiji Period/The Modern Era
This heralded the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Japan, with the East trying to catch up to the West’s transportation system and development.
A girl with special genetic makeup bears a cursed child with the mixed blood of a human and a Cursed Spirit.
This child is Noritoshi Kamo, who would be remembered as the most evil sorcerer in history.
Noritoshi – or the older Spirit called Kenjaku that inhabits his body – creates the 9 Death Painting Wombs.
The Meiji leaders made 5 provisions for their people, namely:
- The deliberative assembly must be widely established, and public discussion must decide all matters.
- All classes of society must unite and help the state carry out administrative affairs.
- All people will be allowed to pursue their own calling.
- The evil traditions of the past will be forgotten, and the kingdom will follow the laws of nature.
- Knowledge would be the topmost priority in improving the foundations of the imperial reign.
6. Years 1912–26: Taisho period to the Years 1926-1989: Showa period
Zenin Toji was born somewhere during this period on December 31, as speculated by fans.
Toji was born with a heavenly restriction, which was treated like a disease in his clan, and so he left them.
However, like every cloud with a silver lining, Toji had superhuman strength and became such an adept assassin that he became known as the sorcerer killer.
7. Years 1989-2019: The Heisiei Period
Japan witnessed a significant economic growth spurt during this era. This is the beginning of current affairs as we know them.
I. 1989, December 7: The Birth of Satoru Gojo
As we know, Satoru is the first in over 400 years to possess the Gojo 6 Eyes and inherit the Limitless.
He is so strong that his existence alters the balance of the entire world.
II. 1990, February 3: The Birth of Geto Suguru
Geto Suguru was born on February 3, 1990.
III. 1996: Toji visits Gojo
Toji Fushiguro, aka the Sorcerer Killer, when he was still a part of the Zenin family, goes back in time to see what the fuss was about Gojo.
IV. 2002 December 31: The Birth of Megumi Fushiguro
V. 2003 March 20: The Birth of The Birth of Yuji Itadori
VI. 2006: The Hidden Inventory/Gojo’s Past Arc
Gojo’s past is mainly explained during this arc. Masamichi Yaga assigns Suguru and Satoru, classmates at Jujutsu High, the all-important task of finding Master Tengen a new body.
Without this, the world of Jujutsu and the non-sorcery world would come down crumbling.
The Star Religious Group resurfaces to prevent this from happening.
Toji is the main antagonist; he kills the Star Plasma Vessel, Amanai Riko. This also leaves Tengen without a vessel.
Gojo evolves and masters the Reversed Curse Technique and space manipulation.
In their epic 1v1, Gojo shows Toji, who’s boss, and fatally wounds him. Before he dies, Toji tells Gojo about his child, Megumi Fushiguro.
VII. 2007: Geto Goes Rogue
While Gojo is busy turning into a God, Geto encounters Yuki Tsukumo, who talks him out of Jujutsu High’s mission.
He later goes on to massacre an entire village along with his parents – 112 people, to be precise – saving 2 girls, Nanako and Mimiko.
He does this by using his Cursed Spirit Manipulation. He is sentenced to execution.
Geto creates a religious group to help him gather a personal army of Cursed Spirits.
Gojo took in Megumi when he was in the first grade.
VIII. 2010: Rika turns into a cursed Spirit
A 10-year-old Yuta Okkotsu promises his best friend Rika Orimoto they will marry one day.
This cute scene turns horrific pretty quickly as Rika is run over by a drunk driver right before his eyes.
Yuta unknowingly turns Rika into a Cursed Spirit, and she becomes attached to him.
Uraume, or the Frozen Star, also appears during this time.
IX. 2012: Kenjaku finds the Prison Realm
This is the year when Kenjaku finds the Prison realm and makes alliances with powerful curses to seal Gojo.
X. 2016: Geto reappears
Yuta comes in contact with the Special-Grade Curse: Rika. He meets Gojo, who tells him that he can utilize his ability to a force that he could use.
After the Cursed Spirit Rika goes on a rampage, Gojo gives Yuta a katana that would store the power of Rika and tells him that he will learn to control Rika over time.
Sometime later, Yuta is faced with the Cursed Spirit let loose by Geto, who had wanted to witness how powerful Rika was.
This is also when we realize how much Geto has really changed; his whole personality is different and sadistic.
With the 2 kids he had rescued from the village, Nanako and Mimiko, he wants to create a paradise filled with only Jujutsu sorcerers. He targets Jujutsu High and confronts Yuta.
Gojo steps in, and Geto announces that his war against them will commence on December 24, when he will perform the Night Parade of 100 Demons. He wants to unleash 1000 Cursed Spirits across Kyoto.
XI. 2017, December 24: The Night Parade
Geto’s plan is transparent: he wishes to kill Yuta to imbibe Rika since it is the only way he can defeat his nemesis, Gojo.
Yuta manages to wield Rika’s full power and defeats Geto. Gojo appears, and Geto is killed.
Kenjaku takes over Geto’s body.
Gojo reveals to Yuta that they share the ancestor, Michizane Sugawara, one of the 3 Vengeful Spirits.
This is where Jujutsu Kaisen 0 ends and the main story’s events begin.
8. 2018
This is the present timeline, where the series kicks off.
I. February
This is right before the actual series where Kenjaku and Uraume try to convince the international governments about cursed energy and sorcerers.
They do it by using special glasses like the ones used by Maki to see footage captured by Mechamaru.
II. 2018, June: Yuji Itadori Enters
This is the start of the series.
Megumi Fushiguro, a Zenin family descendant, is tasked with locating a Cursed Object in Jujutsu High. Yuji and Megumi pair up to find it.
Yuji eats the Cursed Object, i.e., Ryomen Sukuna’s finger, giving the King of Curses a gateway into the new world.
Yuji is sentenced to execution for becoming a vessel to a demon, but the execution is put on hold so he can gain admission into the school and try and defeat Sukuna with his own body.
III. 2018, July: Jujutsu High students against the Kyoto School
Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara go to the Detention Center, and Nobara is sucked into a portal. Megumi follows as Yuji faces off against a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Sukuna’s Spirit takes over and kills it, after which he finds and eats another Cursed Finger that someone had left there.
Yuji learns the basics of Cursed Technique and Energy.
The battle of Jujutsu High students against the Kyoto School takes place.
IV. 2018, August: Kenjaku manipulating the U.S. government
Kenjaku successfully manipulates the U.S. government, agreeing to send 800 soldiers to Japan to capture Japanese sorcerers and harness their power in November.
V. 2018, September-October: The Death Painting Arc
The Death Painting Wombs from the Meiji period return.
Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara are sent to investigate a string of murders by Curse Techniques.
Geto – or rather Pseudo Geto (this is Geto’s dead body possessed by the ancient sorcerer Kenjaku), along with the Cursed Spirit Mahito, help the Death Paintings: Choso, Eso and Kechizu reincarnate into human vessels.
Itadori and Kugisaki manage to kill Eso and Kechizu.
After the Battle Beneath Yasohachi Bridge, in which the students emerge successful, Pseudo Geto announces adjustments to his plan.
After this arc in the manga is Gojo’s Past Arc, but chronology-wise, we have the Shibuya Incident Arc next.
VI. 2018, October, 31: The Shibuya Incident
This is the culmination of Pseudo Geto and Mahito’s plan to take down humanity and give Sukuna his throne. Their main objective is to seal Gojo so they can succeed.
Geto places a large curtain over Shibuya, trapping the civilians and blocking off all physical and technological means of communication. But of course, Gojo manages to walk straight through the curtain.
Gojo begins fighting with Hanami, Jogo, and Choso and gets rid of Hanami.
Meanwhile, Mei’s Team (Mei Mei, Ui Ui, and Yuji) tries to find the Curse at Meiji-Jingumae Station. Yuji defeats the Grasshopper Spirit and breaks the Cursed Object, creating the curtain.
Meanwhile, at Shibuya Station, Gojo defeats Mahito, Jogo, and Choso, along with the 1000 transfigured humans created by Mahito.
However, Pseudo Geto eventually captures Gojo, who has activated the Prison Realm.
Old rivals/best friends Gojo and Geto come face-to-face; only Gojo recognizes this isn’t Geto. Gojo is sealed, and Geto succeeds.
Team Mei arrives at Shibuya to commence Operation: Rescue Satoru Gojo. The other 2 standby teams, Team Nanami (Megumi Fushiguro, Kento Nanami, and Takuma Ino) and Team Kusakabe (Atsuya Kusakabe and Panda), also arrive simultaneously.
While inside the Prison Realm, Gojo realizes that time doesn’t pass inside the cube.
He makes the cube so dense and heavy that it destroys the ground it is kept upon. The cube is immovable, and Pseudo Geto stands guard.
Pseudo Geto is confronted by the spirits of Nanako and Mimiko, the 2 girls Geto had rescued from the village. They command Kenjaku to return Geto’s body.
The Curse Users Awasaka, Grandma Ogami, and her grandson are introduced.
Grandma Ogami summons Toji Zenin, who takes over her grandson’s body. The grandson cannot control Toji, and he takes over, killing Grandma Ogami.
Toji effortlessly defeats the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Dagon.
His son, Megumi, confronts him, and Toji manages to override the Cursed Technique to kill, after which he dies.
Nanako and Mimiko feed Yuji some of Sukuna’s fingers, and Jogo arrives and decides to feed him another 10 fingers. At this point, Yuji has consumed 15 Cursed Fingers.
Ryomen Sukuna awakens.
Sukuna exorcises Jogo, as well as Nanako and Mimiko.
On the brink of death, Megumi remembers Gojo telling him how the head of the Gojo clan possessed the Six Eyes and Limitless Techniques, and the head of the Zenin clan had the 10 Shadow Technique.
They killed each other during battle, beginning the endless feud between the 2 families.
Megumi summons Mahoraga, the 8-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General.
Sukuna activates his Domain Expansion to defeat Mahoraga.
Yuji switches back to himself and decides to continue fighting.
Mahito is still alive, and he kills Nanami and critically injures Nobara. With the help of Aoi Todo, Yuji manages to finish Mahito once and for all.
Kenjaku absorbs Mahito and rebirths several ancient sorcerers into the new world.
He also casts Idle Transformation and awakens the non-sorcerers selected for the Culling Game, which will be revealed later in chapter 143.
He escapes along with Uraume, taking the sealed Gojo with him.
VII. 2018, November 1-8: Yuta’s Return
The post-credit scene of the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie teased the return of Yuta, and he is officially introduced in Itadori’s Extermination Arc.
The authorities give Yuta the task of killing Sukuna, i.e., Yuji Itadori.
The orders for executing Geto are also given, and the act of freeing Gojo is criminalized.
Megumi becomes the new head of the Zenins, and he finds Yuji to help save his sister, Tsumiki, from the Culling Game.
Yuta has also found Yuji, but he bonds with him over their similar circumstances instead of killing him.
Until this instance, Gojo has been sealed inside the Prison Realm for 8 days.
VIII. 2018, November 9: Master Tengen Contacted
Megumi, Yuji, Yuta, Choso, Maki, and Yuki contacted Master Tengen through the Tombs of the Star.
Tengen reveals the details about the Culling Game and tells them that the only way to free Gojo is through the back of the Prison Realm.
IX. 2018, November 10:
Since Hakari and Kirara are vital players in the game, the gang tries to get them as allies in the game.
Itadori and Fushiguro persuade Hakari to let them join his Fight Club, saying they need money.
IX. 2018, November 11:
Kashimo trades in his 100 points to add a rule to the game that lets information on all players become disclosed to others.
XI. 2018, November 12:
Maki goes to the Zenin clan to get her cursed tools, but instead, she massacres the Zenin clan.
Those who weren’t there would also soon die violent deaths – 6 members of the Hei and 21 members of the Kukuru unit.
Yuji and Megumi enter Tokyo Colony 1, and Hakari and Panda enter Tokyo Colony 2 so they can enter the Culling Games.
In Tokyo Colony 2, Panda goes up against Kashimo Hajime.
Hiromi Higurama, former antagonist and one of the top players of the Culling Games, becomes Yuji’s ally.
Meanwhile, in Sendai City, Yuta faces off against the Special Grade Cockroach Cursed Spirit Kurourushi, the Jujutsu sorcerers Uro and Ishigori.
We see Yuta bring out the engagement ring Rika gave him, and the Cursed Spirit of Rika reawakens.
XII. 2018, November 14: Naoya returns
Maki, accompanied by the exiled Kamo, fights through the Sakurajima colony.
Maki’s cousin brother Naoya, who was killed during the Perfect Preparation arc, returns to face Maki as a Vengeful Cursed Spirit.
XIII. 2018, November 15-19:
The Gojo and Kamo clans discuss removing the Zenin clan from the Big 3 Jujutsu families, but HQ still has the verdict on hold.
Meanwhile, the 800 soldiers deployed by the U.S. government barged into the Culling Game, rounding up sorcerers.
Kenjaku, the astute mastermind, released more powerful curses to counter the invaders.
He broke through Tengen’s protective barrier and faced off against Choso and Tsukumo. To save herself, Tsukumo had turned into a black hole.
Later, Kenjaku encountered the real Tengen.
Day 19 is the last day Megumi had to rescue Tsumiki. The pressure was intense, and in doing so Megumi didn’t care about the consequences.
Megumi was driven by guilt and a desire to protect his sister. He was able to save her, but it came with a cost, as it turned out that her body was a vessel to a cursed spirit, Yorozu.
By the end of the Culling Games arc, Sukuna ruthlessly took over Megumi’s body.
Itadori, Fushiguro, Takaba, and Kurusu Hana met up, and they found out that Kurusu shared her body with Angel.
Angel insists that the group has to kill Sukuna for her to open up the Prison Realm.
However, Angel cooperated by unsealing Gojo using her Cursed technique, “Jacobs Ladder
.”
They thought the plan had failed as Gojo didn’t appear from behind.
They had succeeded, though, as Gojo walked out of the front as Angel’s cursed technique extinguished the back.
Gojo had been sealed for 19 or 1189 days in real life and unsealed in chapter 221 of the manga.
Gojo confronted Kenjaku with the intent to kill but was stopped by Sukuna. Even Uraume tried to interfere, but Gojo defeated her in a blow.
Gojo then agreed to take on Sukuna on December 24, the showdown the whole fandom had been waiting for.
XIV. 2018, December 24: Shinjuku Showdown Arc
This was the epic clash with the fandom at the edge of their seats, the current strongest sorcerer in the world against the King of Curses.
Even the students and sorcerers couldn’t predict an outcome.
At first, Gojo has the upper hand with his domain clashes and unlimited Void.
However, this time, the King of curses was a step ahead and used Mahoraga’s adaptation to overcome Gojo’s Infinity.
Then, the final clock began to tick, and Gojo had to race against time to develop something.
Gojo employed his ace, the Hollow Technique: Purple, which didn’t work out, and eventually, Sukuna was able to slice Gojo in half with the help of Maharaja.
Next, we have the God of Lightning, Hajime Kashimo, up against Sukuna.
Sukuna restores himself to his original form, making him invincible; he shows Hajime what it means to be strong.
Meanwhile, Kenjaku rounds up the remaining players from the culling game.
The comedian Fumihiko Takaba fights Kenjaku while exchanging hilarious dialogues and skits.
Yuta Okkotsu managed to decapitate Kenjaku, who says his “will” and unfinished plans will be passed on.
Then we have Hiromi Higuruma and Yuji Itadori going up against Sukuna and trying to get him on trial using Higuruma’s executioner’s sword.
Meanwhile, in another part of Shinjuku, the clash between Kinji Hakari and the Frozen Star, Uraume intensifies.
This sums it up until chapter 246; the next chapter will be out on January 5.
9. About Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen, also known as Sorcery Fight, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since March 2018.
An anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA premiered in October 2020.
The story revolves around Yuuji Itadori, a high-school student who, despite hating athletics, is insanely fit. Yuuji gets involved in the world of sorcery when he swallows a powerful talisman to protect his friends from its curse.
On observing that Yuuji wasn’t affected much even when inflicted with this curse, Satoru decides to send Yuuji on a quest to save the world.
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