With his confidence restored, Fumihiko Takaba takes the fight to Kenjaku and manifests a spectacle beyond comprehension.
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The fight between Takaba and Kenjaku in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 242 is becoming increasingly intense, with Takaba tapping into his strange power and showcasing comedic scenes.
Takaba's cursed technique brings anything he finds funny into reality, and this is illustrated in the chapter as his imagination manifests as a truck and he engages in strange competitions with Kenjaku.
The fight between Takaba and Kenjaku offers the author creative freedom, but there is a need to find a proper balance between comedy and intensity. Fans are excited for the upcoming chapters and hope for a satisfying conclusion to the fight.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen 242, "Stupid Survivor!! Moving Up!!" by Gege Akutami, translated by John Werry, and Lettered by Snir Aharon, available in English from MangaPlus.
Jujutsu Kaisen dropped what appears to be one of the most bizarre chapters to have ever been published in any Shonen series this week, with JJK chapter 242. This chapter continued the fight between Sukuna and Takaba and, as fans know, these two characters have been fighting against each other for quite a while now. Their fight started a few chapters ago and fans believed that it would be just a skirmish, however, all expectations have now been surpassed. The fight between Takaba and Kenjaku has continued and is getting more intense with each passing chapter.
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In this week's chapter, it kept getting more bizarre as Takaba realized his true potential and tapped into his very strange power that made for quite a lot of comedic scenes in the chapter.
The story has done incredibly well to focus on Takaba over the course of the last few chapters. Looking at the way that the author, Gege Akutami, was writing Takaba in the last few chapters, one could tell that a lot of importance was being attached to his character. It was also quite evident that the story of Takaba wouldn't wrap up in just a chapter or two. That is why even after four chapters, the fight between Takaba and Kenjaku doesn't look like it has concluded or is close to its end either.
Fans also got quite a look at Takaba's life while he was growing up in the previous chapter and, towards the end of it, he realized his true reason for becoming a comedian in the first place. When that happened, it became quite clear in the story that Takaba would be under more focus and his cursed technique would be explained better in the upcoming chapters. That is exactly what happened in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 242 as it dove deep into his cursed technique and brought the very best out of it. Fans were left completely shocked at what this technique was capable of right from the get-go and it is safe to say that Gege managed to surprise all fans with how this power has been utilized in this chapter.
At the very beginning of JJK chapter 242, fans saw that Kenjaku wasn't underestimating Takaba at all. In fact, he made use of a Special Grade Curse in this fight right from the get-go, however, just a few panels later, the Special Grade Curse was completely crushed by a truck that ran it over. This truck didn't come out of nowhere. It was a figment of Takaba's imagination that was brought to reality. Fans know that Takaba's Cursed Technique brings anything that he thinks is funny into reality and that was illustrated beautifully in this week's chapter. The whole thing kept getting weirder with each passing panel. Takaba was then tried for drunk driving by Kenjaku and, somehow, after that, the two attempted to save a fish in a hospital.
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While this may read quite weird to fans, that is exactly how the readers felt while going through the chapter. Nothing in this chapter made sense and that only added to its allure in some ways, given that Takaba Cursed technique is bizarre, to begin with. As the two tried to save the fish, it ended up dying and, when the fish died, Kenjaku turned into a nurse and then was fighting against Takaba. The two then engage in a battle of rock paper scissors and when that didn't work out as they had planned, they ended up in a competition against one another in a quiz. Takaba clearly was losing this quiz and, from there onwards, all of a sudden they started chasing a cat in an attempt to save it.
In an attempt to rescue the cat, Takaba ended up drowning but he was soon transported to a stage where Kenjaku and he had to perform live in front of a crowd. That is precisely where the chapter concluded and it is clear for the fans to see that the next chapter will have them performing together on stage, which could set the stage for the climax of this bizarre fight. Takaba's Cursed Technique was properly explained in this chapter.
Previously, fans only knew that Takaba could bring things that he thinks are funny into reality.
Essentially, he is capable of anything and everything because of his Cursed Technique. However, as Kenjaku clarified in this chapter, it isn't just that he can bring his imagination into reality. He also makes others a part of his reality forcibly. So, those that Kenjaku imagines in his world are forced to play an active part willingly in his acts. According to Kenjaku, this power is soul resonance. Even if he doesn't want to, his soul automatically resonates with what Takaba imagines and that is precisely why he ends up taking part in these bizarre shows, even if he wouldn't want to do that normally.
So far, the fight between Kenjaku and Takaba has been somewhat exciting for the fans. The fact is that fans absolutely cannot predict the state of this incredible fight. However, that also adds to its beauty. This fight is bizarre and it offers the author quite a lot of freedom to do whatever he wants. Normally, the author has restrictions placed on them while writing a story and due to the circumstances that surround a particular plot point. With the fight between Takaba and Kenjaku, he can do whatever he wants and illustrate this piece of combat in any way he desires.
That is the beauty of this fight and it has certainly become a successful approach. However, at the same time, this fight does appear to be somewhat lacking in terms of intensity and that is something that the author would need to remedy. A proper balance between comedy and intensity needs to be found.
Of course, there is still a big chunk of this fight that is left and fans can only hope that the author increases the intensity of this fight even more. As to how exactly this fight will go from here onwards, no fan can predict it simply because that is the nature of Takaba’s Cursed Technique. Fans will have to sit back tightly and see what Gege plans on doing in the upcoming chapters and only hope that this fight concludes in a satisfactory manner. The last few fights in JJK have been very unsatisfactory, especially when it comes to their conclusion, and the author needs to set things right if he wants to win over the fans.
For now, excitement remains incredibly high for the upcoming chapters of JJK, especially because the fight between Kenjaku and Takaba is approaching its climax and, at the same time, that only means that Sukuna is about to receive more focus, which is exactly what the fans have been waiting for over the course of the last few weeks.
The release date for the next chapter of JJK, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 243, is set to be November 26, 2023.
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Kenjaku Fumihiko Takaba
Lake Gosho Colony, Iwate Prefecture
Fumihiko Takaba's Techniques
Comedian
Kenjaku's Techniques
Cursed Spirit Manipulation Rebel Curse: Akuro-O Otake
Continuing the theme from Chapter 239, the chapter's title is a reference to the lyrics of Baka Survivor by Ulfuls, the second opening theme to Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo anime series.
Foolish Survivor —Flying High— (バカサバイバー！！〜舞 (ま) い上 (あ) がれ〜, Baka Sabaibā!! ~Maiagare~ ?) is the two hundred and forty-second chapter of Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen.Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 242: Takaba's Cursed Technique Revealed.
