Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the best new-gen battle shonen series, and it can’t top this category without hosting an amazing power system! And to build a strong power system, diversity is key! 

In this article, we’ll go over another technique that contributes to making JJK’s power system more compelling; the Puppet Manipulation Cursed Technique, known by many but mastered by a few! It is also one of the coolest additions to the power system!

So without wasting any more time, let’s get right into it!

What is Puppet Manipulation?

As the name suggests, Puppet Manipulation allows a user to control cursed objects/corpses (also known as puppets in this case) remotely. To control the puppets, the user must infuse the cursed corpse/object with their cursed energy. 

After doing so, they can control the corpse freely to complete any task. These puppets are also capable of using cursed energy to attack. Depending on the user’s cursed energy levels and efficiency, these attacks can scale up to special-grade levels! We witnessed this during the Ultimate Mechamaru vs Mahito fight; where Getou categorized the Ultimate Mechamaru-Mode: Absolute’s “Ultimate Cannon” as a special grade attack. 

However, the downside of the ability is that the puppet will stop moving as soon as it stops receiving cursed energy, as that is its fuel.

Think of it as Kankuro from Naruto’s Puppet Mastery Jutsu. While Kankuro used Chakra threads to control his puppets, Shamans don’t need anything of that sort to control these puppets. Instead, everything depends upon the user’s cursed energy level. As you can see, the technique is pretty straightforward yet unique.

However, there’s quite a bit of difference in the way the technique’s users utilise it. To understand this, let’s look at the puppet manipulation Technique’s users!

Users of Puppet Manipulation: 

Masamichi Yaga: 

Yaga was the principal of Jujutsu High, as we all know. This somewhat angry-looking middle-aged man made cute curse corpses (even though it was not his intention to make them look cute). He was the undisputed best at creating cursed corpses. All of his cursed corpses could serve specific orders efficiently at a good range. 

However, his greatest creation was Panda. This is because Panda is not a Panda! Panda is the first and the only registered independent cursed corpse. When the news of Panda’s existence broke out, Yaga was jailed indefinitely and was almost classified as a special-grade.

This was huge, as Yaga managed to counter the technique’s biggest disadvantage; the need for an immense amount of cursed energy.  Unfortunately, this ground-breaking creation was partly responsible for his demise soon after Gojo’s sealing. Nonetheless, he did pass the information about how he created Panda to his executioner, Principal Gakuganji thus leaving the old man behind with a curse.

Kokichi Muta (Mechamaru):

Kokichi Muta, also known as Mechamaru was a student at Kyoto high and is the second and the last Puppet Manipulation user we know so far. He has an outrageous amount of cursed energy, enough to cover all of Japan! This is due to his heavenly restriction, which cursed him with a fragile body in return.

The heavenly restriction destroyed his physical body, as he felt no sensation below his waist, it was impossible for him to stay under natural light, was born without a right forearm, and also had pores on his skin which he stated felt like someone was poking him with needles constantly. 

In total, he possessed the Ulitmate Mechamaru and numerous unregistered cursed corpses which he used to fight Mahito, with the absolute form capable of using special-grade level attacks. The absolute form was quite formidable, enough to get him classified as a grade-1 sorcerer.

Now that we know the basics about the Puppet Manipulation technique and its users, a lot of people must be wondering just how strong this technique is since there are quite a few factors to consider; they are:

How Strong is the Puppet Manipulation Technique? 

The Puppet Manipulation has its fair share of upsides and downsides. Let’s break down the technique and understand it further in detail to come to a conclusion. 

Strengths: 

Use of Cursed Corpses: 

The user of the Puppet Manipulation Technique is rarely in danger during a battle, since they can hide in a safe spot and control their puppets to attack and defend on the field from a safe distance. They can be very handy during infiltrations as well since they can be made into sizes smaller than humans. They can also transmit information live, and destroyed if caught! 

Serve as Perfect Decoys: 

When on the offence, there are times when a team has to fall back. At times, the situation becomes so dire that at least one person from the team has to stay back to ambush or fend off the enemies to ensure the safety of their teammates and the information which they have. 

Since cursed corpses have no soul and mind, sacrificing them isn’t a tough thing to do, as they can be created again and again. 

Mobility: 

Since the puppets are cursed objects; they don’t have the same physical restrictions as humans. They can deliver a 360 kick without moving their whole body or just force bend their body to get out of uncomfortable situations. Moreover, they can be as nimble as a light-weight fighter like Rey Mysterio or become a monstrous heavy-weight, a source of pure, dominant strength like Brock Lesnar! 

The best examples are Panda’s cores, as the Panda core provides a mix of strength, bulk and agility while the Gorilla core provides raw power. Another example is Mechamaru, whose normal mode again, provides a perfect mix of strength, bulk and agility whereas the absolute mode is all about strength and bulk. 

Disadvantages:

Requires immense amount of cursed energy:

As stated above, the Pupper Manipulation Technique primarily relies on cursed energy, as it acts as fuel for the puppets. While this wasn’t a big issue for Mechamaru due to his heavenly restriction, it is a huge barrier for other users like Yaga who don’t possess the same levels of cursed energy. This requirement of the immense amount of cursed energy is the biggest reason why the technique’s users aren’t crazily overpowered. This provides more credibility to Yaga’s imprisonment after creating Panda as well. Yaga basically jumped over the biggest barrier of his technique, making him insanely strong, in fact, strong enough to potentially change the world of Jujutsu completely. 

Requires efficient and effective CE control:

While requiring immense levels of cursed energy was a huge obstacle, efficient control over one’s cursed energy raises the skill bar by a huge margin. To put this into perspective, let’s take a hypothetical situation where both Itadori and Nanami possess the Puppet Manipulation Technique. Here, Itadori’s cursed energy level is above Nanami’s; let’s say that if Itadori’s level is 9/10, then Nanami’s should be around 7. 

So, Itadori should be stronger, right? Well, in a one-dimensional sense, yes! While it is true that the puppet manipulation technique feasts on the user’s cursed energy; so having a higher level of cursed energy will put one a direct advantage; but if the user has an exceptional level of cursed energy efficiency, then even someone like Nanami could outdo Itadori. Simply put, it’s not just about the quantity, it’s about the quality as well! 

The user’s ability:

The technique’s disadvantage again falls on the user. This time, it depends on how well the user understands their ability; its advantages, disadvantages, potential and utility. The user of the technique could have a good level of cursed energy with an above-average level of efficiency as well, but if they lack that technique and ability to utilise their technique to the fullest during a fight, then they might lose. While this is the case for almost every shaman, puppet manipulation is one of the few techniques which makes it essential for the user to have good fighting skills, as there’s no way out once the user of the technique loses too much cursed energy. 

So, how strong is the puppet manipulation technique, really? Well, the simple answer is that it completely depends on the user. If they understand the benefits and the limitations of the technique, experiment and work on improving, then they can easily climb through the Jujutsu grade levels, like Mechamaru and Yaga. However, they might even stagnate at certain levels as the skill gap increases exponentially for the users of this technique.

TL;DR: 

The Puppet Manipulation technique allows its user to control puppets (cursed corpses) according to their will. With its set of advantages and disadvantages, the strength of the technique falls on the user’s shoulders.

The only known users of the technique are Masamichi Yaga, the former principal of Jujutsu High and Kokichi Muta, a student of Kyoto high. Both of them are quite formidable in their own ways, and both of them use the technique in a very different and unique style.
Overall, the technique is strong and balanced, the user needs to understand how to tap into the technique’s true potential, and it will be different for almost every user and brings more flavour to JJK’s power system!

So, what do you think of the Puppet Manipulation Technique? Is it strong? Weak? If you were to get isekaid into the Jujutsu world with this technique, how would you feel? Let us know in the comments below!