This article is part of a directory: Fall 2023 Anime Season – Complete Guide
Table of contents
Highlights
Jujutsu Kaisen introduces complex rules governing the world of Jujutsu sorcery, with concepts like Cursed Spirits and Shikigami playing important roles.
Shikigami are summoned creatures that help Jujutsu users, while Cursed Spirits are powerful beings born from negative emotions and are enemies of sorcerers.
Shikigami follow their summoner’s orders like robots, while Cursed Spirits have intelligence, free will, and can even choose their own names.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a series filled with incredible concepts and ideas that are all held together by a complex and layered system of rules that revolve around Jujutsu sorcery. These rules govern the way that the world has worked for centuries and contain many interlocking parts that can either work for the benefit or the detriment of Jujutsu sorcerers. Both Cursed Spirits and Shikigami fall under these preexisting rules.
However, to many fans starting the Jujtutsu Kaisen series, a lot of these concepts can get pretty confusing. It is also quite easy to misunderstand the differences between Cursed Spirits and Shikigami as both seem to work in similar ways and can appear identical in terms of overall design as well. So, in this article, let’s break down the differences between these 2 misunderstood concepts!
Shikigami are most easily be defined as creatures that can be summoned by Jujutsu users to aid them in any given situation. Though these creatures may resemble some Cursed Spirits, they are very different and those sorcerers that summon them in battle are referred to as Shikigami Users. These sorcerers can only summon certain Shikigami after defeating and taming them in a fight.
While these creatures are generally summoned through talismans, there exist some Cursed Techniques that summon them directly, such as Megumi’s Ten Shadows. Shikigami are also summoned to complete a specific task put to them by their summoner and will only go away once either the task is completed, they’re killed or the summoner’s Cursed Energy runs out.
Shikigami can also only be summoned via a medium that can exist, in Megumi’s case, as the very Cursed Energy of the summoner. The Ten Shadows technique uses Megumi’s shadows as a means of bringing the Shikigami into the physical world, as seen with them turning into a liquid shadow upon their defeat or desummoning. The existence of these creatures’ is completely predicated on the task given to them by their summoner as they effectively work like robots with no sense of identity.
However, while the Shikigami are completely subservient to their summoners, they still have to be tamed before they can be used. For example, all of the Shikigami from Megumi’s Cursed Technique have to be defeated to be controlled by him except for the Divine Dogs, which are given as a prerequisite addition to inheriting the ability. However, any Shikigami can be summoned at any time by the summoner in an effort to tame it, as seen with Mahoraga’s summoning in Episode 41 of the anime.
Cursed Spirits are very powerful beings that are born from the overflow and build-up of negative emotions from humans over time. Unlike Shikigami, these Cursed Spirits are vastly more independent and can even choose their own names and titles, often possessing a great amount of intelligence that allows them to communicate. These Spirits haunt and torment humanity and in doing so, are considered to be the main targets and enemies of Jujutsu sorcerers.
These curses can also be formed around a specific fear, which is something that can manifest itself in a very powerful curse whose power is based around the topic that has formed it. For example, Jogo is a Special Grade Cursed Spirit that has been formed by humanity’s collective fear of volcanoes and fire, while Dagon is another that is formed by the collective fear of the ocean.
Cursed Spirits are entirely comprised of cursed energy, due to which their understanding and prowess with cursed energy tend to be very adept. An example of this is the strongest Spirits being easily able to use the Reverse Cursed Technique to heal and regrow limbs, much like what Jogo did against Sukuna in their fight. Even lower-grade Cursed Spirits tend to be more adept with cursed energy than lower-grade sorcerers.
These Spirits cannot be seen by typical human beings under normal circumstances, just like Shikigami. However, in some cases when the human’s life is in danger and their negative emotions begin to swell up, they can end up with the ability to see Cursed Spirits. The Special Grade Curses are incredibly powerful and can communicate perfectly, form plans, make groups and even use Domain Expansions.
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Main Differences
One difference between Shikigami and Cursed Spirits is that of their names. Shikigami are typically given their names, such as the those belonging to mythical beings, whereas Cursed Spirits possess enough intelligence and free will to name themselves. The way that both operate is also different, as Cursed Spirits seem to be actual living things with goals, communication and the ability to learn and grow. Shikigami, on the other hand, seem to only follow their summoner’s orders like mindless robots.
Shikigami also need a medium to manifest into the physical world whereas Cursed Spirits do not. Whether the medium is a talisman or even a shadow like what Megumi has, Shikigami cannot come into a battle by themselves, unlike Cursed Spirits who have their own physical bodies. Moreover, Shikigami also need help to grow or change, as seen with Divine Dogs: Totality, while Cursed Spirits can do so by themselves.
SimilaritiesThough both of these aspects of the Jujutsu world are different, they do share some similarities. For example, they both can be summoned by a user to fight for them in a battle, as seen with Megumi summoning Shikigami or with Geto summoning Cursed Spirits. Though the latter uses Cursed Spirits much like Shikigami, their overall technique is still very different in how the summons can operate, making Geto an extremely powerful sorcerer.
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Both Shikigami and Cursed Spirits are categorized in a ranking system and are both reliant on cursed energy at some level. Lastly, there does exist some element of reincarnation between them and this is seen when multiple Shikigami are fused using the totality, or even when they are defeated but can be summoned again later.
Reincarnation has been teased for Cursed Spirits in Episode 40 of the anime, where Jogo is transported to an area with his fallen comrades, to whom he says that he would like to meet them again once they’re reincarnated.
Though both of these aspects of the Jujutsu world are different, they do share some similarities. For example, they both can be summoned by a user to fight for them in a battle, as seen with Megumi summoning Shikigami or with Geto summoning Cursed Spirits. Though the latter uses Cursed Spirits much like Shikigami, their overall technique is still very different in how the summons can operate, making Geto an extremely powerful sorcerer. 
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