Yuta Can Still Use Rika After ‘Jujutsu Kaisen 0’! Here’s How

Yuta Okkotsu is the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and one of the more popular characters in the whole franchise. This young boy was thrust into the world of Jujutsu sorcery thanks to his powerful curse, Rika, known as the “Queen of Curses.” At the end of the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 storyline, Rika seemingly dies, leaving Yuta without his Cursed spirit. But, when Yuta reappears in the main Jujutsu Kaisen storyline, he seems to be able to use Rika again and in this article, we are going to tell you whether that is correct and how he is able to do it.

Yuta can still use Rika due to technicality

At the end of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, we saw Rika die and Yuta go away to train with Miguel. Now, in order to properly answer this question, we first have to see what Yuta has been up to after that. When Satoru is about to be sealed by Pseudo-Geto, the former mentions that they still have Yuta on their side, but Kenjaku, who is controlling Suguru’s body tells Satoru that Yuta’s occult powers came from when he possessed Rika’s soul. The impostor then tells Satoru that no matter what, Yuta will not be able to become the “next Satoru Gojo.”

In a critical moment, Yuta saves a little girl from a Curse, demonstrating his prowess. He warns Rika not to overexert herself as he leaves with the rescued child. Yuta then meets with his superiors, expressing his willingness to fulfill their requests, including the ominous task of killing Yuji Itadori, despite being Satoru’s protege. Later, Yuta appears in Shibuya and confronts Yuji, Choso, and Naoya Zenin. Breaking infrastructure to make a grand entrance, Yuta is approached by Naoya, who requests his silence about killing Yuji, presenting himself as an ally needing Yuta as bait, a proposal Yuta accepts.

After leaving Naoya to handle Choso, Yuta engages in a fierce fight with Yuji. Despite Yuta’s seemingly frail physique, he displays immense strength, surprising Yuji. Yuta throws a car at Yuji, initiating the confrontation. During the battle, Yuta breaks a dagger wielded by Yuji and restrains him with the help of Rika. Yuta apologizes before stabbing Yuji. Subsequently, Yuta moves Yuji’s battered body to the location where Naoya and Choso are, rendering Choso unconscious.

Yuta proposes a deal to Naoya, offering to heal him in exchange for reporting Yuji’s death to their superiors. Presumably, Naoya accepts and departs from Shibuya. Yuta stays behind to watch over Yuji, who unexpectedly wakes up. Yuta, relieved, bursts into laughter and clarifies that he was instructed by Satoru to take care of Yuji and only pretended to kill him. Later, Megumi appears, explaining the situation, and Yuji asks Yuta to kill him if Ryomen Sukuna regains control, to which Yuta agrees without hesitation.

After completing their responsibilities at school, Yuta and Megumi approach Tengen to inquire about Kenjaku’s goals and the means to unseal Satoru. Tengen is on the verge of providing this information. He reveals Kenjaku’s objectives and, with Yuki and Choso volunteering as bodyguards, discloses the method to unseal Satoru using the “Reverse” of the Edge of Torture. However, Tengen points out that the necessary items, the Inverted Spear of Heaven and the Black Rope, may have been sealed or destroyed by Satoru.

Yuta mentions his unsuccessful search for the Black Rope with Miguel. Tengen then reveals another potential solution: Hana Kurusu, a millennial exorcist and Culling Game participant, possesses the ability to undo spells, offering a new avenue for their quest to unseal Satoru.

Yuta tells them that he will gather some information before the Game begins and as soon as it begins, he will participate. Later, Yuta enters the Culling Game. On November 12, around 11:28, Yuta, then in possession of 35 points, confronts and kills Dhruv Lakdawala. After defeating him, Yuta leaves to reassure and shelter the surrounding humans.

Yuta tells them to enter the stadium, but suddenly, humans are running toward them, chased by cockroaches. Yuta tries to rescue them but without success, as the thousands of cockroaches finally devour them. Yuta asks Rika to bring the beasts to him and sends a blast of energy toward them.

Yuta subsequently bumps into Kuro-Urushi and asks his Kogane if he’s a player. He replies yes and gives him his name. Kuro-Urushi decides to devour Yuta who is an obstacle to his “meal”. Yuta, convinced that he is the one who will kill Kenjaku, confronts Kuro-Urushi, who attacks him. Yuta dodges and cuts off his right arm.

The fight continues, and while they are in contact, Kuro-Urushi sends his spell on Yuta. The latter cuts the two larvae growing on his shoulder, but Kuro-Urushi plants his saber on the young man. Yuta, who is about to be eaten, ends up kissing Kuro-Urushi using the Reversal Spell. By injecting positive energy into the Curse, Yuta exorcises Kuro-Urushi, gaining 5 more points.

As you can see, Yuta is currently a participant in the Culling Game, the most lethal event in the Jujutsu society, and he is doing quite well. His activities in the plot after Jujutsu Kaisen 0 all show us, among others, that he can still use Rika and that she is as present as she was before her death, and equally protective of Yuta, and equally dangerous. Now that you have the answer to this question, we can finally explain how that is even possible.

How can Yuta still use Rika?

Now, before we give you a clear answer on this one as well, we have to clarify that there is a difference between the original Rika, i.e., Rika Orimoto, and the Rika Yuta is currently using. Let us see that difference.

Rika Orimoto was an S-class Curse who was originally Yuta’s childhood friend whom the latter cursed on the day of her death. She only fully manifested twice, yet both times showed she was truly one of the most potent Curses to ever exist. While haunting Yuta, she could attack anyone who got too close to him using her arms without fully manifesting, and he could draw colossal cursed energy.

Manifesting fully with only a small percentage of her power, Rika could easily kill gigantic Curses. At full strength, Rika could fight almost every Curse in Suguru’s arsenal. After overstepping her bounds, Rika’s power was far beyond all of Suguru’s Curses combined in his Whirlwind technique. Rika Orimoto’s curse was subsequently successfully broken, and her soul broke free from Yuta’s grasp, allowing her to finally access the afterlife.

However, Rika’s form as a Curse remained with Yuta as a completely different entity. This curse is all that remains of the spirit of the real Rika Orimoto. It is both a kind of spell independent of Yuta as well as a reserve of cursed energy. Her ability to copy spells without conditions, which is the result of her connection with Rika, we mustn’t forget, also stayed with this version of the girl.

This spell can only be used when Yuta wears the ring that the real Rika gave him, thus granting him two other possibilities, such as making her appear entirely and possessing even more cursed energy. Rika also has the ability to store a wide range of cursed items and can equip Yuta with them. Furthermore, Yuta can only maintain this link via his ring for only 5 minutes.

This distinction actually explains how Yuta is able to still use Rika, although she is dead. Namely, the current Rika is not the same Rika as the one before. This Rika is a result of Yuta’s inherent cursed energy, i.e., she is a manifestation of Yuta’s natural powers regardless of Rika, but it looks like she does and has the power she does because of Yuta’s earlier connection with the real Rika.

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