Jujutsu Kaisen: Why did Yuta go to Africa? Explained

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 of the anime adaptation concluded with several unresolved plot points and a cliffhanger, which was the return of Yuta Okkotsu. As the original protagonist in volume 0 of the manga, his absence since that storyline has left readers of the source material anticipating his return, as it's widely understood that he plays a significant role for the remainder of the narrative.

In that regard, one fact that is often forgotten in the Jujutsu Kaisen community is the reason behind Yuta's journey to Africa. Considering how strong he was and being able to defeat Suguru Geto on his own, a lot of fans have agreed that he would have been very helpful during the events of the Shibuya Incident arc. Although there is a logical explanation for his absence at the time.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen series. Any opinion expressed belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

---

Explaining why Yuta went to Africa in Jujutsu Kaisen

Yuta went to Africa for several reasons, one of them being to train to become a stronger sorcerer and also to gain new abilities. He has a very unique ability, which allows him to copy other people's Cursed Techniques in Jujutsu Kaisen, so he was sent to Africa to learn from other sorcerers, as volume 0 showed that there were some on that continent, with Miguel being the prime example of that.

Miguel played a crucial role in Yuta's training due to his familiarity with the region and also because he cut a deal with Satoru Gojo after their fight. Collaborating with Miguel proved helpful for Yuta, as he learned several techniques and came back to Japan as a much more capable sorcerer, which has been proven through his exploits in the manga ever since.

During his time in Africa, Yuta managed to recover Rika, as she seemingly sacrificed herself during their battle with Suguru Geto, and also to obtain the Black Rope, which was a tool from Miguel's people that allowed him to deny Cursed Energy. Recognizing its potential, Gojo had taken a liking to this tool and decided that it was better for Yuta to go there with Miguel, explaining his absence in the manga until the end of the Shibuya Incident arc.

---

Yuta's abilities in the story

Yuta in season 2 of the anime (Image via MAPPA)

An interesting fact about Yuta's abilities in Jujutsu Kaisen is that most of them were introduced in volume 0 of the manga when author Gege Akutami didn't have a plan to continue the story. It was originally just a miniseries that, on paper, wasn't going to last very long, so concepts such as Domain Expansions or Reverse Cursed Techniques were not introduced since Akutami didn't even come up with the ideas to begin with.

This is why Yuta has such a rare and unique skill set in the series since he can copy pretty much any Cursed Technique out there and has "cursed" Rika, his childhood friend, resulting in her becoming a Curse entity that is forever attached to him and has a considerable amount of power. These abilities were introduced before Akutami could come up with an actual battle system, which is why Yuta is such a rarity in the series as a whole.

---

Final thoughts

Yuta Okkotsu traveled to Africa in the Jujutsu Kaisen was driven by a dual purpose: to learn several Cursed Techniques and to get Miguel's Black Rope, with the latter assisting him in the process. During this period, Yuta also managed to recover Rika, who had sacrificed herself during their battle with Suguru Geto at the end of volume 0.