There is a myriad of fascinating concepts unique to Jujutsu Kaisen, from cursed techniques, cursed objects, and characters themselves – one of them being the Star Plasma Vessel. The Star Plasma Vessel will take center stage in Jujutsu Kaisen’s season 2, so it’s important to understand what it is and why it’s so important.
A Star Plasma Vessel is someone who can refresh a curse user’s immortality by merging with them. In season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen, we meet the current Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai.
That’s the basic definition of a Star Plasma Vessel, but there’s still much more to know about them. To fully understand their importance, we’ll explore the concept of “immortality” in Jujutsu Kaisen, what happens to the Star Plasma Vessels after merging, and why they’re crucial for the safety of Jujutsu society overall.
Who is Master Tengen and His Immortality, Explained
Master Tengen is a jujutsu sorcerer who has achieved immortality, in a way. They stay hidden from the rest of the world in a secret space called the Tombs of the Star corridor because they keep up the barriers that protect the Jujutsu High locations.
However, Master Tengen’s immortality differs from the typical kind of immortality shown in movies. They can live indefinitely – they’re currently over 1200 years old – but that doesn’t mean they don’t age.
When the user of immortality reaches a certain unknown age, the technique will try to “evolve” the user’s body. The next step of “evolution” for an immortality user is to lose their self-awareness and will to live.
This is probably because a human just isn’t meant to live for that long, so becoming a shell of who they used to be is the only way to keep living. But if Tengen undergoes this transformation, they’re much more susceptible to not wanting to reinforce the barriers.
Tengen’s role is vital in the world of jujutsu sorcerers. They hold the title of being the most powerful barrier user among all jujutsu sorcerers, even stronger than Kenjaku.
One of Tengen’s significant contributions is creating and maintaining four pure barriers. They not only enhance the impression of cursed spirits, making them more effective, but they also improve the barriers cast by assistant managers at Jujutsu High.
Despite being such an influential figure, Tengen does not engage in combat. They don’t use jujutsu for fighting purposes. However, some believe that once Tengen goes through their “evolution” and their sense of self diminishes, they could become a lethal threat to humanity.
Tengen’s role as the most potent barrier user and their ability to maintain their self-awareness is crucial to the existence of Jujutsu society and the entire world. They keep things in balance and protect humanity from potential threats.
To avoid evolution, every 500 years or so, the immortal person has to merge with a Star Plasma Vessel, a person who can “overwrite” Tengen’s genetic code and keep them from changing. This merging process rewrites the information in their body and prevents evolution from happening. It’s like hitting the refresh button on their body.
If you look at Tengen’s appearance at the current point of the story, they’re bipedal, but they certainly don’t look human. This is because the previous Star Plasma Vessel couldn’t merge with them. So, because of that, Tengen has been going through these “evolutions” and changing over time, evolving past their humanity. They’ve only been able to hold onto their sense of self due to sheer force of will.
What is a Star Plasma Vessel in Jujutsu Kaisen?
The Star Plasma Vessel is a human whose genetic information is compatible enough with Tengen’s for them to be able to merge. The known Star Plasma Vessels up until now have been young females, but this is likely because Tengen seems to have also been a woman before evolving. This hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it seems likely that Tengen was originally a female with the revelation of his past human form.
Star Plasma Vessels are important because Tengen can’t control when their evolution will happen or how it will affect them. In the past, they’ve merged with 3 Star Plasma Vessels.
The most recent vessel was Riko Amanai, who grew up for the very purpose of fulfilling this role. It’s been revealed that Tengen can tell when a new vessel is born, which means these people are found and cared for by jujutsu sorcerers from a young age.
Several Star Plasma Vessels can exist at the same time. Yuki Tsukomo and Riko Amanai were both Star Plasma Vessels who lived in the same period, but Riko was chosen over Yuki because she was more compatible with Tengen.
We don’t have exact information on what happens after the merging is complete and whether the Star Plasma Vessel retains their individuality. The first time merging was ever mentioned, the word “erasure” was used. It seems like it’s almost like a traditional sacrifice, which explains why Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were initially against the idea.
Tengen themselves doesn’t know what happens to the Vessels. Yuki claims she can hear the other vessels inside Tengen, but her life mission to end the sacrifices can only mean they’re happy in there or at least don’t have a well-defined sense of self anymore. They might have become a part of some greater consciousness within Tengen, but it’s up to you whether that means they die or not.
Why Are Star Plasma Vessels Important?
The Star Plasma Vessel keeps Tengen from shifting from a protective, benevolent force to becoming a potentially aggressive threat to humanity. If Tengen loses their will to live, the barriers that they maintain may also crumble.
Riko Amanai, the most recent Star Plasma Vessel, was prevented from merging with Tengen, resulting in the inhuman-looking Tengen we see today. Let’s recount the story of how that happened.
Whenever a Star Plasma Vessel is born, a Six-Eyes User also appears to protect them. In the past, Kenjaku was defeated not once but twice by different Six-Eyes users from the Gojo Clan. After those defeats, Kenjaku didn’t want to take any more chances. He immediately killed the Star Plasma Vessel and another Six-Eyes user just a month after they were born.
But even that wasn’t enough to stop the cycle. On the day of the merger, a new user of the Six-Eyes emerged, along with another Star Plasma Vessel. It’s like fate had a different plan.
During Riko Amanai’s era, a religious group called The Time Vessel Association was against her merger with Master Tengen. They thought the merging process was “impure,” so they hired the infamous Sorcerer Killer, Toji Fushiguro, to assassinate Riko.
During this time, Riko was the Star Plasma Vessel, and Satoru Gojo was her Six-Eyes protector. Satoru and his friend, Suguru Geto, were tasked with escorting Riko to Tengen safely. To make a long story short, Toji managed to defeat the two and carry out the assassination.
This whole situation broke the cycle of Lord Tengen’s merger and led to a partial evolution, and they became more of a cursed spirit than human.
Conclusion
Star Plasma Vessels play a crucial role in Jujutsu Kaisen, representing the delicate balance between destiny, protection, and the forces seeking to disrupt or exploit their existence.
The breaking of the merger cycle by Toji Fushiguro has already had unforeseen consequences, leading to Tengen’s evolution into an ascended being, vulnerable to Cursed Spirit Manipulation by Pseudo Geto, aka Kenjaku. However, we have yet to see the full scope of what will happen to Tengen and whether the sacrificial cycle of Star Plasma Vessels will continue.
Also Read: How Old Are Jujutsu Kaisen Characters?
