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Curses (呪い Noroi?) are supernatural afflictions that negatively impact living things, often as a form of punishment or a consequence for violating a taboo. The term is commonly associated with yokai, who negatively influence a human's lifestyle.
Overview[]
Those who are under a curse are forced to endure a specific form of misfortune or negative circumstances that are both undesirable and beyond their control. These effects can range from minor inconveniences to profound life-changing tragedies. Cursed victims may also risk endangering the lives of others in their presence once the effects begin to surface.
Yokai are entities that have the power to cast curses onto humans if certain conditions are met upon their direct encounter. Curses inflicted by yokai take on the form of a possession in which the cursed individual's body transforms into the liking of the yokai, and their consciousness is swapped out for theirs, resulting in the malevolent spirit going on a rampage and harming anyone around.[1] As observed by Momo, a yokai's curse also affects the color of the individual's aura.[2]
Curses can originate from alternate dimensions, mainly through the consumption of food found within them. As explained by Seiko, a fundamental rule is that foreign lifeforms should never eat food from another world.[3]
Cursed Objects[]
- Main article: Cursed Objects
Curses can be bound to physical objects, often remaining dormant until triggered by direct contact. The method by which an item becomes cursed can vary, but one known source is the negative influence of a yokai.
Other Meanings[]
Beyond indicating cast misfortune, the term "curse" can also be used figuratively; the house the Kito Family once owned that was used to offer sacrifices to the Tsuchinoko was often referred to as a "cursed house".[4] This name also applied to the house-shaped dome the Evil Eye created with his powers.[5] Momo described her situation of being stalked by Reiko Kashima as being cursed.[6]
Known Curses[]
Turbo Granny's Curse[]
Okarun being possessed by Turbo Granny.
Turbo Granny is a yokai known for her ability to curse individuals by stealing their genitals. To initiate the curse, she must first outrun and physically catch her fleeing target. Once she succeeds, the victim falls under her control: their body begins to morph into her likeness, and their mind is overtaken by the yokai's will. In this state, Turbo Granny uses the possessed body to pursue new victims and devour their genitals.
Beyond physical possession, Turbo Granny can use the cursed victim to communicate privately with a single person near them in a space where time stands still.[7] She also states that her curse is also transmissible: anyone seen by the cursed individual becomes vulnerable to Turbo Granny's influence. Through this indirect contact, she can inflict fatal or debilitating harm, including heart attacks, cerebral infarctions, or sudden bleeding from the nose or ears.
Okarun previously was cursed by Turbo Granny after entering her tunnel on a dare by Momo Ayase to find out if spirits exist. Fortunately, Momo's awakened psychic powers allowed her to suppress Turbo Granny's curse on Okarun as long as she was around him. Her curse was soon lifted after she gave back Okarun's genitals to prevent him from using her powers against her.
Evil Eye's Curse[]
A cold liquid causing the Evil Eye to be let out of Jiji.
The Evil Eye has the power to seal himself within a chosen host, possessing their body once they have willingly agreed to become his "playmate".[8] While the possession grants him control, it is not permanent. His influence can be temporarily dispelled if the host comes into contact with a hot substance. Conversely, exposure to cold substances reactivates the curse, allowing the Evil Eye to repossess the individual. While this is the case, the possession can be suppressed with ki if the host is able to wield it, though doing so takes a lot of effort.[9] The Evil Eye can manually de-activate the possession himself if willing or force it to take effect if triggered by something enraging.[10] The sole trigger for the latter is the members of the Kito Family, the ones responsible for his demise and the many others who met the same fate, whom the yokai empathizes with.
If the Evil Eye possesses an individual with exceptionally high spiritual power, a standard exorcism will be insufficient to sever the connection.[11] In such cases, more advanced measures must be taken, such as enlisting the aid of hayashi to successfully lift the curse. Manjiro speculates though that lifting the curse may result in some negative lasting effects to the cursed individual.
Upon moving into the house owned by the Kito Family, Jiji encountered the Evil Eye and was deemed by the yokai to be the perfect host to take possession due to his genius-level spiritual power. Eventually, he succeeded in possessing him after luring him to his corpse and used his body to attack anyone in his presence. The conditions to the curse were later revealed after Taro had the Evil Eye, who had been sealed inside him, come into contact with a piece of hot oden he was about to eat. The curse continues to remain with Jiji after objecting to exorcising the Evil Eye.
Jiji consciously using the power of the Evil Eye.
This choice ultimately proved to be quite advantageous, as Jiji quickly discovered how to harness the power of the Evil Eye for use in battle. During his confrontation with Enenra, he and the now tamed yokai showcased teamwork in a fight by toggling the curse on and off, with each having a unique strength that aided against the foe.[12]
Reiko Kashima's Curse[]
Reiko Kashima attempting to lure Momo out of her bedroom.
After trespassing into Reiko Kashima's domain and briefly banishing the yokai from the living world,[13] Momo became cursed in the sense that she was forever stalked by Reiko Kashima, who sought vengeance for the grave offenses committed against her.
Reiko Kashima could only appear to haunt Momo at night, typically around ten o'clock and could use her spiritual powers to achieve this. Her abilities included mimicking the voices of people Momo knew, observing her through her mirror, and even possessing others via their reflections to get close to her. To survive, Momo had to take extreme precautions; finding shelter before nightfall, avoid all mirrors, and ignore any familiar voices that called out to her. Only by waiting until morning could she be certain the danger had passed. Interestingly, Reiko Kashima's attempts to lure Momo were uniquely tethered to her senses only. On the first night of the haunting, as Reiko Kashima mimicked Okarun's voice from the other side of Momo's bedroom, neither Bamora, Seiko, nor Turbo Granny heard a thing from inside the house. Later, at the Serpo base where Momo slept alongside Aira and Jiji, she alone heard the ominous banging on the walls that kept her from falling asleep.
Following the conclusion of the Kur invasion, Reiko Kashima made the decision to let go of her grudge against Momo in favor of finding a partner after becoming inspired by the girl's relationship with Okarun.
Danmara Curse[]
The world of Danmara, conjured by the Fairy-Tale Card yokai, follows the rule of thumb in that foreign entities must not consume food from another dimension. This caution is subtly printed in fine text on the Death Pâtissier card. Violating this rule triggers a metaphysical consequence in that the foreign entity becomes integrated into Danmara as a recognized inhabitant, effectively binding them to its reality. Should the entity later escape, they are afflicted with a curse that progressively worsens over time. The curses Danmara afflicts are unique for each victim but commonly worsen within a small amount of time. The intensifying side effects also appear to be sympathetically linked, as both Momo, Unji, and Daiki experienced their curses intensifying simultaneously while at the airport.
After consuming the local food in Danmara and later escaping, Daiki, Momo, and Unji suffered a distinct fate. Daiki Hakono became cursed with accelerated aging until he was completely disabled. Momo was formerly shrunken to pygmy size and cursed to shrink until her presence was erased from the memories of those who knew her. Unji developed progressive vision loss until he would become blind.
Upon arriving in Shimane, Momo had her curse lifted by a local religious organization through the use of the Uchide-no-Kozuchi. However, while her physical form returned to normal size, she emerged as an amnesiac.
Payase's Darkness Form[]
Payase making use of his darkness form in a fight.
Payase, an avid collector of cursed objects marked by a lingering cursed aura, possesses a darkness transformation that he likens to Kodoku curse poison, a reference that may allude to the cumulative effect of countless curses absorbed through prolonged exposure to his collection.[14] In this form, he gains control of his own shadow and is able to become one by merging with a surface.
Dealing with a Curse[]
Suppression[]
- Aura Control, since it has been shown that Momo could keep Turbo Granny's malediction at bay if she constantly crushed the cursed flame attached to Okarun's aura. Because the curse still spreads throughout the body, Momo could also just keep it away from Okarun's mind, keeping him sane and allowing him to utilize the power of the curse by his own volition. Momo's pyschokinesis powers are extraordinarily rare and this method is usually not available.
- Aid from the Gods, usually acquired from a shrine. The Turbo Granny's curse couldn't take over if Okarun was placed inside the shrine of the Ayase Residence.[15] Abilities obtained from gods of the lands are very mysterious, nonetheless they are a very valuable and overwhelmingly powerful alternative that however require a pilgrimage to all the shrines in a god's territory before and after making use of them.[16]
- Rituals, albeit they are very specific and differ from curse to curse. For example, Seiko put two glasses of water and said a prayer in order to defend her granddaughter from Reiko Kashima, who couldn't enter the room she was in nor destroy it. The vendetta curse stood however as she still wanted her dead.
- Other Factors, some curses can be stopped by absurd conditions such as hot water causing the Evil Eye to lose control over his vessel, though these factors can also help the curse further since cold water lends it back to the Evil Eye. They are very reliable though they are usually found by mistake because their lack of rational mechanisms.
- Friendship, a possibility for the cursed individual to still retain the useful powers of the curse by developing a close relationship with the yokai who placed it.
Removal[]
- Talismans, they are the most simple way and accessible way to deal with a malediction yet one must be careful as the cursed person can burn up along with the curse, as seen when Okarun was lit ablaze when he tried to enter the Ayase Residence. Furthermore, talismans are not strong enough to deal with the sudden appearance of the yokai who casted the curse.[17] If a yokai with enough spiritual strength stays too close to talismans for an extended period of time, they'll eventually adapt to them and overwhelm them.[18]
- Breaching its conditions, such when Okarun's curse disappeared because the Turbo Granny returned his testicles, needed to cast it in the first place. Following this rule, if one ate the food from another world like Danmara they theoretically could prevent the malediction from affecting them in the first place if they vomited it out, though this is unconfirmed.
- Exorcisms, essentially brute-forcing the way through a malediction and removing it with a series of chants, rituals and objects. Because the curse firmly attaches itself to the person's aura, this process hardly leaves the victim unscathed, leading to possible life-lasting collateral effects. The stronger the malediction, the more the exorcism has to be refined for it to work, such as hiring Hayashi performers for the job. Furthermore, if the curse is extremely complex and well developed then help from a god, magical objects such as the Uchide-no-Kozuchi and strict conditions like completing the ritual in the hour of the Ox during a supermoon might be needed for it to work.[19]
[]
| Types | Power of Words • Spiral Power • Spiritual Power | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energies | Aura • Ki | ||||||||
| Other | Curse • Dandadan | ||||||||
References[]
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 3, Page 5
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 4, Page 3
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 164, Page 18
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 44, Page 20
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 41, Page 8
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 79, Page 10
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 4, Page 13
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 40, Page 16
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 55, Page 14
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 199, Pages 13-16
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 49, Pages 1-4
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 205, Page 3
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 76, Pages 8-9
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 178, Page 7
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 3, Page 22, 24
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 94, Page 4
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 4, Page 12, 15
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 50, Page 5
- ↑ Dandadan Manga: Chapter 182, Page 16