I love getting lost in theorycrafting, but I also like keeping my feet on the ground: the best theories are the ones you can actually prove with the text. Here I want to walk you through my process for teasing out Sukuna’s “true goal” using only textual evidence from the manga — no anime-only scenes, no author interviews, no outside speculation. If you want to build a defensible theory that holds up in debate threads and comment sections, this is how I do it.
Start with concrete quotes and scenes
The first step is simple: collect every line, panel, and scene in which Sukuna appears or is explicitly discussed. I’m ruthless about this — if he’s mentioned in a flashback, a historical note, or a character’s internal monologue, it counts. The point isn’t to chase mood or implication yet; it’s to assemble the raw dataset of what the text gives us.
When I do this I create a single document and paste in:
- Direct dialogue (verbatim, or with precise paraphrase if a line is split across panels).
- Descriptive narration by the manga’s captions.
- Reactions from other characters that directly reference Sukuna’s words, reputation, or actions.
- Any in-universe documents (reports, records, books, scrolls) that mention him.
Why this matters: having everything in one place prevents cherry-picking. If a later panel contradicts an earlier implication, you’ll spot it immediately.
Group evidence by theme, not by emotion
Once the corpus is assembled, I tag each item by theme. Typical tags I use for Sukuna are: power/strength, dominion/royalty, body/possessive, destruction, strategy/long game, and relationship to other sorcerers. These tags help reveal what the manga emphasizes about him.
Some examples of thematic groupings that consistently show up in the text:
- Mentions of Sukuna’s historical status (references to him as an enormous threat or “King of Curses”).
- Panels where Sukuna reacts to hosts or sorcerers differently — curiosity vs contempt vs amusement.
- Explicit statements about bodies, ownership, and eating — textual focus on the physicality of his curse.
- Instances where Sukuna displays strategy or long-term planning rather than immediate violence.
Prioritize direct statements over inferred motives
Manga is full of tantalizing imagery, but images alone are slippery. I only use inferred motives if they’re supported by multiple independent textual clues. For example, if Sukuna says something blunt about wanting to “rebuild a kingdom” in one chapter, I’m cautious — but if that idea is echoed in historical records, other characters’ commentary, and his actions (e.g., seeking out particular artifacts or locations), then it becomes a usable line of evidence.
In practice I rank evidence by strength:
- Level 1 — Explicit text: direct quotes, on-panel narration, or clearly labeled records.
- Level 2 — Consistent behavior: repeated actions across chapters that align with a proposed goal.
- Level 3 — Contextual implication: background worldbuilding that supports a motive but doesn’t state it outright.
Watch for contradictions and shifting portrayals
Characters, especially ancient and mythic ones, are shown in different lights across time. The manga sometimes portrays Sukuna through a narrator’s mythologizing, sometimes through contemporary eyes (how present-day sorcerers react), and sometimes through Sukuna’s own voice. I map which portrayal each piece of text belongs to. When portrayals conflict, that tells you something important — either the text is deliberately unreliable about his past, or Sukuna’s goals evolved.
Example of useful contradiction analysis: if early historical records paint Sukuna as a king who built infrastructure, but modern captions emphasize sheer chaos and bloodlust, that difference may indicate either lost nuance in myth or a deliberate erasure of motives by later chroniclers. Both readings are textually defensible, depending on supporting panels.
Pay attention to selective information and omissions
Absences are evidence too. The manga often gives us what characters specifically avoid saying about Sukuna — for instance, when sorcerers refuse to speculate on his ultimate goal or when certain documents are redacted. I mark those moments. A repeated refusal to name a goal can mean: the goal is too dangerous to state, the goal is unknown even to experts, or the manga wants readers to infer it from other details.
To avoid wild conjecture, ask: does the text later fill in the omission? If not, your theory should remain provisional and tied to the documented hints.
Tie Sukuna’s stated preferences to strategic action
One of the strongest pieces of evidence when theorizing any villain is the alignment between what they say and what they do. If Sukuna claims indifference to a certain outcome but consistently behaves to achieve the opposite, that discrepancy is meaningful.
So I make a two-column table in my notes (you can use a real table in your drafts) listing:
| Declared Preference | Concrete Action |
| What the text shows Sukuna saying about “power” or “bodies” | Instances where he prioritizes certain hosts, fights specific sorcerers, or protects artifacts |
| Any claims about “ruins” or “kingdoms” | Scenes where he targets locations or historical sites |
When declarative text and action align repeatedly, it’s a reliable foundation for a theory.
Use other characters as corroborating evidence
Sukuna rarely acts in a vacuum. How Yuji, Gojo, Mahito, and other sorcerers frame his actions is critical textual evidence. Some characters may misinterpret him, but persistent framing across different POVs is suggestive. For example, if both ancient records and modern sorcerers independently highlight Sukuna’s interest in host integrity, that strengthens a body-focused goal theory.
I also look at explicit binding vows, sanctions, or rituals described in the manga that involve Sukuna. These are worldbuilding mechanisms the author provides to constrain or reveal motives.
Build the theory and label its certainty
After assembling and categorizing evidence, I draft a theory statement — concise and textually anchored. For example: “Based on X, Y, and Z panels, Sukuna’s primary goal, as the manga presents it, appears to be reclaiming sovereign dominance through the accumulation of perfect hosts and targeted eliminations of rival sorcerers.”
Then I annotate that statement with the evidence list, ranked by strength. I also assign a confidence level: high (multiple Level 1 items), medium (mix of Level 1 and 2), or low (mostly Level 3). This makes the theory easy to challenge or update as new chapters arrive.
Keep updating with strict textual standards
Finally, a living theory changes only when the text forces it. When a new chapter drops, I immediately scan for any panel that mentions Sukuna or touches the themes we’ve tracked. If the manga adds an explicit line that alters the balance of evidence, the theory should be revised to reflect that primary source change — not because of popular opinion or online trends.
If you want my templates (I use a simple Google Doc and sometimes Notion for tagging), I’m happy to share how I structure the quotes-to-theory pipeline. The key takeaway is this: the manga gives us a surprising amount to work with if you stick to the text and resist the temptation to fill the gaps with fandom wishful thinking. That’s how I make my Sukuna theories robust, debatable, and — most importantly — anchored in the story itself.
