Since it started airing in the Fall of 2021, the Jujutsu Kaisen anime series has starred many Cursed Spirits, all of whom are “borne out of human emotions and actions”. Amongst these cursed spirits, is Hanami, who, just like others in Geto’s group, seeks the annihilation of the human populace. But aside from being a special grade cursed spirit, Hanami is a character that is worth talking/learning about.

So, without further ado, let’s uncover all there is to know about Hanami!

Hanami | Profile

Name: Hanami
Species: Cursed Spirit
Grade: Special Grade
Hobby: Spending time with other curses in his group
Anime Debut: Episode 5
Manga Debut: Chapter 10
Voice Actor: Atsuko Tanaka

Who Is Hanami?

Hanami is an unregistered Cursed Spirit and an antagonist in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga and anime series. Just like other curses that are borne out of human emotions, Hanami is borne out of humanity’s dread of terrestrial natural disasters. He also was a member of Jogo’s group, which aimed at annihilating the entire human populace for their desecration of the Earth and filling it with their filth in the form of curses. He was later killed by Satoru Gojo in the Shibuya Incident arc.

Hanami | Appearance

Hanami’s appearance greatly complements his abilities and displays a deep and true understanding of his nature as a cursed spirit. His imposing figure is adorned with intricate black lines that haphazardly traverse his entire body. His head looks somewhat like a helmet/skull at the same time. While his dentition is open for all to see thanks to his lack of a mouth, the back of his head sports two layers of overlapping flesh that resembles the back of a Samurai’s helmet.

Instead of eyes, two small branches protrude from his eye sockets and extend upwards. His entire left arm is covered with a white piece of cloth which, when taken off, reveals an entirely black arm, with a big red rose on his shoulder. The only other piece of clothing he wears are black loose pants covering his lower body, fastened with a white ribbon.

Hanami | Personality

Unlike the majority of Cursed Spirits, Hanami is a highly intelligent and perceptive being who deeply values the well-being of the planet, which has unfortunately suffered from human exploitation for countless generations. Unlike other cursed spirits in his group, Hanami has a rather peaceful disposition and shares a more intimate connection with Jogo. This is evident in his willingness to risk his life so he could save Jogo from Satoru Gojo.

While being a character of few words and one that converses in reverse, Hanami is also capable of developing a deep understanding of his other “murderous” instincts, so much so that he starts getting pleasure from battling others.

Hanami | Motivations

Appalled by the unsightly caricature that the world has become due to human activities, Hanami has a shared goal with the rest of his group to rid the world of humans and allow cursed spirits the freedom they desire. To do this, they have to get rid of Jujutsu Sorcerers, as those are the only stumbling blocks in their plan of world domination.

Hanami | In the Story

Shortly after his debut, Hanami showed that he was more than an ally to Jogo when he risked his life to save the cursed spirit from Satoru Gojo, who was just about to exorcise him. His presence came to center stage in the Kyoto Goodwill Event arc when he battled and almost killed Toge Inumaki and Fushiguro Megumi. He was also a great help in the character development of Yuji Itadori, as his battle against Yuji and Aoi Todo was the beginning of Yuji’s significant development.

But in the Shibuya Incident arc, Hanami becomes Gojo’s first target after he traps the sorcerer on the tracks in a basement floor with some other humans. According to the plan, Choso, Jogo, and Hanami were meant to flood the tracks with humans and use any means necessary to hold Gojo for about 20 minutes while Geto prepares the Prison Realm.

Even after they’d limited his offensive options, Gojo decided to go all out, not minding the collateral damage. When he noticed that Hanami had deactivated his Domain Amplification which was helping him and his allies, Satoru first ripped out his eyes before using Infinity to smash him into a wall, killing him.

Hanami | Relationships

Hanami maintains fairly limited relationships in Jujutsu Kaisen by virtue of his nature as a Cursed Spirit and the transient nature of his appearance. However, there’s still room to analyze the connections he has with other characters.

With Jogo

Jogo is Hanami’s true and only friend among all the cursed spirits in Geto’s group. While he shares a reasonably limited relationship with his other allies, Jogo remains the only character with whom he shares some level of emotional connection.

With Jujutsu Sorcerers

Hanami’s relationship with the Jujutsu Sorcerers is purely hostile. He sees them as foes who must be annihilated, and his actions reflect his antagonism.

With Humans

To Hanami, humans are nothing more than a destructive force that ravages and pollutes the earth and should be wiped out.

Hanami | Skills and Abilities

Stealthy Presence

Unlike other cursed spirits, Hanami’s stealth is incomparable and peculiar. While non-sorcerers would not even catch a whiff of him at all, he’s been noted to always swiftly sneak up on even ranked Jujutsu Sorcerers as they’re usually unable to detect his presence until he makes his move on them. He could even move through barriers.

Exceptional Speed

Hanami moves with remarkable speed. Whenever he has to confront an enemy, Hanami often makes use of a diversion before traversing spaces in the blink of an eye, as seen when he swiftly saves Jogo from Gojo.

Enhanced Strength

Due to his great physical strength, Hanami is capable of effortlessly defeating opponents, especially in close-quarters combat, as seen when he rendered Noritoshi unconscious with only a few blows.

Extreme Durability

Hanami’s body is protected by an extremely durable shell and can easily resist attacks from multiple sorcerers with minimal damage. Despite focused attacks on his weak points, Hanami could swiftly defeat opponents, with only Aoi and Yuji managing to inflict serious harm on him.

Jujutsu

Colossal Cursed Energy

As a special grade curse, Hanami possesses a vast amount of cursed energy, which sets him just below Jogo’s. The difference in his cursed energy and that of the Jujutsu Sorcerers he encountered during the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event is so vast that using a simple cursed speech against him rendered Toge weak and useless. Also, he was able to keep up with Maki and others without getting exhausted.

Rapid Regeneration

Hanami is a special kind of cursed spirit, so they can easily strengthen their body using cursed energy to grow back lost limbs in a split second. Regained limbs stay strong just like the rest of his body, maintaining his body's durability.

Technique Reveal

This binding vow is often used by Jujutsu Sorcerers. Hanami can both strengthen his cursed technique and yet trick his opponents into thinking it works differently if he reveals how it works.

Battle Techniques

Disaster Plants

Hanami possesses a remarkable ability to bring forth cursed plants into reality. His mastery of cursed energy allows him to deftly manipulate and control the cursed plants he creates. Moreover, any plant attack can be swiftly removed from existence as soon as it appears.

Kinone – Roots

Hanami can generate roots that appear from the earth. By restricting the range and the amount of roots, their strength and velocity are enhanced. On the contrary, by compromising destructive power and speed, he can significantly increase the quantity of roots and increase their reach.

Kinomari – Wooden Ball

Hanami can use cursed energy to form one or more wooden balls. The balls shoot one or two jagged branches that stab and assault their victim before breaking apart. These may also be used by Hanami to float midair.

Noroi no Shushi – Cursed Bud

Hanami has the ability to shoot buds that consume the cursed energy of the person they cling to. As the victim tries to use any cursed technique, the buds deeply ingrain themselves into their body. Hanami can also conjure a massive flower that releases a torrent of cursed buds.

Ohanabatake – Flower Field

By surrounding his opponents with a circle of flowers, Hanami may cast a spell that makes them lose interest in fighting. This ability may also be activated by Hanami's long-range missile that explodes and becomes a sea of flowers. However, this technique is dependent on Hanami's current strength at the time of its manifestation, as it would be flawed if Hanami is injured.

Domain Techniques

Domain Expansion: Dai Kokai - Ceremonial Sea of Light

This is the highest level of Jujutsu sorcery and it is a complex barrier technique. It creates a barrier for the user's inherent domain that is imbued with their cursed technique. The user's cursed techniques are enhanced in a domain expansion, and all strikes and techniques that are activated are improved and guaranteed to hit.

However, Hanami’s Domain Expansion, Dai Kokai (Ceremonial Sea of Light), which he activates by charging the flower on his left arm with cursed energy, never fully manifested. In his battle against Aoi and Yuji, he attempted to use it, but was interrupted when the barrier keeping Gojo out was broken.

Anti-Domain: Ryoiki Ten’en – Domain Amplification

This is an anti-domain technique that neutralizes any cursed techniques it comes into touch with; however, instead of lingering in a specific space, it operates as a fluid barrier that entirely surrounds the user's body, like an aura.

Hanami | Weeded

Seeing how Hanami got 32nd place in the first popularity polls, it needs no further argument to state that this Cursed Spirit is quite popular among fans of Jujutsu Kaisen. While I know I’m not the only one who’s sad that he died too easily in the Shibuya Incident Arc, it makes more sense that we should learn about him. Maybe it will inspire us to try in our own little ways to protect the earth from degradation, right?