Kinji Hakari

Who is Kinji Hakari?

Kinji Hakari is a third-year at Tokyo Jujutsu High who has been suspended for clashing with the conservative higher-ups. He runs an underground fight club, lives for gambling and has a domain expansion built like a pachinko machine. He sounds like comic relief. He turns out to be one of the strongest sorcerers in the series.

Gojo singles Hakari out early as someone who could surpass him, which is the first hint that the "hakari jjk" hype is justified.

Personality: the feverish gambler

Hakari is loud, cheerful, hot-blooded and fixated on what he calls the "fever", the rush of a high-stakes gamble. He picks fights for fun, cares deeply about the few people he trusts, and has a habit of judging others by whether they have that same passion. He's loyal to his partner Kirara Hoshi and to the students who come looking for him.

He's also smarter than he lets on. His domain only works if the opponent can follow its rules, so Hakari spends a lot of fights explaining them, cheerfully, while trying to kill the person he's talking to.

Appearance

Swept-back blond hair, a broad grin and a build like a street fighter. He usually wears a loose jacket over his clothes, and often looks like he's enjoying himself more than anyone else on screen.

Background

Hakari's style and ideas didn't fit the old guard of jujutsu society, and after a clash with them he was suspended. Kirara stayed suspended alongside him. When the Culling Game begins, Yuji and Megumi seek him out because they need strong allies, and he becomes one of the most important players in the arc. Season 3 covers that recruitment, including the episode titled "Passion".

Domain Expansion: Idle Death Gamble

Hakari's innate technique is complicated, so we'll keep it practical. His domain, Idle Death Gamble, works like a pachinko or slot machine. Instead of a sure-hit attack, it forces a "game" with a set of rules both he and his opponent receive, complete with themed visuals.

The key part is the jackpot. If Hakari hits it, he gets unlimited cursed energy for 4 minutes and 11 seconds, and during that time his body automatically uses Reverse Cursed Technique to heal any wound. In practice, he becomes almost unkillable for that window. If he doesn't hit the jackpot, he can re-open the domain and try again, as long as his cursed energy holds out.

Outside of his domain, Hakari is a powerful close-range fighter who can create sliding doors in the air to block and strike, a smaller application of the same technique.

Hakari's fights

Season 3: Yuji, Megumi and Panda track him down and he agrees to join after some persuasion. The anime then sends him towards the Culling Game.

Why Hakari is so strong

On paper, a domain that depends on luck shouldn't be top-tier. In practice, Hakari's jackpot makes him one of the hardest characters in the series to kill. For four minutes and eleven seconds (the length of the "Private Pure Love Train" theme song), he has unlimited cursed energy and automatic healing, which means injuries that would end anyone else's fight don't slow him down. And because he can reopen his domain if he misses, he gets more chances to hit it than his opponents expect.

That's why Gojo rates him so highly, and why his fight with Kashimo is so celebrated. It's a battle between two people who keep getting back up, and it shows off how strange and clever Hakari's technique really is.

Hakari and Kirara

Kirara Hoshi is Hakari's partner and the one person who stayed with him through his suspension. Kirara is fiercely loyal to Hakari, and Hakari trusts Kirara completely. Their partnership is part of what makes Hakari more than a brawler. He has people he'd gamble everything for.

Hakari's fighting style

Outside his domain, Hakari is a brawler who loves the rush of a close fight. He uses the sliding doors from his technique as shields and weapons, and he's happy to trade blows if it means getting a chance to open his domain. Once he hits the jackpot, he fights with reckless confidence, because almost nothing can keep him down.

Hakari's must-read chapters

Hakari is the rare character fans fell for almost entirely through the manga, because his big fights came long after his introduction.

His introduction. After Shibuya, Yuji and Megumi go to recruit him for the Culling Game. He runs an underground fight club, gets into a fight with Yuji to test him, and agrees to help once he decides he likes Yuji's energy.

Chapter 181. Idle Death Gamble appears for the first time. The domain is ridiculous on purpose, all flashing lights and pachinko references, and the explanation panels are some of the most confusing in the manga.

Vs. Kashimo. Easily his best fight. Kashimo's electricity against Hakari's luck turns into a brawl where neither will stay down, and Hakari's back-to-back jackpots decide it.

Shinjuku. His fight with Uraume ends with Uraume taking their own life rather than losing.

Anime viewers will meet Hakari properly in the Culling Game adaptation, but if you can't wait, start reading from his introduction. It's a fast, fun stretch of chapters.

Relationships

Kirara Hoshi is his partner and closest ally. Panda joins him in the Culling Game. Yuji and Megumi recruit him. Gojo rated him highly. Kashimo becomes something like a respected rival after their fight.

Hakari quick facts

• Japanese name: 秤金次 (Hakari Kinji)
• Affiliation: Tokyo Jujutsu High, third-year (suspended)
• Domain: Idle Death Gamble
• Jackpot: 4 minutes 11 seconds of unlimited cursed energy
• Anime debut: Season 3

Trivia

His family name, 秤, means a scale or balance, a neat fit for a gambler. His given name contains 金, "gold" or "money". He was mentioned long before he appeared: the first-years hear about the suspended third-year well before the Culling Game makes him necessary.

Is Hakari dead?