In the ever-expanding realm of fiction, it's hard to stand-out without a miraculous characteristic. The legendary figures of worlds real and not often carry a brilliant mind, might of mythic proportions, and overwhelming resolve. Today's warriors...do not. If anything stands out about them, it's failure. Kasumi Miwa, the Useless Sorcerer of Jujutsu Kaisen! Kobeni Higashiyama, the nervous-wreck of a Devil Hunter from Chainsaw Man! Some might say they're doing something right to survive hunting demons, others chalk it up to dumb luck, but all will find out who is...THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR!
Kasumi Miwa[]
Born on April 4th, 2001 in Tokyo, Kasumi Miwa came from a poor family with two younger brothers. In her Junior year of high-school, she was scouted by the Sorcerer Atsuya Kusakabe as able to become a Sorcerer herself. Taking up the job to earn money - and not be a self-percieved burden for her family - she would transfer to Kyoto Jujutsu High. After 2 years of honing her skills and even impromptu deployment against Cursed Spirits (also known as Curses) in the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, Miwa reached the rank of Grade 3, placing her as an average-level Sorcerer. Doesn't sound too bad...until you consider that she is the weakest of her peers, and even elite Grade 1 Sorcerers are prone to dying in-action.
Miwa's continual thoughts of her weakness accompanied her on September 7th, 2018, a day which marked the annual Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event. Normally a friendly sparring and athletic contest between students of the Kyoto and Tokyo Jujutsu Highs, this occasion was a bit different. Kyoto Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji distrusted Satoru Gojo's plan to use Tokyo student Yuji Itadori - host of legendary Curse Ryomen Sukuna - to find and destroy the remaining Cursed Fingers. Gakuganji informs Kyoto's students of Yuji's inner demon, then tasks them to kill him in the Event. Miwa isn't keen on this, but doesn't have the backbone to truly take a stand against the plan.
Miwa and the other students find and attempt to kill Yuji, but fellow Kyoto student Aoi Todo stops them and takes on Yuji himself. Miwa and teammate Noritoshi Kamo then fight Megumi Fushiguro and Maki Zen'in. Miwa splits up from Kamo to take on Maki, aiming to get her Grade promoted - and earn more for her family - with a victory. This doesn't happen, as Maki decisively beats her. Miwa then gets a call from her friend Mechamaru, but he isn't on the line. Instead, it's Tokyo student Toge Inumaki, who puts her to sleep with his Cursed Technique. This unceremoniously removes her from the arc's third-act, though she wakes up in time to play baseball for the Event's second-stage...and lose again.
During the Shibuya Incident - a large-scale attack by Curses and rogue Sorcerers - on Halloween night, most of Kyoto's students are sent by train to the battlefield, including Miwa. The dying Mechamaru calls her, urging her to stay far away from the slaughterhouse Shibuya has become. Miwa refuses, then breaks down crying after hearing him die.
The students eventually ambush Pseudo-Geto, mastermind of the Shibuya Incident. Miwa is able to get behind him and take a swing with her sword, boosted by a Binding Vow; the downside is that she will be unable to swing a sword ever again. Pseudo-Geto casually blocks the attack with his bare hands, breaks her sword, then nearly kills her. She is only saved by various Sorcerers arriving on the battlefield, and later gets frozen before being saved again by Yuki Tsukumo. She's eventually taken off the battlefield by Larue.
...There's a reason she calls herself Useless Miwa.
Equipment and Abilities[]
Semi-Cursed Katana: Miwa carries a katana and sheath basically everywhere she goes, constantly training to hone her skills. The sword became a semi-Cursed Tool due to the many times she has imbued Cursed Energy into it. This enhanced its durabilty and allowed the blade somewhat harm normally invulnerable Curses, though not to the extent of true Cursed Tool, at least without active Cursed Energy Reinforcement. While unconscious during the Kyoto Goodwill Event, Miwa's then-current katana was taken and ended up being broken. She received a new one, but it hasn't been directly confirmed if this one was a semi-Cursed Tool. However, considering it did not break from the force of her swinging harder than ever before, it likely has similar properties.
Cursed Energy: The physical manifestation of negative emotions, Cursed Energy is found in everyday people, but only those with a sufficiently high enough amount can truly utilize it. Normally invisible and invulnerable Cursed Spirits are made visible and vulnerable with its use. Against ordinary people, extensive exposure to weaponized Cursed Energy is catastrophic. The average citizen will grow ill and even die in a few minutes without special treatment.
The more precise one's control of their emotions, the more effective their Cursed Energy. Through Cursed Energy Reinforcement, one can channel this Energy throughout the body, granting superhuman physicality. It is generally spread evenly, but specific areas can be given greater amounts at the expense of others. Reinforcement can also vault normal weapons to supernatural effectiveness, though the outpouring of Energy leaves normal equipment vulnerable to breaking. Typically, a Sorcerer can only instill a small portion of their Cursed Energy into a weapon without it shattering, but a Cursed Tool does not have this issue. Miwa's semi-Cursed katana didn't seem to have this weakness.
Though strong negative feelings enhance the potency of one's Cursed Energy, one's control and reserves of Cursed Energy are the biggest factors to its potency. If one is unable to maintain their efficiency and/or supply, their performance will sharply decline. Miwa's skill and pool of Cursed Energy are average, allowing her to fight and kill Grade 3 (average-level) Curses, who are superhuman.
- New Shadow Style: Batto Sword Drawing: By covering a sheathed blade with rotating Cursed Energy, one can significantly improve the speed of a quick-draw slash. Miwa used this to block a projectile thrown by the superhuman Maki, despite it being just a few feet away.
- Binding Vows: Since Cursed Energy ultimately comes from one's inner feelings, its nature is somewhat flexible to the user's desires. This allows for the creation of Binding Vows, essentially contracts that restrict a Sorcerer in one way while proportionally boosting them in another. They can also be agreed upon with another Sorcerer to affect both, but only when the agreement is mutual. Miwa made a Binding Vow to never swing a katana again in a gambit to kill Pseudo-Geto, attempting to increase the power of her swing. How much stronger that swing was is impossible to say, since it got blocked with zero effort by someone way out of her normal league.
- New Shadow Style: Simple Domain: With this technique, Miwa can create a field of Cursed Energy around herself known as a Barrier. This type of Barrier was originally developed to neutralize Cursed Techniques imbued in an opposing Barrier. Certain practitioners like Miwa have used Binding Vows to weaponize the ability. In accordance with her Binding Vow, Miwa's feet cannot leave the radius of her 2.21 meter (~7.25 feet) Barrier while in-use, lest the ability be deactivated. In exchange, her body will automatically attack any human or Curse entering the radius of her Barrier, notably improving offensive speed. Using this ability and Batto Sword Drawing, Miwa sliced two Cursed Spirits (who were at least Grade 3) leaping at her from the edge of the barrier in half before they could reach her. However, a moment of hesitation led to this same combo being easily dodged by Yuji, even when he was surrounded by other Kyoto students. For context, Yuji's speed was similar to a Grade 2 (above-average) Sorcerer at this time, and Miwa herself said his reflexes were the main factor in him dodging.
Kobeni Higashiyama[]
Born sometime in the 1970s, Kobeni Higashiyama wanted to receive a normal education and a happy life.
She would get neither.
Growing up in a poor family, her parents could only afford to send one of their children to college if the other got a job. Kobeni was faced with the choice of becoming either a sex worker or Devil Hunter. She chose the latter, joining Public Safety and being assigned to Special Division 4.
In 1997, she went with 5 other Devil Hunters to Tokyo. When the Leech Devil was slain by fellow Devil Hunter Aki Hayakawa, Kobeni and Hirokazu Arai handled evacuation of survivors in the affected area. Shortly thereafter, Kobeni and several other Devil Hunters were sent to track down a Devil in Morino Hotel, who was empowered by a piece of the Gun Devil. When it's revealed that the Devil's power has trapped them in the Hotel with a time-loop, most of the group gets increasingly desperate, especially Kobeni. Eventually, the culprit of their despair - the Eternity Devil - offers a Devil Contract that will release them if their teammate Denji dies. Kobeni attempts to kill Denji, and when stopped, grows increasingly paranoid of anyone not trying to kill him. She only relents after inadvertently stabbing Aki, who dove in front of her knife to save Denji. Once Denji transforms into Chainsaw Man (long story) and kills the Eternity Devil after three days of fighting, the group escapes. Himeno ordering Kobeni and Arai to report the events to Public Safety.
Presumably the same night, Kobeni is one of the Devil Hunters present for a party welcoming fresh meat new Devil Hunters joining Special Division 4. Most enjoy the delicious meal and casual conversation. The next day, Kobeni and Arai are walking in Tokyo and end up helping an old lady with directions. This woman is secretly an assassin, working with rogue yakuza to secure Chainsaw Man's heart and eliminate Special Division 4. Arai is shot first, but he manages to block the bullet aimed at Kobeni before dying. Kobeni then kills the lady.
As Snake Girl and Samurai Sword attempt to escape with the incapacitated Chainsaw Man, Kobeni intercepts them. She severely wounds Samurai Sword and forces the duo to retreat without their target. Kobeni then apologizes to Denji for trying to kill him, then breaks down into hysterical laughter and sobbing over just how ridiculous that sounds. Thinking back to Arai saving her, she plans on quitting after seeing Himeno one last time...who is dead and completely untraceable. Deciding to stay a Devil Hunter until her bonus comes up, she participates in the (now merged) Special Division's raid on the rogue Yakuza hideout, capturing Snake Girl by sneaking up with a knife pointed to her throat.
Equipment and Abilities[]
Devil Hunter Suit: The standard-issue outfit for a Devil Hunter is designed to be particularly sturdy, giving precious room for error against Devils. It is seemingly fireproof and tough enough to save Aki from Katana Man's Sword-Draw Slash. Though still left heavily bleeding, Aki would otherwise have been sliced in half given this same attack bisected Chainsaw Man. For context, Chainsaw Man survived part of a sonic blast that tore through most of a six-story building.
Kitchen Knife: Her weapon of choice, Kobeni used it to easily slice through Samurai Sword's arm. It also inadvertently stabbed through the side of Aki's Devil Hunter Suit and into his body.
High Agility: Despite being an ordinary human, Kobeni seems to possess unnatural speed and acrobatics. She leapt on-top of the building-sized Snake Devil when its tail was just a foot or two away, then ran along its still-moving body. Afterwards, she did a front-flip and chopped off Samurai Sword's arm before he could react. Landing behind him, she grabbed his pistol out of mid-air to shoot him twice in the back without looking.
Devil Contract: Like almost all Devil Hunters, Kobeni has made a Faustian bargain. To make a Contract with a Devil, one must give up something the latter deems valuable and the human will suffer without. In exchange, the Devil grants the human some sort of power; either party breaking the agreement means death. I'm only mentioning this to avoid a VC; Kobeni keeps the terms of her Contract a secret, and she's never been shown thinking about using it for combat.
X-Factors[]
Physicality: 60 - 75. Only Miwa has an explicitly superhuman physique, but both her and Kobeni chopped through superhuman opponents (though it's hard to say how much this has to do with sheer strength and not their blades). However, Miwa has never shown Kobeni's level of acrobatics and general dexterity, with Batto Sword Drawing and Simple Domain only arguably matching Kobeni in raw speed.
Experience: 75 - 55. Miwa has spent several years undergoing education and training as a Sorcerer, and regularly practices her sword skills. She's more than likely gone on missions to kill Grade 4 and 3 Curses, and at least took on the latter during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. This event was a city-wide crisis, though the extent of Miwa's contributions is hard to gauge. Her resume against other humans is more lackluster, failing to seriously inconvenience Yuji and being soundly defeated by Maki. Meanwhile, Devil Hunters recieve little to no formal training, being thrust right into the action. It's unknown how long Kobeni's been a Devil Hunter, but she wasn't in the latest batch of rookies. Still, her few fights are brief, with only her rescue of Denji truly substantial.
Mentality: 45 - 55. To say these two have confidence issues is an understatement. Miwa tightly grips her katana due to fearing death and calls herself Useless Miwa. leading her to hesitate without proper motivation, though she will put her life on the line when truly committed. Kobeni is exceedingly anxious, to the point where she often breaks down crying in high-pressure situations. This makes Miwa more mentally composed overall, but it's important to remember that she's never seriously harmed another person before. While certainly willing to do so, her reservations about killing Yuji helped him avoid her attack. By contrast, a Kobeni with proper motivation had no qualms attempting to swiftly and efficiently kill people attacking her.
Voting Policy[]
- For a vote to count, it must either have an edge-based breakdown with a minimum of 15 sentences or a detailed explanation containing at least 2 paragraphs.
- Votes that meet this requirement but are sufficiently poor in grammar will be considered half-votes.
- Votes that substantially lack in relevant information and logical reasoning will not count.
- These conditions are somewhat abstract, so I make the final call on how much a vote counts for.
- If a vote receives a rebuttal that partially diffuses its arguments, the vote will be reduced to a half-vote. If the rebuttal almost entirely or wholly disables its arguments, the vote is rendered null. In the case of half-votes, either type of rebuttal will discount it.
- A counter-rebuttal that entirely diffuses the arguments of a rebuttal will return a vote/half-vote to its original value. If a counter-rebuttal only logically responds to some of a rebuttal that would render a vote null, the vote is restored to only a half-vote. If the same scenario occurs with a vote previously made into a half-vote, it will remain a half-vote.
- All additional rebuttals and counter-rebuttals will only affect votes if I deem they do so substantially; I alone determine how rebuttals or counter-rebuttals affect a vote's value.
- Rebuttals will not be accepted on the final day of voting unless the vote in-question was completed the day prior. Rebuttals for these votes are eligible until the day after voting ends. Counter-rebuttals after this point will only be eligible if they would determine the battle's outcome.
- If need-be, I will communicate a vote's status in the Comments section or through Discord (if one uses it).
- Voting ends at 11:59 PM EST on October 25th, 2025.
- Late votes are allowed, but only when started before the final day and finished within an hour after the deadline.
Notes[]
- Kasumi Miwa will be taken from just prior to her arriving at Shibuya in Jujutsu Kaisen.
- Kobeni Higashiyama will be taken from just after her fight with Snake Girl and Samurai Sword in Chainsaw Man.
- Information from the manga and anime of both series is allowed, though the former takes precedence in areas of clear contradiction.
- The battle will start with the warriors 20 feet away on the same street Kobeni saved Denji.
- Victory achieved via death, incapacitation, surrender or retreat.
- Scenario: With the Yakuza attacks having led to the consolidation of the Special Divisions, Special Division 4's leader Makima has garnered more power than ever. Already distrustful of her, Satoru Gojo decides to conduct a personal investigation. Heading to Tokyo with some of his students under guise of civilian evacuation, he orders them not to trust the Devil Hunters. After the Sorcerers split up to gather information, Miwa encounters Kobeni just after Denji's rescue. Assuming Miwa is with the enemy, Kobeni draws her blade; Miwa responds in-kind.