Fumihiko Takaba

Fumihiko Takaba is a character in the Jujutsu Kaisen series. He is a failing comedian who was one of many normal people turned into a sorcerer by Kenjaku in order to participate in the Culling Game.

Appearance
Fumihiko is a tall, adult man with short, slicked back, dark hair, and long tapered sideburns that reach past his nose. He has thick eyebrows and eyes with small light-colored pupils. As a professional comedian, Fumihiko wore a business suit with a checkered tie.

As a player in the Culling Game, Fumihiko wears the costume of the first superhero that ever made him laugh hysterically. It is a skin-tight uniform that is split down the middle. The left side is dark where there are two light stripes on both the arm and leg. The right side of his uniform is missing entirely, revealing his bare chest, leg, and occasionally his genitals (covered in the manga by a circular text bubble bearing the word "curse"). On the chest area there is also half of a smiling heart. The collar and belt of the uniform both feature smiley faces as well. Matching gloves and boots complete the costume.

Personality
Fumihiko is an exceptionally goofy individual whose jokes aren't funny, but he still lives to entertain above all else. He found himself failing as a comedian and was down on his luck. A co-worker encouraged him to keep going because there's always a demand for comedians who think they're funny. Takaba acts on those words and has a very energetic attitude. He's very outspoken and comedy-focused in everything he does.

Fumihiko is the only person who thinks he's funny, but he'll still tell jokes in serious situations and get no laughs in response. This is precisely the reason that he failed as a comedian, but he's able to prosper, nonetheless. Despite the awkwardness or seriousness of any situation, Fumihiko will always try to make it fun for everyone around, often only serving to irritate them.

Fumihiko is completely unphased by the fact he's participating in the Culling Game. He hasn't killed anyone, but he helped Megumi because the young man was being attacked two-on-one. Fumihiko saw his attackers as cowards and fought by Megumi's side despite their stark contrast in personalities. The thirty-five-year-old claims he can tell if someone is good or evil by their face. He actually thinks Megumi has a bad face but decided to help him anyway because beauty is "revisionist".

In a dangerous fight with Iori Hazenoki, Fumihiko made jokes the entire time and frustrated his opponent, which played a part in him eventually giving up on the skirmish altogether.

Perfect Preparation Arc
Fumihiko is at a comedy club where he closes his show to a bored audience who slowly clap. In the dressing room, his manager scolds him for his poor performance and tells Fumihiko he should quit comedy or find something else, saddening him. His coworker, Ken, tells him his jokes aren't bad, but there are two types of comedians, ones who are funny and ones who think they're funny. He asks which of them Fumihiko is, and he replies he's about 50:50, but then rephrases by saying 70:30.

Culling Game Arc
When Megumi Fushiguro is cornered by Reggie Star and Iori Hazenoki, Fumihiko arrives at the last minute and protects the teenager, taunting his opponents and calling them cowards for going two against one. His cursed energy swells to such a degree that Reggie and Hazenoki go on guard, only for Fumihiko to pose dramatically and make a joke. Fumihiko, taken aback by the poor reception of his gag, dropkicks Hazenoki in the face faster than the reincarnated sorcerers could react. Reggie notes how Fumihiko's cursed energy had flared immensely during his attack, as the comedian turns to Megumi while doing a handstand. After failing to catch Reggie, Megumi explains Hazenoki's technique as Fumihiko stands very close, nodding enthusiastically. Megumi asks Fumihiko to acquire Hazenoki's points, which he says he will do. As Megumi leaves, Hazenoki shoots an explosive eyeball at Fumihiko, who slaps it away with a paper fan. He then moves behind Hazenoki and performs Kanchō on him before kicking him into a nearby building.

Hazenoki's attacks proceed to deal no damage to Fumihiko as the comedian's skin becomes slick with ankake sauce. Hazenoki's Kogane informs him that Reggie Star is dead, and he decides to disengage Fumihiko immediately. Fumihiko follows, begging Hazenoki to give him all his points.

Fumihiko later meets Yuji Itadori and work together to find an unconscious Megumi Fushiguro being carried through the air by Hana Kurusu. The group eventually arrive at a hotel and settle in a hotel room. When Megumi wakes up, Fumihiko returns bearing food for them. Yuji and Hana are also there, and together they explain what has transpired while Megumi was unconscious. Fumihiko agrees to allow the group to use his points as Megumi wishes. The group runs into the lobby of the hotel as soldiers attack the building. Fumihiko dodges machine gun fire by kick-dancing. As the group interrogates the Japanese soldier, he calls the soldier a traitor to his country just because he wanted to.

As Hana and Angel are being healed by Shoko Ieiri and Yuta Okkotsu's Reverse Cursed Technique after their grave injury at the hands of Sukuna, who recently incarnated into Megumi's body, Angel brings up that she believes Fumihiko's presence may have helped them in that dire situation. As the group prepares to unseal Satoru Gojo, Fumihiko offers to make garlands to make the occasion more festive. After a change in location, worrying that the Prison Realm may harmed Gojo's mind, Hana uses Jacob's Ladder on the back of the Prison Realm. Upon finding Gojo missing in the aftermath, Fumihiko theorizes that using the Angel's technique on the Prison Realm makes Satoru Gojo vanish.

As the fight between Sukuna and Satoru Gojo is about to begin, Angel suggests that Fumihiko go fight Kenjaku. After a brief debate, it is determined that they follow her plan. Kenjaku's cursed spirits do nothing to Fumihiko, who continues to make a mockery of the ancient sorcerer with his technique. Kenjaku realizes that even with his thousands of years of jujutsu know-how, he still will not be able to deal with a player like Fumihiko. After Fumihiko makes the same wi-fi joke from his fight with Hazenoki and Reggie Star, Kenjaku immediately gives a professional breakdown of why his joke wasn't funny. The combatants get into a debate about comedy, and Kenjaku quickly starts shoring up Fumihiko in entertainment knowledge. This causes Fumihiko's technique to deactivate as he loses faith in himself as a comedian, and Kenjaku seizes the opportunity and strikes a heavy blow on his opponent. Desperately, Fumihiko claims that he doesn't care if Kenjaku gets his jokes as long as others do, which Kenjaku remarks is hypocritical. Even as he reassures himself of his talent, Fumihiko encounters the corpse of Hazenoki, and finally the gravity of the situation dawns on him.

This scenario reminds Fumihiko of a fight he had in college with one of his old comedy partners, sparked over this friend "not taking comedy seriously," and realized how ironic that was. He had been living in denial for a long time, but he finally remembers the reason why he became a comedian: that he wanted people to know him better, and spurred by this realization, he kowtows and apologizes to Kenjaku. He admits he lied about not caring whether or not his enemy would get his jokes, and with this weight off his shoulders, he rises and reactivates his technique, determined to make Kenjaku laugh.

Abilities and Powers
Overall Skill Level: Fumihiko Takaba is unsuspectingly strong and his zero score in the Culling Game does not reflect his actual strength. Fumihiko's goofy attitude leads people to heavily underestimate him. He's a self-proclaimed old-school entertainer who is pro-violence and his resolve translates into battle. When he's determined to entertain, Fumihiko's strength increases dramatically. Reggie Star was surprised by this surge in power as Fumihiko was able to overwhelm Iori Hazenoki in a swift exchange. Reggie recognized Fumihiko's elite speed and considered him a strong opponent. After seeing Fumihiko initial attacks against Hazenoki, Fushiguro stated that he was glad Fumihiko was not his enemy.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Fumihiko may not seem like a fighter but he's exceptionally adept at close-quarters combat. He was able to overpower Hazenoki with an expertly performed surprise drop kick. In their next exchange, Fumihiko parried his opponent and landed a "blow" from behind, before following up with a powerful roundhouse kick. Later toward the end of their battle, Fumihiko was easily able to avoid Hazenoki's punches after covering himself in ankake sauce with his technique.

Battles & Events
Culling Game Arc
 * Culling Game
 * Fumihiko Takaba vs. Iori Hazenoki

Shinjuku Showdown Arc
 * Fumihiko Takaba vs. Kenjaku

Trivia

 * Fumihiko's rankings in the Popularity Polls are as follows:
 * Fumihiko ranked 31st in the third Popularity Poll with 132 votes.
 * His surname has the Nanori reading of and the rendaku pronunciation of . Takaba's given name has the Kun reading of  and.

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Fumihiko Takaba