Jujutsu Kaisen
It was pretty obvious to me that the next anime that I was going to tackle for my anime feature after "Cowboy Bebop" was "Jujutsu Kaisen." It is my favorite anime currently airing. It is beautifully animated by MAPPA. The Japanese and English voice casts are stellar so whether you are watching it subbed or dubbed you are getting a great experience. It is based on the manga by Gege Akutami. The one sentence description of the series is as follows: After the death of his grandfather, high school student, Yuji Itadori, learns that curses are real and becomes the vessel for a 1,000 year old curse named Ryomen Sukuna when he eats one of his fingers.
For anime series based on manga, with each episode I'll list the manga chapters the episode covers and the arc that we are in. One of my favorite things watching anime are the opening and closing songs and "Jujutsu Kaisen" routinely knocks them out of the park. For the first half of the season, the opening song is "Kaikai Kitan" by Eve. You can watch it below.
"Ryomen Sukuna"
Megumi Fushiguro: "There's nothing here."
Satoru Gojo: [on the phone] "Huh?"
Megumi Fushiguro: "The Stevenson Hutch is empty."
Satoru Gojo: "For real? That's hilarious. Maybe it took a nighttime stroll."
Megumi Fushiguro: "I'm going to punch you."
Satoru Gojo: "Well, no going home until it's recovered. OK?"
[Gojo hangs up]
Megumi Fushiguro: "I'm seriously going to punch him."
Manga Chapters: 1 & 2 (p. 2-3)
Arc: Fearsome Womb
Yuji Itadori is your run-of-the-mill high school student, aside from almost superhuman athleticism. He's a good friend and grandson. He chooses to join his school's occult club rather than track and field so the club can exist. He goes and visits his grandfather in the hospital even when his grandfather tells him not to. Beore he passes away, Yuji's grandfather tells him to use his gifts to help people so that when he dies he is surrounded by people who love him and not alone. At the hospital chapel, Yuji is confronted by Megumi Fushiguro who tells him that he holds a Grade 1 cursed object. When Yuji reveals that his friends in the occult club have the object, it becomes a race against time to save them from the curses that are after them.
 |
| These two... |
When I think about perfect first episodes, I have this list in my mind. And the first time that I watched this episode, it immediately landed a spot on that list. This episode does everything right. It introduces a likable main character, a central mystery that is compelling, amazing action and some genuine emotion. It really has it all, along with the wackiness that anime brings with it.
For whatever reason, when I watch an anime, I hardly ever connect with the main character. I don't love Ichigo from "Bleach." Or Izuku Midoriya from "My Hero Academia." I think Tanjiro Kamado from "Demon Slayer" is boring and I loathe Eren Jaeger from "Attack on Titan." Yuji Itadori is one of the rare exceptions to this. Itadori is just so likable. From the moment he's introduced you just can't help but love him. He's the athletic, popular kid but he is extremely giving. He completely passes on doing track and field, something that he naturally excels at, to join this occult club because without him, they won't have the three members needed to be recognized by the school.
Then there is Yuji's relationship with his grandfather. Yuji's grandfather is only in this episode, but he has such a huge impact on Yuji and the rest of the series. Right before he dies, Yuji's grandfather drops his crotchety exterior to give Yuji some advice. He sees who Yuji is. He sees that his grandson is a good person and he decides to tell Yuji to help people, that way he is surrounded by people who love him when he dies. This is a really powerful moment and it makes me really emotional when you learn that Yuji's grandfather has passed. If you've ever had a grandparent that you're close with, this moment definitely hits you right in the feels.
I love when things begin in media res and this first episode does that. We first meet Yuji tied to a chair in a candlelit room, the walls covered in seals. They are the same seals that Rei uses to exorcize evil spirits on "Sailor Moon" so immediately I'm all in. He's being interrogated by Satoru Gojo and is told that his execution is imminent. This is a great hook. If you start watching this, even if you're on the fence about finishing it, how do you not with something like that. You have to find out what happens.
I love the world that Akatemi has created. It feels fully realized and it feels like there are well thought out rules that they have set up. Fushiguro explains to Yuji how curses are created. Large concentrations of cursed energy cause curses to form and cursed objects placed at these locations can help keep curses at bay. But if they remove this cursed object then the curses will roam free. It's not overly complicated which can sometimes happen in anime. And as the world of "Jujustu Kaisen" expands, these fundamentals that are laid down are built upon rather than changed.
The curses in "Jujutsu Kaisen" are genuinely terrifying and there are times that it feels like a horror anime. When the curses attack Sasaki and Iguchi, you are legit scared for them. You get the feeling that these are regularly minor characters so all bets are off. I mean, at one point one of the curses has Iguchi's head in it's mouth. It's disgusting and also super, super cool.
The action in "Jujutsu Kaisen" is next level. It's honestly some of the best action in modern anime. The hand to hand fighting is phenomenal. When Yuji hits a curse, you feel it. We get to see Fushiguro's powers in action as he summons both of his Demon Dogs and commands them to eat the curses. That leads to a moment later on when the dogs are feasting on the corpses of the curses which is really cool and at the same time really, really gross.
The animation here is so pretty. There are so many moments where I just want to pause the show and study every moment. There are so many little details. "Jujutsu Kaisen" really is a feast for the eyes. There are so many times when something is happening in the periphery or the background of the main action. Like when students are taking selfies with and stacking rocks on the track coach after Yuji demolishes him. I love how the show also injects infographics like the ones about wood ticks or the newspapers and social media posts that flash by when the occult club is talking about the closed off rugby field or when Fushiguro is explaining to Yuji about curses.
The episode ends with a stronger curse attacking and Yuji eating the finger that was wrapped up. He is quickly possessed by Ryomen Sukuna with black markings appearing on his body and extra eyes and mouths appearing on his face. Sukuna as Yuji is able to easily take out the curse, but he's ready to massacre humanity starting with women and children. So, if it wasn't apparent that Sukuna is bad news that really underlines it. Yuji is able to suppress Sukuna but Fushiguro is ready to take Yuji out.
Grade: A
"For Myself"
Yuji Itadori: "I still don't understand why I have to be executed. But I know I just can't do nothing. [thinking to himself] Grandpa, that last request of yours is going to be pain in the ass. [Out loud to Satoru Gojo] "I'll eat every part of Sukuna. After that, I don't care. As far as how I'm gonna die, I've already decided."
Satoru Gojo: "My guy! I love finding guys like you. A fun time in hell awaits."
Manga Chapters: 2 (p. 4-25) & 3
Arc: Fearsome Womb
After consuming the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, Megumi Fushiguro's teacher, Satoru Gojo appears. He's impressed that Yuji Itadori is able to suppress Sukuna and asks if he could do give Sukuna reign and then take back control after 10 seconds. Yuji is able to do so and Gojo gets an idea. Though the higher ups want to kill him, Gojo gives Yuji a choice. He can agree to be Sukuna's vessel, consuming all twenty of his fingers and then dying or he can die now. Thinking about his grandfather, Itadori agrees to be Sukuna's vessel and gains entry into Tokyo Jujutsu High. But before he can be a full fledged student, Yuji needs to convince principal, Masamichi Yaga, that he is there for the correct reasons.
 |
| Master and student. |
This episode fully introduces us to one of the greatest anime characters of all time. I said it and I stand by it. Satoru Gojo. We got a little bit of Gojo in the premiere. He is talking to a restrained Yuji in the cold open and then is on the phone with Fushiguro, but episode two is were we really get our first sense of who he is and Satoru Gojo is a lot of things. I mean, he's a fool, for sure. We first see him holding a bag of Kikufuku and snapping pictures of a beaten up Fushiguro to send to the second years. Fushiguro seems shocked that Gojo would stop on his way there to pick up souvenirs, but this seems to be very in character for Gojo.
Gojo may seem like kind of a goon, but you quickly learn he is not to be trifled with. He asks Itadori if he can give control to Sukuna for ten seconds and then suppress him and Yuji says he can. In that ten seconds, Gojo easily fends off Sukuna all the while waxing poetic about Kikufuku. This whole interaction becomes even more impressive when Gojo explains to Yuji (and the audience) who Ryomen Sukuna was. During the Golden Age of Jujutsu sorcery, Sukuna was the king of curses so the fact that Gojo is so confident that he could defeat a reincarnated Sukuna shows that Gojo is extremely powerful, extremely cocky and maybe a little delusional.
After knocking Yuji out once he is back in control of Sukuna, we are back at the cold open of the first episode. Gojo has convinced the elders that Yuji could be useful. If he agrees to be Sukuna's vessel, then he will live until he has consumed all twenty of Sukuna's fingers. Once that happens, Sukuna will be whole and inside Yuji will be able to be killed. It's not surprising that Yuji agrees to this, consuming a second finger because of the words of his grandfather.
Say what you want about Gojo, but he is relatively transparent with Yuji. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. He is up front with Yuji about how difficult this is going to be. The fact that this conversation is occurring in the crematorium where Yuji is collecting his father's ashes adds even more weight and gravitas to it. I really enjoy when fantastical anime like this incorporates these real life moments and also teaches me a bit about Japanese culture. The anime adds a moment where Yuji speaks to his grandfather at his grave. It's a small moment but really means a lot. And I get to see the show animate this graveyard which is stupid pretty. I really love Japanese cemeteries so it was a real treat for me to get to see this in the MAPPA style.
This episode is lighter on action, but there is a really fun sequence when Yuji meets the principal, Masamichi Yaga. Yaga can imbue his cursed corpse energy into these plushies that he creates and he sends one after Yuji. Yuji has to fight it off while he tries to come up with the right answer as to why he wants to do this. This is one thing that "Jujutsu Kaisen" does really well. It's able to deftly balance these tones. It can be serious and funny at the same time and the humor never detracts from the seriousness. I mean, Yuji includes how he likes women like Jennifer Lawrence in his intro to Yaga and it doesn't feel out of place. Yuji is working out why he really wants to do this. It's more than just honoring his grandfather. He knows this is something only he can do and he knows that if he didn't he would feel the guilt of every person that died. So, we are getting this kid coming to these important realizations and at the same time this animated plush is showing Yuji it's butthole. It shouldn't work, but it absolutely does.
This episode is a slightly slower paced which is really the only knock against it. We get a lot of exposition from Gojo telling Yuji about Sukuna and the vessel plan to telling him about Jujutsu High. But it's all done with these gorgeous images from MAPPA. Like, seriously. I want Tokyo Jujutsu High to be a real place so I can go visit it and maybe never leave.
The episode ends with a brief glimpse of the last of the first years that Gojo mentioned, Nobara Kugisaki. She's on the train heading to Tokyo and wondering if she might get scouted by a modeling agency.
Grade: A-
Next up, we get a proper introduction to Nobara Kugisaki and the three first years are sent to exorcize a cursed womb that has set up shop in a detention center.
What do you all think? Where are my other JJK fans? What were some of your favorite moments from these first two episodes that I missed? Let me know in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment