Jujutsu Kaisen
When we last left Yuji Itadori, he was unable to reclaim his body from Ryomen Sukuna, who may be free to wreak havoc, unless fellow first year, Megumi Fushiguro, can stop him. I just need to remind you all that this show goes hard. This is episode 5. Let's get to it.
"Curse Womb Must Die -II-"
Megumi Fushiguro: "Oh and just so you know, I didn't have any logical reason for saving you back then. Even though it was dangerous, I just couldn't bear to see a good person like you die. Sure, I had my reservations. But ultimately, I did it for selfish, emotional reasons. But, that's fine, though. I'm a jujutsu sorcerer. I'm not a hero. And all this time, I've never once regretted saving you."
Yuji Itadori: [reverting back to himself and smiling] "Right. You're really a pretty smart guy, Fushiguro. I know you put a lot of thought into this. I think your conviction is a good one. But I don't think mine is exactly wrong either. [Blood pours from the gaping hole in Itadori's chest] Ah, I'm sorry. I guess I'm done for. At least I won't be here worrying about you anymore. Or Kugisaki. Or Gojo. I hope you live a long life." [Yuji pitches forward and dies]
Manga Chapters: 8 (p. 17-19), 9 & 10
Arc: Fearsome Womb
Sukuna confronts Fushiguro, ripping out Itadori's heart so if the teenager does retake his body, he'll die. Fushiguro and Sukuna battle, and Sukuna seems impressed and intrigued by the first year. Fushiguro is able to get Itadori to take back his body, but Itadori seemingly dies. Gojo is upset about Itadori's fate, knowing that the reason the first years were sent to this was because the higher ups wanted to get rid of Itadori. Nobara and Fushiguro meet the Tokyo second years and agree to participate in Goodwill Games wit the Kyoto school with them. Meanwhile, a group of cursed spirits plot. And Itadori may not be dead after all.
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| The worst boy band ever. |
One of the things I love about "Jujutsu Kaisen" is that right from the beginning, the show is planting seeds. Re-watching these episodes, there are things that are mentioned that I totally forgot about when I watched it initially and when I read the manga. Mentions of characters that will be more important the further we get in to this epic story. And there are small moments, flashes, that the episode highlights, but are easy to miss if you aren't paying attention. And when it comes to "Jujutsu Kaisen," you should always be paying attention.
The episode begins with a pretty epic confrontation between Megumi Fushiguro and Ryomen Sukuna. I remember watching this for the first time and audibly gasping when Sukuna reached into Yuji's chest and just casually tossed his heart into the grass. I was almost positive something was going to happen that would save Yuji, but I wasn't totally sure. Would this anime kill off it's main character in the fifth episode? I wasn't sure. And that was exciting. And that was part of what made me want to keep watching. This idea that literally anything could happen to anyone. We don't get that a lot in a lot of media right now. We learn a few more things. Sukuna can use reversed cursed energy which is how he healed Itadori. He eats the finger that the special grade had.
I hope you are all ready for me to just shower every single battle that this show gives us with praise, because they are pretty much all immaculate. I love that it takes place during a rainstorm. I love anything that happens during a rainstorm and MAPPA animates the hell out of this. Fushiguro goes after Sukuna with everything he has and we see Sukuna take it easily. Dodging his physical attacks and his shikigami attacks effortlessly. He has his hands in his pockets for a lot of the battle. He smacks Fushiguro around, knocking him through buildings.
These aren't just impeccable battles, it is also where we learn more about these characters. While he is fighting Sukuna, Fushiguro thinks about his sister being cursed and his father leaving him. He knows how life is unfair and how there is really no such thing is karma and because of that he saves people based on his own conviction which to him means he's not a hero. And he felt that conviction when he first met Yuji. I love how Megumi says all these things to Itadori, knowing that despite Sukuna wearing his face he can still hear him. I'm always curious though if Yuji really asserts control again due to what Megumi says or if Sukuna allows Yuji to take back control. It's clear that Sukuna is fascinated by Fushiguro from the time he sees that cursed energy flash and how he comments on Fushiguro's running being a waste of talent.
In the morgue, we are introduced to Shoko Ierii. Shoko is the school's primary doctor and was in Gojo's class. Speaking of Satoru Gojo, he is extremely displeased with the death of Yuji Itadori. He reveals to Ijichi that he knows that the higher ups took advantage of his absence and sent the first years after the special grade to specifically get rid of Yuji. We've sort of seen Gojo as this goofy dude up to this point, but here, he reminds us why he is this world's most powerful sorcerer. He talks about just killing the higher ups and this isn't idle talk. You can tell that he is actually considering it which is kind of scary. Shoko wants to dissect Yuji's body and Gojo tells her to make good use of his body.
We get to see Nobara's reaction to Yuji's death. She seems unaffected but Fushiguro notices her breaking and changes the subject. Awww, Kugisaki has feelings. We meet the second years of Jujutsu High. There is Maki Zenin, cursed tool user, Toge Inumaki, cursed speech user who can only speak in rice ball ingredients and... Panda. Much like Kugisaki, the first time I saw this I was upset that was all we were getting. There is mention of Yuta Okkotsu who is studying abroad. Remember that name. The second years invite them to participate in a goodwill event with their sister school in Kyoto which will test their abilities individually and in teams. The two first years immediately agree. They are determined to improve after what happened to Yuji and to honor him. Though, they are quick to say they will quit immediately if they think it's useless which is so on brand for these two.
We are introduced to some villains here and even though their names aren't said in this episode, I will tell you. We have Suguru Geto, the long haired man, Jogo, the volcano, Dagon, the squid and Hanami, the one with branches coming out of his eyes. They have a plan. They want to make cursed spirits the dominant species over humans since they are born from the truest emotions of humans. They seem to believe that Geto can help them make that happen. But they need to know how to defeat jujutsu sorcerers. Geto tells them they need render Satoru Gojo unable to fight and to get Ryomen Sukuna and Yuji Itadori on their side. But Itadori's dead, right?
Well, maybe not. We all knew it was coming, but it's still fun when we head into Itadori's body and find him looking up at Sukuna.
The Juju Stroll this episode is all about Panda. Check it out.
Grade: A-
"After Rain"
Yuji Itadori: "Ah, so you have to be constantly flipping out in order to use your cursed energy. Hmm. Now that you mention it, Fushiguro's always ticked off."
[An exaggerated version of Megumi Fushiguro very angry appears above Yuji's head]
Very Angry Megumi Fushiguro: "Demon dogs!"
[Satoru Gojo flicks the Megumi away]
Satoru Gojo: "Not quite."
[Cut to Megumi Fushiguro on the practice field]
Maki Zenin: "What's wrong?"
Megumi Fushiguro: "I'm irritated all of a sudden."
Manga Chapters: 10 (p. 18 & 19), 11, 12 & 13 (p. 1-15)
Arc: Fearsome Womb
Inside Ryomen Sukuna's innate domain, Sukuna makes a deal with Yuji Itadori to bring him back to life. Satoru Gojo decides not to tell people that Itadori is back to life quite yet. He hides Itadori away and begins training him in the use of cursed energy after explaining to him the difference between cursed energy and cursed techniques. The first years continue their training with the second years and Megumi Fushiguro learns he has a new skill. Suguru Geto and the curses wreak havoc in a local restaurant where they talk about how they can incapacitate Gojo. And on a dark road, Jogo confronts Satoru Gojo.
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| These dummies. |
It didn't take long, but Yuji Itadori is back in the land of the living. We pick up right where the last episode left off, inside the innate domain of Ryomen Sukuna. An innate domain is a mental landscape that embodies that person and everyone, sorcerer, non sorcerer and cursed spirt, has one. And Ryomen Sukuna's looks just like you'd imagine it would. There are pools of standing blood. A giant ribcage in the background. And Sukuna sits on throne of skulls. This is another gorgeously animated sequence. And leave it to MAPPA to make something so grotesque so beautiful.
You have to give it up to Yuji. He doesn't hesitate to go after Sukuna even though he has to know that he doesn't stand a chance. It's interesting to watch the two of them kind of play with each other. Sukuna ends up sitting on Itadori and makes a deal with him. He will bring him back to life if whenever Sukuna says "extension" Itadori will give up control for one minute and Itadori can have no memory of this deal. Itadori is smart enough to know that Sukuna doesn't do anything unless it benefits him. Sukuna enters into a Binding Vow with Itadori, agreeing not to hurt or kill anyone when he has control for that one minute. In this vow, if either of them go against it they will both be punished. It isn't long before a naked Itadori sits up on the slab.
The rest of this episode is basically a lot of set up and a lot of exposition, and that would usually be a snooze, but "Jujutsu Kaisen" does a really great job of making what could be really boring, really interesting and funny. Gojo decides that he is not going to tell everyone right away that Yuji has returned to life asking Shoko to keep his status the same. He is going to train Yuji so that he is ready to participate in the games with the Kyoto school.
Gojo explains to Yuji the difference between cursed energy and cursed techniques. Everyone has cursed energy but not everyone has cursed techniques. Cursed techniques are something a sorcerer is born with. Yuji can't used cursed techniques, but that's fine. Gojo wants him to focus on building his cursed energy and keeping it flowing which he has Itadori do by watching movies. He gives Itadori one of the principal's cursed corpses and says if the cursed energy stops flowing then the cursed corpse will attack Itadori. Gojo will be gradually increasing the amount of cursed energy that Itadori needs to maintain.
Again, this could all be extremely ho hum, but this show recognizes that it is an anime and uses the animation to keep the audience engaged. "Jujutsu Kaisen" uses analogies to explain it's concepts and it's great to see these things animated like the electricity analogy that Gojo uses. The various ways that Itadori's body changes while he and Gojo are talking, him basically becoming a flat paper doll when Gojo is saying that he can't use cursed techniques. The physical comedy of the cursed corpse that is smacking Itadori around every time that he stops flowing cursed energy.
Back at the restaurant with Geto and Jogo, one of the employees can sense that something bad is going on. He flees and it is a great decision. Geto reveals that he has a prison realm to trap Gojo in and Jogo asks to be the one to try and trap him. Jogo overheats and sets everyone in the restaurant on fire. This has been a pretty lighthearted episode so far, but they never don't remind you that insidious shit is happening. It is chilling watching those people implode all around the restaurant.
Fushiguro goes to see Tadashi's mother to let her know he's dead. Tadashi was the son whose mother was concerned about him at the juvenile detention center. It's clear that Fushiguro is doing this for Itadori. Fushiguro trains in using cursed weapons but he is concerned about the time it takes to remove them and carry them and after thinking back to what Sukuna said, realizes that he can hide things in his shadows. Gojo asks Itadori if he made any deals with Sukuna and Itadori thinks he did but can't remember specifics. The episode ends with Jogo confronting Gojo on a deserted road.
The Juju Stroll is a brief training video with Gojo and Itadori. Check it out.
Grade: B+
Next up, Gojo and Jogo face off and Yuji begins a new investigation.
What did you all think? Are you impressed with the fights in JJK? Is Sukuna scarier now than he maybe was before? Let me know in the comments.
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