Jujutsu Kaisen (Review)
Anime Fans Won’t Want to Miss Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen season one has ended, and it looks like I might have a new series to add to my ever-growing list of favorites. At first glance, there might not seem like there’s anything special about a series that follows high schoolers with magical abilities fighting the forces of evil. However, director Sunghoo Park’s keen eye for slick and stylish action sequences, teamed with writer Hiroshi Seko’s creativity in retelling Gege Akutami’s story (the original manga creator) make Jujutsu Kaisen a series worth celebrating. It has all the telltale elements that make an anime not only great but easy to watch repeatedly, making this series one of the best I’ve seen in recent memory.
The world of Jujutsu Kaisen is filled with cursed energy and spirits that most people don’t know exists. Those who protect humanity from the monstrous beings forged from all the negative emotions of humanity are sorcerers who use cursed energy to fuel their incredible abilities. Our hero, Yuji Itadori (Adam McArthur) finds himself thrown into this reality when a cursed spirit inhabits his body. Not just any cursed spirit, mind you, but Ryoumen Sukuna, the big dawg of all the cursed spirit who was so dangerous his soul was confined to his ten fingers and each was hidden in order to prevent him from ever returning. In order to prevent Sukuna from reincarnating, young Itadori is given an immediate death sentence. That gets placed on hold when it’s revealed that his immense physical and mental strength allow him to keep the cursed spirit in check within him. He can even access the power of Sukuna to fight other cursed spirits. Spotting a potential weapon against the forces of evil, the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School recruits him to train as a sorcerer and act as their operative until he absolutely, positively must be put to death.
The animation by MAPPA studios for Jujutsu Kaisen is absolutely phenomenal. The deep and vibrant colors offer crisp contrast without seeming garish or overly stylized. However, the action sequences break away from the clean line work to a rough and chaotic effect that remains just as meticulous. They combined this animation style with Sunghoo Park’s signature choreography and attention to all aspects of movement, making every fight more incredible than the last. How Jujutsu Kaisen kept making each epic battle more incredible than the last was mind-boggling, but Park utilizes a technique that separates the characters from the background, giving them the freedom to move in different directions and speeds in order to create a true sense of chaos within the fights. This is most often done digitally, and while I hate obvious CGI in anime, it’s flawless in Jujutsu Kaisen. Quite simply, it’s some of the best animation I’ve seen in a series.
The female characters of Jujutsu Kaisen aren’t just there for the men to ogle. In fact, it is relatively free of scantily clad babes stumbling into awkward situations. While I appreciate a good fan-service series from time to time, it’s tiresome to see anime after anime following the same old recipe with female protagonists which sees them as having little value beyond being a love interest. Instead, Jujutsu Kaisen gives them, like all the other characters, strengths and weaknesses, which allow them to join forces with the other sorcerers on equal footing as valued members of the team. All the oddballs in the series have a lot to offer along with their glaring faults that range from physical (one is a panda bear) to mental (a few are anti-social) to the just bizarre (one can only “speak” in rice ball ingredients). This approach to the greater picture is also what makes so many of the special powers the characters use so incredible. Each cursed power is grounded in a concept that seems straightforward (IE: able to make shadow creatures), but Jujutsu Kaisen constantly reinvents what these abilities are capable of thanks to cunning interpretations of these concepts and their consequences. This creativity constantly keeps you on your toes, because you never know what trick the characters might pull out next.
I struggled to find anything that I particularly disliked about Jujutsu Kaisen, but I’m at a loss. The characters are all well-rounded with designs that make them instantly iconic (especially the ultra-cool Satoru Gojo, who might be one of my favorite new OP anime characters). The action is visually astounding, making the fight scenes true spectacles that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The story takes full advantage of every bit of underlying potential and then turns itself on its head in order to take a whole fresh approach. Even the stingiest “subs vs dubs” snob will find the English voice cast perfectly suited for their roles and at the top of their game. I can’t even be that angry at where season one ended, since it’s both a perfect stopping point and open-ended enough to make a second season possible. The only actual issue I can think of is that it leaves so many plot points unresolved that there’s the slightest feeling of unfulfillment. Other than that, I’m very tempted to call Jujutsu Kaisen a nearly flawless series thus far.
Jujutsu Kaisen has a lot in common with a ton of different and great anime, but I’ve seen nothing like it before. From the first episode, I was hooked on this action/horror shōnen series. I quickly binge-watched the first 18-episodes before eagerly waiting each week for the new ones to be released by Crunchyroll. By the time the first season ended, it had won me over and I pray that MAPPA sees fit to produce a second season. The ingenious way the concepts and characters come together embodies the outside-the-box creativity I love in a good anime. Just talking about it has me aching to watch it again and I hope you join me.
