This Week in Anime

The Hard-Hitting Action of Jujutsu Kaisen

Nicky
Look, this is no time to get into arguments over whether the Big Lady from the new Resident Evil trailer should be considered Hot. Though, I think Toudou would fully agree given what he has to say about himself.

That's probably true, but I'll only accept it if it's by a lady too tall to fit through doors. On the other hand, Megumi here is absolutely too pure for his own good, though good on him for not actually specifying gender despite what the subs may lead you to believe.

Anyways, if you're reading all of this and are a bit slow on the uptake, this is our 2nd article on the New Hit Supernatural Battle Series, Jujustu Kaisen! We're picking up where the last one left off to cover the back half of the first cour and a bit into the (currently-airing) second one!

Yeah, quite a lot has happened since we last left Yuuji and Friends. In fact, for a majority of that time the latter assumed the former was dead. Not many people can come back after having their heart ripped out, after all, even for sorcerers. This left some time for both Yuuji to develop on his own as well as introducing plenty of new faces. Some of which include the 2nd years from the sister sorcerer school in Kyoto, like the very eccentric Aoi Toudou above, and Maki's (evil) twin-sister Mai.

I approve of her taste (and this ship). I similarly didn't care much for Mai, but it spurred me into liking Maki even more, whose very fashionable taste in glasses is also completely justified since her cursed energy is so weak she can't actually see spirits without them. Though you might have figured this out if you're keen on the opening!

And I thought Goujou-sensei and his Special Eyes was a lot!

In terms of mentors though, Nanami is pretty much the complete opposite. While Goujou vibes with Yuuji's happy-go-lucky streak and has a seemingly lax attitude, Nanami Kento, an ex-salaryman, is all Serious Business.

While Yuuji grates against Nanami's particular teaching style at first, part of it is just because he has a hard time understanding that ultimately, he's still just a kid. There's lots of things he has yet to experience before maturing as both a sorcerer and a person. He's barely getting the hang of amassing cursed energy, for example.

In fact, he's so slow at it compared to his intense physical abilities, he unintentionally creates a lag-spike with his attacks, creating two impacts with every hit! Gojou dubs this Divergent Fist.

I mean, this arc also gave us part of the "explaining your attack to your opponent creates a pact where your power is temporarily buffed" soooo

Nanami's attack power is basically video game butchery btw.

You're just making this elder-dude look even sketchier now.

No Nort-ings has happened yet, but we do get a classic "gullible angst-ridden teen falls for the villain's philosophy" angle oh-so-common in those games.

All of Yuuji's time spent in his "training arc" really seems to be paying off!

Hi, I'm one of those friends. Anyways, speaking about things being true to my life. LBR, I consider Junpei MUCH less insufferable than Sasuke because his struggle with bullies and human cruelty are actually pretty relatable. At least to me, also a former misunderstood teenage edgelord.

Mahito smells his disdain for humanity from the next dimension and decides to take the kid under his (sometimes literal) wing.

How their relationship contrasts Nanami's teachings of Yuuji highlights exactly how emotionally predatory this is. While Nanami isn't quick to dole out compliments, he is first and foremost concerned with Yuuji's wellbeing which is why he goes through such lengths to remind him of his immaturity. Mahito, on the other hand, pretty much immediately instills both fear and affection into him and makes him think he's more grown-up than he actually is.

Though, we do get a ton of useful exposition out of it! Like some info on who our other big bads, the sentient curses, are supposed to be.

With Mahito himself representing good ole misanthropy! Making him pretty much the most human and inhuman of all. That also means that most of what he uses to fight are actually uhh, other humans. Much to Yuuji's dismay.

Though the good doc insists that they died of shock when being transformed so Yuuji isn't quite a murderer (yet).

Indeed. Very Touching. Shame if anything happened to it.

Yeah, things aren't lookin' so great when your new best friend suddenly looks like he should be scrounging for chicken nuggets at the bottom of a McDonald's PlayPlace ball pit.

Yuuji is rightfully pissed the fuck off, which normally is what Mahito would want in order to bring out Sukuna, but turns out he's Yuuji-intolerant. Because of Mahito's shapeshifting abilities even strong-ass sorcerers like Nanami can barely get a hit in, but since Yuuji is so self-aware as Sukuna's vessel, he's able to power through no problem.

Regardless, Sukuna doesn't really feel like playing around.

He let's Mahito off the hook with a warning for the laugh (at Yuuji's expense) but let's it be known that unlike Yuuji's heart, he's NOT to be fucked with.

Unlike Gojou though, Nanami doesn't have a domain, and Yuuji isn't the only one still experiencing growth. The serious ass-whooping was actually just what Mahito needed in order to have his real epiphany and promptly traps Nanami into a domain of his own.

Gotta do your Naruto handsigns while eating tendies like a real weeb.

TFW you are 27-years-old but corporate life ages you so much you look unmistakably in your forties. Man, Fuck Capitalism. Value your "essential workers" more, damn it.

It also rings true in that there's not really one "correct" path in life and that for many people it's going to be full of twists and turns where some of us are going to take rather nontraditional routes before we even have a chance of figuring out what this big thing called "Life" is about. Which is why one of those twists is Yuuji just dropping in to save Nanami's ass from his "obligatory mentor sacrifice".

Cuz like, domains are meant to keep people IN not OUT.

He's alive though and that means he's still got room to figure that out, which is good because we gotta move that out of the way so we can deal with this new School vs School battle! AKA The Wacky Cursed Spirit Exorcism Race.

Also, immediately dealing with the awkward dilemma of introducing Yuuji to the rest of the cast, but instead of going for something more dramatic, JJK just embraces the awkwardness for full-hilarious effect by having Yuuji pop out of a box like a stripper out of a cake at a bachelor party.

This leads to hands down, one of the best sequences in the show. The screen immediately shifts to wide-screen while Toudou's mind delves deep into his own fantasy about him and Yuuji being bros in regular non-sorcerer murder-y school, full of inspirational (mis)quotes from famous wrestlers.

It's so funny he even asks out his beloved idol, Takada-chan, and promptly GETS DUMPED IN HIS OWN FANTASY, only for his new bffsies Yuuji to comfort him, like a real bro.

Though if you think this lets Yuuji off the hook, you'd be wrong. Toudou is more hungry for a fight than ever but he's also not about to let his colleagues get away with his prize, so it's at least one meaty obstacle to keep everyone else from ganging up on him. He's also got some more backup this time than before.

Though, they might lack some means of communication.

The big wigs are still dead-set on making sure Yuuji gets killed (again) before Sukuna becomes a problem and want to use the exchange event as a cover, so the gangs are dead-set on fighting each other ON TOP OF whatever cursed spirit they're supposed to be dealing with. It's a more standard set-up, but JJK has proven itself to be effective enough at making both the action and characters compelling, no matter how dark or weird it is.

We're in the age where we got more Shonen Jump adaptions than ever. This season alone has at least two other series to keep eyes on. With so many running concurrently, It can be hard to find what really makes a series stand out, make you laugh, or tug on your heartstrings, but JJK, despite being relatively new, still manages to do it all with its own style to boot.

Well, hopefully the rest of them keep up the quality and we'll be COOL!! 'Til next time, folks.