This summer, the second season of the very popular anime 'Jujutsu Kaisen' began airing. It has already passed the halfway point and amazes viewers with the epicness happening, so we decided that now is the time to tell you more about the first season...

'Jujutsu Kaisen' is an adaptation of the manga of the same name by Gege Akutami, first released in March 2018 in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, where it continues to be published to this day. This story grew out of a mini-series 'Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School,' consisting of only four chapters (later it became a prequel to the main plot and was titled 'Jujutsu Kaisen 0'). As of 2023, the manga's circulation has exceeded 80 million copies, so it's no surprise that with such popularity, the work quickly got an adaptation that managed to attract a large audience. By the release of the second season, the anime had become a real hit, so talking about and ignoring 'Jujutsu Kaisen' is a real crime.

Evgeny Belousov

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What's the Plot?

The main character of our story is a boy named Yuji Itadori. Nature endowed the teenager with excellent physical strength, but at school he attends the Occult Research Club instead of a sports one. One day, Yuji's grandfather is hospitalized, and the grandson hurries to visit his only relative, but during the visit, the old man dies, having time before his death to give Itadori instructions to use his strength to help others and to die surrounded by loved ones, unlike him. Before the old man's body has time to cool, fate gives the grandson the opportunity to fulfill the order, because at the hospital, the guy is bothered by Megumi Fushiguro, a first-year student at Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School, who is looking for a certain 'ancient cursed object' that Itadori took and gave to his friends from the Occult Research Club. 

It turns out that the schoolchildren are now in grave danger, because the item they got is one of the twenty fingers of the legendary dual-faced curse Ryomen Sukuna, who lived over a thousand years ago and instilled fear in all sorcerers and curses. To save the teenagers, Yuji and Megumi engage in an unequal battle with ugly creatures, but during the fight, Fushiguro is seriously wounded. To save his new acquaintance and fulfill his grandfather's request, Itadori decides to swallow the finger of the dual-faced one (because curses can only be exorcised by curses, and physical strength won't help here), and at that moment the worst happens: Sukuna gains flesh in Yuji's body. 

Megumi, frightened, intends to destroy the vessel of the dual-faced one, but suddenly his teacher and the strongest sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, appears, who stops the student, easily kicks the villain's ass, and, making sure that Itadori can control the curse, decides to keep the guy alive (at least until he swallows all 20 fingers, which will allow them to be destroyed at once along with the vessel). From this moment, Yuji Itadori begins a new life and enters the magic technical school, where he will find new friends and learn to use his powers for the benefit of others. Just as his deceased grandfather wanted.

Deadly Battle, Hands Like Bats

'Jujutsu Kaisen' is a creation of studio MAPPA, which gave viewers 'Attack on Titan', 'Chainsaw Man' and 'Hell's Paradise'. A relatively young studio that has quickly developed into a competitive giant, adding new interesting titles to its collection every year and not skimping on decent budgets for them. Perhaps that's why MAPPA's projects become super popular, although most likely it's just one of the factors that works in conjunction with a good sense for interesting stories aimed at the widest possible audience. 

The studio's style is immediately recognizable from the drawing. Here, 3D graphics that stand out from the overall picture intertwine with incredibly expensive visuals bordering on real art (the same was in 'Chainsaw Man'). It's interesting how many artists are held captive by MAPPA? Because working out details like that, especially during battles, is incredibly labor-intensive and complex work that requires a lot of time. The series is simply a feast for the eyes, where viewers are visually delighted not once every few episodes, but regularly from episode to episode.

The creators perfectly understood that the impressive budget would pay off, as 'Jujutsu Kaisen' is a classic shonen with all the components, aimed at a very large audience. Mangaka Gege Akutami has repeatedly said that he was inspired by popular representatives of the genre when creating it, so it's not surprising that many recognizable elements from other works migrated into the title. Moreover, the anime constantly pays homage to the 'old school'. 

Many templates here are visible to the naked eye. For example, there are three main characters: carefree and simple-minded, but strong and kind Yuji Itadori, calm and extremely serious Megumi Fushiguro, self-confident, slightly arrogant, bold, and hot-tempered Nobara Kugisaki. And they are led by an incredibly powerful and incredibly charismatic joker, Satoru Gojo. Classic, what can I say. 

The plot of the first season also follows quite predictable canons. First, 'Jujutsu Kaisen' introduces us to its characters. Then it gradually develops events, giving the heroes the opportunity to demonstrate their powers in battles. Then the antagonists come into play, who reveal themselves a little better when they unexpectedly (let's pretend) intervene in the plot of the competitive arc, but eventually retreat, saving their main trump cards for future encounters. And finally, a final showcase of all the skills the heroes have acquired over the entire season through hard training and tough battles. 

Another recognizable shonen technique is when the protagonists are on the brink of death (and this happens often here), you hardly have to worry about them, because it's almost obvious that at the very last moment they will gather their remaining strength, attain a new level of their abilities, and defeat the opponent. However, this does not apply to the teacher, because he is the strongest in any situation, so if the youngsters really can't handle it, the master will come and throw everyone around (at the end, of course).

And the main villains are not really taken out of the game, no matter how badly they get beaten, which, to be honest, can be annoying. The only thing that dies in such conditions is the intrigue, as the viewer stops believing in the mortality of important characters. Only occasionally does someone die in the first season, and then only when it's time to feed the audience some twist so they don't get too relaxed.

Magic and Muscles

However, no one says that everything that happens is boring to watch and all the templates work poorly. That's not at all the case. 'Jujutsu Kaisen' skillfully combines drama and comedy, seasoning everything with magnificent action. Gege Akutami, although he takes many elements from classic shonen (the anime and manga receive the most criticism for their striking similarity to 'Naruto'), at the same time he strives to 'cut off the excess', creating a so-called 'new generation shonen'. Unlike the 'old school', the show looks very dynamic, because it does not stretch the narrative and battles with antagonists over a ton of episodes, sometimes overdoing the intrigue. Over 24 fairly active episodes of the first season, the plot sags only once, but even in this case, the positive moments stand out favorably.   

Although there is, of course, a point where the series cannot compete with the classics. 'Jujutsu Kaisen' is packed with characters, and over the first season, a bunch of names are dumped on the viewer without properly introducing their bearers, so the anime does not have time to systematically reveal everyone. Some characters get only a couple of minutes of screen time, which is clearly too little for the potential hidden in them. However, this problem is easily solved over the distance, because sooner or later the creators will get to everyone's story, you just need to be patient. Moreover, even in the first season, there are bright stars who managed to be remembered and make many fans fall in love with them even without full disclosure. 

Speaking of the foreground, the undeniable favorites of the audience are Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna. The first is damn charismatic (did I already say that?), damn strong (that too?), damn funny (repetition is the mother of learning) and damn charming handsome man with incredible blue eyes, capable of making both guys and real men fall in love with him (I can't vouch for girls and women, who knows their preferences). 

As for the second, it's exactly the same situation with charisma and strength, but instead of fun, charm, and beautiful eyes (although he has two pairs of them), he is endowed with a huge ego and cold-blooded calmness, in which power is felt. Sukuna in 'Jujutsu Kaisen' is a kind of mysterious third party that doesn't give a damn about both protagonists and antagonists. The dual-faced one has his own goals and plans, so if someone gets in his way, they'll have to visit the Tomb of Evil (the tour is certainly fascinating, but it's unlikely to have the opportunity to visit the attraction twice).

And if we bring up the conversation about secondary characters, almost all viewer attention is stolen by Panda and Kento Nanami. Honestly, Panda is generally a brilliant character. Why didn't anyone think of including these wonderful bears in shonen before? We were shown in 'Kung Fu Panda' and 'Tekken' games how well they can fight, so such an ally will always come in handy. His main drawback is that he first appears only in the fifth episode, and before that, the viewer only glimpses him in the opening. How can that be? Couldn't they have immediately indicated the presence of such a cool character? Gojo and Sukuna will have to make room in the fight for fan hearts.

It would seem, how can anyone else compete with such a powerful trio? But do not underestimate Nanami, with whom any viewer will find it extremely easy to identify. Perhaps we all don't possess magic (although who knows), but surely each of us, like Kento, just hates working overtime (relatable, isn't it?). There is a certain schedule. Routine, no argument, but staying longer than necessary, sorry. By the way, Nanami is the mangaka's favorite character, because he is the first one Gege Akutami created and developed independently, without being inspired by anyone else.

Probably, those who didn't like the series can be understood, because it's a super popular title (and that already annoys many), built on familiar techniques and not offering anything fundamentally new to the genre. Such projects, one might say, are a tasty morsel for those who like to throw around negative phrases like: 'Overhyped, derivative, and polished anime for girls and kids,' but one cannot deny that almost every frame of the show is art, showing the level of quality of the series.

Moreover, it's obvious that the first season (and the prequel film) is just a warm-up, and the main events are still ahead for viewers, since not all characters have been revealed yet, and the plot is still very rosy and simple. However, the anime's foundation for the future is impressive, and if you are patient, expectations will easily be justified already in the second season, which promises even more epicness and long-awaited twists that can turn around the idea that 'Jujutsu Kaisen' is just another cookie-cutter shonen among a bunch of similar ones.

What's the Verdict?

'Jujutsu Kaisen' is a 'new generation shonen' that, although it sins with clichés and a predictable plot, compensates for its shortcomings with dynamics, visual quality, and an interesting story. Perhaps you can't put it on par with the best titles (at least after watching the first season), but its mass appeal can help many people who have never watched anime to start falling in love with the genre and continue digging further in this direction (so to speak, expanding the territory). This project can easily become a key to a huge treasure chest, behind the doors of which countless riches are hidden (personally, I would say a jackpot).