Anime Review - Jujutsu Kaisen

Episodes: 24
Aired: Oct 3, 2020 to Mar 27, 2021
Studio: MAPPA
Genre: Shounen, Action, Fantasy
Duration: 23 min. per ep.
Rating: R – 17+ (violence & profanity)
Add to list on MAL
MY RATING: 8 out of 10

Idly indulging in baseless paranormal activities with the Occult Club, high schooler Yuuji Itadori spends his days at either the clubroom or the hospital, where he visits his bedridden grandfather. However, this leisurely lifestyle soon takes a turn for the strange when he unknowingly encounters a cursed item. Triggering a chain of supernatural occurrences, Yuuji finds himself suddenly thrust into the world of Curses—dreadful beings formed from human malice and negativity—after swallowing the said item, revealed to be a finger belonging to the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, the “King of Curses.”
Yuuji experiences first-hand the threat these Curses pose to society as he discovers his own newfound powers. Introduced to the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, he begins to walk down a path from which he cannot return—the path of a Jujutsu sorcerer.
via MAL

Just like the Tokyo Revengers, Jujutsu Kaisen was really popular when it was first aired last year. And seeing that it is supernatural, I knew I had to watch it too, unfortunately I wasn’t able to watch it sooner, hahaha.

I only watched the trailer this year, but seeing all those posts about this anime on my facebook feed, I have a feeling that I will really enjoy this one. And I sure did!

Opening & Closing Theme + Song: 8/10

That first opening theme is definitely one of my favorites. I can already feel the hype just watching it plus the song fits it perfectly. I am also loving the animation so far, well, I usually love anything from MAPPA anyway, *wink.

The first ending theme on the other hand is very cute. And that song!!!!!!

The second opening also looks captivating, but I think it lacks excitement when compared to the first opening. The second closing on the other hand exudes emotion, not just because of the scenes but also because of the song. I love it!

Story: 6/10

Jujutsu Kaisen has a very simple story: monsters (curses) exist, people eliminate these curses (sorcerers). In terms of originality, there isn’t that much, but Jujutsu Kaisen has a really strong power system, which is the cursed energy. Cursed energy is kind of like Chakra from Naruto. Both need a good amount of focus and training to achieve them. The only difference is that in Naruto, chakra exists in all beings, however in Jujutsu Kaisen, not everyone has cursed energy. Those who can’t use cursed energy use cursed tools instead which is a really interesting concept.

Jujutsu Kaisen’s story as a whole may be typical and generic, but I think they were able to deliver just enough message through its story and characters which gives it that tiny edge over other successful shounen series. There are only 24 episodes for the first season, so I understand the time constraints but I really like how they were able to make use of the time and gave us not just action packed scenes but also interesting backstory of not just the main characters but also the other characters involved. I believe all of those scenes are a healthy amount of seasoning where it doesn’t feel forced at all, and quite natural within the scope of each character and their personalities.

However, the first episode may be a bit of a downer since we literally jumped right into the world of curses without much exploration of the relationship between Itadori and his deceased grandfather. But I think for me, it wasn’t a total downer since I always love my series to start with action hahaha, but it will eventually brought up on the next episodes, *wink.

Another thing I like about this series is how it was able to switch tones from dark and gritty into a light hearted one perfectly. There was definitely no boring moment in the entire time I was watching it, despite the story being simple and typical, I really enjoyed this series.

Sometimes simplicity isn’t always the killer, and Jujutsu Kaisen definitely proved that to me, *wink.

Characters: 9/10

Itadori, Yuuji

At the start of this series, you can already see that he’s a very likeable character so he gets along well with basically anyone. He’s also physically gifted so it was no wonder how easily he got stronger even though most of his training is just binge watching a movie lol (but there’s an explanation to that, hahaha).

Just like most shounen main characters, Itadori may look and act like an idiot but he sticks to his principle which is actually very admirable. It’s just a very short watch, but I really like watching his growth in this series.

Fushiguro, Megumi

Just looking at him, you can already tell that he’s probably the most sensible in the trio. So I was really surprised that he used to be such a delinquent before, hahaha. He cares for his friends and you can really see his potential to be a great sorcerer.

Kugisaki, Nobara

The only girl in the trio, but don’t let that fool you. Kugisaki is both girly and strong, the same qualities that I want to have for my female leads. She’s confident of her beauty and doesn’t flinch to get dirty when fighting, which is really badass. She also cares for her friends and is such a really interesting character.

Gojou, Satoru

The ever popular Gojou sensei. You can’t talk about Jujutsu Kaisen without mentioning Gojou. He’s the most powerful jujutsu sorcerer, like very OP! It was actually hard to imagine at first since he’s very playful and carefree…unless he gets really serious. You’ve got to see him without his blindfolds on, I’m sure you’ll get jealous how beautiful his eyes and EYELASHES are. I swear he and Fushiguro have the most beautiful eyelashes in this series, lol.

Aside from those I’ve individually mentioned above, Jujutsu Kaisen has some really cool side characters like Panda, Maki, Inumaki, Toudou. Every character in this series is freaking good and interesting, even the antagonists Sukuna and Mahito have a considerable amount of depth to them which makes this series even better.

Art: 10/10

I don’t usually fuss on this aspect just as long as it looks beautiful to me and I love the story. There were some few anime out there that looked beautiful but failed in the fighting scenes, but Jujutsu Kaisen delivered perfectly on both. I’m not sure about you, but I love everything.

I haven’t read the manga yet so I can’t differentiate or make a comparison whether they closely follow the manga or not, but I really liked the character design.

Also another thing that is worth mentioning is Jujutsu Kaisen’s eye catchers. They are those intro type clips that are often in the middle of an episode. Jujutsu Kaisen’s eye catcher is captivating, and I love this horror-y feel to it.

***

To sum it all up, Jujutsu Kaisen is definitely a very good series. New anime don’t always work for me, but I have to say that this series is definitely one of the good ones. YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH THIS!