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The anime fever has got me good. All my free time is taken up by daily anime sessions which are pretty therapeutic for someone fatigued by myriad of banal Hollywood remakes and reshoots. However, I need to be honest about the fact that even the world of anime is oversaturated with shonen anime, and many still fall victim to the tropes of typical shonen shows. Just when you thought shonen anime can’t avoid these tropes, Jujutsu Kaisen enters the show as a complete gamechanger.
Based on the manga by Gege Akutami, Jujutsu Kaisen is another magnificent production by MAPPA (the astute studio behind Attack on Titan Season 4) and tells us the story of Itadori Yuji, Kugisaki Nobara and Megumi Fushiguro, a trio of amateur occult sorcerers under the guidance of the scintillating Gojo Satoru whose primary objective to rid the world of curses that lurk among humanity.
The story might sound like one ripped off of your typical shonen anime, but the discovery of a world infested with walking-talking curses of different grades and how our heroic band of sorcerers face them off will definitely force you to rethink. Jujutsu Kaisen is unlike any anime I have ever watched- it is a perfect combo of action, satire and horror elements, augmented by propulsive soundtracks and MAPPA’s gorgeous animation. Without a doubt, this was the biggest surprise for me this year.
We can easily start off with the positive aspects of this series, because these aspects heavily outweigh the almost clandestine negative ones. Firstly, MAPPA’s animation is stunningly beautiful, you can call it the fruit of the labor of several talented animators. We get a captivating view of Tokyo and Kyoto as we follow Itadori and co. in their daunting missions to exorcise curses. These curses, though intended to look hideous, are spectacular and at times menacing to look at, with great attention to details in their costumes or stature and incorporation of a plethora of colors to enliven them. You can pause almost in any shot and take a picture, and it will make for a fine wallpaper.
Aside from brilliant animation, Jujutsu Kaisen features some of the most enticing and charismatic characters of all time. Our protagonist Itadori Yuji is not your typical, naïve hero; being a pervert for Jennifer Lawrence at times but mostly because he is fragile and falters many a times only to learn how to fight back, which makes his character rather interesting to watch. His friends Fushiguro and Nobara are compelling characters themselves besides supporting Yuji, and watching each of their motivations and unexpectedly poignant backstories unravel made the show somewhat an emotional rollercoaster for me. Itadori inhabits Sukuna, the King of curses, who is perhaps the most intimidating character in the history of manga. He looks malevolent, and can be threatening sometimes just by his looks. Every scene with him kept me on the edge of my seat because his mere presence is eerie.
There is a superfluous of badass characters, and Nanami and Todou stand out amongst them because of their enigmatic personas. But the only character in the anime who made me jump out of my seat with sheer excitement is none other than Gojo Satoru. Gojo reminded me of Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan- a character who is so cool that he can literally steal the heart of the audience within a few scenes. Gojo is that one coveted character every anime wishes it showcases, and his looks, his powers and his deftness made me reconsider my choice of favorite anime character of all time.
Apart from the gorgeous animation, heart-pounding scores and brilliant characters, what makes Jujutsu Kaisen exceptional is its delicious blend of horror and comedy. Jujutsu Kaisen can be scary at times- like extremely scary. I had shivers down my spine during a couple of scenes because the anime cleverly sets up a queer environment. However, it can be hilarious too at times because of its slapstick humor which is thankfully not annoying at all. This perfect balance of horror and comedy backed up with tear-jerker moments made up for an exciting journey as we followed our heroes unearthing the various secrets behind the curses. Moreover, the action sequences are satiating for an action lover like me. The show displays some high voltage face offs that keep you on your toes, and the stakes are heightened by the fact that some curses are ‘special grades’ who are unmatched by our inexperienced heroes. You never feel blasé because these are some fights you haven’t seen in anime before, and the introduction of ‘domain expansion’, whereby characters can force the enemy into their own mystic worlds and maximizes the damage (a perfect analogy would be Scorpion from Mortal Kombat dragging his opponent to the Netherrealm), reinforces this claim. As an icing on the cake, each episode ends with a segment called ‘Juju Stroll’, which is basically a small, hilarious clip where the characters act goofy and joke about serious issues presented in the story.
However, the anime has its drawbacks. A character is introduced halfway through the show, whom you expect to be a prominent addition but he is quickly decimated and never referred to again. I found some of the jokes to be mistimed distractions that drained away the tension from the scenes. In addition to that, Gojo’s presence is restricted to a handful of scenes. While this could be because Gojo’s powers are unbounded, it makes us question the decisions to send trainees to fight certain curses that are on par with Gojo only, and it somewhat left me unsatiated. However, these didn’t diminish my experience, and I had a blast with this show.
In conclusion, Jujutsu Kaisen is the The Blair Witch Project of shonen anime- it revolutionizes the genre by incorporating horror elements, comic relief and amazing storytelling and in its attempts, the show succeeds. Looking forward to the second season with profound hope.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 gets an A-.
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