The Observation Deck: Jujutsu Kaisen Season Two
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Before I continue on to the review proper, I will mention that I talked briefly about JJK’s second season late last year before it had finished, and because of that, will probably focus on things that were not discussed in that post. So, if it feels like is something obvious not being talked about in this review, that might be why. That being said, HOLY SHIT JUJUTSU KAISEN KICKS ASS.
Jujutsu Kaisen is both easy and difficult to categorize. On the one hand, it fits in pretty neatly with this trend of “darker” shonen series of recent years which in all honestly are not that dark, just a lot bloodier and edgier. The Shonen audience has grown along with the magazine and maybe outgrown the demographic categories altogether, at least to a certain extent.
At the same time, JJK also feels incredibly conventional in its story progression and plot. Yuji is the new kid on the block with newfound powers and has to fit into a pre-existing magical infrastructure to harness them for a new purpose. Oh boy, where have I seen that before? Oh hey Black Clover, Bleach, One Piece, and every other Shonen series for the last couple of decades, didn’t see you there.
Of course, that is a bit unfair, because while the setup is nothing special, the execution absolutely is. This is especially true of the show’s second season, where the storytelling, character development, animation, etc have all been turned up to 11. The second season is so good that Gojo might not even be the most compelling element of it, which is saying something considering it starts with a four-episode backstory of his fallout with Geto and how that has led to the current organization of Jujutsu society.
Oh boy, where to start? Uh, maybe with the punchy punchy?
The Fight Scenes
While talking about Cowboy Bebop last year, I briefly touched on the idea of the “rule of cool” and how, if a show is going to do something, at least make it look good. Now, this is not to say I have any sort of expertise on how to animate a fight or that my subjective opinion about what “cool” is should have any real weight in a professional setting. That being said, Jujutsu Kaisen often just gets what makes a fight cool and how to execute it.
JJK has always had great fight scenes, but what really set them apart this season was just how much chaos is involved in the Shibuya incident. Not only is Mahito back in full force, but Geto is also ready to unleash his plan so the two team up along with the other special grade curses to unleash hell in the city. The movie, Jujutsu Kaisen Zero, already featured a little of what Geto’s plan looks like, but in this season it really comes to fruition.
A lot of that is born out of just how much fighting there is from start to finish. Basically, any character who had some sort of relevance to the plot previously gets involved in the fighting. However, there are some standouts worth talking about.
Of course, the run back on the Yuji/Todo team-up was always gonna be sick af given how Todo’s powers work, and with the addition of Mahito it becomes even tenser since making contact for even a second could be potential instant death. The animation of Todo’s teleportation is also quite nice. It feels reminiscent of an instant transmission ala Dragon Ball Z but with enough of a twist to still be its own thing.
Another fight that was thoroughly entertaining albeit brief was Gojo beating the ever-loving shit out of Nanami and Jugo, but mainly Nanami. I feel like important characters having their joker moments in the middle of unimportant fights is another one of those Shonen staples that just happens now. While it didn’t feel the most appropriate for Gojo given how calm and playful his character had been up to that point, it is understandable given the situation.
Glow-Up and Show-Up
Again, there was a lot of good character development throughout season one, but the second season really capitalized on some of those bigger moments in a satisfying though sometimes deeply emotional way.
The biggest example of this to me is the remnants of Mechamaru helping Yuji and others navigate Shibuya during the drawn-out battle. It genuinely surprised me how Koichi, Mechmaru’s puppeteer, had one of the more compelling backstories of the first season, despite barely ever being on screen himself.
Bound by a permanent, life-threatening injury, he is forced to use robots with the ability to carry cursed energy as his only means of combat. Additionally, Mahito seems to be the only one able to heal him and thus Koichi feels a deal is in order. However, the deal becomes mute when, after healing Koichi, Mahito decides it would be better to just kill him anyway, and the two ultimately fight it to the death. You can probably imagine where this is going.
Though he definitely comes off as a bit delusional and a huge asshole at the start, Todo also comes through with some surprisingly deep change. Todo’s friendship with Yuji, despite being mostly one-sided, serves as a strong motivator for personal growth. After connecting with Yuji over their love of…big asses, he sees the young sorcerer in the position he was in not that long ago: someone who is likely to become one of the strongest sorcerers and thus decides Yuji needs a bit of mentoring.
Is it a bit ridiculous and largely played-for jokes? Most definitely. However, there is a genuine connection there that feels fully realized even though Toji gets relatively little screen time.
What is It All For?
It is nice to see that anime commentators are moving their work to shorter-form spaces like TikTok and Instagram because someone who unfortunately I am not able to credit due to forgetting their username brought up a great point about the role of Gojo and Geto. Hidden Inventory was a great arc because it lays a sort of foundational understanding of the current paradigm within Jujutsu society.
The point that the user made was that despite the framing of the conflict being one of Gojo and the other sorcerers being “good” and Geto being “bad,” they do not seem to disagree fundamentally about their roles in the world. Gojo never seemed to disagree that sorcerers are inherently better or that human lives are worthless. In fact, it is not even clear Gojo disagrees with the methods. That being the case, what does it all mean?
It feels hard to give a good answer considering how much of the series I have yet to consume. One of the downsides of going anime only on a popular series is that any analysis is necessarily going to leave out material that has not been covered. What can be said is that Yuji and the other sorcerers are going to have to square their beliefs with those of Gojo, Geto, and the higher-ups of the Jujutsu world. In what form that will take it is hard to know, only that it feels necessary to a satisfying future conclusion.
Conclusion
Jujutsu Kaisen is far from over, and the announcement of season three immediately after the airing of the final episode of season two seems to suggest MAPPA is ready to see this series through. One can only hope that the studio continues to up the ante in the way this season did because it has definitely reached a high bar.
How did you all feel about Jujutsu Kaisen season two? Let me know down in the comments.
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Originally published at http://animatedobservations.com on January 16, 2024.
