Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Is it worth the Hype?

Outline summarizing the past season, what the show is about, and how I, personally, view the movie.

Jujustu fans have been waiting for the release of Jujustu Kaisen 0 since it announced March 27, 2021, and now that we have it, it seems to have left most of us with the same reaction. We were in complete awe! Before I get down to the nitty-gritty on how this was one of the best animation movies I’ve seen so far in 2022, I’m going to give a quick summary on Jujustu Kaisen.

In season one they introduced us to young shonin Yuji Itadori a regular high school who ironically is in an occult club, and visits his sick and grumpy grandpa every day. The last encounter he had with his grandpa was the spark of his hero moment, which ultimately led him to save his friends from unleashing one of the most powerful curse that they were holding, named Ryoumen Sukuna.

Yuji showed major main character energy when he ate Sukana’s finger, defeated a Curse, saved everyone, and could control Sukana’s cursed energy (it's very similar to Naruto and the Nine tails). Gojo then shows up another who is indeed another powerful and beautiful character who has to decide what to do with Yuji who is now yielding the most dangerous curse. Lightheartedly, Gojo sees Yuji’s potential and brings him abroad to Tokyo Jujustu High.

So on Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which is a prequel to the series, animator Gege Akutami introduced us the protagonist Yuta Okkatsu. Yuta’s origin story started from his childhood when his crush, Rika Orimoto was hit by a car after promising Yuta to marry one another in the future. Her character became a cursed spirit and ended up attaching on to Yuta; protecting and killing anyone who harms him. This led Gojo to Yuta, after Rika massacred Yuta’s high school bullies and, just like Yuji, he was placed in Jujustu high with his classmates.

(This was one of my favorite parts of the movie! To the right is Yuta and the left is Toge Inumaki who has the ability of cursed speech, so he basically he can command anyone to do anything. His screen time made me adore him more!)

Two features the production team on Jujutsu Kaisen never fails on are the visuals and the soundtrack. Everything about the visuals and music pleased my senses throughout the whole movie. I can say that these are some pretty important factors that can grasp one attention.

The character development of Yuta was projected though his classmates, which were Toge Inumaki, Panda, and Maki Zenin who all carry cursed energy as well. It was pretty great to see them get their screen time in the film rather than the original main characters. Another particular instance to go forth with, is how we were all used to seeing Maki nonchalant and cold nature in the series. The movie gave us a glimpse of Maki’s vulnerable side, but she still showed major, “Let take names and kick ass,” vibes. Toge also got a chance to show a side of him we didn’t get to see either, such as him being really kindhearted. Yes I indeed simp for Toge and Maki!!!

Yuta showed the viewers what to look forward to in each mission that was given to him. He progressively adapts to any situation they put him in and has a unique way of learning how to use his curse in combat. Usually, the anime protagonist has a slow advancement in developing and adapting, but not Yuta. On the downside, I felt like they rushed with his character progression during the film, giving us less personal knowledge on the character.

The villain- Suguru Geto (AKA the worst curse user and an old friend of Gojo), was probably (in my opinion) another downer about the movie. His goal in the film was to gather all superior curses to reign over the world, making Yuta his prime interest because of having a powerful curse possession. Although there was a piece of gore in the movie, I expected them to make Suguru a little more hardcore than in the series.

Overall the motion picture gave us a bunch of action, a bit of gore, a lot of humor, and amazing character development for the protagonist. The creators gave us a glimpse of what to expect out of the Jujutsu Kaisen franchise by giving us Easter eggs during the film. The second season will release sometime in 2023, so hopefully we will be able to see Yuta and Yuji together in action!