'Jujutsu Kaisen' Is a Pretty Basic Battle Shonen, yet Brimming with Awesomeness

Jujutsu Kaisen was a huge hit when it debuted last Fall 2020.  In fact, many even considered it worthy of being Anime of the Year, even though its first season was only half-way done.  Personally, I preferred a couple of other anime over it in 2020, but I don’t necessarily think it didn’t deserve the hype.  And by remaining relevant in the loaded Winter 2021, in which it had to contend with many returning fan favorites and hot, new titles, Jujutsu Kaisen has cemented itself as a legit rival to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba for the title of best battle shonen in recent memory.

Jujutsu Kaisen tells the story of the battle between Jujutsu Sorcerers and Cursed Spirits.  Cursed Spirits, or just Curses for short, are malevolent spirits that have evolved from “Cursed Energy”, which is something generated by negative human emotions like grief and anger.  Most human beings can’t see Curses, which bring harm to humanity in varying degrees.  Low-level Cursed Spirits may just cause minor inconveniences such as tiredness, insomnia, or tight shoulders, while higher level Cursed Spirits bring about unexplained deaths and disappearances.   Meanwhile, the discipline of Jujutsu allows certain human beings the ability to manipulate Cursed Energy to power their special abilities (i.e. Cursed Techniques) or weapons (i.e. Cursed Tools).  Practitioners of Jujutsu are called Jujutsu Sorcerers, and they work from the shadows to protect humanity from Cursed Spirits.

The main character of the story is 15-year-old Yuji Itadori.  He stumbles upon the world of Jujutsu and Curses after meeting Megumi Fushiguro, a student Jujutsu Sorcerer who’s been tasked to recover a finger belonging to a fearsome Cursed Spirit named Ryomen Sukuna a.k.a. the King of Curses.  When a Curse that’s been attracted by Sukuna’s finger begins overwhelming Megumi in battle, Yuji impulsively devours Sukuna’s finger in order to obtain its power and save Megumi.  As a result, the Curse is destroyed, but at the cost of Yuji becoming Sukuna’s vessel.

Megumi’s teacher, Saturo Gojo, who’s widely considered as the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer alive, arrives at that point.  After a brief duel with Sukuna, Gojo apprehends Yuji.  Protocol and common sense dictate that Yuji must be executed in order to prevent Sukuna from being unleashed to the world, but Megumi hopes to save Yuji’s life.  Gojo agrees, and he manages to cut a deal with the higher ups to suspend Yuji’s execution.  Since Yuji seems to be capable of keeping Sukuna from completely taking over, Gojo argues that it’s better to keep Yuji alive for the time being until they can find all of Sukuna’s twenty fingers.  Once all of them are found and then consumed by Yuji, then he can be executed, which will rid the world of Sukuna’s threat once and for all.  Until then, Gojo places Yuji under his protection and mentorship.

Afterward, Yuji is enrolled in Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College, one of the two schools that train Jujutsu Sorcerers, where he’s reunited with Megumi.  They are soon joined by another freshman named Nobara Kugisaki, and the trio, while under the tutelage of Gojo, are sent on missions where they have to exorcise dangerous Cursed Spirits.

An ensemble of kickass characters, well-choreographed and pumped-up fights, a clever power system and the manifestation of spectacular and creative super powers, an ever present sense of coolness, the nakama theme… Jujutsu Kaisen has everything that would make an addicting battle shonen.  That means that if you’ve loved anime like Bleach, Naruto, or My Hero Academia, you will probably get invested on Jujutsu Kaisen easily.  On the other hand, that also means that everything you see in Jujutsu Kaisen, you’ve probably seen already in some form in Bleach, Naruto, or My Hero Academia.  Heck, its most standout character, Saturo Gojo, is basically Hatake Kakashi, only prettier, cockier, more easy-going, and more overpowered by at least ten times.

Nevertheless, despite having all the stereotypical characters and common tropes of battle shonen, Jujutsu Kaisen doesn’t feel stale or derivative.  It still gets over well.  It’s because it may be doing the same, old battle shonen beats, but it does them with striking swagger.  Gojo may be a Kakashi clone, but one may argue that he’s an upgrade (I’m still Team Kakashi, though).

It’s greatly elevated by its superb production value.  It’s one of those anime that is already worth watching by the merits of its visuals alone.  It’s an animation masterwork.  It has striking character designs, tons of exhilarating sakuga battles, and fabulous, pristine aesthetics in general.

So far, the plot isn’t particularly strong.  But that’s okay, as it’s not necessarily a narrative-driven show.  Next to the action, the memorable, interesting characters are its biggest draw.

My favorite is Kento Nanami.  Yes, Gojo is pretty cool, but aside from being a complete badass, there’s not that much depth going for him yet in the first season.  Nanami, on the other hand, feels better realized at this point.  He’s as appealing as Gojo, but in a different, more compelling way.  His backstory is pretty nice.  Deciding to pursue a career as a stock broker after graduating from Tokyo Jujutsu High, he eventually decided to return back to being a Jujutsu Sorcerer.   It’s because he felt that, even though he was earning well as a stock broker, he wasn’t really making a difference on the lives of others.  Meanwhile, although he’s only making a little bit of difference in the world as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, he’s content with at least making some difference.

Moreover, there’s just something exceptionally relatable and gratifying about a character who’s faithful and competent of what’s required of him by his job description while on the clock, but strongly abhors working overtime.  In the case of Nanami, he refuses to work after 6 pm, which is the time his shift as a Jujutsu Sorcerer ends.  However, simply adding another brilliant layer to this amusing personality trait is the fact that, if Nanami actually finds himself getting forced to work overtime, his special ability “Overtime” kicks in, which makes his cursed energy surge way up, boosting his fighting power.

Nanami is also one of the best stoic characters there are.  He’s calm in every situation, even in life-threatening ones.  Like Gojo, he will readily and courageously jump into great danger.  But Gojo, whose power levels are off the charts, can afford to be consistently confident.  Nanami isn’t the hyperpowered individual that Gojo is, and thus, it makes his bravery more impressive.  Even when death is seemingly the inevitable outcome, he faces it with remarkable coolness.

All in all, Jujutsu Kaisen is more style than substance.  But with style this awesome, it still comes off being a substantial anime.