JUJUTSU KAISEN 2ND SEASON

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ActionJujutsu Kaisen
MANGA ActionJujutsu Kaisen
ANIME ActionJujutsu Kaisen: Shimetsu Kaiyuu

REVIEWS

• 

  Atef

  85/100
  Shibuya didn't just deserve better, it deserved the best.

  With this review I will try to explain the issues the JJK team faced throughout this season, what led up to this season, and how this affected the adaptation.

  MAPPA’s toxic practices have finally caught up to them. In a season mired with production issues, outspoken staff members, and outcry from the community, JJK team managed to pull off what can only be described as a miracle to get these episodes out on time. To explain the situation, first we need to go back to 2020.

  Contrary to popular belief, MAPPA consists of more than just one team, and the Seshimo Line is MAPPAs main team in charge of their biggest IPs, Jujutsu Kaisen, and more recently Chainsaw Man. The poor scheduling started all the way back when season 1 aired. Immediately after the production was completed, a movie and the second season were greenlit, all while having announced Chainsaw Man season 1. This meant that the team had 4 months to complete JJK0, to then immediately move onto CSM, which had roughly 9 months for an incredibly ambitious 12 episode production. That then leaves us to the second season of JJK, which had about 6 months from production to airing.

  Anyone who is familiar with animation production knows this is absolutely atrocious, and HAD to have foreseen the production crumbling.

  The basic rule of thumb when it comes to anime production is that 1 cour (10-13 episodes) takes about 1 year to produce, and consequently, a 2 cour (21-26 episodes) production would take almost double that. Now this is the industry standard time, this can vary however depending on the expertise of the staff behind it, the medium (CGI or hand-drawn), and the general content of the IP.

  Despite that, MAPPA is a large studio, with plenty of connections in the industry, and have gotten away with these short allotted production times in the past by hiring more animators to make up for that with numbers. They basically follow the general philosophy of adding more cooks in the kitchen rather than maintaining a smaller team that would guarantee an overall consistent product.

  This poor scheduling led to overworking young and talented animators, as well as industry veterans with plenty stating they will not return to MAPPA for any future projects. These practices actively harm future MAPPA productions, particularly Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, as it actively warns animators from working with them. Back in September, we saw leaks of an NDA animators at MAPPA were made to sign that forced them to not divulge information about the state of the production.

  This is further impacted by the director change, which saw the directorial debut of Shōta Goshozono (Gosso) replacing Sunghoo Park (JJK Season 1, JJK 0, God of Highschool). And while Gosso brings a refreshing, cinematic, take to the series, he evidently lacks the flair in action choreography that Park demonstrated in God of Highschool and the first season. Park brought such a great understanding of depth, weight and composition that is unique and brings a sense of realism that made these super powered fight sequences feel so down to earth. Fitting for a series so fight heavy. And while I am in no way unappreciative of Gosso’s work this season, especially under such a tight schedule, his take on fights just paled in comparison. With choreography and shot composition not up to the usual standards, it left a lot more to be desired.

  It is pure speculation as to why Park chose to not return as director in this season. Although if I were to take a guess, he might have foreseen the crazy demand and schedule proposed for the second season similar to the movie and left to create his own studio.

  In light of previous staff members not returning, 2 of the composers of the first season's soundtrack did not reprise their roles this time around. Season 1’s soundtrack was a collaborative effort of a team of 3 comprised of Alisa Okehazama, Hiroaki Tsutsumi and Yoshimasa Terui. However due to scheduling conflicts, both Alisa and Hiroaki could not return for the sequel, with admittedly the weakest of the trio returning for a solo effort. Yoshimasa is not a terrible composer by any means, his slower paced, emotion-packed pieces are his strong suit, but it is his faster paced arrangements for fight sequences that often feel erratic and make for a messy melody.

  This is further exacerbated by the misplaced soundtracks such as the Gojo and Geto conversation outside the KFC which was meant to be a heartfelt moment but wrongly came off as a cheerful encounter. The worst victim of this misplacement however has got to be the opening playing over Yuji’s breakdown in episode 17. In a scene that has now been memed to death, the choice of playing the opening during Yuji’s breakdown takes away all impact from an otherwise heart wrenching moment. At that point, we had seen so much death and destruction by the hands of the demon inside him that the focus should have been solely on Yuji and the guilt of his existence. Instead the Opening song queues and its so poorly mixed sound mixed in that it’s louder than his cries. This ultimately felt like a waste of Junya Enoki’s hard work.

  For me, I was always going to enjoy this season regardless of the adaptation, the content on its own is just so good that it could hold its own weight. Shibuya is the most fun I've had in shonen, the character development all highly condensed into a fight-packed arc with high stakes was pure fanservice. The fights ranged from scientific and technical like the Yuji v Choso fight to the raw and brutal like the Sukuna and Jogo. All culminating in an emotional fisticuffs showdown right at the end. What made the Shibuya arc special was how it did not fear to take out its best and most beloved characters, the constant sense of impending doom had viewers constantly on the edge of their seats.

  Even so, I can’t help but feel like we should’ve gotten better. This is a generational arc that didn’t deserve to have even the smallest and most inconsequential of fights such as the Grasshopper fight dumbed down to punch rushes. This entire season deserved to have the same quality as episodes 13 & 16. I can only dream of seeing the vision of these talented animators fully realised had they been given the right time.

  Ultimately, this situation is almost entirely Manabu Otsuka’s fault. Most likely during or just after the production of season 1 completed, the production committee met with MAPPA where they set the deadline for season 2 of 2023. Instead of using that time to give hidden inventory and Shibuya the love time and care it deserved, he decided to sneak Chainsaw Man in between. This is all an effort by Manabu to try and paint MAPPA as a high profile but quick studio. That is why they released the movie in just 4 months, it is to appeal to more production committees with rights to big IPs that might be willing to go to MAPPA for a quick adaptation. And now that they have pushed away all these talented animators and industry veterans, I fear that future seasons might not showcase much creativity that they brought to the table.

  That is not to speak of the incredibly talented work and the herculean effort the animators put into this season. It is nothing short of a miracle that they were able to put out an above average adaptation in half a year, and is a true testament to the talent that the team has and what we might unfortunately not see again in this future. I just wish that they were given more room to breathe and let their talents show.

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• 

  vessalius5524

  58/100
  The lost child of anime

  Jujutsu Kaisen expands over a very novel concept, negative emotions or energy creates monsters that are a threat to humans. The basic significance of this concept comes from the fact that while its no more then the materialization of "energy" those curses are very much human in a poetic way(ultimately creating a paradox or explaining how humans are) which is mostly tackeled in the climaxes and to portray that several storylines are woven to make a tale which potentially could have been one of the best things this medium could have provided...
  Which brings me to a neat little fact.
  It fails...

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  And lets elaborate on that. Jujutsu Kaisen introduces a sheer number of story lines and dynamics through some good action, but ultimately due to the sheer number of those it loses a general sense of direction which not only makes the characterization one of the weakest aspects of this series, But also rushes the conclusions or the pay offs in general. Toji Fushiguro, Geto, Gojo, Jogo and several others including Itadori go through phases which while could have been "impactful" end up being something hollow in the end.
  And it makes one of the most jarring decisions in media... Killing of characters suddenly to move the plot forward for the protagonist.
  Something is always left to be desired or more specifically the general feeling of "there should be something more" always remains intact.

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  But a question arises why would that be?
  Considering the author does try to fit in a lot of stuff, ultimately the pacing issues arise. Jujutsu kaisen is fast when it comes to character moments while slow in general stuff which ultimately isnt important for the main plot.
  Ultimately these flaws or pacing/character issues are more apparent in the manga counter parts and even though the anime did overshadow that to some degree, you cant exactly do change or eliminate that aspect entirely.
  So whats the basic verdict in the end? Generally speaking, exploring one concept but carefully crafting it with characters has created several successful storylines and its no secret why. Having to many directions always ruins what "could have been" or a general impact or theme what ultimately compels one to write and thats the main prob with this season. In the end Jujutsu Kaisen is neither simple or complex ... Just hollow.
  Enjoyment is subjective and action is certainly an attraction but considering how weakly its built and again the sheer num of sequences or fights, its basically not something which can really create a sense of enthrallment(but again this factor is subjective). And the production really didnt help in that regard again.
  All in all watchable but literally got lost in its own storyline.
  Thanks for reading =)

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• 

  Douzeries

  90/100
  The departure of that character is the best thing that has happened to this story

  __(contains spoilers)__

  Have you ever felt like a character is not blessed with a situation where they can make the most of their talents? You feel like the character is super interesting and has potential but they're never satisfyingly used by the narrative. Well, that's how I used to feel, not towards a character but towards a story as a whole: Jujutsu Kaisen.

  What I felt was indifference: I perfectly understood why people liked it and it should've been a story I loved myself yet I felt like it didn't take any risks and I couldn't fully feel involved with its stakes concurrently.
  In reality, it was simply due to my preferences and tastes but, after experiencing the Hidden Inventory & The Shibuya incident arc, I realized the root of all evil: Gojo. This little goofball plainly existing was one of my biggest hold back from wholly being immersed in JJK.

  His sealing is the best event that occured in the story and this is what I'm going to demonstrate in this review.

  

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  __Hidden's Inventory Arc: THE DESACRALIZATION OF GOJO__

  Gojo is 'perfect'. He was born with the six-eyes which gives him access to high levels of understanding capacity and analyzation. Both as a sorcerer and as a human being, he 'stands above others'. His mere birth caused the world to change and blah blah blah. Point is, all these factors made him a problem narratively wise. The first obvious one would be that he's broken: his ability quite litteraly being infinity, he could easily overpower any antagonist in the series (in S1, keep in mind) which can undermine the stakes for the viewers. Another thing, which was my personnal issue, is that it made him appear flat as a character. It was always hinted that his conflict resided in his loneliness, his infinite barrier being a metaphor for the distance between him and other characters. And his will for the sorcerer 'society' to change without him simply having to kill everyone (geto vibes) added depht to his motives but... If I'm being honest, these were treated as sub-sub-plots. His main characterization throughout season 1 was him being cool and confident. I could also add to the list that he 'stole the show' but that's a little bit too silly, even for me.

  The Hidden Inventory Arc made me realize that what could have been interpretated as 'flaws' was just something called 'build up'

  

  Toji is an impressive antagonist. Despite his little screentime, he managed to become memorable due to his characterization made only possible by his opponent: He is the first character to ever beat Satoru. And boy, what a beating. I never thought I'd see Gojo arboring such panicked facial expressions. I like how Toji's insane speed was symbolized by the fact that we ourselves as viewers weren't ablet to see him. Not only did it add to his characterization but it also put us at 'the same level' as Gojo. For the first time, we were not viewers meant to simply be amazed by Gojo's powers and confidence but we were his equals, sharing his fears and distress. His terrible loss taught us that he wasn't invulnerable. (Later on, he improves his technique which pretty much makes him invulnerable but keep in mind that I'm talking about how it affected our perception him as viewers).

  This fight also put in perspective the ideology of Gojo. We're reminded of his discourse with Geto in the first episode of the season. While Geto thought that it was the strong duty to protect the weak, Gojo was displeased with the idea of placing moral obligation on the concept of strenght. If you are strong, you are strong, if you are weak, you are weak. Only the weak would put restrictions and morals upon the strong to justify their own weakness and existence. Which makes sense because in a world ruled by the law of the strongest, the weaks have no right to live. Edgy, but that sums it up. That's the meaning behind that goofy braindestroyer quote "Are you Gojo Satoru because you're the strongest or are you the strongest because you're Gojo Satoru" that could also be phrased as "Did you earn the title of the strongest or were you simply born as such?" as well as "Does being the strongest define you or are you the one typifying it?"... Well, you get the gist of it. The point of this quote is to question the nature of the cause of Gojo's identity and strenght. Innate or acquired? Inevitable or preventable?

  How will a guy that made such bold statements about the strong and the weak react when he's put in a situation where he's outbested?

  

  GOJO AS BUDDHA AND TOJI AS SUN WUKONG

  This might be common knowledge at this point but Toji versus Gojo round 2 is a tribute to/inspired by the tale of Sun WuKong and Buddha. Sun WuKong is the chinese trickster god also known as Monkey King that inspired many characters such as Goku, Luffy, Mori-Jin etc. He represents human's unbreakable spirit against fatality. He became insanely powerful but his negative emotions such as his greed, anger and pride led him to challenge Buddha, the 'awakened'. Buddha made a bet with him. The Monkey King was to win and claim the Jade Emperor was he able to escape the palm of Buddha's hand. Sun Wukong jumped and flew to the end of the world. Seeing nothing but five pillars, the Monkey King thought he had finally reached the far reaches of the universe. He returned triumphantly to Buddha only to find out that the five pillars were Buddha's fingers and that he never even left his palm.

  We can see many correlations with Jujutsu Kaisen. Firstly, similarly to Sun WuKong, Toji is himself a man who fought fatality. From the day he was born his fate was sealed and his value as a human was already decided, yet he refused his predestination and became the strongest Zen'in despite not having any cursed energy. He's ridiculously strong but three things led him to fight the awakened Gojo. One, his anger. The anger he felt when kid Gojo noticed him despite of all the things he had to go through to become invisible to the eyes of sorceres. Two, his ego. As he said it himself, he would've normally just made a run for it upon seeing the awakened Gojo. His job was done and he would've gained nothing by continuing the fight yet his pride didn not allow him to retreat. Three, his greed. His greedy will for getting back on the sorcerer world by killing their greatest asset, proving his worth, got the better of him. His sacrificed his 'true self' because of his negative emotions.

  On the other hand, Gojo got rid of his negative emotions (/took complete control over it), becoming imprenetable and transcending his human nature, attaining a higher state of consciousness, making him almost omniscient, in peace with himself and the world surrounding him. As if he was at the center of the universe, unleashing the true power of his sixth eye, throughout heavens and earth, he alone became the honoured one. As he said himself, he no longer felt any sadness nor anger towards Riko's death, he was simply in a state where his omniscience made him perceive everything and nothing all at once. This is an obvious allegory to Buddha when he reached Nirvanna. It is a place of perfect peace and happiness, like heaven. It is a state of enlightenment, meaning a person's individual desires and suffering go away as well as any negative mental states. Gojo killing Toji wasn't an act of malice but simply the consequence of Toji's actions. Gojo simply followed the 'laws of the universe' rather than his mere will. Toji who tried to denied his determinism was nothing but a monkey in the hand of Gojo embodying determinism itself (in a positive light). And the pillars he mistook for his way to freedom were the pillars that'd encage him against this inevitable truth and his demise. This can get too theoretical so I'll leave it there but I think the scene was very much understandable anyways.

  

  GOJO'S AND GETO'S DUALITY

  While fighting Toji made Gojo realize his place in the universe, Geto's defeat against Toji and Rika's death caused him the greatest of existential crisis. 'Taking in a cursed spirit is like swallowing the liquid of a rag that has just absorbed vomit'. Geto sacrificed himself for 'regular' humans. He had to bear all sorts of disgusting things for their sake only to find himself surrounded by them being overjoyed over the death of a little girl. What was he fighting for? He reaches a non-turning point after having massacred an entire vilage, including his parents, because the villagers had plans to execute two little girls for attracting demons. In reality, these girls were just more sensible to seeing cursed spirit. Not only are 'regular' humans the technical cause of all cursed spirit but they also put the blame on the only humans capable of saving them. Geto started to hate humans or as he likes to call them 'monkeys' (he's not beating the allegations I'm afraid).

  On the other hand, Gojo starts to developp a similar ideology to pre-Rika's death Geto. When the two of them confront each other and Geto breaks up with Gojo, the 'supremacy' of Gojo is once again questioned. Gojo could figuratevely see everything but the depression of his closest friend. This made me wonder, what does Gojo truly sees? What he wants to see. He believe he found his place in the universe but that's only as the one and only center of it. He knows that in a world without cursed spirit, the basis itself of his authority would be shaken off. Without the weak to protect, Gojo would have no identity as he was basically born to defeat curses. The gojobeinggojobecausehe'sstrongandthegojobeingstrongbecausehe'sgojo really does come in play here. Gojo's strenght is only justifiable due to curses existing just as Geto's plan wouldn't seem that unreasonable if he was as powerful as Gojo.

  From a cool-factor merchant to a layered character (thats also a complex philosophical allegory for Buddha lmao), Gojo's 'departure' started from here. One could argue his awakening sacralizes him but to me, seeing him struggle and fail to understand his friend is more view-changing about Gojo than the awakening scene. We already saw him as some sort of superior existence in the story, knowing that he attained this power through an harsh defeat makes him more human to my eyes.

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  __The Shibuya Incident Arc: A WORLD WITHOUT GOJO__

  I'm going to keep this section short and concise. Similarly to All Might in MHA, Gojo was the best thing that could happen to society as his precence alone was enough to dissuade bad things from happening and he is powerful enough to wipe the vast majority of dangerous cursed spirits. The downside is that the sorcerer society relied too much on him. The moment he's gone, Japan turns into an actual nightmare. He prevented nasty things from happening but he also prevented the growth of the rest of the cast. As long as there was Gojo around, sorcerers would never be pushed passed their limits which is essential to improve on their cursed energy handling. Although I think Gojo 'stealing the show' being a problem is easily refutable there's still a good case to be made about him preventing Yuji from taking the spotlight. His sealing allowed Yuji to grow as a character, figuratively, because his motives changed and he got huge developments and litteraly, because it allowed him to be part of some of the most iconic scenes of the story (WHERE YOU GO I GOOOO).

  Additional notes: I love the art direction of season 2 to death. I have an obsession with drawings that 'simplify' things while keeping the accuracy of the thing itself. If you compare some of the shots image to image with season 1, you might think season 1 is superior but you can't compare a still image to an actual animation. What I'm saying is that season 1 looked good and had insane wallpaper use potential but animation is motion, it's not meant to be watched as a frame but as an overall clip. Due to Mappa's horrendous management, the latest episodes weren't as polished as the earlier ones but I honestly do not care about the downgrades, this is cinema.
  I particularly like Hidden's Inventory arc for turning JJK into Jujutsumonogatari. The art isn't just a tool to convey the story anymore. It's the story.

  

  I adore this scene because it puts so much emphasis on both characters. Despite having long bodies, Geto distorts his back (he's just like me) and keep himself low which serves as good characterization and Gojo is relatable af. As someone as tall Gojo I swear to you that I do not know what to do with my legs and my arms sometimes. You can feel he has to carry his own weight by the way he walks but he still keeps himself high which perfectly embodies him. Not only is it funny and nice from an art persepective but it's also realistical despite the exaggeration.
  The anime did a great job in Yuji vs Choso. They found the perfect way to make Choso's power understandble through visuals alone and they pulled an Ufotable by adding numerous actions scenes into the fight while still being coherent with the source material. The tone of the anime as a whole is a success.

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  You probably got it by now but Gojo is a sort of metaphor I used in order to talk about my appreciation for Jujutsu Kaisen, in S1 he had less depth but he had the potential to be great and this was basically my opinion of JJK. With Hidden's Inventory arc, the characterization of Gojo changed, making him much more intersting to me and this is also where I started to be fascinated by this story. I started to absolutely love JJK right when he got sealed the f#ck away (take it as you please lmao). Figuratively speaking, to me, Gojo being sealed is like the 'old' JJK being sealed away, the jjk with stakes that didn't work for me, the jjk that was a relatively safe story to let a new, fresh one appear. A tragedic story about grief, loss and despair mixed with the well known nekketsu shounen formula and a colorful cast that I love dearly.

  
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