REVIEW: ‘Jujutsu Kaisen,’ Epsiode 8 – “Boredom”

Jujutsu Kaisen is a horror-action anime produced by MAPPA. With Gojou’s victory over his attackers last episode, life at the school quiets down a bit. At least until some guests from the Kyoto Jujutsu school stop by. With confrontations flaring up quickly between the two schools, among both students and faculty, it might not be just another day at Jujutsu Tech.

This week’s episode opens with Jujutsu Tech receiving visitors from the Kyoto school under the auspices of making arrangements for the upcoming Exchange Event. Our first run-in with these visitors comes when Fushiguro and Kugisaki are approached by a couple of the students who have arrived. And violence quickly ensues.

Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 8 biggest sequence focuses on Fushiguro and Kugisaki’s dealing with these students. This is largely due to one of the visitor’s highly aggressive attitude toward Fushiguro. This interaction falls under the brand of ridiculous only found in anime. The visitor, third-year student Toudou Aoi, demands Fushiguro tell him what his preferences in women/men are. And to be clear, he means height, body shape, hair color etc. The Toudou does clarify that if Fushiguro likes guys, that’s fine too. If Toudou finds his answer boring he will beat him half to death right then and there. Needless to say, he finds his answer boring and a battle ensues. I’m not sure what the point of the fight is, but to me, it feels like nothing more than a waste of time. It’s not particularly interesting visually, and Toudou is just annoying.

Meanwhile, while Fushiguro faces Toudou, Kugisaki has her own run-in with the other visiting student Mai. This character is strikingly familiar. Though it isn’t to be wondered at as she is revealed to be Jujutsu Tech’s own Maki’s twin. While this situation also devolves into what can only be described as pointless violence, it does work into some background revelations for Maki when she arrives to help Kugisaki out. This moment helps add some depth to the otherwise cold Maki.

Once the Jujutsu Tech’s upper-classmen show up to calm the hotheads down Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 8 takes a moment off to follow Toudou and Mai as they go on a bit of an odd excursion. This moment is a bit of goofiness which, in and of itself is fine, but combined with the earlier pointless battle feels like a bit of a waste of time.

The episode’s last major beat has Gojou having a polite if tense discussion with the visiting principal from the Kyoto school. This character is revealed as being one of the individuals whose call it was to send the first years up against the special class curse that ended with Itadori’s “death”. Gojou’s clear contempt for this person is made abundantly obvious as he speaks to him with utter disdain. This moment builds up the obvious strains that are forming among the Jujutsu sorcerers as there is a clear schism forming between the old guard and the younger generation.

When all is said and done, Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 8 manages to deliver a few strong moments, even as it spins its wheels for much of the episode. Between the absurdly random fights and pointless side excursions, there are moments of character and world-building that make this episode worth watching.

Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 8 is streaming now exclusively on Crunchyroll.