REVIEW: ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Episode 26 — “Hidden Inventory 2″

With the initial threat to Riko defeated, Satoru Gojo (Nakamura Yuuichi) and Seguru Geto (Sakurai Takahiro) plan to take her to Jujutsu High. But when she insists on returning to her normal school, the job of keeping her safe becomes infinitely more complicated. What’s worse, unbeknownst to the duo, a huge bounty has been put out on the girl’s head that promises to draw even more attention to Riko Amanai (Nagase Anna) than they would’ve expected in Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 26, “Hidden Inventory 2.”

Picking up just a little after the last episode ended, we start this week’s entry with the immediate threat to Riko dealt with. Her initial interaction with Geto and Gojo when she comes to following the attack, sees Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 26 quickly establishes a classic dynamic between the duo and their new charge as it looks like Riko has no intention of making their work easy for them. Riko’s mildly antagonist attitude toward Geto and Gojo feels like an obvious but entertaining route to take for the character. Her resistance to her new protector’s wishes provides more opportunity for threats to materialize as well as creating some quick and easy personality conflicts.

Rather than acquiescing to return to Jujutsu High with them, she insists on being allowed to head to her normal school to go through her day. With orders to permit Riko to do as she wishes, the pair has no choice but to follow her to school. While this request does initially come across as purely selfish of the girl, Riko’s caretaker, Kuroi, reframes the girl’s obstinance in a way that deepens the viewer’s understanding of her, as well as increases the empathy they feel for her.

The situation soon heats up as attackers begin to appear, goaded on by the huge bounty placed on Riko’s head. One of the biggest strengths that Jujutsu Kaisen has always leveraged to its advantage is the wonderful variety it brings in how the various characters in the series wield their powers, and Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 26 continues to build on that variety. How the fights play displays strong creativity as the tactics employed shift between fights keeping each distinctive from the other. Further building upon this strong foundation for the action is everything fans have come to expect of MAPPA. While the animation and visual design are pure eye candy throughout the episode, the studio truly flexes its muscles through the battles, delivering great action whenever it’s called for.

The only place where this episode fails a little in its action is when it takes a bit too much time to explain how things are working. This lengthy dives into the mechanics of Jujutsu sorcery provide little as the details are largely lost on the viewer. The magical equivalency of techno-babble, stopping the action from dwelling on the hows and whys that largely don’t make sense anyways, is a miss for the moment.

When not following Gojo, Geto, and Riko, Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 26 introduces the shadowy figure that has placed the bounty on Riko’s head. These interludes create an interesting character that manages to bring some genuine menace to the show, despite being filled with the odd quirkiness that so many of the series’ characters possess.

Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 26 provides action, character exploration, and narrative setup with only minor hiccups to get in the way. It manages to work a lot into its run time, keeping the story clipping along right up till the credits roll.

Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 26 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll with new episodes airing every Thursday.