REVIEW: ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Episode 30 – “It’s Like That”

With the last episode wrapping up the flashback arc, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 6 jumps back to the present to reacquaint viewers with Yuji Itadori (Junya Enoki, Honkai: Star Rail), Nobara Kugisaki (Asami Seto, Birdie Wing: Golf Girl’s Story), and Megumi Fishiguro (Yuma Uchida, Final Fantasy XVI) as the three enjoy a day out in the city. But the chill vibes don’t last forever, as the three are soon asked to help uncover a spy in their midst.

While this episode’s opening does a great job of reintroducing fans to the quirky chemistry of the series’ lead trio, the biggest element of this sequence is the introduction of one of Itadori’s old classmates, Yuko Ozawa. An admirer from afar of Itadori when they were both in middle school, Ozawa approaches Kugisaki once she is alone to learn a bit about Itadori in the present, most specifically if he has a girlfriend. Ever the thorough personality, Kugisaki quickly summons Fushiguro to fill Ozawa in on their mutual classmate since he knows him best.

There is a bit of manic energy to Kugisaki as she learns about Ozawa and sets things in motion for her to meet with Itadori. It isn’t unusual for her to display this kind of eagerness for a situation, but it still pops compared to her generally more stern demeanor.

Once Itadori is called to meet up with everyone else, the episode shifts from the present into the past to showcase why Ozawa is interested in him. Shown as a shy girl whose body doesn’t reflect the standard image of beauty, she happens to hear Itadori compliment her when pressed by some of his peers to pick a girl from their class he would be interested in. Knowing that he saw something in her has a clear impact on her, which has resonated forward since she takes advantage of her path, randomly crossing with his to reunite.

This sequence of sentimentality makes Ozawa a character that can be easily empathized with. Feeling ostracized is never easy, and the episode delivers her feelings in a meaningful way. The fact that Itadori managed to help her without realizing it was happening seems oddly in character for the kind-hearted protagonist.

The front half of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 6 also contains a brief aside that features Aoi Todo and Mei Mei as they discuss their recent recommendations for several Jujutsu Sorcerer students for promotion to grade one.

Taking place during a ping pong match between the two, this moment handles itself as well as one could hope. Largely an information dump that is important but not entirely interesting, the visuals that animation studio MAPPA pairs with the exposition as the viewer gets to see some truly wild ping pong shots play out during the sequence help to alleviate the dryness of the moment.

The back half of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 6 sees the story shift gears to a far more serious matter: a spy among the sorcerers feeding information to their enemies. The trio has been called to aid Utahime Iori (Yôko Hikasa) in confronting the suspected traitor.

While the foursome’s attempt to apprehend the individual ends quickly in failure, the story smoothly transitions from their hunt for the character to the character’s meeting with both Suguru Geto (Takahiro Sakurai) and Mahito (Nobunaga Shimazaki) about payment for his services. While he does manage to collect his promised price, the meeting quickly devolves into a battle between himself and Mahito. While its time in this episode is brief, the conflict takes a radical left turn I wasn’t expecting, delivering a thoroughly surprising element to the battle.

After its nearly month-long hiatus, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 6 brings the series back with plenty to enjoy. From some easy-going interactions in its opening moments to the far more serious dangers of the episode’s back half, the story balances its elements in a way that allows each to be appreciated without conflict. While the previous look at the past was an intriguing arc for the series, it looks like the series is in no danger of losing the momentum it built up with the shift in time.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 6 is streaming on Crunchyroll, with new Jujutsu Kaisen episodes every Thursday.