REVIEW: ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Season 2 Looks To The Past, While Moving Forward

Rather than following up where last season left off, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 from MAPPA jumped into the past. Gojo’s Past Arc, to be specific. Based on the manga of the same name by Gege Akutami, the second season begins with Satoru Gojo (Yûichi Nakamura, My Hero Academia) as a student. Following him and his best friend Suguru Geto (Takahiro Sakurai, Gamera Rebirth) as they take on a critically important mission. In Cour 2, the series jumps back to the present to the days leading up to a devastating attack in Shibuya that pushes the Jujutsu Sorcers to their limit.

The “Hidden Inventory Arc / Premature Death Arc” encompasses the first five episodes and sees Gojo and Geto tasked with delivering a girl named Riko Amanai (Anna Nagase, Summer Time Rendering) to Master Tengen. The reason? So that they can continue to maintain the barriers that are critical to the Jujutsu Sorcerers’ work by allowing Tengen to take Riko as his Star Plasma Vessel. She is set to be absorbed into Tengen, allowing them to remain here on Earth. To complicate the situation, two groups don’t want to see the mission succeed. They believe preventing Tengen from evolving beyond his current form is a sacrilege.

Riko’s journey with her protectors provides some deeply emotional moments. Concepts like fate and free will are explored through her time at center stage in the narrative; the biggest element for fans in this opening arc is learning about Gojo and Geto’s connection. The time spent with the duo does a great job of explaining the pair’s moments in Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie. Particularly in the pain Gojo carries at the end of the film. If you haven’t seen the movie yet/in a while, I highly recommend going back after this arc to appreciate their side of the narrative fully.

There is also some background about the series’ mainstay, Megumi Fushigoro. With his father Toji Fushiguro, playing the part of the big bad of this arc, we get a peek into the background of the often dour sorcerer, as well as how he and Gojo first met. These tidbits are enlightening, as they further shine a light on the seedier side of Jujutsu culture.

In what becomes a recurring sentiment throughout Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, this arc delivers some of the most gorgeous visuals MAPPA has delivered to date. The visual designs of the battles are exquisite. They capture incredible elements like Toji’s sheer physical might and speed. But the animation is all the more impressive as they present Gojo becoming the night-all-powerful force we know in the modern day. The studio goes all out to bring these momentous moments to life in a fantastic display of creative skill.

While it’s easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of the gorgeous fights and awe-inspiring powers, the studio also makes a point of delivering the quieter emotional moments of this arc as well. We see Geto’s struggles that ultimately lead him to turn his back on his comrades. These are presented with such force that the audience can almost understand why he comes to the conclusions he does. Almost.

Once Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2’s look at the past is complete, it returns to the present to move the current plot forward. Following the suspicion that there is a spy within the schools aiding the curses with information, Utahime Iori (Yôko Hikasa) enlists the help of Yuji Itadori (Junya Enoki), Megumi, and Nobara Kugisaki (Asami Seto), to hunt down the spy. While they fail to capture their query, the information that is passed between the spy and the curses set into motion the events that make up the “Shibuya Incident Arc.”

The central plan for the curses is to force Gojo into a position where they can finally overpower him, trapping him in a prison dimension so he can no longer stymie their plans. A prison so strong even Gojo’s domain expansion fails. The intricate detail and multi-level planning that goes into executing this plan is amazing. Many series would’ve simply introduced some form of curse technique nullifying MacGuffin to lock Gojo away. Rather than going with that easy route, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 crafts a far better encounter that highlights how cunning and resourceful the curses arrayed against Gojo are. This makes them an even greater threat than the sum of their powers.

While Gojo is at the center of the stage, he doesn’t stand alone. Virtually every sorcerer introduced in the modern period appears as the situation rapidly spirals out of control. Nanami, Todo, Mei Mei, Panda, Mechamaru, and more all come to the table, teachers and Jujutsu High students alike. Sacrifices, brilliant tricks, and unseen arrivals dot the rapidly changing situation as more than a few series regulars are put down in the escalating conflict. There is little to no sense of plot armor surrounding any of the characters. Both curses and sorcerers are pushed beyond their limits..

Two of the biggest causes for this removal of plot armor come in the forms of series villains Mahito and Ryomen Sukuna. Following the tendencies he established in the first season, Mahito is responsible for some of the most emotionally brutal moments of the season. The curse’s perverse need to make every kill personal to his targets leaves him in an even more despicable place in the viewer’s eye than he was previously, as hard as that may be to believe.

Mahito brings his intimate touch to the painful moments of the season. Sukuna, though, brings scope and power. This lets the viewer truly appreciate why he is called The King of Curses. His overwhelming power has only grown since he last got loose. His actions are devastating in and of themselves as he leaves everything around him in ashes. Still, the truly devastating element of his rampage is the position it leaves Yuji in when he finally regains control of his body.

Yuji’s final struggles in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 bring the narrative back to the intimate level it hits the hardest. Despite the massive scope of the event, Yuji finds a way to take it all in, internalizing it as his own fault, leaving the hero in a dark space that promises to scare the lead forever.

The scale and scope of the growing battle come with some of the series’ best fights. Huge powers and intricate execution highlight the best of the battles that MAPPA brings to the series. However, here are a few points within this half of the series where the scale starts to feel like it escapes the creators, as some fights begin to get lost in hyperactive animation that feels more confusing than awe-inspiring.

Despite these occasional setbacks visually, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 delivers far more moments of brilliance than shortfalls. The characters are at their best here. Even villains engage with viewers as their desperate struggles and brutality fill the narrative with scenes that will be talked about for years to come.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.