REVIEW: ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Season 3 Episodes 1-2

Jujustu Kaisen is a series that lives on big moments. The Shibuya Arc that dominated almost all of the high-octane Season 2 was all about epic-scale battles and flashy fight scenes that, quite literally, burned through the talent that MAPPA has to offer. Based on the manga written and illustrated by Gege Akutami, the series grows increasingly dazzling on the animation front, delivering gorgeous visuals that lean into the inherent athleticism of its characters, ensuring we feel the full weight and gravity as they leap from great heights or come to blows with incoming threats. 

That said, the start of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 highlights something evident from the beginning. Despite the increasing number of characters, we don’t truly know any of them. They’re not so much personalities as character archetypes.

Meaning that, for all that we feel the devastation of Season 2 losses in the moment, from Gojo (Yuichi Nakamura) being sealed in the prison realm to Nanami (Kenjiro Tsuda) and Nobara’s (Asami Seto) fates at the hands of Mahito (Nobunaga Shimazaki), it feels more perfunctory than emotional. It’s clearly devastating, and the emotional impact is evident, but there’s a desire to know about these characters and their flaws rather than what is being depicted.

It’s why the Hidden Inventory arc is so exemplary. Because it not only humanizes our most enigmatic character, demonstrating true vulnerability that leads to his being sealed, caught unawares at Shibuya Station, but also gives the series an emotional throughline beyond our requisite care for the heroes. A relationship that’s grounded in history, where two parties have seen the best and worst of one another, their friendship unable to support the misery of the world they’re entrenched in. 

Yuta and Yuji make for a formidable duo.

And, it is, so far, the reason why Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 is off to a promising start. You won’t catch me arguing that Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 was bad. It’s obviously spectacular in many, many ways. But as a viewer, there’s a constant nudge while watching this series, hoping for more beyond the spectacle. For some emotional throughline that makes us care for these characters beyond the fact that we’re pretty much told we should. 

So, pairing up Yuji (Junya Enoki) with Yuta Okkotsu (Megumi Ogata) is an excellent choice. Between the two seasons leading up to the Culling Game arc and Jujutsu Kaisen 0, these are the two characters we know the most and the ones who are the best fleshed out. They’re two sides of the same coin, their kindness and compassion driving them forward, inspired by people in their past who have set them up on the paths they travel. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episodes 1-2 push us directly into the unraveling headspace of Itadori Yuji as he succumbs to survivor’s guilt. He says he can’t die yet, but what we first see of him isn’t really living either. Yuji, accompanied by Choso (Daisuke Namikawa), spends his days running around to exorcise the cursed spirits who continue to haunt the city following the events of the Shibuya Incident. 

A battle of immense power is the centerpiece of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episodes 1-2. 

Meanwhile, Yuta, a special grade sorcerer, has been tasked to be Yuji’s executioner. Their fight is expertly shot, as the two demonstrate their wealth of power and combat skills. However, there’s more to it than meets the eye, and in a moment of true, cathartic relief, we realize that Yuta is actually here to help Yuji, having promised Gojo to look after him. That, and the arrival of Megumi (Yuma Uchida), who asks Yuji for help, allow Yuji to get back on the right path, even as he continues to suffer the demons of what Sakuna (Junichi Suwabe) did while Sakuna possessed his body. 

The other half of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episodes 1-2 centers on the Zenin Clan and the death of its head, Naobito. While it seems that the misogynistic Naoya will assume the role, it’s announced that Megumi could be the one to ascend. This sets Naoya off on his own mission to kill Megumi and ensure his line to power. 

All of which comes together in that aforementioned battle, with Choso fighting him as Yuji wards off Yuta’s advances. There are a lot of directorial tricks in the premiere, but one particular note of delight is Naoya’s blink, and you’ll miss its arrival. It introduces him very quietly as a real threat, his speed seemingly unstoppable. 

The small moments of character growth are what make the start of Season 3 shine.

More than anything, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episodes 1-2 serve as a major setup not just for the plot but also for the mindset Yuji is currently operating under. Megumi needs his help to save his sister Tsumuki from the death game that’s been set up, the “Culling Game” that forces jujutsu sorcerers to face off using their awakened cursed techniques. Failing to do so will have them stripped of their techniques. 

By the end of Episode 2, we watch as Yuji, Megumi, Yuta, Choso, Maki, and Tsukumo go to speak with the mysterious Tengen on how to best deal with the incoming battle and how to free Gojo from the Prison Realm. Episode 2 deals with a lot of lore drops, something that Akutami has never particularly excelled in. But the impact of this group working together is formidable, a group of tanks set up against seemingly impossible goals. 

But despite all the intrigue and the promise of intensive battles, it’s the small emotional beats that make the premiere episodes work so well. It’s those emotional beats that the series could use more of. Because, despite their incredible strength and powers, most of our protagonists are still just teenagers. It’s why Yuta telling Yuji that he is “not to blame” for the horrific devastation of the Shibuya Incident is so evocative. This is something that Yuji, even if he can’t quite believe it, has needed to hear. 

The series remains visually impressive. Now, the writing needs to live up to it. 

And it’s made more powerful because it comes from someone who has been in a similar place to Yuji, both ordered to a secret execution and shouldering immense power. Add to that Megumi’s arrival and promise that they can shoulder the blame as long as Yuji lends him his power first to help him, and the emotional core grows stronger.

His call to action is to tell Yuji that he can walk the path of atonement and “start by saving me.” The action is incredible, and the worldbuilding is clumsy, but the characterization helps balance the scales. 

Directed by Shōta Goshozono, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episodes 1-2 are beautiful, though. Shifting from the blanket of night that darkened all of the Shibuya Arc, the premiere of Season 3 awakens the story to a bruising dawn. The utilization of softer color palettes helps give the action-packed entry a feeling of melancholy, as we’re fully submerged in Yuji’s headspace in the opening moments as he isolates himself, immersed in the bowels of the remaining dregs of the wreckage wrought by Sakuna. 

The art style and direction promise a new, refreshed look, with a story that, if not poised to reach the epic heights of Season 2, at the very least allows for some necessary character growth. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episodes 1-2 deliver a strong entry point for the season, with some genuinely moving interactions and superb visuals, from the soft-lit landscapes to the linework in the action and the subtleties of the character acting. MAPPA has set an increasingly high visual bar for itself, and now the story just needs to meet it. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episodes 1-2 are out now on Crunchyroll. 

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