REVIEW: ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Season 3 Episode 7 – “Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Part 1”

And just like that, the Culling Game begins in earnest in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7. After six episodes of setup, in which the series gets granular and overwrought about the details of the game of death they’ll be taking part in, “Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Part 1” throws us and the characters directly into the action. Following some more perfunctory setup again, obviously. 

This time, however, it adds to the overall sense of dread-inducing tension that Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7 operates on. Opening on one of the more gorgeously rendered sequences the series has ever accomplished, we watch as Kenjaku (Takahiro Sakurai) leads Yuji’s (Junya Enoki) former classmate, Sasaki (Mariya Ise), in the space between dreams and reality, leading her out of the bounds of where the Culling Game is due to start. 

The imagery and framing depict a gorgeous, ruinous march to decay and oblivion. As Sasaki is disrupted from the ease of sleep and thrust into a world literally divided, we watch as curses wreak havoc in the background, out of her sight but no less dangerous. These visuals, along with strong direction and character acting, immediately set the uneasy tone.

Add to that Kenjaku thanking Sasaki for being his son’s friend, cementing what was already inferred if not outright declared, and the episode lines itself up as yet another scorcher. It also, not for nothing, gives a character who serves as a major antagonist in the series greater depth. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7 does lore right by keeping the characters moving.

So much of what makes Jujutsu Kaisen work is tied to how the series executes the persistent amount of lore that the story operates on. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7 is effective because it doesn’t stop moving. Now that Hakari (Kazuya Nakai) is on board and aware of Gojo’s sealing, the team decides to split up to find other players who can work with them to implement a rule that would allow players to trade points to avoid having their cursed techniques stolen and killed. Their other, loftier objective is to make a rule that allows them to spend those points to leave the game. 

We also learn in this instance that, likely due to the rule about incarnated players and contracts made in the past with other sorcerers, Yuji is already officially a Culling Game player. This is because of Sakuna (Junichi Suwabe), even though, unlike other incarnated players affected by released spirits and cursed objects, he willingly ingested the finger that awoke Sakuna. 

This is a lot, but it works better here than, say, Episode 3, because the characters are on the move. While the manga, created by Gege Akutami, keeps the characters rather stagnant throughout this portion, the anime has them move through the building, reflecting on Yuji’s face as he scrolls through the rules and looks at the stats of the other participants. And through the dynamic framing and consistently impressive art direction and storyboarding in Season 3, what could have been a static sequence becomes kinetic and fluid.

Yuji, Megumi, and Hakari all get playful, personality-driven moments before chaos ensues.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7 also allows for plenty of room for personality. Hakari’s self-serving attitude is on display when he immediately sweetens towards Megumi (Yuma Uchida) when he learns of his influence as the Zen’in clan head. And Megumi and Yuji bicker with fantastic character acting when Yuji suggests the two should split up in case Sakuna were to awaken. 

But the episode shines once they enter the Colony, and all of their planning is thrown out the window. Hakari and Panda (Tomokazu Seki) head to Tokyo No. 2 Colony to find the players Kashimo and Angel, while Yuji and Megumi, in search of Higuruma, head to Tokyo No. 1 Colony. But the latter two are immediately split up upon entering, with Yuji in a free fall and attacked by other sorcerers. 

The direction of this initial fight sequence is wildly ambitious and, once again, effectively demonstrates Yuji’s innate physicality that makes him such a formidable foe. Shōta Goshozono has storyboarded each episode of Season 3, creating an enticing uniformity that lends a textured grace to each dynamic fight sequence. Scenes such as Yuji falling through the sky offer even greater thrills, not just for the descent but for details like the light catching off a skyscraper in the distance, a striking contrast after episodes shrouded in darkness. 

The work from Shōta Goshozono in Season 3 is unmatched.

Goshozono’s influence is evident in how the action is captured, from ground-level shots of Yuji hurling himself over fences to the slow, creeping approach of his childhood classmate, Amai. There’s a lot of work done with perspective in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7 that amplifies the sense of wrongness that’s infected this part of the world. This world is now infested with curses and players vying for survival, no matter the cost. And it always looms large – there’s no space. 

This is best demonstrated in the parallel moments where Megumi, led by player Remi, and Yuji, led by Amai, follow these players who say they can lead them to Higuruma. The deceit is hinted at from the moment Megumi meets Remi, who leads him to a literal fork in the road.

There are two paths to take in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7, and it’s not just about how Amai and Remi give Megumi and Yuji different locations for Higuruma, meaning one of them is lying. It is also a visual cue that reminds us there are two ways to play this game, as most people, including Megumi, are ready to sully their souls to win the objective. How long must someone endure a battle royale before stepping beyond defense into an offensive position?

MAPPA is elevating a notably aggravating arc with kinetic animation. 

The way the story and visuals blend to create an oppressive sense of doom is what makes the series, in its best moments, such a triumph. No, it doesn’t always work, and there’s always going to be the root issue of Akutami’s overwrought, indulgent writing.

But the team at MAPPA is relentless in their pursuit of greatness here, and the effect is unquestionable. It’s not just that it has these detailed landscapes and intricate, subtle, well-crafted characters with distinctive physicality and movement. There’s a point to the direction and a coherent visual language that anchors even the more frustrating elements. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7 delivers a riveting launching point into the action as Yuji and Megumi find themselves dealing with unreliable fellow players. Between the ambitious, wide-scale combat and the detailed work that highlights specific personality traits of everyone from Hakari to Kenjaku, “Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Part 1” revels in the skill of a craft team that understands how to take a by-the-numbers sequence and transform it into something breathtaking. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 7 is available now on Crunchyroll.

Previous Episode | Next Episode