REVIEW: ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Season 3 Episode 10 — “Tokyo Colony No. 1 – Part 4”

There’s no doubt that Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 looks great. MAPPA has delivered nothing but top-tier quality animation for the entirety of Season 3, managing to surpass its own high bar set during the Shibuya Incident arc. That said, “Tokyo Colony No. 1 – Part 4” is also showing the strains of the Culling Games narrative. 

Megumi (Yuma Uchida) is a very cool character. And he works as a very strong counterpoint to Yuji (Junya Enoki), literally operating in shadows, whereas Yuji, in contrast (and literally depicted in Episode 9), is posited as the sun. They balance each other out, which is why it’s always so interesting to realize how little screentime they share compared to other shonen pairs. 

But while Megumi is again a very cool character, his solo storyline in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 doesn’t conjure up the same emotional interest. That is, in part, because his showdown happens with a handful of characters who don’t arrive with the same level of immediate intrigue as Higuruma (Tomokazu Sugita). Higuruma, with two episodes, becomes an instant favorite due to how he embodies the moral complexities of the series. 

Reggie Star is a muted follow-up to the superior Higuruma. 

Meanwhile, Reggie Star (Yutaka Aoyama) has a silly power, and Megumi’s fight with him does nothing to illuminate some core part of him in the same way that Yuji’s fight with Higuruma did. The animation stuns as they race through the city, Reggie using his powers to conjure up anything listed on the receipts adorning him. It’s an elastic, varied display of artistry, highlighting specific combat techniques and close-quarter brawls to illuminate each player’s precision and desperation. 

But, more than any other recent outing, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 results in style over substance. And it does, again, boil down to an overindulgent, overwrought source material that prioritizes lore and world-building over strong character work. It’s easy to overlook it because few series achieve the same visual grandeur as Jujutsu Kaisen pulls off every week. But it becomes much clearer after the previous two episodes, which showcase what this series can achieve when its writing meets the bar set by the animation. 

It’s why the best blink-and-you-miss-it moments are the ones that highlight Megumi’s personality. Megumi learns about the new rule being added, learns that it was due to Yuji, and smiles before launching himself back into the offensive.

Takaba’s introduction generates a strong, divisive reaction. 

So much of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 involves Megumi demonstrating his sheer physical prowess and ability as a sorcerer. But, more than anything, he reminds us that while Yuji isn’t willing to kill, he’s more than happy to land a lethal blow to achieve what he wants. This small beat is a relief because it means he isn’t lost to the violence. 

The second is when the failed comedian-turned-sorcerer, Takaba (Satoshi Tsuruoka), appears to help Megumi fight. Takaba’s display is so cringe-inducing that, in the background, Megumi, in some superb character acting, works through palpable secondhand embarrassment to rally. Despite his affinity for sorcery, despite his resolve to kill if he must, he is a teenager. And adults are embarrassing. 

Megumi leaves Takaba to fight Hazenoki (whose power involves pulling out his teeth and eyes to create explosives) while Megumi takes on Reggie in a sprawling fight. And truly, the work is sublime. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 might’ve lost the emotional, thematic momentum, but the animation remains staggering.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 continues to elevate the source material. 

It’s the varied ways we watch Megumi engage in battle throughout Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10. The fight choreography when Megumi grapples with the first assailant he dispatches is particularly elaborate and detailed, with his footwork and the way the space is utilized being critical. 

One of the best parts of the series is how it utilizes space and creative, cohesive fight sequences that are easy to follow.  But there’s also a scrappy, lo-fi quality to the character design when things get desperate, to emphasize his having to throw everything at the wall. The direction takes both bird-eye views to certain beats before pulling in close to see the moment a character threatens to self-destruct. 

There’s a silliness, too, that matches the energy Reggie brings to the fight. That playful energy is evident in staging and in how Aoyama voices him. But there’s real weight to the movement that reminds us, again, that for all of Megumi’s power, he’s mortal. The way the attacks befall him, and the concussive thud of his head meeting the back of a gymnasium, all hit with striking efficiency. 

Megumi is leveling up in a climatic moment for the series. 

It all leads up to the moment where, for the first time, Megumi activates his Domain Expansion. The building music, with its shrill, haunting elements, is expressive, befitting the distorted vision Megumi is creating. It’s a moment the character has been working toward since the start of his journey, and there’s no doubt that the ensuing fight will be just as visually elevated as anything the show has done. 

But again, there’s the sense, with the rules, the new characters, and the shift to a secondary story, that the Culling Game is reaching its engagement limit. The anime has greatly improved upon the very, very divisive arc. But there are limits. And it’s also a reminder that more time was needed, way back at the start of the story, to establish these characters and their relationships beyond how they interact and operate in the world. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 is gorgeous. There’s a rich, expansive playing field for the characters to brawl in that creates a tactile setting. So much so that even the bizarre CGI used for the explosion is easy to ignore. But it lacks an interesting antagonist and an incentivized story to reach the heights of the previous two episodes, which both shine a light on the series’ ability for excellence and its greatest flaws. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 10 is available now on Crunchyroll. 

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