Full disclosure: This is not the place to start watching Jujutsu Kaisen. It’s so fast-paced and frenetic that even long-time fans might need to read or re-read the manga to keep up. My advice is to start at the beginning and work your way up to this melange of death, curses, and madness.
Fuller disclosure: I’m not sure I know how to review JJK: Execution because it’s insane. So, here are my notes in real-time. Basically, first reactions. We’re anime-watching buddies, you can handle it. Right?
What We’re Watching:
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution, a recap of JUJUTSU KAISEN Shibuya Incident (aka Season 2, Part 2), and the first two episodes of JUJUTSU KAISEN: The Culling Game Part 1 (aka Season 3 Part 1)
Nanami is dead.
Nobara is in limbo.
Gojo is sealed.
Megumi sacrificed himself.
The Shibuya Incident is hell, and Sukuna is in Itadori’s body.
Or maybe I’m confusing the manga with the anime. Either way, things are bad.
I keep telling y’all, Gege hates us. How else do you explain the absolute carnage our mangaka has left us with?
But the fight scenes are really, really good and very bloody. So many styles and techniques of animation—all blended up into kinetic visual adrenaline. And even though Gege is trying to destroy our hearts, at the very least, we have the satisfaction of watching Itadori smack Mahito up.
In JJK: Execution, MAPPA switches up the style. It’s rougher, composed of sketchy lines, desaturated colors, and super elastic movement, all of it reflecting the darkness of this arc. And sometimes it switches to another style altogether, like multiple teams were working on it. Still, everything hangs together visually.
And then Yuta shows up. And things get really twisty because the Jujutsu Society is on some bureaucratic nonsense and covering things up by using the media to turn heroes into villains. They figure it’s better to blame “villains” who’ll take accountability, than deal with the true evil that won’t and therefore makes them look weak.
The Culling Game
Now we get to a story I’ve been waiting for since it happened in the manga. The Zen’in Clan lost its leader when Gojo went down, and that leaves three branches fighting for the throne. But Maki has something to say about it. Just remember this collection is called “execution.”
But so far, we skip Maki’s fight for one of the Zen’in descendants to face off with Choso and Itadori—before Yuta decides to step in and fulfill his execution duty. If it’s possible, Choso becomes even more beloved here. He also finally explains his brotherhood with Itadori, for those who were still wondering about the connection.
This thing is bonkers, and I’m seated. These kids from the Jujutsu Society are basically war dogs—they’re brilliant tacticians and all-out heroes.
sidenote: Does Rika-chan, Yuta’s shingami friend, have the same voice as Sui from Campfire Cooking?
By the end, we finally arrive at the Tengen arch. It seems like the anime follows a different order from the manga. This movie/season opener is almost a very long and highly engaging, although slightly confusing, trailer for Season 3. Again, if you haven’t read ahead in the manga, it might be hard to follow. But the action scenes, fights, and dream sequences are well worth watching. Also, you will be screaming at the screen as incidents unfold.
JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3 drops today THURSDAY, JAN 8 on CRUNCHYROLL @ 12PM ET / 9AM PT