Review: Jujutsu Kaisen 0
Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the prequel to the popular anime and Gege Akutami’s manga series of the same name follows Yuta Okkotsu (Megumi Okata), a teenage boy whose cursed spirit causes the death of four bullies. The Jujutsu Society wants him executed, believing his spirit to be dangerous, but the Jujutsu High School teacher Satoru Gojo (Yūichi Nakamura) sees potential in him and brings Yuta to the school. He quickly teams up with students Maki Zen’in (Mikako Komatsu), Toge Inumaki (Kōki Uchiyama), and Panda (Tomokazu Seki) to train so he can break free of his curse. However, former Jujutsu student Suguru Geto (Takahiro Sakurai) has plans to use Yuta’s cursed spirit for his own gain, as he plans to release a thousand curses on the city to kill innocent humans and effectively declare war on Jujutsu sorcerers.
Those who are not familiar with the anime series (or Akutami’s manga) may be a bit disoriented, especially when it comes to character development. While it is technically a prequel, seeing the anime first adds to your appreciation and emotional connection of the side characters who were all introduced in the series, including some who appear later on during the climax. The series is insanely good (it’s one of the best anime I’ve ever seen, always finding new ways to blow our minds, from a purely visual standpoint, and has an incredibly complex and layered story to support its epic action), and you’re doing yourself a disservice by not watching it before the film.
But for those who have seen the series, buckle up. It doesn’t take long for Jujutsu Kaisen 0 to toss us inside impeccably crafted action sequences by way of stunning animation, making us care about Yuta. He’s as brilliantly written, as was Itadori Yuji in the series. Even if we don’t spend as much time with Yuta versus Itadori, director Sunghoo Park and writer Hiroshi Seko find effective ways for the audience to root for him, whether it’s a heartbreaking flashback sequence that showcases his friendship with Rika (Kana Hanazawa) before she became a cursed spirit or harrowing moments during action sequences, where you legitimately think that he will not make it out alive.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 also does a great job at further expanding previously introduced characters by filling in parts of their backstory. Maki is the character who greatly benefits from that expansion, but Inumaki also has lots of time to shine. I believe this is the first time we’re seeing the debilitating effects of having cursed speech, and how every time he defeats a spirit with them, it takes a physical toll on him. Park uses Inumaki’s weakness to great effect during action scenes multiple times, which are great reminders that the extremely powerful characters are not invincible, and one misstep could be a fatal one.
As the film progresses, the intensity cranks up even more, and once the climax hits, we’re treated with some of the best anime action I’ve seen in a long time, largely surpassing the series in every possible way. The colors are so vivid and brimming with incredible energy that it doesn’t take long for our jaws to collectively drop multiple times in pure awe and exhilaration. It’s hard to describe without spoiling, but let’s just say you’ll be reaching a rapid state of euphoria during many mind-blowing moments.
Even viewers who aren’t familiar with the initial anime may love what they’re seeing so much that they’ll immediately go on Crunchyroll once they get home and watch the first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen. It likely would’ve been the case for me had I not seen the series beforehand. Every aspect of the climax, from the epic soundtrack, soul-stirring, and eye-widening animation, to its vibrant and highly kinetic action, is put together with such grace and vivacity that it becomes quite hard for us not to admire the film’s multiple technical achievements and be wowed at how stunning everything looks and feels.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 may not be the most accessible introduction to the world of Gege Akutami’s manga for the uninitiated, but it is most definitely a crowd-pleaser for die-hard fans. It contains a surprising amount of emotional depth that almost rivals the development of Itadori Yuji in the series. It does get a bit exposition-heavy during the beginning, but once it starts to get going, it makes sure to grab you for the ride and never lets you go. It’s one of the best anime films I’ve seen in recent memory. It gives me hope that Jujutsu Kaisen’s second season will be as enthralling as the first and this prequel movie. Bring it on.
