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Review: Jujutsu Kaisen (呪術廻戦) (2020)
This anime was fun. It was a typical shonen anime, but it didn't fall back on gags and shonen tropes as much as I would have expected, which is nice. It did however suffer some of the issues that we see in anime adaptations of longer manga series that haven't been completed yet.
Spoilers.
Story
The story is pretty basic. Yuji becomes a vessel for one of the most powerful curses ever. In doing so, he walks into a world of curses and curse magic. He joined a school that would teach him jujutsu, and gained many comrades at the school.
The first story arc related to Mahito and Junpei, where Yuji befriended Junpei, a victim of bullying. He'd built up so much negative energy and thus became close with Mahito, a powerful but immature curse. In the end, Mahito killed Junpei, and Yuji and Nanami fought off Mahito, but didn't kill him.
The second story arc was a school tournament, between the Tokyo and Kyoto branches of the same jujutsu school. We learned a lot about the various jujutsu sorcerers from both schools. It was exciting, and I quite enjoyed exploring the characters.
The last very short story arc centered around Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara exorcising curses near a middle school. This story arc gave us more backstory related to Megumi.
I usually don't watch anime series based on manga because the adaptations are usually a bit clunky, and I saw some of the cracks here in this anime as well. The pacing was irregular for two reasons: one was because this story was not finished yet, and there's no saying how much longer the manga will go one for, and the other was because it's clear that these story arcs should be much longer than they actually are, and that a lot is being fit in a short runtime.
Specifically, I felt that the last arc was entirely too rushed, especially since it was preceded by so many episodes focused on the school exchange event. I was actually surprised by how abrupt the story changed, from the baseball exchange event, to our main trio on their way to investigate the curses. One of the main purposes of this arc was to give us backstory to Megumi, which we did, but it didn't really hit as hard as it intended to. While I'd always like Megumi, Yuji is the main character, and so having a final arc of a season with Yuji being a relatively background character was anticlimatic. Also, having a final arc only be three episodes didn't give this arc the gravity it deserved as a last arc.
I did appreciate the show for its more mellow characters. While these characters were obviously based on tropes, they weren't as irritating as I would have expected lol. The makeup of our trio + Gojo-sensei was very reminiscent of Naruto. However, the relationship, while it did have its laugh-out-loud comedy moments, in general was more three-dimensional. Each of the characters had unique relationships with one another, whether or not they had a lot of history together, and it helped shape the basis of this relationship.
I actually really liked the school exchange event because it gave us a brief look into all of these characters that undoubtedly will show their faces again later in the series. I thought it would be overkill to learn so much about so many characters in such a short time, but I was pretty entertained. I think it was handled well.
And the end...well, I knew this. I knew this was going to end on a cliffhanger. It ended with several of our main characters being promoted to first grade, but a lot of things were unanswered, like who Okkotsu and Hakari were, who the androdynous young monk with white hair was, the deal with Getou, etc.
I don't know that I would watch the next season though. While I found the series entertaining, it hasn't grabbed me. Not that it's not good, it just didn't scratch my itch. Never say never though. I might watch the next season if my friend encourages me to lol.
Production
Aesthetically speaking, this anime didn't particularly feel that distinct, especially because the characters wear school uniforms most of the time, and Yuji and Megumi have typical shonen anime hair.
That being said, I did find the animation entertaining. I've seen my share of lazy animation in anime, and I liked that this anime paid attention to the details, such as subtle body language differences between Yuji and Sukuna, fast and dynamic fight scenes, and cool animations for Gojo's powers.
Characters
Itadoru Yuji
Yuji was your typical shonen protagonist. Before his grandfather passed, he told Yuji to protect others because he was strong. Though it looked like they argued a lot, Yuji and his grandfather had a good relationship. His grandfather was his only family that he knew of, and so he took his words to heart. And honestly, that's Yuji's only motivation, to be honest. He just wants to help people. Which low key makes him kind of a weak characters because his goals are so vague.
That being said, Yuji was still amusing as a character. He was annoying and peppy, but for some reason it wasn't very irritating. There were times when he was earnest, but not in a totally self-sacrificing way. And he does use his brain!
There's definitely a lot of backstory that hasn't been revealed. We haven't seen either of his parents, and I bet that they have something to do with why Yuji is so powerful. But otherwise, I think that Yuji has been kept a blank slate on purpose, so that the mangaka has a lot of space to fill out his character in the future.
So Yuji wasn't really the deepest character, but at least he was entertaining.
Fushiguro Megumi
There was a lot more development with Megumi's character compared to Yuji. But like I said, it was probably because Yuji was kept a blank slate on purpose. In addition, Megumi's been around in the world of curses and jujutsu for much longer in his life.
What we know of Megumi's backstory is as follows. He gained a stepsister, Tsumiki, as a child. He didn't quite get along with her on the surface. He was a delinquent who got into fights with other boys at school, while Tsumiki was very kind and sympathetic, and was always trying to get him to be nice. Tsumiki had fallen victim to a curse and became bedridden to this day.
When they were young children, their parents dipped, leaving them alone. Apparently Megumi's father was a relative of the Zenin clan, and had "sold" Megumi to them in return for his freedom. Megumi had inherited the Zenin family skill, so that made him a valuable heir. However, before the Zenin clan took him in, Gojo swooped in to take Megumi under his wing, and so Megumi grew up under Gojo's mentorship.
Megumi said that when he was born, he was given the name Megumi, without his parents caring about whether he'd be a boy or a girl. So this was a clue to show us that he had a distant relationship with his family. And though many knew that he was related to the Zenin clan, he would tell others that he had no relation to them (technically true).
Other than his backstory, Megumi had two other plotlines.
The one that was more prominent was related to his conscience. He was always worrying about who was worth saving. Ultimately, I think the discussion boiled down to the idea that there is no right or wrong answer, Megumi can simply choose who to save and who not to save without having to justify it. And that departure from logic eased his mind.
The other backstory, which was much more brief, was Megumi's quest to become stronger. We first saw it very briefly when he was gearing up for the exchange event by improving his combat skills. However, there were no signs that it was going to be a story line, and it technically didn't. It was pretty detached from that one conversation Gojo and Megumi had towards the end of the series, where Gojo told him that he needed to stop suppressing his powers and to go apeshit, which he did.
If I were to overthink it, I'd say that Megumi had suppressed his feral side after Tsumiki became cursed and bedridden, out of guilt and a duty to her. So him going apeshit like he did against that curse was something that was kind of taboo, but he was going to do it if he was going to kill the curse that hurt Tsumiki.
I like Megumi! He's fun. It makes me laugh how Yuji, Nobara, and Gojo-sensei are all so obsessed with him. He's just a very lovable guy, you can't help but want to know more about him.
Kugisaki Nobara
Nobara was a country girl who came to Tokyo to study at the jujutsu academy, and really wanted to live the high life. She was a very tough girl, but she also liked very traditionally feminine things, and her character didn't suffer for either of them.
Like Megumi, Nobara came to the academy already having experience with curses, her weapons of choice being a hammer & nails, and sometimes a straw doll. I think that really enhanced her look and aesthetic, I'm a fan.
Nobara's story line wasn't quite as detailed as Megumi's, nor was it so obviously blanked out like Yuji's. Nobara's backstory was that there was a neighbourhood onee-chan that she grew close to, that was bullied in her village, presumably because she was in the city. The onee-chan, Saori, later left to go back to the city, and I think Nobara did want to see Saori again as one of her reasons for wanting to be in Tokyo. But wanting to be glamourous was definitely another reason.
Nobara was a great character in that she was tough, but not in a "masculine" way. A lot of tough female characters are shown to be tough by being "like men," but not Nobara. She is tough for herself, and no one else. She's not proving herself to anyone, she's being tough to protect herself and that's out of self-love. As a main female character, that's quite refreshing!
Gojo Satoru
Ah, Gojo-sensei. He for sure is full of secrets. I kept worrying if he was going to be a villain because he's just so powerful and mysterious. I told someone that Gojo-sensei is very Kakashi-coded, and though I don't know much about Kakashi from a story perspective (never read/watched Naruto), I do think the aesthetic rings true. He had most of his face hidden, and his unmasked face was very handsome - very Kakashi-coded indeed!
Gojo was a teacher at the jujutsu academy, and someone of a genius and celebrity in the world of jujutsu. In fact, I believe he was the most powerful jujutsu sorcerer. His power was the power of infinity, which is kind of hard to explain, but it's very calculus lmao. In the anime, we saw him using the power of infinity to stop others from touching him (the distance would grow infinitessimally small, but never zero), and he also used his power of infinity to almost awe his opponents, to stun them using the infinite passage of time and such.
Gojo was a very fun-loving man, very playful. And he was this way even with training his students. But I liked that it was balanced with his mysterious wisdom.
I've got my eye on Gojo, but I do still have my doubts about him...I think he's hiding a bit too much from us.
Ryoumen Sukuna
Sukuna was the curse that started this all. He was a very powerful curse, whose only remains on this world were his 20 fingers (from four arms). His fingers were sealed and used as charms to protect, but Yuji and his school's supernatural club had unknowingly unsealed a finger, bringing great danger. In an attempt to save his friends, Sukuna ate the finger, which turned him into a vessel for Sukuna.
What was surprising was that Yuji was powerful enough to not only be a vessel for Sukuna, but that he was powerful enough to take control of his body back from Sukuna.
Surprisingly, we didn't see that much of Sukuna during the show. There was a part when Yuji was presumed to be dead, where Sukuna had tried to get Yuji to enter into a pact with him. Yuji had refused, but we also don't know what became of that conversation, and how Yuji came back from the dead.
In addition, we know that Sukuna has a liking for Megumi. Why, we don't know exactly.
Ijichi Kiyotaka
Ijichi was an employee at the school. He's not quite a teacher though, more of a caretaker or custodian? His job was mostly to take care of the kids and escort them to and from missions.
Ieiri Shouko
Shouko was a doctor at the school, who also acted as a coroner. We didn't see her that much, but she seemed cool, and also Ijichi has a crush on her.
Nanami Kento
NANAMIN!!!!! He was my favourite character in the entire show. His backstory was that he had studied jujutsu, but he'd left and joined the workforce, where he was an investment broker. He worked that job for a year, and it sucked the soul out of him, helping rich people get richer. So he returned to the world of jujutsu, where he could make a difference in people's lives.
He wasn't quite a teacher, but more of a mentor at the school. He guided Yuji during the investigation of Mahito's doings.
I just vibed a lot with Nanami's philosophies. He has a very strict sense of right and wrong. His conversations with Yuji left such an impression on me. There was a part in which they clashed, because Yuji wanted to help and join the fight, but Nanami would not let him because he was young and not as strong. Nanami said that as an adult, his job was to prioritize children, and he didn't say this in a bitter way, he truly believed that it was important for adults to protect children. In addition, when Yuji was upset about not being able to help, Nanami assured him that being a child (and being inexperienced and unable to help) was not a crime. That really hit deep. It was so thoughtful and so important to people like Yuji who've taken on so much burden to protect others, when he himself is only a teenager.
Nanami is also a super powerful guy. His power was that he was good at locating the weakness on his enemies, the critical point. He was also the record holder for being able to land the most consecutive black flashes in a row (a very powerful kind of curse-powered punch). He'd landed four, and was matched by Yuji by the end of the anime.
I was so worried that Nanami was going to die in this anime, but I'm glad that he stayed alive to the end (of this season at least). He's my favourite <3
Yaga Masamichi
Yaga was the principal of the Tokyo branch of the jujutsu academy. He was a relatively cool and chill guy, very calm and mature.
His schtick was that he liked making stuffed toys and dolls, but he would imbue them with curse energy.
Zenin Maki
Maki was one of the second-year students. She was a very cool, very powerful senpai <3
Her backstory was that she and her twin sister Zenin Mai were born of the powerful Zenin clan's main branch, but neither of them inherited the clan skill (which Megumi did). What's more was that Maki had no curse energy, while Mai had curse energy but no curse techniques. It was like they were one sorcerer split into two people, which was apt as they were twins.
In flashbacks, we saw that Maki was always the tougher of the sisters, as the older one. However, as the more ambitious sister who refused to be looked down upon by her clan, she decided to leave the clan and to strike out on her own, to become a powerful jujutsu sorcerer so that she could come back and take the clan's leadership into her own hands. This event really hit Mai hard, because Mai did not have the same ambitions, and more importantly, she didn't want to be abandoned by her sister. So this was the point of contention between the twins.
We didn't exactly get a conclusion to Maki's subplot with her sister, but I think just the acknowledgment that Maki needed to leave for herself, and that Mai was very hurt by the abandonment was still a good conclusion for the plot for now.
As Maki did not have any curse energy of her own, she could not sense curses, and she used her glasses to help her. As well, since she had no curse energy, she relied on curse-imbued weapons to battle against sorcerers. But her insane athleticism and fighting ability are really what sets her apart.
At the end of this season, Maki was recommended by Mei to be a first-grade sorcerer. Throughout the series, it was acknowledged by many that Maki was strong enough to be a first-grade sorcerer, but was kept at fourth-grade because of her sour relationship with the Zenin clan. So Maki being instated as a first-grade sorcerer would be her being one step closer to her goal.
Inumaki Toge
Inumaki was one of the few characters we didn't get much backstory about. I still liked him a lot though.
He had a "voice of god" kind of power, in which his words could command others to do his bidding. However, he would take a hit from the recoil, depending on how much power was required to make the opponent heed his words. In order to balance out the gravity of his words, he normally only communicated in names for food, but we see that his friends have come to understand him quite clearly.
We only saw Inumaki truly in action during that fight with Hanami. Kamo and Megumi relied on Inumaki to try to stun Hanami and get an in to attack her. Towards the end of the fight, he used all of his energy to subdue her, but thankfully he did not die. I'd be interested to know more about him!
Panda
I'm still kind of confused as to what Panda is. I know he's a creation of Principal Yaga's, but I'm not sure if he was a doll, or some other kind of spirit. I think he's not a real panda though. Anyway, Principal Yaga basically raised Panda, and the few scenes we saw of them I thought were incredibly cute.
Panda was created to have three souls. One was his own, one was that of his older brother, a gorilla, and one was that of his older sister, who was bashful (so we don't know what she's like).
Panda himself is pretty powerful, pretty athletic and spry. And he's honestly one of the more well-adjusted members of the Tokyo academy lol. Love Panda-senpai <3
Mahito
Mahito was a curse who had grown exponentially to the point that he had a human form and could engage in human speech. He was the first major villain in the story. He was working with Getou, Jougo, and Hanami. Their goals are a bit ambiguous, basically working towards a world where curses reign supreme.
Mahito himself was a young curse who was constantly learning his boundaries. His power was that he could reshape and regenerate his body, as long as his soul remained intact. His fighting style was a bit animalistic, and very thrilling to watch.
During the story, Mahito befriended Junpei, a bullied teenager who was full of hate, and therefore easy to manipulate. Mahito used Junpei to get close to Yuji (and Sukuna, who was his real target). However, Sukuna looked down on Mahito, and punished him for even daring to touch him.
Mahito made it out of the fray alive, and still allied with Getou.
Getou Suguru
Getou is a mysterious figure. He was referred to by the adults at the school, but we never found out what it was that he did. He was dressed in monk-like robes, and he seemed to be one of the masterminds behind the curses' plans. However, I think he's a human, which would be why the jujutsu academy teachers would know him so familiarly.
Jougo
Jougo was one of the curses who had gained human-like speech. His main moment in this season was when he attacked Gojo. Though Jougo was powerful, Gojo was even more powerful, and it was through Jougo that we saw just a glimpse of how powerful Gojo was.
Hanami
Hanami was the last of the curses that was part of Getou's crew. I think she was the most fleshed out. She was older and more mature and also had a more fleshed out arsenal and aesthetic.
Hanami had a flower and plant theme. She basically borrowed power from the earth often, and I think her philosophy was that humans were ruining earth.
We saw Hanami in action a few times. We saw her fighting against Kamo, Megumi, and Inumaki, who struggled in the fight. And later on, Toudou and Yuji joined forces to fight her. Gojo entering the veil gave enough of a distraction for Hanami to leave the fight, but not without being injured heavily.
During Hanami's fight with Toudou and Yuji, she had a callback to a conversation she had with Mahito, about enjoyment of a fight. In that battle with Toudou and Yuji, she finally learned what it was like to enjoy a battle.
I think Hanami is quite an interesting villain. She does seem rather peaceful and not in a deceitful way. A surprisingly well-adjusted villain.
Yoshino Junpei
Junpei was a teenager who was bullied a lot at school, and those who noticed the bullying (including a teacher) would ignore it. Because of this, he became very hateful, thinking of killing his bullies.
He met Mahito at a movie theatre, where he disfigured and killed Junpei's bullies. From then on, Junpei learned about curses from him.
Ijichi and Yuji were supposed to interview Junpei about the happenings at the cinema, and in the process, Yuji became Junpei's friend. This surprised Junpei, as no one had ever been so friendly with him.
Junpei's mom was a single parent, and she sometimes embarrassed and annoyed him, but ultimately he did love her. And we saw this in the scene where Yuji was invited to eat dinner with Junpei and his mom.
Unfortunately, soon after, the curses had planted one of Sukuna's fingers in Junpei's home, killing his mother, which pushed Junpei to the edge.
Junpei's purpose was for Mahito to get close with Yuji, and in that respect, he succeeded. While speaking with Junpei, Yuji sort of let his guard down, and Mahito was able to attack him. However, before Junpei knew it, he had been disfigured by Mahito. I forget how Junpei died, but either way, Yuji was troubled by Junpei's death. He didn't like killing people, but the adults (such as Shouko) had told him that they'd already died when they were disfigured, and that killing them was only helping them ease the suffering.
Gakuganji Yoshinobu
Gakuganji was the principal of the Kyoto branch of the jujutsu academy. He was portrayed to be somewhat stuffy, as compared to Gojo. When we first met Gakuganji, Gojo had intercepted the meeting between Gakuganji and Yaga to tell him his own thoughts, and basically to tell Gakuganji to watch out.
During the exchange event, Gakuganji told his students that their main goal was not to win the event, but to kill Itadori Yuji because he was a vessel of Sukuna. That was one of the sticking points between Gakuganji and Gojo, as Gojo had long-term plans for Yuji to collect all of Sukuna's fingers and then have him killed then. Whereas the older people like Gakuganji were worried about what Yuji could become if he ate too many fingers.
Later in the anime, we saw Gakuganji fight, and to my surprise, his power was the power of electric guitar lmao. A villain described Gakuganji as an amp himself, amplifying the curse energy coming from his electric guitar.
By the end of the anime, I did have a more positive view of Gakuganji, especially at the end of the anime, when I saw that he did have good intentions in mind.
Zenin Mai
Mai was the (younger) twin sister of Maki. As mentioned above, she and Maki were looked down upon in the Zenin clan as they were not powerful sorcerers. Mai was not as ambitious as Maki, and I wonder if part of that was that she was a younger sister who was used to not being the leader, or the representative between the two sisters. In any case, during their confrontation in the forest, she told Maki that she would have been fine being servants in the household, as long as they were together. Unfortunately, Maki could not stay with her for her own personal reasons. I think that Mai is a more cautious and timid person, and for that reason, she couldn't leave the Zenin clan with Maki. Through Momo, we learned that she was subject to very a strict upbringing because of her shortcomings as a sorcerer.
Mai had curse energy, but no curse techniques. In the anime, we saw that she harnessed her curse energy through the use of a gun, which would help her in gathering and expelling her curse energy.
She'd developed a power that she'd hidden from her sister, which was the power to permanently create matter from her own curse energy. In this way, she created a bullet to trick Maki into thinking she had used all of the rounds of bullets in her gun. However, Maki was so strong that she caught the bullet. And that was the end for Mai for the exchange event, as creating that bullet used up all of her energy.
When we first met Mai, I was kind of annoyed at her, but after I learned about her backstory, I was definitely much more sympathetic to her.
Toudou Aoi
Lmao Toudou, what a funny little man. The first time we met him, he asked Megumi what kind of women he liked as a measure of his character, and since his answer was boring, Toudou decided he would kick his ass. Conversely, Toudou really vibed with Yuji's answer to his favourite type of women and decided they were best friends, kindred spirits, and brothers. Toudou was also obsessed with an idol called Takada-chan.
Toudou basically had a very romantic view of life, as seen after he had decided Yuji was his best friend. In typical shonen fashion, he helped Yuji learn new powers DURING their fight. And in Yuji's fight against Hanami, Toudou said that he would join until Yuji landed a black flash on Hanami. It was a very "FOR HONOUR!" sort of thing.
Toudou was also insanely powerful. When Gakuganji instructed the students to direct their energy towards killing Yuji, Toudou refused to do so, and we saw that he could in fact be a big hindrance to all of the other students.
Like Yuji, Toudou was insanely strong even just physically. He was also more mature as a sorcerer, so he could teach Yuji about curse techniques and how he could use them. Toudou also had a really cool ability, which was the ability to switch places with an opponent, as well as switching the places between two opponents. It was a very dynamic skill, and it was incredible to watch in the fight between him, Yuji, and Hanami.
Despite his power and the respect he hailed from his comrades, he was seen as pretty annoying, as we saw in the baseball match lmao. Even Yuji, whom he claimed to be his brother, found Toudou to be too much lol. I'm sorry Toudou, that's on you XD
Nishimiya Momo
Momo was another of the characters that we didn't see much background story for. Her entire aesthetic was that of a Western witch. She had the ability to fly, and the Kyoto team relied on her a lot for utility reasons, being the eyes and also transporting people. In the way that Nobara was very protective of Maki, Momo was very protective of Mai. Overall, I think Momo was kind of cute.
Ultimate Mechamaru
Mechamaru was a robot student at the Kyoto academy. During the exchange event, he was up against Panda. During that battle, we found out that Mechamaru was not actually a robot, and in fact, was being controlled by someone. Mechamaru held hatred for Panda because he wasn't even a real human and yet he could move like one, which Mechamaru envied.
Mechamaru's controller was a person who did not have all of his limbs, and he was sitting in a bathtub unable to move, though he still had curse energy. Panda theorized that that person was somewhat close to the battle.
But after that battle, Panda encouraged Mechamaru to try to step out of his comfort zone, implying that Panda wouldn't mind being his friend.
Kamo Noritoshi
Kamo was also from one of the three major clans in the jujutsu world (the Zenin clan being another one of them). His backstory was that his mother was looked down upon for being a concubine and insulted as a slut. On the other hand, since Kamo had inherited the clan skill, he was to be the next heir of the clan.
His skill involved manipulating of blood, which as you may imagine was kind of a gruesome skill. I don't think we got to see it in its full bloodiness during this season though.
Kamo had a traditional aesthetic going on. His clothes and hair were all traditionally Japanese, which emphasized that he was from an old family. It was revealed towards the end that the Kamo clan was born from a man who was obsessed with the idea of the union of human and curse, and had a woman become pregnant with and abort three half-human, half-curse babies. Understandably, that did not make him popular.
Kamo and Megumi faced each other during the exchange event, and the matchup was somewhat apt, as both were heirs of their clan skills, though Kamo was the son of a concubine and Megumi didn't acknowledge his link with the Zenin clan. Their battle was interrupted by Hanami, but I suspect they will have another matchup again later.
Miwa Kasumi
Kasumi was one of the more well-adjusted and mellow members of the Kyoto academy. I would even venture on to say that she was pretty normal lol. The first time we met her, she accompanied Principal Gakuganji to the Tokyo academy. She appeared stern and composed as was her job to represent the Kyoto academy. However, we soon saw that she was a huge Gojo fangirl :3 It was really cute though, and it didn't define who she was, as we saw that she was still very professional.
During the exchange event, she told Maki that she had become a jujutsu sorcerer for the money, as she had younger siblings to take care of. I thought it was interesting that that was her backstory, and yet she was still portrayed as a good person. It's realistic! A lot of people do things for money. I don't even think that Kasumi dislikes jujutsu, it's just that for her, money is more important because of her family obligations.
Iori Utahime
Utahime was one of the adult representatives of the Kyoto jujutsu academy. She was portrayed to be the more uptight counterpart to Gojo-sensei's very loose and relaxed atmosphere. She was pretty well-meaning and well-intentioned though, in my opinion.
Mei
I'm not sure what Mei's role is, but she also represented the Kyoto academy. She also seemed to have a closer relationship with Gojo, in the working sense. At the end of the season, Gojo transferred a ton of money to Mei. I think he said it was for a get-together, but I sense that they are in cahoots about other more serious things..
Themes
Saving
As I mentioned, Fushiguro's journey was about who was worth saving. It confused him that Yuji would just save everybody. In their mission at the juvenile prison, Megumi asked Yuji how he would feel if someone he saved would go on to hurt people.
In the end, however, Megumi leaned towards a perspective where he would no longer justify to himself why he would save someone. Instead, he would just do it based on feelings. He would save someone if he wanted to, and that would be reason enough. And because he was just fighting for his own feelings, it lessened the pressure on him and encouraged him to fight with his whole heart too.
Killing
Yuji constantly wracked his brain over the idea of killing people, even if it was for the good of the people he was to kill (such as those who were disfigured). Even towards the end, as he killed the two curse brothers, he was way more troubled by it than Nobara. Yuji was moved by how the curse mourned for his brother, he acknowledged their feelings and he was troubled by them.
When he'd talked about killing with Junpei, Yuji said that he didn't want to kill, because he felt that if he started killing, it would warp the idea of humanity and life and death to him, and he felt that if he started killing people, he would forget why those he loved were important to him. Basically, if he started killing people, then what would separate those people from the people he loved?
On the other hand, Nobara was okay with killing in the sense that she could only protect a certain number of people in her life, and she would do whatever she could to protect them. If it meant killing to protect those people, her conscience was clear.
Bullying
The bullying that we saw done to Junpei was pretty rough to watch. I honestly have never seen such stark bullying in anime.
Even though Junpei had some buddies in the film club, we saw how bullying scared those friends away and still left Junpei alone.
Not only did the bullies hurt Junpei physically and emotionally, but the bullying pushed Junpei to be a bully himself. Towards the end of his story arc, he confronted one of his bullies, and I think he truly was ready to kill him. And thus the cycle of bullying would continue.
Overall
This was an enjoyable anime, but that's sort of it for me. There wasn't enough structure to the curse system nor the school system for me to be invested in the world. And while the characters are a bit of a departure from the typical shonen genre, I couldn't say that any of them deeply resonated with me except the adults, who are not supposed to be the stars of the show.
That being said, I know people who are big fans of this anime, so I don't doubt that some will walk away from this anime very fulfilled.
Spoilers.
Story
The story is pretty basic. Yuji becomes a vessel for one of the most powerful curses ever. In doing so, he walks into a world of curses and curse magic. He joined a school that would teach him jujutsu, and gained many comrades at the school.
The first story arc related to Mahito and Junpei, where Yuji befriended Junpei, a victim of bullying. He'd built up so much negative energy and thus became close with Mahito, a powerful but immature curse. In the end, Mahito killed Junpei, and Yuji and Nanami fought off Mahito, but didn't kill him.
The second story arc was a school tournament, between the Tokyo and Kyoto branches of the same jujutsu school. We learned a lot about the various jujutsu sorcerers from both schools. It was exciting, and I quite enjoyed exploring the characters.
The last very short story arc centered around Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara exorcising curses near a middle school. This story arc gave us more backstory related to Megumi.
I usually don't watch anime series based on manga because the adaptations are usually a bit clunky, and I saw some of the cracks here in this anime as well. The pacing was irregular for two reasons: one was because this story was not finished yet, and there's no saying how much longer the manga will go one for, and the other was because it's clear that these story arcs should be much longer than they actually are, and that a lot is being fit in a short runtime.
Specifically, I felt that the last arc was entirely too rushed, especially since it was preceded by so many episodes focused on the school exchange event. I was actually surprised by how abrupt the story changed, from the baseball exchange event, to our main trio on their way to investigate the curses. One of the main purposes of this arc was to give us backstory to Megumi, which we did, but it didn't really hit as hard as it intended to. While I'd always like Megumi, Yuji is the main character, and so having a final arc of a season with Yuji being a relatively background character was anticlimatic. Also, having a final arc only be three episodes didn't give this arc the gravity it deserved as a last arc.
I did appreciate the show for its more mellow characters. While these characters were obviously based on tropes, they weren't as irritating as I would have expected lol. The makeup of our trio + Gojo-sensei was very reminiscent of Naruto. However, the relationship, while it did have its laugh-out-loud comedy moments, in general was more three-dimensional. Each of the characters had unique relationships with one another, whether or not they had a lot of history together, and it helped shape the basis of this relationship.
I actually really liked the school exchange event because it gave us a brief look into all of these characters that undoubtedly will show their faces again later in the series. I thought it would be overkill to learn so much about so many characters in such a short time, but I was pretty entertained. I think it was handled well.
And the end...well, I knew this. I knew this was going to end on a cliffhanger. It ended with several of our main characters being promoted to first grade, but a lot of things were unanswered, like who Okkotsu and Hakari were, who the androdynous young monk with white hair was, the deal with Getou, etc.
I don't know that I would watch the next season though. While I found the series entertaining, it hasn't grabbed me. Not that it's not good, it just didn't scratch my itch. Never say never though. I might watch the next season if my friend encourages me to lol.
Production
Aesthetically speaking, this anime didn't particularly feel that distinct, especially because the characters wear school uniforms most of the time, and Yuji and Megumi have typical shonen anime hair.
That being said, I did find the animation entertaining. I've seen my share of lazy animation in anime, and I liked that this anime paid attention to the details, such as subtle body language differences between Yuji and Sukuna, fast and dynamic fight scenes, and cool animations for Gojo's powers.
Characters
Itadoru Yuji
Yuji was your typical shonen protagonist. Before his grandfather passed, he told Yuji to protect others because he was strong. Though it looked like they argued a lot, Yuji and his grandfather had a good relationship. His grandfather was his only family that he knew of, and so he took his words to heart. And honestly, that's Yuji's only motivation, to be honest. He just wants to help people. Which low key makes him kind of a weak characters because his goals are so vague.
That being said, Yuji was still amusing as a character. He was annoying and peppy, but for some reason it wasn't very irritating. There were times when he was earnest, but not in a totally self-sacrificing way. And he does use his brain!
There's definitely a lot of backstory that hasn't been revealed. We haven't seen either of his parents, and I bet that they have something to do with why Yuji is so powerful. But otherwise, I think that Yuji has been kept a blank slate on purpose, so that the mangaka has a lot of space to fill out his character in the future.
So Yuji wasn't really the deepest character, but at least he was entertaining.
Fushiguro Megumi
There was a lot more development with Megumi's character compared to Yuji. But like I said, it was probably because Yuji was kept a blank slate on purpose. In addition, Megumi's been around in the world of curses and jujutsu for much longer in his life.
What we know of Megumi's backstory is as follows. He gained a stepsister, Tsumiki, as a child. He didn't quite get along with her on the surface. He was a delinquent who got into fights with other boys at school, while Tsumiki was very kind and sympathetic, and was always trying to get him to be nice. Tsumiki had fallen victim to a curse and became bedridden to this day.
When they were young children, their parents dipped, leaving them alone. Apparently Megumi's father was a relative of the Zenin clan, and had "sold" Megumi to them in return for his freedom. Megumi had inherited the Zenin family skill, so that made him a valuable heir. However, before the Zenin clan took him in, Gojo swooped in to take Megumi under his wing, and so Megumi grew up under Gojo's mentorship.
Megumi said that when he was born, he was given the name Megumi, without his parents caring about whether he'd be a boy or a girl. So this was a clue to show us that he had a distant relationship with his family. And though many knew that he was related to the Zenin clan, he would tell others that he had no relation to them (technically true).
Other than his backstory, Megumi had two other plotlines.
The one that was more prominent was related to his conscience. He was always worrying about who was worth saving. Ultimately, I think the discussion boiled down to the idea that there is no right or wrong answer, Megumi can simply choose who to save and who not to save without having to justify it. And that departure from logic eased his mind.
The other backstory, which was much more brief, was Megumi's quest to become stronger. We first saw it very briefly when he was gearing up for the exchange event by improving his combat skills. However, there were no signs that it was going to be a story line, and it technically didn't. It was pretty detached from that one conversation Gojo and Megumi had towards the end of the series, where Gojo told him that he needed to stop suppressing his powers and to go apeshit, which he did.
If I were to overthink it, I'd say that Megumi had suppressed his feral side after Tsumiki became cursed and bedridden, out of guilt and a duty to her. So him going apeshit like he did against that curse was something that was kind of taboo, but he was going to do it if he was going to kill the curse that hurt Tsumiki.
I like Megumi! He's fun. It makes me laugh how Yuji, Nobara, and Gojo-sensei are all so obsessed with him. He's just a very lovable guy, you can't help but want to know more about him.
Kugisaki Nobara
Nobara was a country girl who came to Tokyo to study at the jujutsu academy, and really wanted to live the high life. She was a very tough girl, but she also liked very traditionally feminine things, and her character didn't suffer for either of them.
Like Megumi, Nobara came to the academy already having experience with curses, her weapons of choice being a hammer & nails, and sometimes a straw doll. I think that really enhanced her look and aesthetic, I'm a fan.
Nobara's story line wasn't quite as detailed as Megumi's, nor was it so obviously blanked out like Yuji's. Nobara's backstory was that there was a neighbourhood onee-chan that she grew close to, that was bullied in her village, presumably because she was in the city. The onee-chan, Saori, later left to go back to the city, and I think Nobara did want to see Saori again as one of her reasons for wanting to be in Tokyo. But wanting to be glamourous was definitely another reason.
Nobara was a great character in that she was tough, but not in a "masculine" way. A lot of tough female characters are shown to be tough by being "like men," but not Nobara. She is tough for herself, and no one else. She's not proving herself to anyone, she's being tough to protect herself and that's out of self-love. As a main female character, that's quite refreshing!
Gojo Satoru
Ah, Gojo-sensei. He for sure is full of secrets. I kept worrying if he was going to be a villain because he's just so powerful and mysterious. I told someone that Gojo-sensei is very Kakashi-coded, and though I don't know much about Kakashi from a story perspective (never read/watched Naruto), I do think the aesthetic rings true. He had most of his face hidden, and his unmasked face was very handsome - very Kakashi-coded indeed!
Gojo was a teacher at the jujutsu academy, and someone of a genius and celebrity in the world of jujutsu. In fact, I believe he was the most powerful jujutsu sorcerer. His power was the power of infinity, which is kind of hard to explain, but it's very calculus lmao. In the anime, we saw him using the power of infinity to stop others from touching him (the distance would grow infinitessimally small, but never zero), and he also used his power of infinity to almost awe his opponents, to stun them using the infinite passage of time and such.
Gojo was a very fun-loving man, very playful. And he was this way even with training his students. But I liked that it was balanced with his mysterious wisdom.
I've got my eye on Gojo, but I do still have my doubts about him...I think he's hiding a bit too much from us.
Ryoumen Sukuna
Sukuna was the curse that started this all. He was a very powerful curse, whose only remains on this world were his 20 fingers (from four arms). His fingers were sealed and used as charms to protect, but Yuji and his school's supernatural club had unknowingly unsealed a finger, bringing great danger. In an attempt to save his friends, Sukuna ate the finger, which turned him into a vessel for Sukuna.
What was surprising was that Yuji was powerful enough to not only be a vessel for Sukuna, but that he was powerful enough to take control of his body back from Sukuna.
Surprisingly, we didn't see that much of Sukuna during the show. There was a part when Yuji was presumed to be dead, where Sukuna had tried to get Yuji to enter into a pact with him. Yuji had refused, but we also don't know what became of that conversation, and how Yuji came back from the dead.
In addition, we know that Sukuna has a liking for Megumi. Why, we don't know exactly.
Ijichi Kiyotaka
Ijichi was an employee at the school. He's not quite a teacher though, more of a caretaker or custodian? His job was mostly to take care of the kids and escort them to and from missions.
Ieiri Shouko
Shouko was a doctor at the school, who also acted as a coroner. We didn't see her that much, but she seemed cool, and also Ijichi has a crush on her.
Nanami Kento
NANAMIN!!!!! He was my favourite character in the entire show. His backstory was that he had studied jujutsu, but he'd left and joined the workforce, where he was an investment broker. He worked that job for a year, and it sucked the soul out of him, helping rich people get richer. So he returned to the world of jujutsu, where he could make a difference in people's lives.
He wasn't quite a teacher, but more of a mentor at the school. He guided Yuji during the investigation of Mahito's doings.
I just vibed a lot with Nanami's philosophies. He has a very strict sense of right and wrong. His conversations with Yuji left such an impression on me. There was a part in which they clashed, because Yuji wanted to help and join the fight, but Nanami would not let him because he was young and not as strong. Nanami said that as an adult, his job was to prioritize children, and he didn't say this in a bitter way, he truly believed that it was important for adults to protect children. In addition, when Yuji was upset about not being able to help, Nanami assured him that being a child (and being inexperienced and unable to help) was not a crime. That really hit deep. It was so thoughtful and so important to people like Yuji who've taken on so much burden to protect others, when he himself is only a teenager.
Nanami is also a super powerful guy. His power was that he was good at locating the weakness on his enemies, the critical point. He was also the record holder for being able to land the most consecutive black flashes in a row (a very powerful kind of curse-powered punch). He'd landed four, and was matched by Yuji by the end of the anime.
I was so worried that Nanami was going to die in this anime, but I'm glad that he stayed alive to the end (of this season at least). He's my favourite <3
Yaga Masamichi
Yaga was the principal of the Tokyo branch of the jujutsu academy. He was a relatively cool and chill guy, very calm and mature.
His schtick was that he liked making stuffed toys and dolls, but he would imbue them with curse energy.
Zenin Maki
Maki was one of the second-year students. She was a very cool, very powerful senpai <3
Her backstory was that she and her twin sister Zenin Mai were born of the powerful Zenin clan's main branch, but neither of them inherited the clan skill (which Megumi did). What's more was that Maki had no curse energy, while Mai had curse energy but no curse techniques. It was like they were one sorcerer split into two people, which was apt as they were twins.
In flashbacks, we saw that Maki was always the tougher of the sisters, as the older one. However, as the more ambitious sister who refused to be looked down upon by her clan, she decided to leave the clan and to strike out on her own, to become a powerful jujutsu sorcerer so that she could come back and take the clan's leadership into her own hands. This event really hit Mai hard, because Mai did not have the same ambitions, and more importantly, she didn't want to be abandoned by her sister. So this was the point of contention between the twins.
We didn't exactly get a conclusion to Maki's subplot with her sister, but I think just the acknowledgment that Maki needed to leave for herself, and that Mai was very hurt by the abandonment was still a good conclusion for the plot for now.
As Maki did not have any curse energy of her own, she could not sense curses, and she used her glasses to help her. As well, since she had no curse energy, she relied on curse-imbued weapons to battle against sorcerers. But her insane athleticism and fighting ability are really what sets her apart.
At the end of this season, Maki was recommended by Mei to be a first-grade sorcerer. Throughout the series, it was acknowledged by many that Maki was strong enough to be a first-grade sorcerer, but was kept at fourth-grade because of her sour relationship with the Zenin clan. So Maki being instated as a first-grade sorcerer would be her being one step closer to her goal.
Inumaki Toge
Inumaki was one of the few characters we didn't get much backstory about. I still liked him a lot though.
He had a "voice of god" kind of power, in which his words could command others to do his bidding. However, he would take a hit from the recoil, depending on how much power was required to make the opponent heed his words. In order to balance out the gravity of his words, he normally only communicated in names for food, but we see that his friends have come to understand him quite clearly.
We only saw Inumaki truly in action during that fight with Hanami. Kamo and Megumi relied on Inumaki to try to stun Hanami and get an in to attack her. Towards the end of the fight, he used all of his energy to subdue her, but thankfully he did not die. I'd be interested to know more about him!
Panda
I'm still kind of confused as to what Panda is. I know he's a creation of Principal Yaga's, but I'm not sure if he was a doll, or some other kind of spirit. I think he's not a real panda though. Anyway, Principal Yaga basically raised Panda, and the few scenes we saw of them I thought were incredibly cute.
Panda was created to have three souls. One was his own, one was that of his older brother, a gorilla, and one was that of his older sister, who was bashful (so we don't know what she's like).
Panda himself is pretty powerful, pretty athletic and spry. And he's honestly one of the more well-adjusted members of the Tokyo academy lol. Love Panda-senpai <3
Mahito
Mahito was a curse who had grown exponentially to the point that he had a human form and could engage in human speech. He was the first major villain in the story. He was working with Getou, Jougo, and Hanami. Their goals are a bit ambiguous, basically working towards a world where curses reign supreme.
Mahito himself was a young curse who was constantly learning his boundaries. His power was that he could reshape and regenerate his body, as long as his soul remained intact. His fighting style was a bit animalistic, and very thrilling to watch.
During the story, Mahito befriended Junpei, a bullied teenager who was full of hate, and therefore easy to manipulate. Mahito used Junpei to get close to Yuji (and Sukuna, who was his real target). However, Sukuna looked down on Mahito, and punished him for even daring to touch him.
Mahito made it out of the fray alive, and still allied with Getou.
Getou Suguru
Getou is a mysterious figure. He was referred to by the adults at the school, but we never found out what it was that he did. He was dressed in monk-like robes, and he seemed to be one of the masterminds behind the curses' plans. However, I think he's a human, which would be why the jujutsu academy teachers would know him so familiarly.
Jougo
Jougo was one of the curses who had gained human-like speech. His main moment in this season was when he attacked Gojo. Though Jougo was powerful, Gojo was even more powerful, and it was through Jougo that we saw just a glimpse of how powerful Gojo was.
Hanami
Hanami was the last of the curses that was part of Getou's crew. I think she was the most fleshed out. She was older and more mature and also had a more fleshed out arsenal and aesthetic.
Hanami had a flower and plant theme. She basically borrowed power from the earth often, and I think her philosophy was that humans were ruining earth.
We saw Hanami in action a few times. We saw her fighting against Kamo, Megumi, and Inumaki, who struggled in the fight. And later on, Toudou and Yuji joined forces to fight her. Gojo entering the veil gave enough of a distraction for Hanami to leave the fight, but not without being injured heavily.
During Hanami's fight with Toudou and Yuji, she had a callback to a conversation she had with Mahito, about enjoyment of a fight. In that battle with Toudou and Yuji, she finally learned what it was like to enjoy a battle.
I think Hanami is quite an interesting villain. She does seem rather peaceful and not in a deceitful way. A surprisingly well-adjusted villain.
Yoshino Junpei
Junpei was a teenager who was bullied a lot at school, and those who noticed the bullying (including a teacher) would ignore it. Because of this, he became very hateful, thinking of killing his bullies.
He met Mahito at a movie theatre, where he disfigured and killed Junpei's bullies. From then on, Junpei learned about curses from him.
Ijichi and Yuji were supposed to interview Junpei about the happenings at the cinema, and in the process, Yuji became Junpei's friend. This surprised Junpei, as no one had ever been so friendly with him.
Junpei's mom was a single parent, and she sometimes embarrassed and annoyed him, but ultimately he did love her. And we saw this in the scene where Yuji was invited to eat dinner with Junpei and his mom.
Unfortunately, soon after, the curses had planted one of Sukuna's fingers in Junpei's home, killing his mother, which pushed Junpei to the edge.
Junpei's purpose was for Mahito to get close with Yuji, and in that respect, he succeeded. While speaking with Junpei, Yuji sort of let his guard down, and Mahito was able to attack him. However, before Junpei knew it, he had been disfigured by Mahito. I forget how Junpei died, but either way, Yuji was troubled by Junpei's death. He didn't like killing people, but the adults (such as Shouko) had told him that they'd already died when they were disfigured, and that killing them was only helping them ease the suffering.
Gakuganji Yoshinobu
Gakuganji was the principal of the Kyoto branch of the jujutsu academy. He was portrayed to be somewhat stuffy, as compared to Gojo. When we first met Gakuganji, Gojo had intercepted the meeting between Gakuganji and Yaga to tell him his own thoughts, and basically to tell Gakuganji to watch out.
During the exchange event, Gakuganji told his students that their main goal was not to win the event, but to kill Itadori Yuji because he was a vessel of Sukuna. That was one of the sticking points between Gakuganji and Gojo, as Gojo had long-term plans for Yuji to collect all of Sukuna's fingers and then have him killed then. Whereas the older people like Gakuganji were worried about what Yuji could become if he ate too many fingers.
Later in the anime, we saw Gakuganji fight, and to my surprise, his power was the power of electric guitar lmao. A villain described Gakuganji as an amp himself, amplifying the curse energy coming from his electric guitar.
By the end of the anime, I did have a more positive view of Gakuganji, especially at the end of the anime, when I saw that he did have good intentions in mind.
Zenin Mai
Mai was the (younger) twin sister of Maki. As mentioned above, she and Maki were looked down upon in the Zenin clan as they were not powerful sorcerers. Mai was not as ambitious as Maki, and I wonder if part of that was that she was a younger sister who was used to not being the leader, or the representative between the two sisters. In any case, during their confrontation in the forest, she told Maki that she would have been fine being servants in the household, as long as they were together. Unfortunately, Maki could not stay with her for her own personal reasons. I think that Mai is a more cautious and timid person, and for that reason, she couldn't leave the Zenin clan with Maki. Through Momo, we learned that she was subject to very a strict upbringing because of her shortcomings as a sorcerer.
Mai had curse energy, but no curse techniques. In the anime, we saw that she harnessed her curse energy through the use of a gun, which would help her in gathering and expelling her curse energy.
She'd developed a power that she'd hidden from her sister, which was the power to permanently create matter from her own curse energy. In this way, she created a bullet to trick Maki into thinking she had used all of the rounds of bullets in her gun. However, Maki was so strong that she caught the bullet. And that was the end for Mai for the exchange event, as creating that bullet used up all of her energy.
When we first met Mai, I was kind of annoyed at her, but after I learned about her backstory, I was definitely much more sympathetic to her.
Toudou Aoi
Lmao Toudou, what a funny little man. The first time we met him, he asked Megumi what kind of women he liked as a measure of his character, and since his answer was boring, Toudou decided he would kick his ass. Conversely, Toudou really vibed with Yuji's answer to his favourite type of women and decided they were best friends, kindred spirits, and brothers. Toudou was also obsessed with an idol called Takada-chan.
Toudou basically had a very romantic view of life, as seen after he had decided Yuji was his best friend. In typical shonen fashion, he helped Yuji learn new powers DURING their fight. And in Yuji's fight against Hanami, Toudou said that he would join until Yuji landed a black flash on Hanami. It was a very "FOR HONOUR!" sort of thing.
Toudou was also insanely powerful. When Gakuganji instructed the students to direct their energy towards killing Yuji, Toudou refused to do so, and we saw that he could in fact be a big hindrance to all of the other students.
Like Yuji, Toudou was insanely strong even just physically. He was also more mature as a sorcerer, so he could teach Yuji about curse techniques and how he could use them. Toudou also had a really cool ability, which was the ability to switch places with an opponent, as well as switching the places between two opponents. It was a very dynamic skill, and it was incredible to watch in the fight between him, Yuji, and Hanami.
Despite his power and the respect he hailed from his comrades, he was seen as pretty annoying, as we saw in the baseball match lmao. Even Yuji, whom he claimed to be his brother, found Toudou to be too much lol. I'm sorry Toudou, that's on you XD
Nishimiya Momo
Momo was another of the characters that we didn't see much background story for. Her entire aesthetic was that of a Western witch. She had the ability to fly, and the Kyoto team relied on her a lot for utility reasons, being the eyes and also transporting people. In the way that Nobara was very protective of Maki, Momo was very protective of Mai. Overall, I think Momo was kind of cute.
Ultimate Mechamaru
Mechamaru was a robot student at the Kyoto academy. During the exchange event, he was up against Panda. During that battle, we found out that Mechamaru was not actually a robot, and in fact, was being controlled by someone. Mechamaru held hatred for Panda because he wasn't even a real human and yet he could move like one, which Mechamaru envied.
Mechamaru's controller was a person who did not have all of his limbs, and he was sitting in a bathtub unable to move, though he still had curse energy. Panda theorized that that person was somewhat close to the battle.
But after that battle, Panda encouraged Mechamaru to try to step out of his comfort zone, implying that Panda wouldn't mind being his friend.
Kamo Noritoshi
Kamo was also from one of the three major clans in the jujutsu world (the Zenin clan being another one of them). His backstory was that his mother was looked down upon for being a concubine and insulted as a slut. On the other hand, since Kamo had inherited the clan skill, he was to be the next heir of the clan.
His skill involved manipulating of blood, which as you may imagine was kind of a gruesome skill. I don't think we got to see it in its full bloodiness during this season though.
Kamo had a traditional aesthetic going on. His clothes and hair were all traditionally Japanese, which emphasized that he was from an old family. It was revealed towards the end that the Kamo clan was born from a man who was obsessed with the idea of the union of human and curse, and had a woman become pregnant with and abort three half-human, half-curse babies. Understandably, that did not make him popular.
Kamo and Megumi faced each other during the exchange event, and the matchup was somewhat apt, as both were heirs of their clan skills, though Kamo was the son of a concubine and Megumi didn't acknowledge his link with the Zenin clan. Their battle was interrupted by Hanami, but I suspect they will have another matchup again later.
Miwa Kasumi
Kasumi was one of the more well-adjusted and mellow members of the Kyoto academy. I would even venture on to say that she was pretty normal lol. The first time we met her, she accompanied Principal Gakuganji to the Tokyo academy. She appeared stern and composed as was her job to represent the Kyoto academy. However, we soon saw that she was a huge Gojo fangirl :3 It was really cute though, and it didn't define who she was, as we saw that she was still very professional.
During the exchange event, she told Maki that she had become a jujutsu sorcerer for the money, as she had younger siblings to take care of. I thought it was interesting that that was her backstory, and yet she was still portrayed as a good person. It's realistic! A lot of people do things for money. I don't even think that Kasumi dislikes jujutsu, it's just that for her, money is more important because of her family obligations.
Iori Utahime
Utahime was one of the adult representatives of the Kyoto jujutsu academy. She was portrayed to be the more uptight counterpart to Gojo-sensei's very loose and relaxed atmosphere. She was pretty well-meaning and well-intentioned though, in my opinion.
Mei
I'm not sure what Mei's role is, but she also represented the Kyoto academy. She also seemed to have a closer relationship with Gojo, in the working sense. At the end of the season, Gojo transferred a ton of money to Mei. I think he said it was for a get-together, but I sense that they are in cahoots about other more serious things..
Themes
Saving
As I mentioned, Fushiguro's journey was about who was worth saving. It confused him that Yuji would just save everybody. In their mission at the juvenile prison, Megumi asked Yuji how he would feel if someone he saved would go on to hurt people.
In the end, however, Megumi leaned towards a perspective where he would no longer justify to himself why he would save someone. Instead, he would just do it based on feelings. He would save someone if he wanted to, and that would be reason enough. And because he was just fighting for his own feelings, it lessened the pressure on him and encouraged him to fight with his whole heart too.
Killing
Yuji constantly wracked his brain over the idea of killing people, even if it was for the good of the people he was to kill (such as those who were disfigured). Even towards the end, as he killed the two curse brothers, he was way more troubled by it than Nobara. Yuji was moved by how the curse mourned for his brother, he acknowledged their feelings and he was troubled by them.
When he'd talked about killing with Junpei, Yuji said that he didn't want to kill, because he felt that if he started killing, it would warp the idea of humanity and life and death to him, and he felt that if he started killing people, he would forget why those he loved were important to him. Basically, if he started killing people, then what would separate those people from the people he loved?
On the other hand, Nobara was okay with killing in the sense that she could only protect a certain number of people in her life, and she would do whatever she could to protect them. If it meant killing to protect those people, her conscience was clear.
Bullying
The bullying that we saw done to Junpei was pretty rough to watch. I honestly have never seen such stark bullying in anime.
Even though Junpei had some buddies in the film club, we saw how bullying scared those friends away and still left Junpei alone.
Not only did the bullies hurt Junpei physically and emotionally, but the bullying pushed Junpei to be a bully himself. Towards the end of his story arc, he confronted one of his bullies, and I think he truly was ready to kill him. And thus the cycle of bullying would continue.
Overall
This was an enjoyable anime, but that's sort of it for me. There wasn't enough structure to the curse system nor the school system for me to be invested in the world. And while the characters are a bit of a departure from the typical shonen genre, I couldn't say that any of them deeply resonated with me except the adults, who are not supposed to be the stars of the show.
That being said, I know people who are big fans of this anime, so I don't doubt that some will walk away from this anime very fulfilled.