Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Exorcising your boredom and satisfying your shonen needs.
Image: Mappa/ Toho LTD.
With the long anticipated streaming debut of Jujutsu Kaisen: 0, fans of the film and first time watchers alike will be able to watch and rewatch the prequel film for the first time (legally) since its release back in the spring. JJK: 0 does seemingly the impossible, managing to satisfy both first timers and long time fans alike while holding up as a standalone story that will, presumably, transition smoothly into the show’s eventual second season.
Set in a world where dark energy manifests itself in the form of horrible creatures called curses, a few special people called jujutsu sorcererers dedicate themselves to protecting the normal people. Jujutsu Kaisen: 0 follows a different protagonist from the main series, high schooler Yuta Okkotsu. After he is cursed by his dead childhood love, he is taken to Jujutsu High to study the art of jujutsu sorcery and combating curses. Parallels are easily and understandably drawn between Yuta and normal series protagonist Itadori Yuji. However, the parallels in their characters stop there. JJK: 0 does a wonderful job at developing Yuta into his own character, managing to flesh out his motivations and personality in the film’s 105 minute runtime.
JJK: 0 also gives much more screen time to series villain, Suguru Geto. While Geto spends most of season 1 orchestrating his plans from the shadows, he takes center stage in JJK: 0, finally getting the chance to display his full personality and power. Side and background characters also get far more time to showcase what they can do. Featuring the bombastic and beautifully fluid, powerful fights one would come to expect from JJK, 0 does not disappoint on the action front. It’s wonderful to see sorcerers like Maki, Inumaki, and Panda fight at their best in a way we never got to see in the show.
Image: Mappa/ Toho LTD.
While 0 manages to deliver delightful action, the film moves very quickly, regularly skipping several months ahead in its timeline. While it’s nice that the movie goes out of its way to provide engaging action every moment, it ends up sacrificing slower, more character driven scenes for another fight. This is especially apparent in the character driven scenes we do get which follow Yuta and his interactions with the other sorcerers in his class. These scenes often go for far less time than any of the fights. Even completely omitting any scenes centering on Panda.
Image: Mappa/ Toho LTD.
Despite these problems, Jujutsu Kaisen: 0 manages to be a great watch, delivering intense action, beautiful moments, and a wonderful story about letting go and moving on, all put to a great score that perfectly underlines any scene. JJK: 0 is a must watch for fans of the series, fans of shonen anime, and newcomers alike. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is currently streaming on the Crunchyroll website and app.