*Contains minor spoilers*
For me the Shōnen Genre differs in itself into two different categories. The distinct difference can be seen starting from the first episode. It involves the protagonist’s motive and the cause of his journey. Known classics such as HunterxHunter, Naruto and the newly added Black Clover have their characters simply wanting to become stronger and starts through “aspirations”. Gon wanting to be a hunter like his father, Naruto wanting to become the next hokage, Asta wanting to be the Wizard King.
In contrast, Jujutsu Kaisen derives from misfortune and not having a choice. Yuji Itadori consumes Sukuna’s curse and at that moment, he becomes
...
the protagonist. Not through aspiration but as an outcome of his misfortune. One can possibly see the similarity between “Kimetsu no Yaiba” where the normal lives of the protagonists get disturbed and are left with no choice but to become a “jujutsu sorcerer” and “demon slayer” respectively.
If you are a fan of shonen in general and have liked Kimetsu no Yaiba, you are very likely to enjoy Jujutsu Kaisen as much.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Jujutsu Kaisen is a mixture of Shōnen and Seinen at this point. The dark theme of curses and the mangaka not being afraid to put the cast in danger with actual consequences is always welcome in my book.
It is very nice to see how Sukuna's curse works. The protagonist doesn't simply absorb the power of the curse in his case but he bears Sukuna. Seeing Sukuna fight and his interactions with the world and other curses carries the show to what it is. It mustn't be forgotten that Sukuna isn't an ally to the Jujutsu Sorcerers and Yuji. Sukuna is basically a double-edged weapon and in the first couple of episodes we see the consequences of overly relying on Sukuna and how problematic he can become for the protagonist ("The Cursed Wombs Earthly Existence" arc).
The cast overall compliments each other. There are comedic moments but it isn’t overdone. When the show is serious the mangaka doesn’t ruin it with very silly moments. It is very much enjoyable to see Yuji and Nobara having their moments of being fascinated by Tokyo every now and then. I’m sure that many of the viewers would actually relate and find it hilarious.
While it doesn't pose a problem for me, as a "Shōnen Jump" series, the characters are made through the typical archetypes that have been used in most of the successful series in this genre. For me, this is not a problem and I enjoy the formula itself. While the characters follow the same tropes as most shonen series, do not think that the characters in Jujutsu Kaisen will act immature and do silly things. The characters all feel very genuine and charming in their own ways. Yuji, the protagonist, gives off how mature he is compared to most other shonen protagonists. How he reflected on his grandfather's death and how he embraced that the only possible way of living for him was to become a jujutsu sorcerer after consuming Sukuna's curse.
While I may have said that the characters are through the typical archetypes, Jujutsu Kaisen has something very interesting that isn't necessarily made this good in other shonen series. It involves how the mangaka gradually develops the characters through events. The mangaka uses monologues and makes the characters reflect on their actions and where he reveals their true motives and who they truly are. Dialogues between characters and monologues strengthen the character which turns these one-dimensional characters into genuine characters that are actually well developed over the course of the show. While the first episode is a simple introduction to how Megumi and Yuji get to be involved with each other. In the next arcs, the characters naturally get to bond with each other. Megumi is a character that keeps his emotions to himself and doesn't show his true thoughts. By using monologues the mangaka manages to further give depth to Megumi's character. We get to see the character's ideals and how he came to these conclusions through the flashbacks provided. The mangaka manages to turn these superficial characters into well fledged out genuine people through the course of the show.
In episode 5, we see how Sukuna manages to take Yuji as a hostage. This unexpected turn of events is masterfully used by the mangaka where we can get to see how Megumin will act in this tough situation and what he truly thinks about his friends and Yuji which bears Sukuna's curse. He puts in dialogues that further develop and gradually improves the one-dimensional tropes of the characters. We get to see Sukuna and Megumi fight, while this happens we see flashbacks from Megumi's past life and not only that, the author connects Megumi's flashbacks with the actions he has taken so far in the show. The flashbacks strengthen Megumi's motives, he becomes much more believable for the viewers. We get to understand that Megumi isn't simply just a character that saves character cause he is a "shonen character". We get to see how deeply he cared for other people in his past life, and how he became a jujutsu sorcerer to save other people and this leads to us understand why he deeply cares about Yuji while they haven't known each other for a long time.
The fight between Sukuna and Megumi is truly a showcase of this. The fight between them is used as a catalyst to further develop the characters. As the mangaka manages to capture the emotions of Megumi with flashbacks of his life and give these flashbacks to show who Megumi really is and show the ideologies behind his character. The motives and actions of Megumi become justified, where we understand that he doesn't save people just because he is a character in a "shonen anime". The mangaka successfully manages to develop not only the protagonist but the rest of the supporting characters at the same time. One can say that without developing supporting characters the protagonist can't truly be developed as it would come off as superficial. The world-building and characters are introduced at a good pace where it isn't rushed. Each character gets to shine and be developed in a non rushed manner. The viewers start to bond with the characters as we learn the thoughts and motives behind the characters.
In short, the mangaka creates situations where characters get to make hard decisions and reflect on their past actions and become much more believable characters in the present. This at the same time connects the viewers with the characters. While the characters of Jujutsu Kaisen might be thought of as one-dimensional characters in the very beginning, even from the first arc, the mangaka manages to show us what he is capable of developing the story and characters through well-structured arcs. The arcs, similarly to HunterxHunter progress smoothly into one another. As the later on arcs get hinted by the previous ones and the later on arcs are caused by the ones becoming before them. In my humble opinion, compared to Kimetsu no Yaiba, the writing is actually done not in an as superficial way.
Production-wise, Mappa has done a very good job of animating the series so far and the fighting scenes are very well done. It doesn’t get much better than this. The pacing is done very well and the adaptation is going very smoothly so far. What caught me most off-guard is how well the scenes are directed. How the scenes meaningfully change the focal point to what's more important and change through the character's perspective becoming the first person of view in certain cases which makes scenes and scene transitioning spectacular.
If you are wanting to try out a shonen anime this is as good as it gets. The story will just get better as we haven't really seen the villains as of episode 5. Jujutsu Kaisen manages to use already existing archetypes and plot devices of the shounen genre and presents it in a highly realistic and enjoyable way with interesting twists and well-developed arcs and characters.
Story: 9
Art: 10
Sound: 9
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 9
Nov 6, 2020
Jujutsu Kaisen
(Anime)
add
*Contains minor spoilers*
For me the Shōnen Genre differs in itself into two different categories. The distinct difference can be seen starting from the first episode. It involves the protagonist’s motive and the cause of his journey. Known classics such as HunterxHunter, Naruto and the newly added Black Clover have their characters simply wanting to become stronger and starts through “aspirations”. Gon wanting to be a hunter like his father, Naruto wanting to become the next hokage, Asta wanting to be the Wizard King. In contrast, Jujutsu Kaisen derives from misfortune and not having a choice. Yuji Itadori consumes Sukuna’s curse and at that moment, he becomes ... |
