The story in JJK is bare bones basic shonen. The main character is a Good Boy who agrees to trap a demon inside of him so he can save his friends. He uses his magic to fight demons and he goes to a school for other demon hunting teens with magic weapons, all while learning to control the demonic split personality inside him. Hmm, this is all sounding awfully familiar isn't it? I only noticed this over time, but I also have to complain about the fact that no one really ever dies on this show? Like Gojo beats the hell out of that volcano-head curse, reduces him to just a head, and then he's saved at the last minute. After that there were two more instances where Yuji and an ally teamed up to beat the big bad 99.9% but then he just slithers away at the last second. It's like come on, man! Don't any of the villains ever die? Hell, the main character even "dies" and comes back pretty quick! 5/10
Studio Mappa have truly outdone themselves in the art/animation department. Fight sequences are so well choreographed that my jaw almost dropped. The visuals are so gorgeous, especially certain shots in the OP. I especially loved the look of the various demons in the show and how they had this "chalky" outline to them that other character designs did not have. Really the only other shonen whose visuals can compete is the aforementioned Demon Slayer. 10/10
Sound design in JJK is similarly stellar. Rock music plays at key moments during fights to really pump you up. Oh and that 1st OP is such a banger. I listen to it all the time even when I'm not watching the show! 10/10
I have to complain about the subpar characters. There is, for example, absolutely nothing striking or memorable about Yuji as a main character. He is every shonen protagonist ever. I'd say the show does a much better job with making its side characters likable and memorable. My favorite was the blue haired samurai girl (Useless Miwa). Many have pointed this out so I need to mention that I agree that the main trio here is like an improved version of Naruto's team. Yuji is a less annoying Naruto (even has a demon inside him), Gojo is Kakashi 2.0 (gray haired fun sensei but HE COVER BOTH EYES), Fushiguro is a more friendly Sasuke, and Nobara is like if Sakura actually pulled her own weight on the team. Nobara is a bitchy tomboy like Sakura, sure, but she does more in 24 episodes of JJK than Sakura did in 200+ episodes of Naruto (zero hyperbole here)! Seriously I loved her. I also liked how Nobara was a bit stockier than your average female main character, who tends to have a "Barbie doll" shape. 6/10
Yes, I complained about subpar writing, story and characters in this show. So you'll be shocked when I say my personal enjoyment bumped this series up to a surprising 8/10 overall. Enjoyment is hard to quantify but I just got so wrapped up in the creepy designs of the demons and the god-tier fight scenes that my enjoyment was at a strong 8/10 because I could ignore the flaws in those moments.
