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Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 aka Red Scale has gotten a lot of praise since it was released on October 19, 2023. It's no surprise as the animation, the intensity of the fight between Choso and Yuji, and tons of other details have gone into making it one to remember.
As the chaos of Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc continues, this one fight will impact more than just the duo involved. While having some hitches here and there, the Shibuya Incident appears to be the better arc when compared to prior arcs, and Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 is an example of why.
Disclaimer: The following review will contain spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen's manga, the Shibuya Incident arc, and Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13. Canon typical violence is discussed. All opinions are exclusive to the author.
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Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 features Choso vs. Yuji, plus a few surprises
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13's main attraction is Choso vs. Yuji. After leaving the topside situation to Inumaki, Yuji dashes down to the Shibuya Station and is immediately ambushed by Choso. Yuji was barely able to block Choso's Piercing blood beam before having to close the distance to hit him with Divergent Fist.
As a reminder to the audience, this is the first time Choso and Yuji have crossed paths. Neither knows the other's full strength, and Yuji had quite a few curses, cursed users, and general mayhem to go through before this. Choso may be well over 150+ years old and a blood mage, but Yuji already had athleticism and strength before consuming one of Sukuna's fingers.
What follows is a slugfest of back-and-forth blows between the two, with Yuji coming out the worst for it but still managing to hit Choso hard several times. Being able to take cover is a blessing, and the second part of the fight is the best part where Choso is the one backed into a corner and has to improvise at a disadvantage, or else Yuji would've killed him.
Choso's strengths and weaknesses
Mechamaru's explanation, and several provided throughout the episode, deserve their own entry. Choso isn't the best at close-quarters combat, having to rely on his blood art to do the fighting for him. Choso had over 150 years to hone his skills, which makes him more dangerous and more of a threat than Noritoshi Kamo.
Choso had several other advantages over Yuji: because his assistance in the sealing of Gojo was very minimal, he didn't take quite so large a beating as Jogo and Hananmi. This meant he could heal and lie in wait for Yuji. Yuji, on the other hand, has been fighting the Grasshopper curse, Awasaka, and many transfigured humans before facing him.
Despite all these advantages, including having the forethought to anticipate certain strikes and feints, Choso isn't invincible.
Yuji is better at close quarters, luring Choso into the bathroom worked to inhibit his offense as he couldn't instantly kill Yuji with blood outside his body with all the water around him. Meanwhile, Choso ran the risk of thrombosis using blood inside his body and got hurt multiple times.
Yuji's strengths and weaknesses
To really capitalize and reiterate the last paragraph, let's go into Yuji's strengths and weaknesses. From the start of Jujutsu Kaisen, Yuji has shown incredible speed and enough strength to harm a curse like the one that attacked him and his classmates prior to consuming Sukuna's finger. After becoming a jujutsu sorcerer, his abilities have only increased.
This is relevant to the Shibuya Incident and Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 for several reasons. At the time of this fight, Yuji had already gone up against Mahito and damaged him earlier on in the series, killing the grasshopper curse. He went up against Awasaka with Megumi and was still able to fight Choso including blocking the blood beam that sliced through the subway system.
One big strength Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 had is showcasing how tough both Yuji and Choso are. The fight wasn't a one-sided fight, as Yuji just kept coming even when his liver got shot. While Choso may have been victorious, Yuji and Mechamaru forced Choso into a corner several times during the fight and managed to hurt the special grade curse.
The fight is just a fight
One big strength of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 is that Yuji vs. Choso is a straight fight from beginning to end. There are no big flashbacks except for Choso's fabricated memory, no massive long-winded inner monologue, no cutaways to other conflicts going on, and no gimmicks to end the fight quickly.
That last point would be a problem in any other anime, especially if it had multiple fights going on or an especially powerful character stacked against a chump. While it does mess up the manga timeline a fair bit, since the events are all supposed to occur in different timeslots, it makes for a great episode to focus on this crucial fight.
Best of all is that the fight starts and finishes in one episode. There's no dragging it out here, it's done in one. Considering the pandemonium of prior episodes, it's nice that Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 focuses on the main character. It's also nice to see the main character lose sometimes, though Choso doesn't get off easy.
The animation and many symbolic camera shots
Jujutsu Kaisen itself is known for having very, very beautiful animation. Whether it's something simple like Gojo's eyes when the blindfold is off, or the entirety of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13, it's clear Studio MAPPA is doing its best regarding the animation to make this show something special.
In Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13, there's hardly a bad frame of animation or anything to nitpick. From showing the bloody effects of the transfigured humans killing people, to the old-timey animation for Choso's flashbacks, it's clear things were made extra well for Yuji and Choso's fight.
The symbolism of the sign imagery has been touched on before but bears repeating. The imagery of signs pointing people where to go juxtaposed with Choso's blood art is there to show the distance between the two. There are tons of foreshadowing and warning signs before Yuji gets to Choso, including a stop sign that gets sliced and bloodied.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 is a treat for the eyes, the ears, and for anyone who enjoys a good fight. It will also a very crucial fight if the post-credit stinger of Nanako and Mimiko showing up and Choso's false memories don't clue fans and viewers in. Yuji might be out of it for now, but that doesn't mean he stays down.
What of Sukuna, some people may ask? Well, keen-eyed viewers should note the bloody stop sign sliced in half. It's the last shot of the episode before the preview of the next episode and manga viewers know it symbolizes the coming Shibuya Massacre.
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 13 is great for one other reason. It showcases what happens when the godly characters are absent and everyone else has to fight in their place. Fans will need to tune in for the next episode to see where things progress and how the situation in Shibuya further deteriorates from there.
Fair warning, it only gets bloodier from there.
