Manga readers have been anticipating the Shibuya Arc to be animated once Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 is announced to be in production. Today, the second season was revealed to air in the Winter-2023 anime season.
Later, MAPPA assured fans that they would be handling the animation for the second season. Now, fans are wondering if season 2 will cover the entirety of the Shibuya Arc.
Warning: Contains major spoilers from Jujutsu Kaisen manga.
Which arcs, including the Shibuya Arc, are likely to be featured in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2
Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 covers 63 chapters in 26 episodes, with no fillers at all. It covers the Introduction Arc (5 chapters, 3 episodes), the Cursed Womb Arc (4 chapters, 2 episodes), the Cursed Training Arc (9 chapters, 4 episodes), the Versus Mahito Arc (13 chapters, 5 episodes), the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc (23 chapters, 8 episodes), and the Death Painting Arc (10 chapters, 3 episodes). Chapter 64, “It’s Like That,” has not been animated yet.
Upcoming arcs
The Cursed Child Arc (4 chapters) from the prequel series has been animated in the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie. The movie also features snippets from the next arc in Jujutsu Kaisen manga, Gojo’s Past Arc (14 chapters, 65-78). This arc features two sections: Hidden Inventory (11 parts) and Premature Death (3 Parts).
The Shibuya Arc starts from Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 79, A Taste of Things to Come. This chapter links the flashback to the present and transitions into the Evening Festival segment (3 parts, 80-82). After Mahito’s fight with Muta Kokichi is over, Jujutsu Kaisen manga begins the Shibuya Incident segment (53 parts, 83-136).
Chapter distribution
In Jujutsu Kaisen season 1, the chapter distribution in the first few arcs is significantly denser than the last two arcs. The Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc had a ratio of 23 chapters to 9 episodes. While the arc being action-heavy allowed the animators to fit many chapters into one episode, they managed not to let any key details slip.
The Hidden Inventory and the Shibuya Incident segments don’t offer that luxury to Jujutsu Kaisen season 2. Hidden inventory is information-centric, especially with establishing Getou Suguru’s and Toji Fushiguro’s characters.
Toji, especially, will be introduced to the anime-only audience for the first time. Getou’s connection with Gojo and his transformation would also need to be evenly paced to capture all the nuances that mangaka Gege Akutami has put into the character. Hidden Inventory cannot be rushed. However, it can be rearranged to fit in as a flashback scene during Gojo’s capture.
The action in Shibuya Arc is fractured and time-stamped, with the manga continuously jumping between different fights and different time-stamps. It can be assumed that Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will be more linear in the portrayal, likely sticking to one fight scene in an episode and going through the events chronologically. However, that does not leave room for condensing the chapters.
Key events in the Shibuya arc
The main events of the arc consist of the sealing of Gojo Satoru, Toji Fushiguro’s reanimation, and subsequent confrontation with Megumi, the Shibuya Massacre by Sukuna, Kento Nanami’s death, Nobara Kugisaki’s fall, and Kenjaku ingesting Mahito via Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
Gojo is sealed in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 91, after which Nanami, Naobito and Maki Zen’in, and Megumi Fushiguro fight Dagon. Toji barges in, defeats Dagon, and then takes Megumi with him. The Shibuya Massacre occurs in chapters 118-119, followed by Nanami’s Death in chapter 120 and Nobara’s supposed, but undisclosed, death in chapter 125.
Mahito dies, for all intents and purposes, in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 133. The manga enters the Itadori Execution Arc in chapter 137, marking the return of Yuta Okkotsu. Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will have to cover all of these incidents and the preceding fights, of which there are many.
Additionally, the manga features detailed explanations of the curse techniques of Sukuna and Mahito, the development of Black Flash, the origin of Mahoraga, and the nature of Death Paintings. These details occupy merely one or two text-infested panels in the manga, but Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will have to devote considerable time to do them justice.
In conclusion
It can be safely said that Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will feature the Shibuya arc. But to cover the entirety of it, season 2 will have to cover 73 chapters, most of which are more information-heavy than those covered in season 1. It will be too long for a 26-episode season unless MAPPA splits it into two 15-episode courses.
In most readers’ opinion, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will end towards the end of the Shibuya arc or at the middle. The Shibuya Massacre, Nanami’s death, Nobara’s fall, or at the very latest, Mahito’s death seem to be the possible places to end the season.
MAPPA could also choose to end the Season with Choso’s realization of Yuji being a Death Painting or with Todo appearing in the middle of the Yuji vs. Mahito fight.
Either way, anime-only fans are in for a treat and likely a lot of heartbreak. Considering the manga chapters, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 holds the promise of being better than season 1 in terms of plot, depth, and action. Hopefully, MAPPA will do as brilliant a job as they did with the first season.
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