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Jujutsu Kaisen, dubbed "peak anime" by many, has started its second season with a bang as episode one of season 2 skyrocketed to the top of many watch lists. It's safe to say the second episode has continued the successes of the first with flying colors.
As a continuation of the flashback story of Gojo and Geto, the episode has generally been reviewed well across the board by fans of the anime. This doesn't make the episode as perfect as everyone would like, but a well-worth follow-up nevertheless.
It's worth noting that Jujutsu Kaisen continues to trend positively, with more symbolism, tension building, and great action as this arc begins to reach its inevitable conclusion. While this doesn't mean the episode is free of all faults, it does mean that this is the calm before the inevitable storm.
Disclaimer: This review only reflects the author's opinions and should be taken with several grains of salt.
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 2 review: A coming storm brews and the calm begins to shift
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 2 summarized
Jujutsu Kaisen's prior episode ended with two members of the Q organization attacking Gojo, Geto, and Riko. The second episode begins with the aftermath of the fight. With the two would-be assassins down, including their best fighter Bayer, the Q organization disbanded. Meanwhile, Toji Fushiguro was spotlighted as he not only had gambling troubles but accepted the job on behalf of the Star Religious Group.
Toji basically figured that sending in nobodies would do the job of wearing down Gojo and thus put a hit out on Riko with a large bounty on her. Gojo and Geto were forced to obey whatever Riko wanted, meaning getting her back to her high school. The attacks by curse users were quickly and decisively dealt with.
The episode ended after Gojo and Geto dealt with multiple threats, only for Riko's assistant and practically only family member Misato Kuroi to be kidnapped. This deflates Gojo's mojo since he just defeated a bunch of clones and demonstrated his abilities of Infinity.
Positives: The animation and voice acting
As Jujutsu Kaisen manga readers will know, this is the calm before the inevitable storm that will hit viewers like a semi-truck. So it's imperative that the animation and story flow well. To that end, this episode succeeds on multiple fronts.
This episode of Jujutsu Kaisen has animation exceeding MAPPA's standards on every front. From the fun chibi designs any time humor happens to the epic amount of detail, even on something like tea making. There's very little bad to say about the animation; nothing looks bad at all. Even the stylistic flare of Gojo in shojo bubbles adds to the mood, as does the fight scenes.
The voice acting talents are sharp too, and of particular note is Toji's voice actor Takehito Koyasu aka DIO, from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Koyasu nails that sense of apathetic menace brought into play with Toji, playing him very much as the type to step on someone and look at them, as seen when he rudely bumps into a patron and makes him drop his ramen.
The cons and weaknesses: The pacing
That being said, there are a couple of issues here and there. The focus on Toji Fushiguro gives a great impression that he's a villain and a deadbeat father who truly cares for nothing other than his gambling. Toji doesn't even acknowledge Megumi's name, asking, "Who's that?" when questioned.
This does lead to one particular issue. For all the symbolism and sense of unease this Jujutsu Kaisen episode communicates, it goes by like it's five minutes long. The plot is easy enough to understand, and the audience is given a measure of our future rivals' powers.
The trouble is how things go by so quickly that it requires multiple viewings to fully absorb. The manga was able to condense a lot of it into a couple of chapters, and the anime's additions stretch things out (such as with Toji's intro and the ramen scene) while pacing it to where episodes feel like they breeze by too fast.
Mixed: The humor
Gojo getting the admiration of all the girls in the chapel, even the teacher, is a great moment. The curse user seeing his dog, who's been dead 50 years, is another great moment that cuts to him getting beat down by Geto. This is an improvement in the anime as opposed to the manga, where the dog just showed up. Even Gojo's powers not working, and his punching the clone assassin in the face works.
The other humorous bits work less so, like the jarring cut from Toji's plan taking form to Gojo bursting into the chapel and nearly getting swamped by his new fangirls. The imagined spot of the two being yelled at by Riko for following her also counts as hit or miss, though it gets the point across.
Again, the humor itself isn't a problem. The arc itself will apparently be five episodes long, so they can afford humor before the agonizing gut punches that come next. The problem is the amount of it as the arc begins to get more serious. This is, again, very much a case of the viewer's interpretation, as there felt like less of it than in the prior episode.
The symbolism and foreshadowing
As seen in Jujutsu Kaisen's first episode, the second season is heavy on symbolism. This time, it's focusing on Riko and the inevitability of her duty. As explained more in-depth in this episode, she's Tengen's next host and bearer. As manga readers know her fate, the symbolism of a takoyaki being stabbed vertically and "bleeding" juice with chopsticks can be rather haunting.
Then there's Gojo failing to hit the red power of his, as his power in the future is purple. Likewise, Gojo's cavalier attitude can be seen as annoying or arrogant, but it's key to his development as a character. He can do pretty much anything, he feels invincible now, but audiences know how that score wins out as he gets more control.
Finally, there's Shoko trying to explain reverse curse techniques to Geto and Gojo, the two not getting it at all, and Gojo wearing his shades. In Jujutsu Kaisen's present time, Gojo's eyes are completely covered, and Gojo learned how to reverse curse techniques. The arc is not yet over, so it may show this part.
Final thoughts
Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen's second episode in its second season is much cleaner than the first in the animation. It appears they erased a lot of the more uncanny valley faces and got a nice sheen to all the characters, so nothing looks bad or subpar. Given that this is a MAPPA show, that's to be expected.
The overall humorous tone of the first episode is beginning to wane, even if a lot of the humor remains. The calm before the storm shows Geto and Gojo's abilities but likewise shows that they will need to begin taking this more seriously than they are. Jujutsu Kaisen already showed how powerful they are; now, they will both go through their character arcs.
After all, even the best and brightest fail and fall if never given a proper challenge or if it goes to their head. Jujutsu Kaisen's second season has already started with a bang, and fans eagerly await the third episode. These two episodes have already, for many, eclipsed the first season. Time will tell if that continues.
