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With Jujutsu Kaisen 0 on the horizon and the movie being canon, fans are questioning the side story's relevance to the main series. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will reconnect with and play a large role in the main series. While anime fans may not see this impact until at least season 2, we can still discuss it via the JJK manga.
The movie will serve as a prequel to the current events in JJK and set the pace for the upcoming. It will largely focus on the story of Yuta Okkotsu, who wields the power of the Queen of Curses, Rika, and how his life took him on a path to the world of Jujutsu. It will also give important insights on Geto's plans and ambitions, and finally reveal his fate, which will be a big twist for anime-onlys.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0: How the movie connects with the main series
When discussing Jujutsu Kaisen 0’s relevance back to the main story, Yuta is primarily who we’ll talk about. Outside of Yuta, we already know the rest of the cast and their backgrounds/personalities.
Yuta is still a mystery to anime-only viewers, having only been mentioned by Todo as a super-strong fighter. Okkotsu is one of Jujutsu Kaisen’s strongest sorcerers, boasting an insanely strong cursed spirit in Rika.
The events of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will find Yuta first meeting Gojo-sensei and the other Tokyo Jujutsu High characters we’ve come to love. In the movie, Yuta’s goal is to find out why Rika is haunting him and make it stop, as Yuta can’t control Rika.
Rika was a childhood love of Yuta’s, who died shortly after giving Yuta an engagement ring (which Yuta still wears as a necklace). Immediately upon passing, Yuta was cursed by Rika, who protected Yuta very violently for the rest of his childhood and adolescence. This leads readers to the current events of Yuta at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Also read: Why is Rika called the Queen of Curses?
Throughout the events of the manga, Yuta is characterized as someone who has lived his life passively with no goals. During a training sequence, Yuta confesses to Maki that he wants to believe it’s okay to keep living. Maki responds by telling him to make exorcisms his purpose, and we then see Yuta control Rika for the first time.
While the entire events of Yuta’s story won’t be divulged here, the rest of it plays out pretty standardly. Yuta ends up facing a crisis when Geto attacks, showcasing all he’s learned and how far he’s come. That fight, plus his eventual discoveries regarding Rika’s curse, closes out the story, and we don’t see Yuta again for quite some time.
Yuta’s return
In the manga, we see Yuta Okkotsu return after the Shibuya Incident arc. The Jujutsu elders have condemned Yuji Itadori, Satoru Gojo, and Principal Yaga to death for their involvement in the Shibuya Incident. Yuta is appointed Yuji’s executioner, and Yuji’s death sentence is now immediate.
Okkotsu does catch up with Yuji, who confirms that Okkotsu’s cursed energy feels “creepier” than Gojo’s, implying Yuta’s on a similar level to Gojo. We then get a great, multi-chapter fight scene between Yuji and Okkotsu, with each complimenting the other throughout.
This is a great way to show how both have developed since we last saw them, especially for Yuji, who was shortly removed from Shibuya. Okkotsu is unsurprisingly victorious, but upon Yuji's regaining consciousness, we learn Okkotsu was saving Yuji all along.
Gojo asked Okkotsu to watch after Yuji, precisely due to his secret execution like Yuta once had. Fushigoro also returns here, giving Yuji the push he needs to forgive himself for Shibuya and rejoin his classmates.
Future role
Yuta’s return is great for Yuji, and their journeys of self-acceptance have a lot of parallels. While Okkotsu points out one significant distinction (which unfortunately has spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen 0 this article won’t discuss) between their journeys, generally speaking, they’re very similar.
Also read: Will Sukuna ever turn good again?
Both sorcerers found themselves possessed by a spirit they couldn’t control, and people died or were maimed due to their lack of control. Both sorcerers also find themselves questioning if it’s okay to live as a result of their spirit’s actions. It’s excellent writing to have Yuta pull Itadori out of that darkness as no one understands it better than Yuta.
In turn, it’s such a significant and vital decision by MAPPA to push out Jujutsu Kaisen 0 before releasing season 2. Yuta’s return will feel so much more impactful to viewers if they know who he is in the first place. Arguably, with how the manga continues since Yuta’s return, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will be mandatory viewing for those who love Jujutsu Kaisen.
Final thoughts
Yuta Okkotsu and the events of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 are some of the most essential parts of the Jujutsu Kaisen story moving forward.
Regardless of the movie adaptation’s quality (which will undoubtedly be fantastic), the story it presents is mandatory viewing for any Jujutsu Kaisen fan. The parallels between Yuta and Yuji’s journeys lead to some great payoff down the line, and fans certainly won’t want to miss out.
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