It's always nice to see preternaturally skilled high school students find their destiny slaying demons. Jujutsu Kaisen (呪術廻戦, meaning something like "magic war") pits a motley bunch of handsome young men against grotesque things in the shadows. The first season aired from October 2020 to March 2021 and its popularity at the Japanese junior high schools I work at is starting to rival Kimetsu no Yaiba. Based on two episodes so far, I can see why. It's exceptionally well animated with effective action and genuinely gruesome demon designs.
Yuji Itadori (Junya Enoki) is abnormally skilled at track and field and any other athletics he attempts but he prefers to spend his time after school in the Occult Club. But it turns out the Occult Club requires a little athletic ability when they inadvertently summon a few twisted demoniac beings after unwrapping a mummified finger.
So Yuji doesn't have time to mourn his recently deceased grandfather--whose dying words were a command that Yuji get more involved with club activities and helping people anyway. Another handsome young man with a pair of demon eating wolves shows up to provide explanations and the little bit of assistance Yuji needs. In the second episode, he helps get Yuji enrolled in a secret magic academy.
I can see why this show is more popular among girls at school than boys, despite the fact that it is a shonen series. The guys all look like K-pop or J-pop band members. Yuji is a slouchy fellow in a hoodie and spiky hair, but he can be a slacker because he already has all the innate knowledge and skills he needs. I've noticed this is a consistent form of power fantasy in anime and manga lately--no-one seems to want to fantasise about being an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. But watching this and Kimetsu no Yaiba is really natural alongside my recent viewing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Jujutsu Kaisen has exceptionally good design and some truly effective atmosphere. So far Yuji feels more like a character type than a character but I am only two episodes in and I feel plenty motivated to continue.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available on Netflix in Japan and Crunchyroll elsewhere.
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