Jujutsu Cinema

I'm ten episodes into Jujutsu Kaisen now and I find I'm enjoying the show's penchant for movie references. The main character, Yuji, trains in mastering his control of magical energies by maintaining them while watching emotionally powerful films. One scene shows him watching something clearly meant to be Fellowship of the Ring, something I was especially happy to see because the Lord of the Rings movies seem far less well known than the Harry Potter movies here in Japan. I even saw a motel called Hogwarts a few days ago.

In the last couple episodes, a film geek named Junpei (Yoshitaka Yamaya) is being turned to the dark side by a powerful demon. Junpei goes to see Human Centipede 3 when he's stunned to behold three of boys who bullied him get turned into twisted lumps of flesh.

Junpei is a little obnoxious but I dig him for talking about how lame the Scream movies are.

I think that poster on the right is supposed to be Joker.

I talked to a kid on Saturday that said he only thought Kimetsu no Yaiba was "so so". For some kids, Jujutsu Kaisen is becoming number one. The kid objected to me using the word "demon" for the monsters in Jujutsu Kaisen, I think because he knows the English title for Kimetsu no Yaiba is Demon Slayer. There are still plenty of Kimetsu no Yaiba fans, though. I worked at an elementary school in Osaka yesterday where a little girl had a matching mask and pencil case featuring Shinobu designs, one of the minor characters in Kimetsu no Yaiba. I've noticed now when I ask kids for their favourite characters, few of them say one of the main four--Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Inosuke--instead staking claims on one of the dozen or so background demon hunters.

Jujutsu Kaisen and Kimetsu no Yaiba really aren't all that different. Jujutsu Kaisen has a modern setting while Kimetsu no Yaiba is set in the early 20th century. But they're both about kids in school uniforms fighting demons. Both shows can be pretty horrific with lots of dismemberment and vicarious pleasure in violence. I always find this fascinating considering what a tight lid some moral authorities try to keep on what the kids are exposed to. I guess no-one would dare try to staunch the tide of anime and manga.

Jujutsu Kaisen and Kimetsu no Yaiba are available on Netflix.

Twitter Sonnet #1450

Fluorescent waits around adventure's rock.
The time for hair to grow was late at night.
The movie seat contained a golden sock.
Beside it sat a mild, sleepy wight.
The cattle crossed the border late at night.
With waiting drinks the drivers divvied heads.
A turn at dice decides the lot aright.
The shady men return to shady beds.
The heavy cup was good but leaked a bit.
The greasy supper saved the dusty men.
Beyond the horse the saddle housed a wit.
No shark is waiting under ev'ry fin.
The knowledge flashed across the silver screen.
We'll start the script beyond the final scene.

Summer Sunlight

Heading into summer, which around here means bugs, flowers, and rain.

Students have been carrying big thermoses of water or barley tea ("mugicha") to school. Practicing "are you/Yes, I am/No, I'm not" sentences with first year students, I asked one girl, "Are you a cat?" and she didn't hesitate to reply, "Yes, I am."

(Not a photo of the student).

I've been visiting two after school clubs in my current school--the handmaking club and the computer club. The handmaking club is for various crafts. Mostly the students are making origami, baking little resin charms, or knitting scarves. These kids are so productive.

Many of the students are also drawing in the handmaking club since this school has no art club. Mostly they draw characters from Kimetsu no Yaiba or Jujutsu Kaisen. I'm about seven episodes into the latter and it continues to be pretty good. It features a main character who strategically allows a demon to take over his body at times. The advantages being that the demon can slaughter his enemies and heal his severed limbs, the disadvantage being the demon wants to kill his friends. I continue to be fascinated by how brutal these two massively popular shows are, despite attempts by some authority figures here to regulate the moral content of the media kids take in.

I'm also thankful the animation is so good after so many years of cheap looking, cookie cutter anime.

Worse Horrors Haunt the Halls

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.