For the past few years “Jujutsu Kaisen” has had a stranglehold on the anime community. Since the release of its first and second season, the show has slowly become more popular. And that still stands true with its third season bringing in both new and old fans. Taking place right after the Shibuya arc seen in season two, the survivors of the Shibuya incident— Yuji, Megumi, Choso, Maki, and Todo—must pick up the pieces and plan out how to free their teacher, Gojo. And ultimately to put an end to the newly put up Culling Games and subsequently the main villain, Kenjaku.
The show makes it immediately apparent the impact the previous season has had. Starting off in a barren city with many empty buildings and items left behind. Curses, spirits who inhabit the world, are left in an overabundance overrunning the city, showing that the balance of sorcerers and curses has been offset in the gap Gojo left behind. We’re also introduced to the rest of the Zenin clan which was only briefly touched on in season two. Later on viewers are introduced to new characters such as Hakari, a former student of Gojo now running a gambling ring. Higuruma, a lawyer who joined the culling game. And Takaba, a failed comedian who begrudgingly entered the culling game.
We’re also getting to see more individual character development this season. While seasons one and two focused more on character dynamics and how they affected each other, season three seems to be focusing a lot more on individual characters developing themselves. Yuji must grapple with himself after the Shibuya incident, Maki works to free herself from her past, and Megumi has to question how far he’s willing to go to achieve his goals.
Another point of praise is the animation style. Once again the animation studio MAPPA has done amazingly well with the animation. The fights scenes feel fluent and dynamic, the story and dialogue scenes are engaging and are filled with small details. Also the characters overall looks feel a lot more realized and not as varied like in season one.
One thing I feel will be a bit annoying will be the gap in the middle of this year. Like season two CrunchyRoll is splitting the arc into two parts, slowly releasing the first twelve episodes, January through March. A gap during the summer before coming back in late summer to early fall. While it is annoying to have such a gap in between, it’s better to have a completely finished product than a rushed one.
Overall it’s safe to say that so far “Jujutsu Kaisen” season three has lived up to the hype and expectations, further building upon the story in a compelling way and rivaling the animation seen in season two. It’s amazing to see something like “Jujutsu Kaisen” become this popular and have such an amazing adaptation from the manga.
