In these episodes, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Getou continue their mission to protect Riko Amanai, the next body of Tengan, until it’s time for the assimilation process. Unbeknownst to the two young sorcerers, an enemy is moving closer – and he’s essentially invisible.
Please enjoy my recaps and responses to episodes 3 and 4 of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.
Episode 3: Hidden Inventory Part 3
Kuroi got kidnapped, and the kidnappers are from the Star Religious Group. They demand a meetup for an exchange in Okinawa. It’s easy enough for Gojo and Getou to defeat the enemies and retrieve Kuroi. Afterward, they spend a lot of time with Riko. They go to the beach, go canoeing, and visit an aquarium. The next day, the four of them go to a shrine area that is guarded by a Jujutsu High barrier. But out of nowhere, Toji Fushiguro attacks and stabs Gojo. Though Gojo manages to survive, the mission is now in trouble.
Getou runs away with Kuroi and Riko, taking them deep into an underground area. Meanwhile, Gojo fights Toji. The battle is epic, but unfortunately, Gojo loses. He gets sliced up by a cursed blade and falls to the ground, seemingly dead. Back underground, Kuroi says farewell to Riko, who proceeds with Getou toward Tengan’s area. However, just before it’s time for Riko to be erased, Getou stops her. He says that he and Gojo decided not to go through with their mission. They won’t force Riko to join Tengan.
With nothing holding her back, Riko will be allowed to live a happy life with Kuroi – or so it seems, until Toji Fushiguro strikes again. He shoots Riko in the head, instantly killing her. He also brags about killing Gojo. Enraged, Getou summons his cursed spirits and begins attacking ferociously. To be continued.
This was a great installment, full of awesome music, animation, and plot twists. I felt overwhelmed – but in a good way – by this stunning episode. The fight between Gojo and Toji was intense and visually amazing, from the motion, to the colors, to the fighting moves, and so much more. It really got my heart pumping. The music was also stupendous. I liked the sound direction in general for this episode, including the slashing and explosion effects. The upbeat fighting music was cool, and I also loved the emotionally powerful piano music during the aquarium scene.
Speaking of the aquarium scene, that was also a majestic visual delight. More than that, it was an important scene for Riko. It shows she is marveling at the wonders of life. I also think the ocean theme is symbolic for the way Riko just floated through life, always feeling like she was part of something greater, and never truly making connections. At the end of the aquarium scene, there was a brief shot of an exit sign, which blinked a few times and then went out completely. That was symbolism. At that moment, I realized Riko was going to die.
Despite feeling fairly sure Riko would die, I still felt surprised by the quickness and cleanness of it. It also made me pretty sad. Riko was such a fun girl. But at least she died happy. Getou and Gojo had decided to let her live instead of making her offer herself to Tengan. That means Riko must have felt truly free for the first time. It must have felt amazing to be liberated from such a fate. But Riko’s life was still cut short, even though she was happy and died without suffering. She could have gone on to have a happy life. I won’t forgive Toji Fushiguro for this.
Speaking of Toji, it really did seem like he killed Gojo. I obviously know Gojo is alive years later when he is a teacher who takes in Yuuji Itadori. But what happened to him in this episode was pretty intense. I don’t know if it’s going to be believable to bring him back after all that blood loss and all those stabs and lacerations. There will have to be a heavy price to pay to bring Gojo back. I look forward to seeing if the anime can pull it off in a satisfying way. Anyway, that’s it for my thoughts on the astounding third episode.
Episode 4: Hidden Inventory Part 4
Toji Fushiguro fought with Suguru in the tombs after explaining how he got into the area. (There are no guards, and even Tengan could not detect Toji since he has no cursed energy. He also had a way of hiding his weapons inside his cursed spirit, which he then shrank and swallowed. He essentially became invisible.) Suguru fights hard but is still defeated after failing to absorb Toji’s cursed spirit.
After that, Toji delivers Riko’s corpse to the Star Religous Group, who had hired him. Another man was also involved in the plan, but I didn’t catch his name. He is the smoker in the suit. Anyway, Toji is shocked when he is suddenly approached by Satoru Gojo. Not only is he alive, but he seems “high,” filled with absolute joy and exhilaration. Apparently, he mastered the use of his red orb, which can reverse cursed energy. Using that, he healed himself. Now Satoru is completely awakened to the full power of his Limitless technique.
It doesn’t take long for Satoru to defeat Toji. He combines his blue orb (the power to attract) with his red orb (the power to repel), thereby creating the purple orb of elimination. The blast from the purple orb blew a huge hole in Toji’s side. As he died, Toji told Satoru that his son, Megumi, would be sold to the Zenin clan in 3 years. We know from the first season that Satoru chose Megumi as one of his students. In a weird way, Megumi’s father did something good for him, I suppose.
Satoru then heads to the inner rooms of the Star tombs with Riko’s corpse. Suguru arrives there, too, after being healed by Shoko. The room is full of believers of the Star Religous group, who are celebrating Riko’s death. Still in a weird, “high” state, Satoru asks Suguru if they should kill everyone in the room. Obviously, Suguru says no, and the episode ends at this point. I’m not exactly sure what Suguru was thinking just then. It felt like a strange time for the episode to end.
As for Satoru and his awakened state, it was pretty bizarre, but also fascinating. His behavior is somewhat reflective of a drug high, though in my experience, it is much more similar to severe bipolar mania. In either case, I wonder exactly what caused this reaction. If you need positive energy to repel or reverse curses, then maybe Satoru’s first use of the red orb had some kind of feedback loop that gave him an over-abundance of positive emotions. Another idea is that the use of the red orb in conjunction with the Six Eyes ability inherently causes a mental high when used.
My pet theories aside, I have a few other thoughts on this episode. There were two things I disliked: 1) the way Riko’s death was sort of swept under the rug in comparison to Satoru’s awakening, and 2) the failure of the narrative to exact any “price” for Satoru’s miraculous recovery. I don’t expect Satoru to be sad about Riko, but I wanted the narrative to be a little more mournful in general. For example, maybe they could have shown Kuroi weeping.
As for the second point, at the end of the day, it’s fine. The explanation for Satoru being alive holds up according to the lore and logic of the jujutsu power system. It’s just that personally, I like when a hero has to pay a price for something seemingly impossible. So, it was a bit disappointing that Satoru Gojo is just so overwhelmingly overpowered. I’m sure the disappointment will fade soon, since the anime gave me some other juicy things to think about, like Satoru’s “high,” and Suguru’s reaction at the end.
As usual, this episode was visually gorgeous and had great music and voice-acting. This episode reused the emotional piano piece from the aquarium scene, so I guess it’s going to be the standard music for powerful moments. I’m very excited for the next episode for many reasons – but mostly because I really want to find out what happens with regards to Tengan and its evolution. Additionally, I want to know what Suguru is thinking about Satoru and his proposal to kill the people in the Star Religious Group.
On a final note, I will be very surprised if the entire season focuses on young Satoru. This felt like the end of a story arc. It’s possible that there will be time in this season for getting back to the main story with adult Satoru, young Yuuji, and their companions. I hope so, anyway.
Thank you for reading~
Anime Rants 
That was a real shock. One can only wonder why the Star Religious Group wanted the body. Next question is if she’ll stay dead.
I hate that about anime and fantasy in general. You know from experience that dead doesn’t always stay dead, so it loses its impact. Too damned many resurrection spells.
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