Now that we’ve seen the backstory of Suguru Geto, Jujutsu Kaisen’s second season begins in earnest. We are back to the present time, which in this universe is 2018. These three episodes show the start of the Shibuya Arc, a huge attack orchestrated by Mahito and his group. I’m really happy to see Itadori, Kugisaki, and Fushiguro once again. As for the new opening song, “SPECIALZ” by King Gnu, it’s not really my style. Perhaps I’ll grow to like it over time. Anyway, let’s get started with the episode reviews.
Episode 6 (30): It’s Like That
Todo and Mei recommend five students as new first-class sorcerers: Maki, Panda, Kugisaki, Fushiguro, and Itadori. Meanwhile, Kugisaki encounters a classmate – Yuko Ozawa – who has physically changed a lot over the last six months. She used to be overweight, but now looks more conventionally attractive. For a long time now, Yuko has had a crush on Itadori. Kugisaki and Fushiguro arrange for her to meet Itadori, and he recognizes her immediately. Though Yuko ends up leaving without confessing her feelings yet, she is now back in contact with Itadori and his group.
Later on, Itadori and the other two go on a mission with Utahime. They are supposed to question Mechamaru because he is suspected of being the informant that gave away information about the students to Mahito’s group. When Utahime and the young sorcerers open the door to Mechamaru’s hideout, they find it empty. He has already evacuated. This solidifies the idea that he is the mole who sold their information.
Meanwhile, Mahito and Suguru find the real location where Mechamaru is hiding. They are here to kill him. The deal they made went like this: Mechamaru would provide some inside information, with the understanding that none of the students would be harmed; and in return, Mahito would use Idle Transfiguration to fix Mechamaru’s body. Mahito agreed, but planned to kill Mechamaru immediately after fixing him.
Suguru explained that curses and curse users must follow through on their pacts to avoid unknown consequences. Thus, Mahito honors the agreement and completely heals Mechamaru. The fight begins, but at first, it seems like Mechamaru’s only plan was to run away. Suddenly, however, he reappears in a giant, Eva-like robot that he was hiding in the river. With seventeen years of cursed energy at his disposal and several other tricks up his sleeve, Mechamaru is eager to destroy Mahito.
That’s where the episode leaves off, but I have a few thoughts and reactions to add. First, let’s talk about Mechamaru. I didn’t like the idea of him becoming an antagonist, as it would be too predictable for someone with his character type in an anime. So, I was quite glad to learn that he had a reason for his actions and that his ultimate plan was to exorcise Mahito himself. The immense mech he made must have taken ages of work, and it looks really cool. Also, Mechamaru in his restored form is quite easy on the eyes.
Backtracking to the earlier parts of the episode, I thoroughly enjoyed all the scenes with our beloved trio of main characters (Itadori, Kugisaki, and Fushiguro). They have amazing and hilarious chemistry with each other. I love their dynamics. The humor in general was great in this episode. I laughed my ass off at the Human-Earthworm 4 movie trailer. It’s actually impressive that they bothered to animate all that for a continued joke.
As for Yuko Ozawa, I’m not exactly sure why this episode spent so much time on her. However, I’m glad that it did, because Yuko seems pretty interesting and relatable to me. I hope she doesn’t end up tragically dying or creating some chaotic curse. Anyway, that’s about it for this installment of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.
Episode 7 (31): Evening Festival
Over half of this episode is spent showing the unfolding battle between Mahito and Mechamaru. The visuals were excellent. While certain shots lack detail, the movement is fluid and exciting, and the action and camera angles are creative. I especially loved the part where Mahito rapdily changed forms from one kind of animal to another to stay on the run from Mechamaru. His transfigurations included fish, rabbit, ape, bird, and wolf. It seems that Mahito’s shapeshifting skills have vastly improved.
During the fight, Mechamaru uses special projectiles that can actually harm or destroy Mahito. He has four of these shots to use. The first one successfully takes off one of Mahito’s arms, which comes as a surprise to the humanoid curse. However, the the tide turns when Mahito uses Embodiment of Perfection and opens his Domain. The giant robot shuts down. Is Mechamaru finished?
The answer is no – not yet. As Mahito turns away, Mechamaru rises with the last of his strength and stabs him from behind with one of the three remaining weapons. Each one of those weapons is a Simple Domain, which is why it can damage even Mahito. (Attacks made within a Domain are guaranteed to hit regardless of defense techniques.) The Simple Domain weapon pierces Mahito and then explodes. With an eruption of blood and deformed flesh, the enemy curse is defeated. … Or so it seems.
Unfortunately, Mahito saw the attack coming and faked his death. When Mechamaru turns to start fighting Suguru, Mahito reappears inside the giant robot. Mechamaru brandishes his last Simple Domain weapon and charges at the enemy to finish him for good this time. But Mahito is fully prepared to kill him as he charges. The scene cuts off here, and we don’t know whether Memcharu lives or dies. However, his giant robot is seen broken-down in the woods, implying his defeat. Mahito and Suguru are victorious.
The last third of the episode shows the beginning of the Shibuya Incident, wherein Mahito’s group lowers a huge barrier over Shibuya on Halloween, trapping hundreds of humans inside. Many humans get sucked into the underground metro station for unknown reasons. The enemies then call for Satoru Gojo, their real target. Sure enough, Gojo shows up. More Jujutsu sorcerers are going to follow to back him up. Thus begins the carnage of the Shibuya Incident.
The last third of the episode shows the beginning of the Shibuya Incident, wherein Mahito’s group lowers a huge barrier over Shibuya on Halloween, trapping hundreds of humans inside. Many humans get sucked into the underground metro station for unknown reasons. The enemies then call for Satoru Gojo, their real target. Sure enough, Gojo shows up. He’s been ordered to handle it alone. Thus begins the carnage in Shibuya.
I’m looking forward to this arc because I’ve heard many mentions of it before from fans who read the manga. Luckily, I’ve been able to avoid any spoilers so far. This is a bit random, but the amount of people drawn in the streets of Shibuya wearing interesting Halloween costumes speaks to the quality of the animation studio. Normally, you just see bland CGI people for the crowds – but these all had cool costumes and were traditionally animated.
On a final note, I doubt that Mechamaru is dead. If he was actually dead, we would have seen his corpse. I’m betting he comes back later in the season. That’s all for this episode.
Episode 8 (32): Shibuya Incident
Itadori is with Mei Mei and her younger brother Ui when they hear about what’s happening in Shibuya. They also hear the news that a second barrier has been set up at Meiji station. Gojo probably set something up with Mei in advance, because she needed very little convincing to get involved in the fight. With Itadori and Ui following, she heads straight for Meiji station to rescue the humans and lift the barrier. Meanwhile, Gojo faces off with Hanami, Jougo, and one unfamiliar curse-user.
Once they are in the station, Mei and company hear the news that there are transfigured humans within. Mei and Ui go to slaughter the “monsters” and rescue the humans that remain intact. Meanwhile, Itadori is sent deeper into the station to find and defeat the cursed spirit within. Although Itadori was hoping to find Mahito and avenge Junpei, he instead finds a large locust-like curse eating a human. He engages the curse in combat immediately and is able to kill it easily.
In the Shibuya Station, Gojo begins begins fighting with Hanami, Jougo, and the curse user (whose name is apparently Choso). Many of the humans on the platforms get slaughtered by the curses, but Gojo isn’t effected. He seems completely confident that he can beat the enemies. As for Jougo and company, they clearly have some kind of plan underway, but the details are not known. Their goal is to trap Gojo in some kind of prison-like Domain. It remains to be seen how the battle will unfold.
I only have a few quick thoughts on this episode – four, actually. 1) Mei Mei’s interactions with her little brother, Ui, were creepy and weird. What kind of siblings act like that with each other? 2) The grasshopper/locust curse was oddly funny. His stupidity amused me greatly. 3) It’s good to see Hanami again, since she’s my favorite curse out of all Mahito’s followers. 4) During the flashback scene where the enemies were plotting their attack, they were all standing at or around a playground, which was weird. It was also bizarre to see Mahito frolicking in the background with children. That’s the end for today.
Thank you for reading~
Anime Rants 