Shounen anime series are famous for their fight scenes and interesting character match-ups for said fights. Recently, a good friend of mine started playing a game with me where we create battle match-ups using characters from anime we have both seen. I may not be crazy about shounen or fighting anime, but I’m beginning to understand how a fight can be “thought-provoking” from a creative standpoint.
Jujutsu Kaisen, like many shounen shows, features creative character battles. In today’s article, we’re covering the next three episodes in the Shibuya Incident arc, where characters with amazing and unusual abilities are pitted against cursed spirits with equally strong and unique powers. Let’s get started.
Episode 12 (36): Dull Knife
We’ll start with a recap. While Mei Mei dramatically slaughters the enemies in the tunnel, Megumi and Yuuji manage to take down one of the barriers. They also save Ino as he was thrown of a building unconscious. Elsewhere, Maki sends Kugisaki and Nitta to find Ijichi. They know he’s in trouble, but have no other information. Kugisaki and Nitta hurry on their way, only to encounter Haruto.
Despite Kugisaki’s best efforts to defend herself and Nitta, Haruto overpowers her. He stabs Nitta’s leg multiple times and is about to kill her. Luckily, Nanami appears and beats the living crap out of Haruto. I think we can assume he’s dead. Meanwhile, Suguru greets Mei in the tunnel before sending a special-grade cursed spirit to fight her. Also, Megumi and Yuuji split up. Choso sees Yuuji coming and prepares for a vengeful battle.
Last time, Grandma Ogami used a séance to call Toji Zen’in, and he partially possessed her grandson. It was a partial summoning to give the grandson more power. That was supposed to be the extent of it. But much to Grandma’s surprise, Toji completely took over. He killed the old lady in short order.
This scene was interesting because it tells us a bit more about souls and bodies in this world’s lore. Grandma Ogami only used information from Toji’s body rather than his soul. This was supposed to keep him in a compromised state. But Toji’s body conquered Ogami’s soul without even needing his own. Usually, souls are stronger than bodies. Toji is a special exception.
Besides the return of Toji, the most interesting part of the episode (for me) was learning more about Mei. I never knew she was so dramatic and flamboyant when fighting. She’s normally so measured and reserved. Apparently, I didn’t have a great understanding of her personality. Oh, and I almost forgot to add something important – I also loved seeing Nanami defeat Haruto. That sadistic creep really had it coming to him. Yay!
Episode 13 (37): Red Scale
The entirety of this episode was one big fight – Yuuji Itadori versus Choso the Cursed Womb and blood manipulator. It was truly an epic battle. Yuuji did well at certain points, but overall, it was an intense struggle for him. Choso has multiple ways of manipulating blood, and each technique is deadly. Piercing blood projectiles hit Yuuji twice.
Mechamaru helped Yuuji with a plan to lead Choso into the bathrooms, where the sprinklers and sinks were broken and spraying water everywhere. Due to a chemical reaction, Choso’s blood was not able to be weaponized in the water. The battle continued, but Choso had one more trick. He could still manipulate his blood internally. So he stored a blood projectile in his own arm until it was ready to shoot.
The bullet pierced Yuuji’s liver. At that point, Yuuji accepted the fact that he might die, but he still tried to take Choso down with him. Unfortunately, he was doomed to fail. Choso defeated Yuuji, leaving him unconscious with holes in three places. Sukuna wasn’t about to let that slide. He did something mysterious. Choso saw a symbol within Yuuji’s blood – the mark of Sukuna – and then started seeing overwhelming false memories. To be continued.
I definitely enjoyed this episode, even though I don’t understand what’s happening to Choso, or what can be done to save Yuuji. I think Yuuji is basically dead again. I wonder if he can be brought back to life without a price. As for Choso, I don’t what manner of curse he’s been hit with, but I honestly pity him for the mental anguish he is suffering. I know from experience that false memories are horrible to deal with.
There are two more notes to make. Firstly, the visuals for this episode were especially impressive even for Jujutsu Kaisen. There were so many cool shots of the characters with creative lighting and intense expressions. The scenery of the metro station, signs, and ticket gates was eerie and liminal. Secondly, even though it was brief, we saw Inumaki! He was helping rescue civilians. I love that kid. Anyway, that’s all for episode 13.
Episode 14 (38):
The first part of the episode showed Mei and Ui battling the disease-based curse that Geto left with them. Surprisingly, Ui is also a sorcerer with a ton of cursed energy. So, the weird siblings win the battle together. The remainder of the episode is about Maki, her uncle, and Nanami as they fight Dagon, a squid-like cursed spirit with incredible power. Even with multiple special-grade sorcerers going after it at the same time, Dagon still manages to keep the upper hand.
After the squid-like monster traps the three sorcerers in his domain, they are hard-pressed to even survive. Fushiguro breaks into the domain to help. His plan is to open a gap in the domain’s barrier, which everyone can quickly jump through to escape. But when the hole finally opens up, Toji Zenin comes through. Now everyone is in even worse danger than before. The episode ends there.
Naobito is the name of Maki’s uncle and the leader of the Zenin clan. When this old man started rambling about framerates and resolution, I was baffled. However, it all made sense after hearing about his power, Projection Sorcery. I can’t explain it very well, but it involves breaking one second into twenty-four frames that Naobito can see ahead of time. This ability makes him the second-fastest jujutsu sorcerer in existence, after Satoru Gojo.
The visuals within Dagon’s domain were strikingly beautiful and vibrant. That might be my favorite aspect about this whole episode. Even the cursed shikigami in that domain are somehow pretty. Many of the tough curses in this anime are anthropomorphized concepts; for instance, Jougo probably represents humanity’s fear of volcanoes. As for Dagon, he is clearly an embodiment of humanity’s fear of ocean life. It’s fitting that his domain is a gorgeous tropical beach.
While we’re on the subject of Dagon, I think he’s fascinating. Hanami was my favorite of the intelligent curses, so I was sad when she died a few episodes back. Dagon also had some kind of attachment to Hanami. They might have been pretty close – if curses can get “close” the way human friends do. I’m glad there’s at least one character who grieved Hanami. And that was my last note for today, so thanks for reading.
Thank you for reading~
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