‘Jujutsu Kaisen‘ is a supernatural anime based on a manga written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. The show is directed by Sunghoo Park for the Japanese animation studio MAPPA. The first season consists of twenty-four episodes with Viz Media and Crunchyroll licensed to do an English dub.

Yuji Itadori (Adam McArthur) is a Japanese teen who is interested in the supernatural. After his grandfather passes, his high school is attacked by a “cursed spirit” that is after a mysterious finger. The sorcerer Megumi Fushiguro (Robbie Daymond) arrives to exorcise the spirit and nab the finger, but Itadori eats it. This causes the teen to become the vessel for Ryomen Sukuna (Ray Chase) the so-called ‘King of Curses.’ Itadori is recruited by Satoru Gojo (Kaiji Tang), a powerful sorcerer and teacher at the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. Along with Fushiguro and fellow student Nobara Kugisaki (Anne Yatco), Itadori encounters more cursed spirits and even the scorn of his fellow students for housing Sukuna, who has agenda of his own.

The first season is divided into three separate arcs, the first being Itadori being trained to use Sukuna’s powers, the second is a tournament between two different Jujutsu schools, and then an investigation as to why various teenagers are being cursed. All three were interesting and do a good job of setting the characters apart with their own individual personalities.

MAPPA also does a good job of animating the action. From character designs to powers to background illustrations, I thought their presentation of the events was really well done.

I will say, one thing about the show is that the side characters were, at times, more interesting than the main characters. Gojo, sorcerer Kento Nanami, voiced by David Vincent, and second year student Maki Zen’in, voiced by Allegra Clark, all had moments where I wanted the show to focus on them instead of Itadori. Not that our protagonist was boring, but he just comes off as sort of nothing spectacular other than he is possessed by the big bad.

While I enjoyed the show, I am curious where it will go. Sometimes anime divert from their source material, so it could go different from the manga (which I have not read). Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see how season two further explores the characters and how they will eventually face Sukuna.

Check out the trailer below:

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Bloody violence, Some foul language, Disturbing images

This review is based on the dub.

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