Movie Review: Jujutsu Kaisen 0
Following up on the widely popular first season of Jujutsu Kaisen comes the movie, Jujutsu Kaisen 0. This movie serves as a prequel to the series proper and delves into the unexplained lore of the first season.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 takes place one year before the events of Season 1 and the story follows Yuta Okkotsu, a high school student who inhabits an extremely powerful Cursed Spirit inside him, and because of that, he gets to enroll in the same school from the series, Jujutsu Tech. Familiar characters, students, and teachers alike, all try to help him control this newfound power of his, as he is considered to be a case similar to Yuji from the main series: a potential threat that must be monitored but is still being considered as a salvageable cause, given he does not cause any casualties. His journey as a Jujutsu Sorcerer is suddenly met with an obstacle that could decide the fate of the world. It is up to Yuta to prove to his friends, teachers, and higher-ups at Jujutsu Tech and to himself that he is up to the task, and that he is worthy of the life he was given.
Being that this movie is a prequel, it does not provide anything to progress the main story of the show. What it provides instead is perspective. The character of Yuta Okkotsu was mentioned numerous times in the actual show, and anyone who mentioned him, even the teachers, talked like they admired him, and what we can see in this movie shows exactly why. The characters in this movie that appeared in the show are the same ones we know and love, without too many differences. The biggest differences are some small design changes, which were admittedly nice. They allowed some visual progression of different characters over the one-year time gap, even if it was just a singular different piece of clothing or a different hairstyle. But one of the most interesting things about this movie is the interactions Yuta has with these characters. Like Yuji, the other students view him as a potential threat and perceive him with caution. Over time, however, they get to know him and realize he is not so different from them after all..
The main series consisted of 24 episodes, which meant that there was a BUNCH of time to introduce and develop the characters, to which it succeeded in doing so. While this movie only introduces one new character, I was still cautious going in to see how they take the time to develop this character who is a major part of the story in 1 hour 45 minutes. I wound up being pleasantly surprised by their execution. They structured this movie as if it were a documentary of sorts. There are a few time skips within the one-year gap that are sectioned with bookmark-like separations. It is as if we, the viewers, are looking into a physical file of the events that happened, but we get to see them visually as they happened. I do not know if there is a better way to explain it, but it was a feature of the movie that I quite enjoyed. This also provides an interesting take on Yuta’s progression as a character. As the time-skips happen, you can tell that Yuta has grown a lot, going from the timid personality he had at the beginning of the movie, to a more confident one. You can also tell how much he has grown in terms of power as well. Towards the end of the movie, he winds up executing different Jujutsu techniques easily with less than a year of experience, while it normally takes many years to master them (this is also due to a secret that gets revealed later that I will not spoil here).
Just like my review for the actual show, I would like to dedicate this last point to the action. As always, Jujutsu Kaisen and Studio MAPPA continue to deliver some of the best fighting you will ever see in anime. The final fight of the movie is an absolute rollercoaster of slick fights that switch points of view and just stunning animation in general. Even the main villain proves to be an excellent fighter and character as well. His fighting consists of hand-to-hand combat with an occasional weapon involved, but he uses his powers for a different reason which is the whole end-of-the-world thing I mentioned earlier. Combine that with Yuta’s similar fighting style, along with his special Cursed Spirit friend, which I also will not dive too deep into for spoiler purposes, the entire last half hour of the movie is an absolute banger to watch (Oh, and don’t worry. Gojo does get his time to shine, and it is as amazing as you would think).
As with the actual show, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 was an immense success. Having watched it the day of release in American theaters, I can safely say that it is a must-watch not only for JJK fans but also a must-watch for movie fans in general for a great cinematic experience (I would also advise watching the show beforehand too if you have not seen it). If not available in theaters for you, it should be on HBO Max soon to accompany the series, so when it does, sit back, relax, and let the prequel magic unfold.
