The brand-new anime movie “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” boasts gorgeous animation, lovable characters, a terrific blend of action, horror, and comedy, as well as a narrative that is both grandiose and personal and emotional.
It also serves as a great introduction to one of the most well-liked anime shows currently on the air. The manga miniseries “Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School” that served as the basis for “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” was so well-liked that it was later relaunched as the main “Jujutsu Kaisen” plot and retrospectively made into a prequel.
“Jujutsu Kaisen 0” centres on Yuta Okkotsu, a young man who is tormented by the ghost of Rika, his childhood sweetheart and best friend who passed away horribly six years earlier. Now, Rika-chan is by his side all the time, fiercely and violently protecting him from anybody and everything she believes might hurt Yuta, causing chaos all around her.
At the movie, Yuta enrols in the specialised Jujutsu High School, which teaches sorcerers how to manage and control cursed energy or spirits, which are created as a result of unfavourable feelings. Yuta joins because she wants to help Rika escape her curse. His friends start to fear him as soon as he comes because Rika tries to attack them, a sign of his reluctance to face his remorse over her murder. The more Yuta dismisses her, the stronger she grows, and the more he turns within to avoid social interaction.
Knowing exactly where “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” fits in the greater “Jujutsu Kaisen” world and how it links to the forthcoming season 2 can be a little confusing. Do not be alarmed; all the solutions are provided here. From this point on, there will be significant “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” spoilers.
Grief is the most powerful curse
In the movie’s climax, it is revealed that Yuta’s death was not the result of Rika’s curse; rather, it was the other way around. Yuta, who was grieving, refused Rika’s passing and made her stay in the physical plane so that she wouldn’t abandon him. It is a strong emotional scene that reframes the rest of the movie as a charming tale about sadness and the very real harm it brings to individuals. Rika doesn’t fully manage her abilities until Yuta embraces Rika as a curse and then lets her go, which enables Yuta to vanquish the jujutsu sorcerer Geto. Instead of fighting to get rid of Rika, Yuta is now pleading with her for assistance in her struggle for others’ lives.
In contrast to Geto, who battles by taking and using the cursed energy of others, Yuta’s turning point is not about getting over his loss or putting a stop to his suffering. Instead, Yuta’s greatest strength manifests when he harnesses the suffering and sense of impending death he has endured for so long to help him live and help others survive. He says to Geto that he is fighting with “pure love” and transforming a bad situation into a good one.
Rika is ultimately set free from the curse and given permission to move on by admitting that she is a curse and by letting go of his sense of guilt. She tells Yuta farewell as she transforms back into a human and tells him not to rush to see her again in a fairly emotional scene.
And if that weren’t enough, Gojo says that Yuta is a distant relative of his and is related to Sugawara Michizane, one of the most vindictive spirits in all of Japan. This explains why Yuta was so strong and how he unintentionally transformed Rika into such a potent curse, as her passing gave rise to a very strong emotional response in him.
Before that happens, however, Geto, a former pupil of Jujutsu High School who became wicked, perishes. Geto loses to Yuta and is fatally wounded after gathering an army of curses to take Rika, whom he refers to as the Queen of Curses, for himself. Off-screen, Gojo, his erstwhile best buddy, deals the fatal blow (we do hear a slash, followed by a heavy drop). However, that is not his final appearance.
How this fits with the first season of the anime
The events of “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” take place two years before the events of the anime and last roughly a year. This indicates that Yuta had a profound impact on everyone in his vicinity.
You see, we had heard a lot about Yuta before we even saw what he looked like. We hear other students laud about Yuta and his abilities throughout the first season of “Jujutsu Kaisen,” especially everyone’sbesto friendoTodo, so that’s another thing Yuta and Yuji have in common. Even in the second opening sequence of the show, he makes a brief appearance. It is simple to understand why everyone would be so amazed with Yuta’s abilities after seeing him in action in the movie.
Geto comes next. As a main antagonist in season 1 of “Jujutsu Kaisen,” Geto appears to be working with a collection of curses to assault Jujutsu High. The large scar across his forehead appears to indicate that someone has seized possession of his dead body after the film’s events, even though we don’t know exactly what happened to him.
How the post-credits scene sets up season 2
The post-credits scene in “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” does a great job of setting up the upcoming season, therefore you should stay until the credits.
The scene is set in Africa, where we first see Yuta enjoying a beautiful meal with Miguel, a former Goto disciple who appears to be coaching Yuta. Yuta’s absence from the country was noted in the anime, and in the second opening scene, he and Miguel made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance. Sadly, Gojo enters and tells Yuta that it’s time for a new task, interrupting their conversation about food.
Without giving too much away, it’s widely believed that “Jujutsu Kaisen” season 2 will focus primarily on the “Shibuya Incident” manga arc. The arc is renowned for being dark since Yuji loses control and kills some people who were close to him. However, how does Yuta factor into it? Of course, he is coming to put Yuji to death.
That certainly sounds gloomy, but “Jujutsu Kaisen” has consistently managed to successfully blend horror and action with a fair dosage of humour and optimism, so perhaps this won’t be any different.
