After a successful stint in Japanese theaters, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will finally hit the big screen in North America on March 18th. A prequel to the popular anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, JJK0 is set about a year or so before the events of the anime. That’s not to say fans of the series will be left without any familiar faces, as many characters who appear in the series play prominent roles in the film.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 follows the story of Yuta Okkotsu, who decides his life is best lived in isolation due to his curse. That is until he meets Satoru Gojo, who invites him to Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. This finally gives Yuta a purpose and people around whom he can be himself.
What makes Jujutsu Kaisen 0 so attractive as a film is that anyone can watch it. Fans of the manga and show can enjoy certain aspects, while newcomers can watch it and walk away enjoying other things. As an anime fan, I’ve watched one of the more approachable films, and I hope it can be a gateway for more people to watch the incredible anime called Jujutsu Kaisen.
While fairly similar to Yuji Itadori’s origin in the anime, the story was really well done. It spent just enough time setting up the story before getting the ball rolling into the more action-packed and entertaining main course. My eyes were glued to the screen the whole way through. One of my favorite things we got from the film is all the depth it adds to the characters introduced in the series. We saw some in a new or different light after being introduced to them in the latter half of season one.
I also really enjoyed spending more time with the villain, Suguru Geto. We didn’t see much of him in season one, so seeing him as a more intimidating threat in the film was fun.
I’d be hard-pressed to find a boring or unenjoyable character. The characters, both from the anime and debuting in the movie, were incredibly likable, even the villains, and of course, complimenting this is the superb voice cast. The standouts include Kayleigh McKee (Yuta Okkatsu), Anairis Quinones (Rika Orimoto), and Xander Mobus (Toge Inumaki), but honestly, they all did a fantastic job.
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Studio MAPPA keeps the successes rolling with their animation. Jujutsu Kaisen had incredible animation, especially for fight scenes, and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is no exception. I appreciated how the large-scale and busy fight scenes were straightforward to follow and not a chore. The animation is so fluid, and the animated “camera angles” they use in many of the shots add a lot to the scenes, making them more dynamic. There are frequent close-up shots of characters’ faces while fighting, with much detail put into their facial reactions and emotions.
Another element successfully brought over from the show is the fantastic audio design. As a big fan of scores, I find that the music accompanying everything from fight scenes to emotional scenes fit so well tonally and added to the quality of whatever scene it played a part in. The fight scenes sounded great while staying well-balanced without being overpowering.
If I had to nitpick Jujutsu Kaisen 0 for something, it would have to be the pacing. While most of the film was cohesive, a few sequences, especially nearing the end, became a little troublesome. During the film’s third act, when everything is popping off, there are various points where the movie starts cutting between scenes fairly frequently to show and adapt as much as they can. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of making certain fights or scenes hard to follow. We miss out on chunks of the better fights and lose the content shown off-screen. While the manga isn’t long enough to necessitate it, I felt like Jujutsu Kaisen 0 could have used a two-part movie treatment.
While the film hinders its own success with the iffy pacing and editing at times, I genuinely think all the good the film has to offer makes up for that tenfold. The film serves up a fun story full of excellent animation and a lot of really likable characters. If you’re somewhat intrigued with anime or animation, there’s no reason not to see this. You don’t need to read the manga, you don’t need to watch the show, it’s incredibly noob-friendly and will be a blast for anyone.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 hits theaters on Friday, March 18, and tickets are available now wherever there’s a showing near you.
