Jujutsu Kaisen is fast becoming the most talked about anime of Fall 2020. And here’s why we think Jujutsu Kaisen is destined to become the best Shonen anime of all time.
The Looming Presence Of Death
Of all the shonen anime we have ever watched, Jujutsu Kaisen plays with death the most. There’s so much of it in the series we have lost count already. Depending on the situation, random civilians, supporting characters, and even entire buildings worth of people die randomly. And that too, for no real reason. The anime never leaves an explanation. The anime trusts the viewers will find out the answer on their own. There’s a particular scene where Jogo, a Fire Using Cursed Demon, just burns everyone in a café in the most gruesome manner possible. The reason? He felt like it.
The Animation Is Fluid
When a studio makes a shonen anime, they start out strong. But then halfway through they fizzle out, giving us sub-par animated sequences. Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, and even Demon Slayer are guilty of this crime. Things like this will never happen with Jujutsu Kaisen. For now the animation is very fluent and we believe it will continue to do so till the very end. The animation studio in charge of the series – MAPPA, is one of the best in the business. Their previous works include Rage of Bahamut and God Of High School.
Use Of Horror
Jujutsu Kaisen blends action and adventure with the perfect pinch of horror. Jujutsu Sorcerers, trained wizards that use Cursed Magic, fight Curses – beings of pure evil born out of human malice. The setting looks familiar to Bleach, which had Hollows instead of curses. But Jujutsu Kaisen takes the horror element beyond the boundaries of monster design. When the 1t Year Trio meet the Special Grade Curse as part of their first mission, it is pretty evident. The setting and the final confrontation with the way stronger Special Grade Curse was epic and disturbing.
Cuts To The Chase
Instead of giving us slice of life moments, the anime and manga walk a brisk, lightning fast pace. the primary antagonist shows up and becomes a part of the Main Character in the very first episode. The Tournament arc, the anime’s most electrifying story line, takes place right after the 1st Year’s first mission. Jujutsu Kaisen cuts directly to the chase. Instead of fillers, it uses time skips (more on that in a bit).
There Is No Plot Armor
One ever-present trope in Shonen anime is that the Protagonist perseveres and does the impossible. everyone tells him its not possible but the lead character does it anyway. It’s credited to having a never back down spirit. The main character of jujutsu Kaisen – Itadori, realizes very early on that he won’t be able to save everyone. It is made very clear that death is hanging over everyone’s head in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe. All he can do is ensure the people die “good deaths” aka death by natural causes. But no one is immune to death in the series. It’s the anime version of Game of Thrones.
Villains Are Not Relatable (It’s A Good Thing!!)
In its rawest form, Shone anime seem to paint everything in a black and white shade. There are clear cut sides of good and bad. Having a morally grey character has become somewhat of a fad these days. Hisoka, Sasuka, Vegeta, Joker from Fire force, are intentionally made to be relatable. You don’t have to churn your engines to watch Jujustu Kaisen. Most of the villains that appear early on are sub-human, powered by curses. They are the purest form of evil so they commit crimes without any sort of hesitation. It’s their definition of fun. It takes a bit of getting used to after years of mental conditioning. But this is how it should be for shonen – black and white.
Fight Scenes. So Many Fight Scenes
Most people watch the Shonen anime to gawk at the amazing action sequences. It once used to be rampart in the genre. Then the trope of fillers nd time skips destroyed that trend, turning it into a fad of a bygone era. Jujutsu Kaisen, as we said, has a rather brisk pace. Many characters are introduced in a very short amount of time. And almost every time a new character comes about, he or she ends up in an action sequence. About two-thirds of the anime consists solely of action sequences.
Perfect Balance Of Dark & Light-Hearted Tones
Shonen anime was never dark until demon slayer and Hunter x Hunter arrived. Death has zero meaning. Demon Slayer actually started the trend of inserting grit and violence into the main storyline. Jujutsu Kaisen has a visibly dark plot but it also has its comic moments. The Shonen anime takes the best of both worlds – the humor of One Punch Man and the violence and darkness of Hunter x Hunter and Demon Slayer.
Time Skips Instead Of Fillers
Fillers – the one reason Naruto and Dragon Ball are hated so much by many hardcore anime fans. Even other Shonen anime like One Piece and Bleach are guilty of this. Even when Shonen anime use Time Skips, they tend to fumble up the ending. Using Time Skips to perfectly blend in with the story is true art. Jujutsu Kaisen uses time skips of a few weeks or months without sacrificing the sanctity of the arc. There are no fillers or slice of life moments so prevalent in today’s shonen culture.
Complex, Almost Incomprehensible Abilities
The thing with Shonen anime is that they try to over-simplify everything. To appeal to the audience, the powers of Naruto, Luffy, and Goku were dumbed down. They were made simple so that every reader or viewer could relate to it. But Jujustu Kaisen takes the literal opposite route. It makes the in-universe power system – the Cursed power abilities, so complicated no one could understand them fully. For example – Satoru Gojo’s power can make him the most powerful warrior of the series. But none of us can truly understand how it works. It’s like the Nen System in Hunter x Hunter, only better.
