Review of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

This show is unfortunately pretty similar to Demon Slayer in terms of its good points and bad points. What I mean by that is that its animation quality is pretty darn amazing, while its story and pacing are pretty lackluster. The magic system and fights going on seem thought out and pretty inventive. A decent bit of it went over my head, but I was nonetheless satisfied with the visuals going on to not really question it much. From the start the stakes are high and engaging, though they devolved drastically once the infamous Shibuya Incident was underway. The gratuitous destruction and death quickly evaporated whateverstakes there were, along with most of the engagement and interest I had with the characters. I found myself repeatedly questioning what was keeping me watching, and the answers weren't entirely satisfying: "It looks cool, at least;" "A lot of people really like this show;" "I sort of want to know who will die next." It was kind of that marginal interest like watching a horror movie simply for its expected gratuitousness. Interesting, but leaving a sense of disappointment for the amount of potential fun to be had.

It's kind of weird saying the story felt lacking since many plot-changing events happened. To start with the more apparent flaws, I can't count how many times a deus ex machina was used (for both protagonists and antagonists). It was momentarily hype when the first couple happened, then it kind of became ridiculous and frustrating. Every fight bled into another, leading to no fights really feeling resolved. That lack of resolution was felt by the end of the season, and where the season ended left me even more confused. All the deaths that were racked up along the way from insignificant fodder to main characters felt more or less the same, with the passing thought, "Oh, I guess they're dead." It's pretty disappointing MCs went out that way with all the time previously given to them. I think there were attempts to have some deaths give a pang, but they generally didn't land and they felt very unearned. The repeated interruptions of the ongoing plot with flashbacks were at first awkward, then became uninteresting filler in which I pulled out my phone to busy myself with something interesting while checking back to see if the primary plot had resumed. I'm acquainted with the use of flashbacks in anime and there are quite a few I recognize as utilizing them to great effect (Haikyuu for example), however here they were more distracting and like non-sequiturs. All in all, the combination of unceasing fights and disruptive flashbacks made for an unsatisfying experience when it comes to the story and pacing--kind of like being fed breadcrumbs at varying intervals and never a full, satisfying bite.

There were a few other things that bothered me that go into spoiler territory that I'll vaguely say involved characters having the chance to do something that would obviously solve something and the characters, for whatever reason, did not do it. Anyway, it's not all bad as there's the bones of an engaging plot here. If it was elevated to the level of the visuals, it could've been something like what the majority of people seem to already think about this show.