Review of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
Skip season 2 if you are not here for an oppressively bleak series. This is really good. It is such a natural continuation of what season one established Jujutsu Kaisen to be. It really feels like everyone involved in the production of this season was putting everything they have into making this season an absolute banger. It's truly a shame that MAPPA treated their animators they way that they did in the production of this season because it is so good even with the problems that caused. This season is split into two arcs. Hidden Inventory is the first, and it's pretty good. It's really heldup by how likable the characters are, and creates a great foundation that leads into the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie, and the Shibuya Incident arc. Hidden Incentory is great from a technical standpoint, but it lacks sauce in my opinion. There isn't anything incredible about it that makes me love it on a deeper level.
Then you get to the Shibuya Incident, and this arc is a banger from the op. SPECIALZ is one of my favorite anime openings ever. The song and the sequence work in perfect harmony to set the tone. It is moody and sullen. With the opening of every episode you are getting a warning: things are going to be bad. And Shibuya delivers. Characters in this arc are changed forever. Many characters die in this arc, and the survivors are left scarred forever.
The voice performances are somehow better than they were in season one. I singled out Gojo and Sukuna's voice actors then, and this season has too many incredible performances for me to single out a few. The fights are gorgeous once again. Some of them have unfinished rendering because MAPPA was overworking their animators and setting deadlines that they could not meet with the quality their animators wanted - which is a prime example of why better labor rights are needed in the anime industry. However, they were still incredible to watch, and they have redone many of these scenes for the blue ray release of season 2, and they look incredible from what I have seen.
In my review of season one, I talked about the theme of institutional failure, and this is the arc where this comes to the forefront. Last season showed us that jujutsu society isn't all that, and it kinda sucks. Shibuya shows us that it cannot solve the problem. The jujutsu establishment is more interested in preserving itself than solving the issues curses pose. It is because of this that they are unequipped to address the disaster curses. It is incredibly grimdark, and while it will not be for everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed this ride. I cannot wait for Culling Game to get animated because those fights should be incredible when brought to animation. I just hope MAPPA quits abusing their employees so I can justify watching it myself.