Review of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
Season 2 starts with a flashback to develop Gojou and his affiliates. After this decently-sized flashback, we head straight to the action. Season 1 was a strong pilot season, will the second season follow up with equally impressive visuals and story? \\ I will try not to spoil anything // Art: 9/10 Season 2 is handled by the same studio that animated season 1, so there was never a doubt about the animation quality. While I enjoyed fighting animation, it was about 50/50 whether Art got 8 or 9 out of 10. The main reason is simply that the diversity of the environment was less, which is completelynormal considering the event that occurred in season 2. Obviously, we're not going to get a tour around planet Earth. One part that was lacking was shrines or Innate domains. Few of them are shown, however, I was expecting a little bit more, specifically some new domains. In the end, 9 won by a tiny margin.
Characters: 9/10
It is season 2 and the standing trio and Gojou are still there to greet us. Therefore, there is absolutely no need to analyse this category. New characters are introduced into the story, mostly coming from the Gojou flashback arc. The lineup is pretty much the same, so 9 remain.
Character Progression: 8/10
I do think Yuji’s battle prowess was treated quite unfairly. He fought powerful foes in season 1 and in season 2, it felt he was made purposefully weaker than he should have been. If you look at his body list, it may not strike you, but when you consider the calibre of foes he fought in Season 1 and compare it to Season 2, then you realize it’s underwhelming and that is due to the fact the author made him fight some of the strongest curses out there. Indeed, he had a helping hand back in season 1, however, he fought and learned to master his usage of Jujutsu. He is much stronger than in season 1 and it felt like he was undersold for Sukuna’s appearance. Which brings me to the next point.
Sukuna makes an appearance, obviously. He still isn’t near his maximum power, you can count how many fingers Yuji ate. Despite that, he chooses to go the full brawn route. Not to reclaim those fingers, but to torment Yuji, because that will somehow bring Sukuna's fingers closer to him or I don’t know. It is idiotic, for the king of curses to do this, then do questionable acts of “mercy”. I think the show really drops the ball compared to season 1 Sukuna and makes him look evil for the sake of being evil. If you watched season 1, you know he is irredeemably evil and those “shock” actions don’t bring anything to the table. He doesn’t even make a pact with anyone, he just does it on a whim while ignoring the fact he can still be defeated.
Story: 9/10
Season 2 is split into two parts: Gojou flashbacks and a big battle. Flashbacks show the relationship Gojou had with the “main” villain as well as some other characters that will play a part.
The big battle is… big. As the event progresses, many characters are affected by the events, both physically and mentally. I cannot say much more because it is a spoiler. I don’t think there are any problems with the story. Everything fits together quite nicely, there are shockers and the only flaw is that the event of such magnitude should have kickstarted maybe 16 episodes later with more buildup to raise the stakes even further, but that’s a nitpick.
Story Progression: 9/10
Since flashbacks and battling are the alpha and omega of this season, I cannot complain about characters not training enough. Everything is fluent, there isn’t any event that stalls the story, besides one fact, some characters don’t know when to give up. For the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I won’t delve any further. Those 23 episodes were utilized to the maximum and I love it. This might be the closest we got to a 10 in story progression in all my reviews.
Villains: 6/10
Sukuna: 6/10 - Really dropped the ball here. Whilst Sukuna's power has been restored to a certain bit, he is still not at his peak. Many actions he undertakes don't make sense and the author probably noticed it too, so he made him have an epic fighting scene to make you forget. He views Yuji as weak, which does not explain his actions that could force other Jujutsu sorcerers to kill Yuji and effectively, thwart his resurrection. Season 2 lowkey turns Sukuna into a brainless brute. He doesn’t try diplomacy or intrigue to obtain more fingers, he doesn’t think for tomorrow or even the next 12 hours. If he disposed of those who helped with finding his remaining fingers after he promised chocolate, then Sukuna would be a skilled manipulator at least. Sukuna turned into a stupidly strong villain with no real personality besides being evil, which is boring.
Getou: 9/10 - He does his things, his plan. Getou's mark is actually stronger in season 2, somewhat improved. A few twists happen around him and I don’t have any issue with that. He may not be outstanding, but he is excellent at being a sort of average ( non-super-duper-OP) villain. I do enjoy these villains a lot, they cannot simply destroy an entire metropolis on their own, instead diplomacy and planning follow which is a good change of pace. Don’t get me wrong, he is very strong, but his brain is his main power. That is why he is 9/10, an excellent “average” villain, whose planning and diplomacy are yielding fruits.
Mahiro & the gang: 4/10 - The definition of overstaying your welcome. After the events of season 1, I would expect to see replacements in the upper echelon of Getou’s allied leadership and see Mahiro and other “defeated” curses being relegated to lower mobs. This is the result when you stubbornly refuse to kill characters because you are too lazy to design new ones or because the character is popular. Don’t be afraid to kill certain characters and don’t make certain villains suddenly OP. Mahiro's domain was broken by Yuji in season 1. Yuji counters Mahiro, but you cannot, for a second inhale that copium that this guy was so insanely overpowered from the get-go, especially as he faced an absolute novice. This guy and his gang have had a big help from plot device and I do not endorse that.
Sound: 8/10
The opening and the ending are once again not really fitting the type of songs for a horror-themed series. Pretty garbage for this type of anime to be blunt. Soundtracks during the battles, in between, etc. were pretty darn solid in season 1. Season 2 is not an exception here. I think sounding here is closer to 9 than in season 1.
8,29/10. Excluding villains, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 is a better experience. However, a great villain makes a great show. Getou surely improved, however, we know who’s the final boss and the final boss was quite underwhelming. If you watch Jujutsu Kaisen for fights, then you might actually feel Sukuna is better. Villains not dying was a red flag that proved to be correct and the villains as well. I can recommend season 2 as well. Your watching experience will be as good if not better.