Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 20 may be the cleanest episode of the season in terms of overall production. When I watch a weekly anime, give us an episode that almost makes me think the show just released a 23 minute movie, the production team is certainly doing some incredible work . With freewheeling creative direction and stellar performances from the voice cast, episode 20 is definitely one of my favorite anime episodes of the year.
Todo and Itadori
I’m going to come out and say it-it’s great to see these two back in action together! Todo’s fighting abilities alone make any fight he gets into entertaining, and that’s not even mentioning his fighting IQ, physical strength, and fun personality. he. I swear if this episode was shown in theaters as it was, given how premium it looked, the crowd would have exploded as soon as we all heard the first clap just as Mahito was about to deliver the final blow same on Itadori.
Itadori lost his father figure in Nanami and his sister figure in Nobara at the hands of Mahito. Having his brother character in Todo come pick him up and save him is Gege’s perfect writing, and here’s why: Todo is the best person to come by in this scenario. It could have been whoever Gege wanted but no one could have had the impact that Todo had in the whole fight against Mahito or the motivation Itadori needed to get back on his feet. If it had been anyone else, they might have died along with Itadori.
Mechamaru had Todo and Nitta paired up at the beginning of the arc and now they’re back in the circle at this exact moment to face Mahito and (sort of) heal Itadori so he can return fight immediately. The way Gege planned this, along with Hiroshi Seko’s work on the series layout and script for the anime, is genius to me. I love writing like this when you think something doesn’t make sense at first, then turns around and makes a huge impact.
Filled with consistently smooth animations, great facial expressions, and even some humor — this is the perfect fight for me. It doesn’t have the same flare as Mahoraga or Jogo before Sukuna, but it’s perfect in its own way in terms of meaning and character development for Itadori. He was on the verge of giving up. I’d say he actually gave up until Todo saved him. The pure aura that Todo exudes in this whole situation with Mahito is different from when they fought Hanami in Part 1.
This series is so depressing that very few things make me smile — this fight is one of them. Seeing some of my favorite characters from the series defeat the character I hate the most and still alive is a level of satisfaction. I’m sure many Jujutsu Kaisen fans can relate.
I understand that Todo-related humor in a scene is a turn-on for some people, and often it is for me as well, but I like to see Todo get more serious than his outgoing personality , his fun. There’s something about the characters who talk the most, being serious and quiet, that always seems to win me over when a big fight is about to happen. That being said, Todo riding the rainbow of space and time before landing his black beam is a glorious sight in itself.
Favorite scene – Miwa
I’m not here to take anything away from the great work witnessed in watching Todo and Itadori spank Mahito in this Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 20, but the entire train scene with Miwa and Mechamaru was at the individual production level. The precision of the artwork and vibrant color script used in this scene is astonishing. Most importantly, it encapsulates the relationship between Miwa and Mechamaru.
Miwa’s final goodbye did not have as many dramatic details as Itadori with Nobara or Nanami. However, thanks to the beautifully choreographed scene and Chinatsu Akasaki’s incredible voice acting, I take home my favorite moment of the episode. Her performance is on par with Junya Enoki as Itadori at the end of episode 17. Yes, Itadori had to endure a lot to ensure her performance but Akasaki poured her heart and soul into the brief but heartbreaking scene this and brings Miwa to life.
Her voice acting as Miwa is on such a level that it makes me feel as if Mechamaru has been her true love this whole time and that their story is the one we’re all passionate about fascinated at some point along the way. We weren’t like that, but that scene made me feel that way. Simply choking up hearing her cries from behind the train door broke your heart. It shows that the Shibuya incident had a strong impact on people who were never there in the first place. I would go so far as to say that this is some of Gege Akutami’s best work for this arc and possibly the entire series to date.
It’s hard to sell a character’s emotions that we don’t really have. There was so much to draw from the beginning that I can’t imagine Akasaki’s task when recording her lines. What makes this scene really interesting to me is that there have always been clues about the special relationship between Miwa and Mechamaru since the first season. The fact that Mechamaru helped greatly in preparing the witches as best he could and abandoning his closest friends was not an act of disrespect for their strength, it was a beneficial decision. selfish but understandable to keep those precious to him alive.
Mechamaru didn’t send Todo simply because he thought he was the only one capable. He figured it was the best way to protect those closest to him as much as possible with the smallest chance of the worst happening to them. Just take settings as an example. Mechamaru sent them on missions as far away as possible so as not to take any chances. It’s not a sign of disrespect at all, it’s love.
I can see some people saying this particular moment with Miwa and Mechamaru could be considered a bit coincidental. But it was established at the beginning of this arc when Miwa was talking to Mechamaru’s robot body. “One day I will come to meet you”, that is what Miwa said to the ears of the absent Mechamaru in episode 7. More importantly, the episode director almost took back copies of every shot from the episode 7… the last time Miwa spoke to Mechamaru. (See below).
All of that is only amplified by the BEAUTIFUL footage in this scene. The slow camera zooming in on the chair next to her and finally showing Mechamaru’s true self in a flash was a perfect piece of directing that left me in awe. In a tight space like on a train, episode director and storyboard artist Yuuji Tokuno tried to get the perfect angles and frames in each shot.
Miwa looks out the window as if she can see Mechamaru himself so he disappears and there’s a detailed close up of her crying which is genius. The sudden stop of any sound or music when he appears and the back and forth between shots inside the ship and outside the window, everything is done perfectly and well directed. Tokuno’s praise of the original shots and compositions was the best thing for me.
Can you do that? Remember…
— 德野雄士 (@tokuno_yuji) December 7, 2023
Production credit
First of all, I want to thank Tokuno for directing and writing the script for such a great episode as well as animator Souta Shigetsu who he takes credit for supervision for the episode. Second, I would like to introduce Dorian Coulon, Imrane Ramdani, Yuki Kikuchi (@KichikuTeacher) and Karl AB (industry debut) for their work in the opening scene. Itadori’s facial expression blew me away and I couldn’t believe how amazing it looked. They captured his emotions perfectly and deserve every last compliment.
My first installment for JUJUTSU KAISEN 44!
The last gengas is @DofinSauvaje and @MiluoGV ! I just do LOThis is my first time opening an episode! I’m very honored!
Thank you very much Matsumoto-san and Tokuno-san! How wonderful!Thank you sakkan/so sakkan with genga man and… pic.twitter.com/PS2VYpdxs4
— Dorian Coulon (@CulonDorian) December 7, 2023
Work Riku (animator) and Shun (animation director/animator) included Miwa’s scene that needs to be talked about and then some. Shun just broke into the industry last year on Chainsaw Man and now a year later has one of the best scenes in all of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2. I’ve watched this scene three times since the episode aired on Thursday and I still can’t get enough of it. The framing, camera angles, plot, animation and of course, the facial expressions were truly amazing to me in this scene. I can’t imagine it.
The background lighting of the city and the lighting in the train are impressive. The pattern (black shading) around Miwa’s seat sets the mood and the view of the shadow of her mouth through her hair as she talks to Mechamaru is a neat touch of Riku’s creativity that I also really like. enjoy. I felt like the scene benefited from seeing Miwa say the words she had to say and the creative freedom in this made the scene so much better.作っていました。
結構反映してもらえて感謝でした、、!
2枚目の髪スケも上手くいってよかったです。#呪術廻戦 pic.twitter.com/kTGdAusm7s
— りく Ligton (@ligton1225) December 7, 2023
And last, but not least, we can’t ignore Sota Yamazaki’s amazing animation direction in this episode. His work on Todo’s black lightning and the colorful manga panels in the fight against Mahito were excellent in their own right and added an original creative touch from the anime that earned him many fans. favorites, especially combination cards that resonate with the manga character designs themselves.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 20 Recap
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 20 is the next line for this season’s unbelievable plot twists that left me gasping for air. This season has brought the manga to life in ways I didn’t think were possible and I couldn’t be more grateful to series director Shouta Goshozono and all the staff for making this dark and This ferocity comes true. It’s a shame to think that there are only a few more episodes left.
Episode 20 rating: 10/10
Episode 21 of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 will be released on Thursday, November 23. Be sure to vote for episode 20 in our weekly poll! The series is streaming on Crunchyroll with English subtitles.
Screenshot via Crunchyroll
©Gege Akutami/Shueisha/JUJUTSU KAISEN Project