Summary
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 exceeded expectations and set a high standard for quality in anime adaptations of Shonen stories. Studio MAPPA creatively reworked key scenes from the Shibuya Incident arc, giving fans a fresh perspective and avoiding the boredom of repetition. The way MAPPA handles repetition in Jujutsu Kaisen could influence future anime, potentially changing the way repetition is used in the medium.
Warning! Contains spoilers for season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen!
There are a lot of crazy exaggerated moments in Jujutsu KaisenThe Shibuya Incident arc that fans were eagerly looking forward to, but the anime surpassed expectations, giving these fans more than they could have expected. This is in keeping with the general standard of quality that Studio MAPPA gave to the show in its second season. This could set a new standard for other adaptations of Shonen stories.
The first hint of this is the opening of the seventh episode of Season 2, which shows Mechamaru’s giant robot crashing to the ground and surprising Mahito. This same scene was shown at the end of the sixth episode, but instead of just completely reusing the animation for it, MAPPA actually reworked it, showing it from a different perspective.
This is the second time MAPPA has done this, having previously shown Riko’s tragic murder at the hands of Toji from two different angles, but this is the first time it has done this in the Shibuya Incident Arc . This became a trend that continued in the Shibuya Incident arc, which similarly showcased many of the exaggerated moments in that storyline in two different ways.
Jujutsu Kaisen repeats its best moments in the best way
This is extremely creative, especially since other anime often handle scenes like this. Often, to save time and money, anime will repeat the exact same scene as the animation at the start of a new episode. This also has the added benefit of helping viewers navigate what’s going on in the show, as many may have forgotten during the week-long break between episodes. However, if a show relies too much on this crutch and other reused footage, it may have pacing problems or leave fans bored. The One Piece anime is a perfect example of this, as even with the massive launch of Luffy’s Gear 5, the repeats of footage from the show have toned down its hype a bit.
The way MAPPA addresses this issue gives Jujutsu Kaisen fans the best of both worlds. They can both be reminded of the latest hype moments that happened in the series if they somehow forgot and they can still be entertained if they remember because they will look at it in a different way. This technique also takes advantage of a special feature of television shows. With a weekly manga series, there isn’t enough space to show the audience what happened at the end of the previous chapter and even if there was, many fans would consider it a waste of time because of the pace of the retread. This part is too fast. of the previous batch. Television is different, the episodes are often longer and it is more difficult to separate individual scenes. This allowed MAPPA to use its means to improve the source material once again.
Hopefully Jujutsu Kaisen also influences other anime iterations
Given the popularity of the Shibuya Incident Arc, it will likely greatly influence future Shonen series. Part of this influence may extend beyond the specific plot of this season and instead has to do with how the anime adapts it. This will likely cause Jujutsu Kaisen to change the way anime uses repetition in the future.
Jujutsu Kaisen available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Watch on Crunchyroll
Jujutsu Kaisen
Release date: 2020-10-03
Cast: Yuichi Nakamura, Junya Enoki, Yuma Uchida, Asami Seto, Kaiji Tang, Adam McArthur, Robbie Daymond, Anne Yatco
Category: Action, Animation, Supernatural
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Writer: Hiroshi Seko
Streaming service(s): Crunchyroll
Franchise(s): Jujutsu Kaisen
Director: Sunghoo Park, Shota Goshozono
Season list: Jujutsu Kaisen – Part 1, Jujutsu Kaisen – Part 2