Jujutsu Kaisen is a modern giant of anime. Within and outside of its genre, JJK has stood out as a masterpiece of modern storytelling, and its award-winning anime series can be considered the crown jewel of its success. Jujutsu Kaisen is a phenomenon for many reasons, but two The greatest is its humor and brutality, and the series combines both perfectly..
Not many shows can convey such a wide range of emotions, maintaining a serious overall theme while still having some really funny, light-hearted moments.
The Elusive Samurai has emerged as a stealth successor to JJK. It's a series that mixes humor with violence very well, creating an engaging experience that only Yuji Itadori and his team could create. The Elusive Samurai was a hit manga before it was adapted into an anime, and it looks like it will pick up right where Jujutsu Kaisen left off.
Jujutsu Kaisen and The Elusive Samurai are funny
The best jokes are always surprising
Jujutsu Kaisen and The Elusive Samurai, on the whole, tell serious stories. Jujutsu Kaisen focuses on Yuji Itadori's battles against Cursed Spirits and evil wizards who want to make the world a worse place. The Elusive Samurai begins shortly after the protagonist Tokiyuki Hojo's clan is betrayed and massacred, leaving him with nothing but revenge on his mind. Amidst all this hatred and violence, each series manages to create some funniest moments in all anime. One of the funniest moments in Jujutsu Kaisen occurs after Yuji, Megumi, and Kugisaki lock one of Sukuna's fingers.
Megumi specifically told Yuji not to eat it. Yuji knew that and thought to himself that Megumi needed to stay away from him when Sukuna took this opportunity to turn part of Yuji's body into a mouth to eat the finger and regain some of his power. Kugisaki and Megumi get hilariously angry at Yuji, but there's nothing he can do. The trio's banter carries them and the audience through the series' most difficult moments, allowing them to reflect and enjoy at least a brief moment before the next battle.
The Elusive Samurai also uses humor in a similar way. Tonally, it's a lighter series overall, but The Elusive Samurai does use humor in darker areas to lighten the mood. Some of the funniest moments in the series come during the darkest parts, like when Tokiyuki loses the will to live, so Yorishige pushes him into an enemy mountain to test that theory.. Tokiyuki overcomes his opponents, regains his will to live, and brings much-needed humor to the film.
The elusive Samurai and the brutal JJK
No Series has superior power
Jujutsu Kaisen is extremely brutal. There are a number of moments throughout the series that are designed to trick the viewer into a false sense of security. That's when JJK is at its most brutal. There aren't many moments more memorable for their sheer brutality and horror than the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen when Mahito tricks Junpei, turning him into a monster who was once a human right in front of Yuji. Junpei trusts Mahito and has spent the past few episodes hanging out with him. When he comes to Yuji and Mahito's fight, he thinks he can mediate. Instead, he gets insulted and mercilessly turns into a monster.
The Elusive Samurai is no stranger to brutality either. Like JJK, The Elusive Samurai is good at letting its viewers down before leaving them with pure sadness. The series starts off brutally, with the Hojo clan being betrayed by their servants and promptly destroyed. The first episode sees Takiyuki talking to all of his friends, including his future wife and half-brother. They are fun characters with a lot of potential and could add a lot of value to Takiyuki and his story. Unfortunately, the next time we saw either of them, they were dead.
Takiyuki's potential girlfriend, Kiyoko, is depicted as being brutally raped and murdered alongside her father who committed suicide, failing to protect his young daughter. Takiyuki's brother is betrayed by their uncle, who sells the 9-year-old boy to his enemy for a few pennies. Both of these deaths occur in the first two episodes, highlights the overall tone of the show and also shows that the show isn't afraid to steer clear of serious topics.
Both have amazing art styles.
Yuji and Tokiyuki stand out for their art direction
Although both series have the greatest similarities in terms of humor and brutality, They also share unique art directions. Whether it's Yuji's black lightning, Gojo-sensei fighting multiple Cursed Souls with a myriad of colors, or Toji returning from the dead to continue his attack, every episode of Jujutsu Kaisen is beautifully animated with bright colors and interesting designs.
The Elusive Samurai also has some interesting scenes through its animation. Tokiyuki is often decked out in bright, colorful outfits, or He was running through a fiery battlefield filled with vibrant reds and oranges. Some of The Elusive Samurai's brightest colors come from Yorishige's headgear, which he also uses as a joke to evoke Tokiyuki's spirit and further prove that he has a connection to the gods. Even between scenes, The Elusive Samurai uses interesting art direction to stand out from other anime in the genre.
