Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021)

After Season 1 had already generated enormous buzz, Jujutsu Kaisen arrived on the big screen. And as a prequel — a story that explains the background of the TV series. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 can be enjoyed as a standalone, but fans of the series will find even greater satisfaction. My rating is ★4.0.

What it’s about — A Prequel of a Boy Carrying a Curse

The protagonist is Yuta Okkotsu (Megumi Ogata). When his childhood friend Rika (Kana Hanazawa) dies in an accident, she becomes a powerful curse attached to Yuta. Deemed a threat to others, he is recruited by Satoru Gojo (Yuichi Nakamura) and brought to Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High. The story follows a boy who feared his own curse as he grows into a sorcerer able to wield and protect others through it. The timeline is set before the TV Season 1, but the film was released in December 2021.

Direction — Scale Built by a Theatrical Budget

The animation quality from director Sunghoo Park and MAPPA Studio is at a level befitting a theatrical feature. In particular, the density and pace of the climactic battle sequences demonstrate a standard of finish distinct from the TV series. The visualisation of Rika in her fully unleashed state is the most carefully crafted sequence of this film, feeling not just like a depiction of destructive power but like an emotional explosion. The large-scale cursed spirit event playing out against downtown Tokyo achieves a scale that budget constraints would have made impossible in the TV series. The editing, which balances character narrative and action within 105 minutes, is also well done. The music effectively supports the emotional escalation that is Park’s signature.

Performance & characters — Gojo Returned to His Origins

The core voice cast of the Jujutsu Kaisen series brought their characters to life faithfully in the film. Megumi Ogata expressed Yuta’s emotional shifts — fragile but growing toward strength — with delicacy. Yuichi Nakamura’s Gojo Satoru appears younger and rawer than in the TV series, giving fans the pleasure of returning to a starting point.

What the work says — Love Between Obsession and Salvation

The emotional core of this film is love. It explores why Rika became a curse, how Yuta comes to terms with that curse, and how love can oscillate between obsession and salvation. The way the fantasy elements of sorcery visualise those emotions is this film’s unique strength. The setting — where curses are essentially human emotions — is expressed most directly in this film. Details that connect to the TV series’ more complex world-building are seeded throughout, offering rewards to series fans.

Ratings & reception

TMDB score is 8.1, quite high. IMDb is 7.8. Rotten Tomatoes freshness is 96%. The film recorded one of the highest box-office performances of 2021 in Japan. There is a broad assessment that the quality works both for Jujutsu Kaisen fans and general animation film audiences.

What doesn’t work

For viewers who watched the TV series first, the era before Yuta can feel unfamiliar. The film’s major twists and emotional threads are designed to deliver more resonance to TV series fans, which means it works somewhat less well as a standalone piece. Some key revelations and the emotional lines are designed to register more strongly for series fans, making it slightly incomplete as an independent work.

Verdict

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is both a gift to series fans and a well-crafted anime film in its own right. The narrative core connecting love and curses is solid, and the climactic battle provides ample reason to see it on a big screen. The process by which Yuta and Rika’s relationship is completed as a genuine emotional drama, beyond a horror setup, is the film’s core. The pleasure of seeing characters who have already appeared in the TV series in their past forms is also significant for fans. It is also a meaningful work for understanding the starting point of the Jujutsu Kaisen world.

Recommended for

• Viewers who have seen Jujutsu Kaisen TV Season 1
• Fans of anime films where action and emotional narrative are in balance
• Those interested in MAPPA’s animation quality