The new Jujutsu Kaisen episode isn't great... and it's Gege's fault
I didn’t write about last weeks JJK episode, mainly because it sapped the energy out of me and genuinely left me emotionally drained. Seeing one of your favourite characters have a last stand moment before being blown apart by your least favourite character, and the main character who is also one of your favourite characters having to see his death, not fun. However, that episode was genuinely beautiful and in my opinion gave Nanami the send off he truly deserved. The animation, scenery, instrumentation, everything. It was tremendous.
I knew coming into this episode that Nobara would be meeting her end, and of course I was sad about that as I really like her character and i wasn’t sure how it happened so I just hoped she would be done justice. The main thing I have to say is this has NOTHING to do with the animators. They generally done a brilliant job, specifically in the Yuji vs Mahito section which could’ve had an episode of its own it was that good. They done everything they could’ve with the source material with the Nobara section but that’s the problem, I believe Gege fumbled this scene. We get the great stuff with Nobara using Resonance so that Mahito’s main body would take damage, and we get the genius move from Mahito to swap his clone with his main body so that he could transfigure Nobara - as his clone did not have the ability to use his cursed technique. This is all great and the moment that Yuji realises Nobara is done for is very powerful. However, for some reason, they decide to give us over 10 minutes of a flashback to Nobara’s childhood and her life in the countryside, befriending Fumi, meeting Saori and all of that stuff. I wouldn't have minded it if it was a little shorter and put at the very start or the very end of the episode but placing it right in the middle completely ruins the pacing and the momentum of the episode in my opinion. I’m not sure how this is paced in the manga, it might’ve been a separate chapter? And if it is then that probably makes it a little better but it's still a mess imo. It’s a shame because directly after the flashback we get a beautiful, symbolic and metaphorical scene where Nobara is essentially reminiscing on her life and realising that she was happy she went to Tokyo as she has met a lot of people she cared for and all of those people essentially brought their own chairs into her life, which she mentioned after the fight with the cursed womb brothers at the end of the first season. Again the scenery is outstanding but in terms of the emotional reaction I expected to have, it just wasn’t there and I think that was due to the momentum being killed in the middle portion of the episode. Nobara’s last words of “I lived a good life” to Yuji is really sad and given she’s 16 it really is tragic. Regardless of that though, you just have to feel so terrible for Yuji. In the space of 15 minutes in-verse, he’s awoken to his body having destroyed the entire city and killed thousands of people and has now had to watch 2 of his closest friends die right in front of him. Harrowing stuff. I think the way he responds in the next 4 episodes will define him as a main character because we know that nobody would blame him if he completely broke. For such a genuinely lovely person to be dragged through the mud like this, it’s a real shame. Gege is ruthless but I hope that Yuji loses no one else and this horrible experience leads to a situation where Yuji levels up and becomes incredibly strong.
This episode has made me realise why the first episode of this arc was so important. It really does represent the last ever time they’ll be able to live the slightest of a normal life, and seeing their relationship with each other really does feel a lot more sad in retrospect. Before they knew it their teacher was sealed, Yuji was taken over by Sukuna, Megumi was nearly killed and Nobara was killed. Brutal. In relation to hopes for next episode, and the remainder of the arc, I really can’t wait to see the end of Mahito now. I’ve always really hated his character since the introduction of him with the Junpei stuff, and ever since he’s just gotten progressively more hated for me. I understand that his role as a villain is well-fulfilled but his personality is very annoying and his goal seems to be to torment Yuji and destroy him psychologically and physically, which I hate as Yuji is such a good person. I’ve heard rumours about Todo showing up, and i’m hoping that if Yuji and Todo fight together they can end Mahito for good.