COURTESY OF CRUNCHYROLL/FUNIMATION
By Samantha Juarez, Staff Reporter
April, 2022
First opening in December of 2021 in Japan, the critically acclaimed animated film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 sold more than one million tickets and earned more than 13 billion yen (about $106 million US dollars). Japanese fans shared their positive feedback which made worldwide fans excited for a release date in their local movie theaters.
Fans should expect a prequel movie to the popular anime series, Jujutsu Kaisen (2020). The series follows Yuji Itadori, a high school student who unwillingly becomes a vessel for the powerful demon curse, Sukuna. In order to become a stronger jujutsu sorcerer, Yuji joins the Tokyo Jujutsu High school under the guidance of his teacher, Satoru Gojo. A similar plot is followed in Jujutsu Kaisen 0.
The movie introduces us to the main protagonist of the movie, Yuta Okkotsu, a new character many fans have waited to see in action. Yuta is introduced as a timid character who appears to always have strong curse energy surrounding him. His story is both tragic and heartfelt. At a young age, he experienced the death of his childhood love, Rika. However, this isn’t the most tragic part of his story as Yuta now seems to be cursed by that same person he truly loved the most. The movie follows Yuta as he tries to find a way to break the curse while fighting those who try to steal that same curse for their own villainous and selfish reasons.
Not only were we able to see a new character, but we were able to get an insight on characters we have previously seen in the anime series such as the special grade jujutsu sorcerer and teacher, Gojo Satoru. The story only gets more tragic when we realize that the person going after Yuta and his curse is the one person Gojo truly considered his best friend, Suguru Geto.
The storyline is well paced, and the movie is a brisk 105 minutes. We get to see Yuta’s character develop from a scared and insecure kid to a strong willed hero. The film is able to capture serious and intense moments as well as some lighthearted and funny moments as teenagers try to survive in a world full of curses.
The world of curses gets one interested no matter what is on screen. There is always something catching the eyes of the audience while sitting at the edge of their seat.
MAPPA was able to capture the fighting scenes on another level of animation. The final fight scene was followed by many camera angles with a beautiful soundtrack to conclude the story of our main protagonist. During this same scene, we see Yuta express multiple emotions which only get our hearts to ache. It can be concluded that the main message of the story was the tragedy of love.
The movie was taken very well by audiences as it reached a level of 98% in audience score in Rotten Tomatoes. It has now become the 10th highest grossing Japanese film of all time and the second highest opening weekend in the Japanese box office. Anyone is able to enjoy Jujutsu Kaisen 0, whether you’re a fan or don’t have any previous knowledge of the series, and although it is a newer anime, this movie will for sure redefine the future of Japanese cinema.
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