Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Review and Why This Was The Best Show of Fall 2023

Rating 5.0/5.0 | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genres: Shounen, Fantasy | Length: 23 episodes | Crunchyroll Rating: 4.9

As someone who is a long time fan of shounen animation, this was one of the best seasons of anime I’ve ever watched from start to finish. These two arcs were were a non-stop showcase of MAPPA’s artists telling the world, again, that they are truly some of the best of the best in terms of directing, design, and source material adaptation to the big screen.

They really honored the authors vision from the manga adaptation and it showed through the overwhelming out pour of fans throughout the seasons release.

The themes of the Hidden Inventory/Shibuya Incident Arcs were heavy and really asked the audience to feel the hope, despair, and growth of these characters as they go up against a myriad of external and sometimes internal threats.

I remember being at Anime Expo in summer 2023 and seeing how excited everyone was for this season to come out and I believe it delivered on expectations.

If you are looking for a great introduction into action-based anime I could not stress enough that this a great entry point for anyone, especially if you enjoy series such as The Boys on Amazon Prime.

Where can I find JJK S2? Watch on Crunchyroll here! 🖤

*There are spoilers below in this review, if you have not watched the season yet, please be advised. Happy reading!

❤️ The things I loved about Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

Scenes felt like a love letter to action anime

From Itadori Yuji hitting the iconic Gon stance from the Chimera Arc of Hunter x Hunter to the impactful Mechamaru mecha fight evoking the essence of Neon Genesis Evagelion, this season had it all in terms of little artistic hidden gems.

We saw MAPPA do this also with Chainsaw Man Season 1 but they really amped it up with these pieces which made me want to go and rewatch some of my favorite shows as well. I loved how this season brought veterans and new fans together culturally in a way I hadn’t seen since Attack on Titan season 4 debut.

Fighting choreography was MAJESTIC

In terms of hand-to-hand combat animation, these artists put in the WORK to make the audience feel on the edge of their seat in ever single 1 v 1. Although Itadori “left-right-goodnight” or “you-shall-catch-these-hands” Yuji had fantastic fights in the first season, his fight with Mahito and Todo was out of this world. I thought the pacing really made the audience be able to feel the depth of despair and feeling of elation when Mahito was defeated.

I enjoyed how the author did not have Sakuna step in to help Itadori with defeating Mahito, it really showed how far Itadori grew in strength from the previous season and that his deadly ace is not needed every battle. Bonus shoutout to the My Hero Academia All Might styling reference with Todo in the last fight, it added great comedic reprieve to the fight.

The Villains

I really needed them to be defeated. There was no redemption for the villains in this season and I loved this angle. The whole trope of “the villain is this way because of xyz that happened in their past”. NOPE these villains were just straight evil, like they got to go ASAP type of evil including Sakuna (poor Itadori). It made watching the story so good because you were really just wanting them to get the living daylights knocked out of them for being so bad every single episode.

Also showing them doing mundane things like being at a restaurant, on a beach vacation, or at a local park it was really a great contrast done by the author and showcased well from the director. Genuinely enjoyed the juxtaposition of their destructive nature to the tranquil moments of peace.

🛠️ Areas of Improvement

MAPPA, please if you read this, let your employees rest! Hearing about the employees who were feeling so overworked and not supported when they asked for additional time on working on the season was very sad to hear. Everyone online was in consensus that fans would rather have quality animation be completed versus having it come out on time.

The episode in particular that suffered the most and was claimed to only have been 30% finished from what they wanted to do was S2.E17 Thunderclap, Part 2. There were some moments in the episode where it did not feel as fleshed out in the drawings and the coloring was flatter compared to other episodes in the series. I have rewatched Thunderclap Part 2 multiple times, as it is my favorite episode in terms of storytelling and action where you can see how awful Sakuna is in the season, I highly recommend rewatching.

🤺 Favorite Moments + Quotes

“Are you the strongest because you are Gojo Satoru? Or does being strongest makes you Satoru Gojo?”

• Itadori with the wolf pack hunting down Mahito shown with a herd of rabbits. CHEF’s KISS!
• Toji anytime he was on screen, he was such a bad person and was written so well. Also, his fight when he took down Dogma when resurrected was ridiculously good.
• Geto and Gojo breaking up in front of KFC
• Choso’s 180 asking for Itadori to call him big brother after killing him a few episodes prior
• Mechamaru using all of his might before dying setting a plan up to keep his classmates from death in Shibuya and them going to Shibuya and getting wrecked in 0.5 seconds
• The transition of Itadori in the hospital with his grandpa to Sakuna on top of the decimated Shibuya district after the Jogo fight
• Megumi showing how unhinged like his dad he is with the “if I go, we BOTH GO” mentality and summoning the sacred treasure to defeat Sakuna
• Every background drawing was just so beautiful. Seeing the side-by-side comparisons of real places in Japan that the animators put into the show was awesome

Watch on Crunchyroll here! 🖤

🍿 Would I recommend this to a friend?

You need to watch this season it is almost flawless. Even if you do not like animation, if you like action entertainment this will be right up your alley. MAPPA announced that there will be a Season 3 coming out at some point, however, with all of the additional projects they are doing currently a release date for this hit has not been released yet. Fans eagerly await to see what the fate of Japan is at the end of this cliffhanger of a season.

If you have watched the season, please let me know what your favorite moments were in the comments below!