In the Summer of 2023, the anime community buzzed and bubbled with several anime, but one that stood tall amongst others was the second season of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime series. Apart from the fact that viewers had waited since the Fall of 2020 for this “Shonen masterpiece”, its stunning graphics, gripping action sequences, and massive gore made it worth the hype.

Just so you have a general notion of where things were before this anime came out, I'll give you a rundown. According to manga readers, this season of JJK is one of the greatest Shonen arcs of anime in recent times. The first of the two arcs that are narrated in this season is the five-episode Hidden Inventory arc, which I mentioned earlier.

The Shibuya Incident arc, which spans the last 18 episodes of the season and is widely regarded as "one of the finest arcs in modern Shonen anime," is the major attraction for most viewers (especially manga readers who are very enthusiastic about this season.)

Set in Gojo Satoru's time at Jujutsu High, the Hidden Inventory arc is divided between a slice-of-life narrative and an action/drama plot. It addresses questions that viewers have been asking since watching Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie and season one while still ending on a note of suspense. It also acts as a precursor to the entire Jujutsu Kaisen series.

Season Two | Summary & Recap

Hidden Inventory Arc | Into the Past

The narrative unfolds before the events of season one, in 2006 when third-year student Utahime Iori and sorcerer Mei Mei investigate a haunted house plagued by mysterious disappearances. Trapped within an endless hallway by a malevolent cursed spirit, their predicament takes a turn when second-year students Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, and Shoko Ieiri arrive on the scene. Gojo and Geto effortlessly dismantle the haunted building and exorcize the curse, earning them a rebuke from their homeroom teacher, Masamichi Yaga at Jujutsu High.

While Gojo and Geto compare and disagree on the dynamics between sorcerers, non-sorcerers, and means to rid the world of curses, they’re sent on a mission to protect Riko Amanai. She is the “Star Plasma Vessel” and must be saved from two non-sorcerer factions that intend to kill her in order prevent Master Tengen from assimilating her, in hopes that this would serve their respective interests.

The duo successfully navigates threats from Q, unravels the complex dynamics surrounding Riko's destiny, and faces the challenge posed by Toji Fushiguro. The story takes unexpected turns with the introduction of Riko's assimilation process, an enigmatic countdown, and a bounty on her head.

Hidden Inventory Arc | Gojo’s Power

Right at the end of their mission, an unexpected major confrontation arises between Gojo and Toji. During the fight, Toji's powerful skills are shown off, and in a shocking turn of events, Gojo is fatally injured and is close to death. Just as Riko is about to step into Master Tengen’s home, Toji kills her and almost kills Geto.

As proof of executing his part in the bargain, Toji takes Riko’s body to the Time Vessel Association and is shortly apprehended by Satoru Gojo. In the ensuing battle of wits, speed, cunning, and technique, Gojo deals Toji a deathly blow. But, before he dies, Toji asks Geto to help him look after his son, Megumi, who would soon be sold to the Zen’in clan.

After a year of solo missions and constant training, Gojo is deemed the strongest sorcerer, leaving Geto with enough alone time to contemplate his new thoughts on how to finally rid the world of curses. Seeing an opportunity to put his new ideals to the test, and to save two children accused of being witches, Geto annihilated an entire village, all members of the Star Religious Group, and his parents. He forges a new path for himself, putting him on the Jujutsu Society’s Wanted List.

Shibuya Incident Arc | Present Day Shibuya

Back to the present, Aoi Todo and Mei Mei propose Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, Maki, and Panda’s promotion to first-grade jujutsu sorcerer. Afterward, Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, and Utahime investigate who the traitor in Jujutsu High is, narrowing it down to Mechamaru. But, while Mechamaru is making a deal with Mahito and Geto, he turns heel and unveils Ultimate Mechamaru, aiming to exorcize Mahito and warn Gojo of Geto's Halloween plans in Shibuya. Both engage in a fierce battle, destroying their surroundings and almost killing Mahito by creating a simple domain inside Mahito’s Domain expansion. However, Mahito survives, kills Mechamaru, and reveals the curses' Shibuya plans.

On Halloween, a veil traps civilians in Shibuya, with some being sucked into the train station. Sorcerer teams strategically position themselves outside the veil as Gojo enters. He then confronts Jogo, Hanami, and Choso in the subway while Yuji, Mei Mei, and Ui Ui handle transfigured humans above ground. Yuji then fights and overpowers a grasshopper-cursed spirit controlling the veil. Below ground, Mahito suddenly disappears with some civilians.

In the subway, Jogo, Choso, and Hanami fight Gojo, but he soon overwhelms Hanami and kills him. In his despair, Jogo tries to escape but Mahito arrives with transfigured humans. To save the few humans around him, Gojo releases Infinite Void, eliminating the transfigured humans in a split second. Suddenly, Geto sets the Prison Realm, trapping Gojo, and reveals his true self. Using an earpiece he left behind, Mechamaru alerts Yuji, who informs other sorcerers about Gojo's predicament.

Shibuya Incident Arc | Trapped

With this new development, Mei Mei and Ui Ui stay to deal with cursed spirits, and the sorcerer teams split to handle the remaining veils in Shibuya. Yuji, Megumi, and Ino investigate the Shibuya Central Tower and the source of powerful veils protecting cursed spirits. Atop the tower, they confront three curse users, destroy one veil tool, and engage the curses in battle. Ino faces a grandmother and her grandson, who later transforms into Toji Zen'in, and defeats Ino brutally. Yuji and Megumi then go on to fight the user with an "Inverse" Cursed Technique, ultimately defeating him by alternating weak and strong attacks.

At another part of the station, Nanami discovers Ijichi injured and takes him to safety. Yuji and Megumi then destroy the veil trapping sorcerers but can't break the ones holding Gojo and the civilians. Shortly after Ino is rescued after being dropped from the Central Tower, Toji kills him. Subsequently, Nobara and Akari face Haruta who outsmarts and defeats them, but Nanami intervenes and beats him to a pulp. In the subway, Mei Mei and Ui Ui encounter Pseudo-Geto and a Smallpox Deity cursed spirit, who engaged them and proved to be quite the worthy opponent.

Shibuya Incident Arc | Curse Battles

During his search for Gojo, Yuji encounters Choso who is still seeking revenge for his brothers. In the fight that ensues, Choso almost kills Yuji, but with Mechamaru’s advice, he can score some hits to injure Choso. After Choso pierces Yuji's liver, some faint memories of brotherly bonding overwhelm him, and he wanders away, preventing him from finishing Yuji off.

Back to Mei Mei, she battles the Smallpox Deity cursed spirit, narrowly escaping its attacks. Using Ui Ui as a distraction, she defeats the curse and prepares to fight Pseudo-Geto. Nanami, Maki, and Naobito encounter Dagon, a powerful curse evolving from a curse womb. Naobito uses Projection Sorcery, but Dagon activates his Domain Expansion, consuming Nanami and Naobito. Maki survives. Megumi makes an exit in Dagon's domain expansion, but before they can get out, Toji jumps in, startling and stopping them in their tracks.

Toji quickly overwhelms Dagon, killing him and breaking the Domain. Megumi, thrown out, faces Toji, after which Jogo appears and incinerates Nanami, Maki, and Naobito effortlessly, as they’re all fatigued already. He then goes to feed Yuji ten of Sukuna’s fingers, awakening the King of curses. Sukuna kills the Hasaba sisters and offers Jogo a chance to land a hit if he desires assistance.

Shibuya Incident Arc | Megumi’s Power

In the intense battle between Megumi and Toji, Megumi struggles against Toji's overwhelming power and speed. As they nearly land fatal hits on each other, Toji recalls the past when he sold Megumi to the Zen'ins. After learning Megumi's name, Toji kills himself. Haruta sneaks up on and attacks Megumi, nearly killing him.

Megumi unveils his ultimate shikigami, Mahoraga, and falls unconscious. Haruta is saved by Sukuna who just killed Jogo, who recognizes Mahoraga's power. A fierce battle ensues across Shibuya, with Sukuna using his Domain Expansion to obliterate everything, including Mahoraga and Haruta.

Sukuna, nearing his time limit, takes the unconscious Megumi for healing. Returning, Yuji witnesses the devastation, blaming himself for the casualties caused by Sukuna. Traumatized, he is unaware of Nanami, half-burned, wandering the subway.

Shibuya Incident Arc | Yuji’s Responsibility

Nanami confronts transfigured humans, fighting them with his remaining strength. Mahito appears, ready to use Idle Transfiguration on Nanami. In a moment of reflection, Nanami points Yuji towards his responsibility and succumbs to his fate. Enraged, Yuji faces Mahito, exchanging intense blows throughout the subway.

Meanwhile, Nobara re-enters the veil, refusing to stay back. She encounters Mahito’s clone and uses her technique to damage both the double and the main body. Yuji, rejuvenated, pounds away at Mahito. Mahito and his double lure his opponents into a hallway, allowing the real Mahito to catch Nobara off guard and kill her.

Devastated by Nobara's apparent death, Yuji falls into shock, haunted by memories of the people he couldn't save in Shibuya. Mahito takes advantage, intensifying his attack. He even executes a "Black Flash," an incredibly powerful and rare technique. Todo arrives, rescuing Yuji and giving him a pep talk to reignite his motivation, while Arata Nitta heals their injuries and attempts to revive Nobara.

Shibuya Incident Arc | Todo's Return

Todo engages Mahito in battle, and Yuji joins with renewed determination, while the Kyoto students head to Shibuya to help their comrades. In the battle against Mahito, Todo's cursed technique, combined with Nobara's earlier intervention, proves challenging for Mahito, so he scatters transfigured humans all over, throwing his opponents off his radar.

Amidst the chaos, Todo and Yuji continue the fight. Copying Gojo’s split-second domain expansion, Mahito activates a swift Domain Expansion, avoiding Sukuna's retaliation. Todo sacrifices his hand to counter the transfiguration, creating an opportunity for Yuji's Black Flash. However, Mahito reveals his evolved and pure form. Undaunted, Yuji readies and hits him with consecutive Black Flashes.

As Yuji and Todo corner Mahito, he attempts to escape, but Pseudo-Geto intervenes, offering to save him. After incapacitating Yuji, Pseudo-Geto absorbs and consumes Mahito, obtaining his Cursed Technique. The Kyoto students arrive but are stopped in their tracks. Choso confronts Pseudo-Geto, revealing his identity as Noritoshi Kamo, a sorcerer from the Zen’in family who went rogue over a hundred years ago.

In the final episode of Jujutsu Kaisen’s second season, Noritoshi (Pseudo-Geto) activates the curse he’s put on some marked curse users all around the country, which includes Megumi’s sister. As the entire country was thrown into shock about the Shibuya incident, the government considered going public about curses and Jujutsu sorcerers known to the public. However, the Jujutsu Tech higher-ups blamed Satoru Gojo for the Shibuya incident and prohibited any and all actions to retrieve him. They also sentenced Itadori and Principal Yaga to death.

Season 2 | Analysis & Review

Art & Animation | 8/10

The technical aspects of this season's animation have received a lot of attention, and rightfully so. However, there were a couple of episodes halfway into the season where it became clear that the poor treatment that animators received at MAPPA was affecting the production.

The animation has been top-notch, if not better than Season 1, in almost every episode, as expected from MAPPA, who is notoriously immaculate in that aspect. There have also been enhancements to the art style, which now has characters who stand out from the crowd owing to their unique characteristics. This serves to effectively establish the tone for the majority of episodes and also helps the characters portray certain moods and moments, irrespective of how dark, gloomy, funny, or light it is.

Story | 6/10

There is a TON to unpack in terms of the story. To begin with, the Hidden Inventory arc was fantastic. The dynamic between Gojo and Geto, who are buddies with an almost fraternal closeness, enabled them to brilliantly steal the show in the arc.

In addition to being a welcome addition to an already stellar ensemble, Riko Amanai—the new character in this arc—brought a lot of personality to the table while also catalyzing the events of season one and the subsequent arc. Rather than coming across as forced, her manipulation of Geto and Gojo's dynamics deepens their relationships and leaves an impression on their lives before the arc ends in tragedy.

Secondly, the Hidden Inventory arc delves deep into Gojo and Geto's character development. It finally let me empathize with Geto and understand how he became the person he was in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, while Gojo grapples with the turmoil he feels for Geto. Their friendship broke up because of what happened in this arc, and it was sad to see them go their separate ways.

Geto's eventual descent into villainy, as we witnessed in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, made me reflect on how the movie and some parts of Season 1 finally made sense. Since I am not a manga reader, it may not be too much of an exaggeration to state that the Hidden Inventory arc is the finest arc that JJK has had thus far.

My feelings toward the Shibuya Incident arc, the second storyline of season two, ranges from neutral to none. From a technical standpoint, nearly all of what was discovered is in line with those from the Hidden Inventory arc. I believe there are flaws with the storyline. The Shibuya Incident arc deserves a lot of credit for successfully building up to breathtaking incidents and creating a lot of buzz.

But, it all falls flat when the plot is just shock value (more like saying "It's all bark and little bite") and pretty pictures of characters fighting until one of them gets knocked down for some reason. This is usually in some ridiculous fashion, like using trump card or having characters use unknown or developed-in-the-moment techniques.

Secondly, while there are some disturbing parts to this current arc, the emotional connection/interest in the story is lacking at some points. As an example, I had a brief moment of shock after which I became indifferent when a beloved mentor character from season one passed away in the second part of the arc. We already knew in season one that Hanami was a formidable foe, but I feel like we should have spent more time with him before killing them. Maybe I'm wrong, but opinions are usually based on perspective, which isn't always the same with everyone.

On a final note, the final episode ushered in another arc, with Jujutsu High reaching some rather brash judgments that made absolutely no sense to me. Yuta Okkotsu’s immediate acceptance to become Itadori’s executioner is still a mystery, especially because the reason he gave wasn’t exactly germane, but what do I know? Guess we’ll have to see what the next season comes up with.

Characters | 4/10

One thing that is common in this entire season is the fact that most characters died, or were maimed in one way or the other. There were a few exceptions like Mei Mei, Ui Ui, Suguru Geto, and some of the other unnamed characters tasked with patrolling the veil outside, and the students from the Kyoto school, but no one REALLY escapes unscathed.

However, speaking strictly on character development, we finally get to understand the motives and rationale behind Geto’s actions in season one and the movie. We also discover that the Geto in seasons one and two is a rogue sorcerer from the Zen’in family. While the backstories for each character helped understand them better, it didn’t exactly help in garnering the likeness or emotional attraction towards them.

The one character that got significant but still slightly disappointing development is Itadori! The dude got fed ten more of Sukuna’s fingers, and even after that, was still unable to single-handedly beat Mahito. So much so that he had to watch Mahito kill Nanami and Nobara. Sometimes I feel that moment was dragged along so Aoi Todo could come and get all “mai besto-friendo” over him. It also begs the question of why his abilities don't even reflect the power that is in him thanks to Sukuna.

Let’s talk about Mei Mei. I understand that she’s all in for the money. However, seeing the situation and how direly her help was needed, seeing her become so selfish that she even sought to make huge profits from the disaster that struck Shibuya is more than selfish. It was callous and can’t be seen as an honorable feat.

This arc had more deaths and maiming than all other arcs in the entire Jujutsu Kaisen anime series combined. There was so much that the minute there was any character development, it was lost in the reverie of all that action and bloodshed. However, Mahito’s evolution into his purest form is still the most iconic and memorable development anyone could hint at in the later arc of this second season. It made me fear for Itadori’s survival.

Mahito proved to be the Ryota Kise of Jujutsu Kaisen in his ability to quickly copy and use Satoru Gojo’s split-second domain expansion. His sinister and playful personality yet formidable skills make him quite interesting. He definitely earns his place as a fan favorite character.

Sound | 8/10

Season two of Jujutsu Kaisen packs a strong auditory impact. The sound design is detailed and captivating, capturing everything from the eerie squelch of cursed spirits to the intense impacts of hand-to-hand combat. The soundtrack impressively blends heart-pounding rock music with haunting typical Japanese tunes that perfectly complement the dramatic weight of each scene.

Overall Score | 6/10

Watching anime with an analytical mind and with the mind of a regular viewer are two different things. It’s just like the differences in how a food critic would taste the food versus a hungry consumer. While a food critic savors not only the taste, but the process, time, and care that goes into making food, the hungry consumer mostly intends to fill his stomach, savor the taste and aroma, and walk out.

As a regular viewer, I would say that next to Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the best anime I enjoyed watching this year. Watching this season gripped me in some moments, especially in the combat scenes. Based on the fights alone, I’d recommend it as one of the best Shonen anime out there.

But, from a more analytical standpoint, I would say it’s just below average, and not so deserving of the 8.85/10 rating it’s got on MyAnimeList.