Jujutsu Kaisen (Episode 2) - For Myself

Moments after Fushiguro told Itadori that he would need to be executed, another Jujutsu sorcerer appeared – Satoru Gojou. He seemed somewhat impressed that Itadori could control Sukuna and asked for a demonstration!

What happened?

Gojou asked Itadori to release Sukuna for ten seconds. Itadori was worried that he would hurt someone, but Gojou did not share his concern. Sukuna attacked the instance he was released. It was to no avail. Every move he made, Gojou made one faster, blocking, dodging, striking. It was pretty clear that Sukuna was outmatched. Then after ten seconds, Itadori regained control.

After the excitement had passed, Gojou tapped Itadori on the forehead with two fingers, knocking him out. He caught his body and slung him over his shoulder. Fushiguro asked that he do whatever he could to make it so that Itadori wouldn’t need to be executed. For his student, Gojou said he would do everything he could.

When Itadori regained consciousness, he found himself in a small room surrounded by prays and candles. Gojou sat opposite him and told him that he was still going to be executed. He had, however, managed to negotiate a potential suspended sentence. There was no guarantee that another body that could hold Sukuna would ever be born again. They couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Itadori had eaten one of Sukuna’s fingers. The Jujutsu sorcerers have six, while there are twenty in total. If Itadori eats all the fingers, Sukuna will be bound to his body. Then, when Itadori dies, Sukuna will die permanently. Hence the suspended sentence, He could live as long as it took them to find all of the fingers.

Before making a decision, Itadori saw off his grandfather. It was his grandfather that had given him the strength to step up then and he needed that now. Itadori agreed to help them find Sukuna’s fingers. Gojou tossed him another and watched as he swallowed it. Sukuna tried to take over again, but it was only for a moment.

Gojou took Itadori to the Jujutsu school on the outskirts of Tokyo where he had to convince the principal that he deserved to be there. That involved telling him why he wanted to learn Jujutsu while fighting a cursed doll! Finally, Itadori told him that containing Sukuna was something that only he could do. That meant that he couldn’t sit back and absolve himself of the things that happen.

He was granted admission to the school and shown to his room, next door to Fushiguro, much to Fushiguro’s annoyance. There was just one more first-year student to arrive, so they headed off to the station to meet her.

Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 2 Sukuna Ryomen tries to take over again

What did you think?

Once more we were treated to some pretty exciting action, even if it was just Gojou showing off. I like that we now know what Itadori’s goal is and how this will drive the story forward. There’s obviously room for it to swerve and twist, but it’s nice to have something to focus on. Otherwise, it was all pretty much standard shounen tropes.

Of course, we’re going to a magical school and the principal is a maniac. Itadori had to prove his worth to be there, but it was never in any doubt. Then, we have the constant back and forth between the darker ideas and visuals and the lighthearted and comedic stuff. I’m already feeling the whiplash so I hope it focuses more on the darker side of things. That’s definitely what I want from the series.

Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 2 Nobara Kugisaki

What have you learnt?

As this is a shounen series, we can expect it to follow the heroes journey which is a well-known storytelling method. To begin with, we saw Itadori in his natural environment, switching between school and the hospital. There was a change which was the curses attacking his friends. That was the point that he had to make a decision that would change his life for good.

He chose to fight and as a result faces execution. Tough break. But worry not, he now has a mentor figure in Gojou. This is troubling news for Gojou as the red flag has been placed on his back. Now, Itadori is at the Jujutsu school which is him stepping into the new world. So based on what’s happened so far, I can see the next couple of episodes putting Itadori through some challenges and temptations. It could be a montage, but I get the feeling we’re going to spend more time seeing the true horror of fighting curses.