Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 1440 |
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What's weird here is that I've yet to see James, or really anyone, claim that these episodes have ruined the show or even been particularly bad. At most, James has said they're pretty simple and underwhelming compared to the amount of hype this arc receives online. That's a pretty mild criticism all-told, yet from how some are responding you'd think he had given up on JJK altogether.
Like, I don't know what to tell y'all except that even the best battle shonen sometimes have some stretches of less than stellar episodes. Or they'll have a fight that's not as fun or interesting as ones before and after. Sometimes they introduce a new character who gets significant screen time but isn't all that interesting. Acting like James - or anyone else who isn't all that impressed with this stretch of episodes - are somehow incompatible with the genre is just silly and overly defensive. |
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tintor2
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Yeah even what does Toji have to add to his character. He already showed up a lot in the flashback and his second round with Gojo was quite awesome. He even had a tsundere death when asking Gojo to look after Megumi. Maybe it's not like the Demon who killed Rengoku in Demon Slayer as he has a really long backstory. Still, about the real Geto. Akutami said he based him on Shinobu Sensui from YuYu Hakusho while the fake one is kinda based on Orochimaru from Naruto which really makes sense based on their contrasting personalities. |
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Nagsura
Posts: 66 |
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While I agree that if they were to spend too much time developing these no-name bozos into more fleshed out characters we'd end up with a One Piece problem (a series that loves to waste time on non-important shit), spending this long on them also feels a tad-bit counterintuitive, ruining a bit of the anticipation towards the fights that one *does* want to see (against Volcano and Mahito mostly). That said, I'd rather the latter than the former.
My biggest concern though is how Takuma got completely bitchslapped and is now probably dead after getting barely any fleshing out. Gives me the impression this is like Jigokuraku - where most side characters receive a tiny little bit of backstory or development just for them to die right after - which is usually a lazy writing excuse used for shock value. Guess we'll see next week just how accurate that impressions ir or isn't, but with how many other side characters got barely introduced earlier as partners to the already-established cast, my concern is palpable.
I can kinda see the Sensui similarity now that you've brought it up, which is kinda interesting, though I agree more with whoever first compared Geto's ambitions to Hao's. As for BrainCurse being based on Orochimaru, that's also not surprising now that I think of it. Kinda fits pretty well so far on a surface level. |
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Allison Addams
 Posts: 120 |
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But he died some time before they started attacking Shibuya. It wasn't on the day of the attack. |
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Stelman257
Posts: 303 |
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Yeah honestly, for me now that I’ve been hit with that hype backlash, shame as that may be, I’m able to readjust my expectations now that I’m absolutely no longer waiting or expecting this arc to blow me away or anything like the manga fans online were hyping it up to. I’m gonna have a much better time just enjoying the show for the silliness it is like I did back in the earlier, rougher, episodes of S1. Will defs be a more enjoyable experience, hell even stuff like Beanie dude actually getting screentime for some reason is hilarious as hell. |
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Sekaro
Posts: 385 |
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I don't get why it's "hilarious" to see & question why Ino AKA Beanie Dude is getting a bit more screentime. He's not some random character who we are seeing for the first time so it doesn't warrant the same complaint of "characters who we've never seen before getting focus for some reason". He has a known presence in the show & even appeared in the movie albeit he's always played a very minor role. Now, we are finally getting a proper introduction for who he is, what he does, his motivations & of course a power showcase. And it was all settled in like half an episode. It didn't seem dragged out or unnecessary as what most people are clamoring to be the case. |
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 1174 |
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I quite frankly don't get this, unless we get more context on Geto later on his comparison to Sensui makes no sense. Sensui's and Geto's plans are totally opposed, unless of course the idea was to take Sensui and turn him around. Geto felt disillusioned of humans and wanted to create a world of only Jujitsu's... wich its the same plan as Hao Asakura word by word. Of course, Hao had a better backstory, motivation, power and opportunity, I mean, who wouldn't want to wipe out humanity after passing so much time surrounded by politicians? |
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Stelman257
Posts: 303 |
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He is whacky goofy Beanie man and in the English dub they just double cast Lucien Dodge as him because he’s had maybe 4 lines across the whole series so far, even though Mahito has such a huge presence and has been a major recurring villain. I think Lucien Dodge has more dialogue as his random background characters in Konosuba or something. I think it’s hilarious as hell that he’s actually getting screentime, one of the funniest decisions the manga/show could’ve made at this point of its story arc. I know shounens do this a lot, I loved seeing people meme on Zeno Robinson because of how long he waited for his Demon Slayer character to say more than 2 lines, but it never stops being funny. |
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malvarez1
Posts: 2030 |
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I mean…it happens. I don’t think it’s even a Shonen thing. Sometimes you simply introduce a character who doesn’t get to do much until down the road. Heck, it’s less noticeable in the manga because there wasn’t a years long break between arcs(and no prequel movie either).
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jdnation
Posts: 2085 |
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Fun episode!
I feel this arc so far is going well overall. We are shown Yuji and co's development, thinking processes and ability to work and coordinate together as a team. We are also getting more insight into the crazy twisted world of sorcerers, curse users and higher level clan politics at work. The prequel episodes events grow in importance and relevance. JJK has a writer's convenience where explaining your technique powers it up in so far as the world's sorcery rules reward risk taking and I think that it is smartly and logically utilized. From crazy knife man's inverse ability, to strengthening the veil when outside it. I recall this was also consistent when Nanami was caught in Patchface's domain but Yuji was able to break in because it is more vulnerable outside it, and typically it's a suicidal move to want to go inside an enemy domain. So veils run on a similar application. Same for Toji's summoning. It makes sense that the dead can still be manifested, contracted and utilized. We see this applicable: a) Yuta's contract with his beloved in 0. b) Mechamaru's 'return' via an OS medium. c) Geto is still inside his body somewhere. Megumi and the audience are shown and have to figure out the opponent's abilities. This is smartly done. Megumi susses the guy out by mentioning Gojo. We see a natural deductive reasoning where Megumi notes he only injures him when he was out of synch with Yuji and only grazed his opponent, and when a fluffy bunny slightly hit him making him cautious. Given both he and the old woman know what it is like to even attempt to fight Gojo, they have a motivation for being there and undoubtedly would try to use Toji as he was the only guy who came close to taking out Gojo, so it isn't random that they'd use him as a trump card. The veil needs to remain until Gojo is guaranteed to be sealed, returning to them the corrupt freedom they craved. I get that these fights don't involve personal animosities between the direct combatants. But there is still a lot going on. Only the locust dude was the only guy who just happened to be there but it does thematically highlight how low level curses can work together with humans and maybe there is as way to rationalize with them despite their nature and coexist. So there is a lot to think about, alongside the action and spectacle. The pacing is also great and these 25 mins flew by! So I'm not in line with the reviewer on this one. This episode only demonstrates to me that JJK is far above your average shonen. I haven't really been caught up in any hype cycle other than knowing that many manga fans are looking forward to this. So far it's been fun and even great at moments, but never a bad time, except for some over stylized comedy bits that I don't dig, and having to wait a week for the next ep as I would've loved to binge this! But I'm already on board the Shibuya line and I can't get out now! Anyway, I predict that Nanami's protege and his cool Earth/Water Avatar powers is still alive and won't bite it just yet. Glasses-guy who got stabbed most likely is alongside the other support members by blond ponytail McStabby guy, and I suspect that Nanami will be the one to poetically cut him up. Patchface will encounter Yuji. Blood bro will fight Nobara/Maki. Megumi will confront Toji's possessor. Volcano head will face Panda. As for who'll face Geto/Krang and that crab looking thing? My guess is a team of the faculty. |
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 1174 |
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Most probably, this was the best episode of the season, ultimately, JJK its a horror action series, this episode had a lot of terror like scenes, the series improves a lot without Gojo running around being "lol so funny".
...However, I realized something funny... I am starting to cheer for the villains. Every good guy here looks bored hell of being there and the only one with something personal going on was Itadori, I think the author realized this and that's why we have now Megumi's dad back and Mr. Salariman friend dead. However, the villains do look like they want to be there, have more than one facial expression and ALL of them have personal involvement, even if said involvement its stabbing people. Hell, they are even the ones with a time limit since they have to do whatever they are trying to do before Gojo scapes. |
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Everlasting Coconut
 Posts: 315 |
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Liked the episode where they had to figure out the old guy's inverse technique. Typical shounen stuff, but solid stuff nonetheless. Plus Megumi's power is really fun, dropping pink elephants on people and whatnot.
Didn't really like the latest one where Nobara jobbed against a nobody so that Nanami could "shine." It also bothers me that he didn't check if the ponytail guy who survived two of his punches actually died the third time around. Come on, he seems smarter than that Idk how I feel about Toji coming back. My main concern is how or if this will be relevant to Megumi, but it's nice to see Geto's speech about the body being the soul coming back this way |
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jdnation
Posts: 2085 |
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JJK knows how to bring it when it comes to style! Lots of little references I feel, with Leatherface for the guy in the woods, the scene of the daughter killing the father felt like something Satoshi Kon would do, the handy sword like Adams Family's Thing, and today we got Nanami going all Schwarzenegger! The linework and shading was *chef's kiss.*
Lots of implications regarding Toji's return. There is a lot of emphasis on body identification from Yuji's overweight classmate to Mechamaru, and even a potential Geto return as it looks like anyone with an awesome bod and a close connection between body and soul can be revitilized. This also ties in with Sukuna using Yuji as his vessel and needing all his fingers to regain full strength. And does this mean Tengen's vessels also undergo similar assimilation? If so, then maybe Riko can be revived? This probably explains why sorcerer's bodies need to be carefully disposed of, but it seems that phenomenon such as Geto's presence, and Toji's return via body alone are unprecedented and new developments to everyone involved. I wonder if Toji will be the one to face Krang Geto, as he likely never accounted for Toji ever showing up, so Toji's appearence is a wild card. Also Ui Ui is a bit sus. I doubt Mei would actually bring an actual kid along to situations like this. I suspect he's not actually human, but some crow spirit. If grasshopper curses exist, then there is likely a crow cursed spirit and her ability lets her charm, control or contract with it, and it's an oni-chan in human form. |
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Gnarth
Posts: 175 |
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I'm never a fan of bringing back dead characters, but I am absolutely a fan of Toji smashing the annoying granny's head, as well as Mei Mei mercilessly killing that random guy. Would've liked Nobara to hold her own a little more, but GigaChad Nanami was totally worth it. The blonde guy had already been estabilshed, which made the fight more enjoyable than the one in the previous episode, and we already knew he's an idiot so when he wastes time it feels a tiny bit less like plot armour. Really good episode this time.
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NeverConvex
 Subscriber Posts: 2486 |
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This is one of the rare circumstances where I'm actually fond of reviving a dead character. Toji's death was never really primarily about Toji, so I don't feel like I've been cheated out of pathos; instead, we've moved from a world where Gojo was the only force that could stop him (and even him only with cheating death in a way I did think was cheap and emotion-draining) to a world where Gojo's gone. It gives the sense of the world's imminent decline greater weight for me, especially after the unfortunate Geto reveal.
Think this was by a significant margin the best episode since we returned from the past. EDIT: The show really does like to juggle a wide cast of bad guys, though, eh? Even disregarding all the two-bit shounen jobbers brought in lately, even among the "main bad guys" we've got at least three quite distinct factions, in Geto/brain-Geto, Toji, and Sukuna. Speaking of, man, it's been forever since we've seen or heard anything from Sukuna; narratively speaking it feels like he's been forgotten. |
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