Jujutsu Kaisen

Episode 4

Jujutsu Kaisen is clearly not content to rest on its laurels. Granted, with anime series generally keeping to condensed episode counts these days, I figured that the show would be operating at a brisk pace. Still, “Curse Womb Must Die” jettisons our three heroes right out of the introductory arc and cranks the Danger Dial straight up to eleven in a way I wasn't quite expecting, even with last week's episode laying on the foreshadowing pretty thick. The titular curse womb has overtaken the Eishuu Juvenile Detention Center, and the worst-case scenario would result in the womb producing a “Special Grade” Curse that none of our three sorcerers-in-training are equipped to handle. The damage needs to be assessed and the womb needs to be secured, though, so our heroes are sent on a scouting mission, with the explicit warning to not get involved with whatever horrors await them, if they can help it.

Naturally, the worst-case scenario is exactly the situation that Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara find themselves in this episode, and just as the handler warned, the trio is not prepared for what they're about to encounter. What makes “Curse Womb Must Die” such a blast is how it exemplifies Jujutsu Kaisen's strong horror sensibilities, both tonally and aesthetically. The fact that the womb's Innate Domain has it looking like a level ripped straight out of a Silent Hill game is wonderful enough, and there's plenty of gory goodness to savor once the Special Grade Curse comes out to play. The production values have so far avoided the decline in quality that tends to pop up once you hit the fourth or fifth episode in a series, too. Let nobody say that Jujutsu Kaisen is lacking in atmosphere.

More than that, though, I appreciated how Jujutsu Kaisen is willing to feel horrific, in addition to looking the part. When Nobara is separated from the group, and Yuji is left to hold off this week's Curse while Megumi makes a hasty retreat, the tension is high, but I was really worried that this would be where Yuji dug deep into his Shonen Boy heart and pulled out some last-minute power-up that would prevent him from relying on Sukuna's power. Even after he gets an entire arm shredded off, I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when his remaining mangled hand started to glow with neon Jujutsu energy, I was convinced that we were going to get the big hero moment that would sap the episode of all the delicious, horrific dread it had been wallowing in up to that point.

To my delight, Jujutsu Kaisen surprised me by sticking to the rule that any good survival horror game knows is the key to selling the terror of a moment: No matter how strong your hero gets, the monsters need to be stronger. We already know that Yuji is himself a bit of a nerd for manga and anime, so it makes sense that he would really believe that the path to victory is paved with raw strength and limitless self-confidence. From the moment he swallowed that damned finger, though, everyone has been trying to tell him that a sorcerer's path is a doomed one. To switch gears with the video-game metaphors a little, Yuji has been successful enough to think that he's become Dante from Devil May Cry, but the life of a sorcerer might end up resembling something more akin to Dark Souls, and Yuji is not prepared to die.

This is still a Shonen Jump adaptation, though, so the Curse of the Week is going have its ass handed to it somehow, and while Yuji's hands are doing the derriere delivering, it's Sukuna that is in control, now. That's something I continue to love about Sukuna and Yuji's relationship: It grants him all of the ungodly power of an archetypal anime hero in his prime, but it's just as much of a worst-case scenario as getting his limbs ripped off by that Shellfish Cenobite-looking Curse. Sukuna has made no secret of his ultimate goals, which involve causing as much death and chaos as (in)humanly possible, and Yuji's new friends have landed a cozy spot right at the top of his Kill List. He handily dismantles the Curse, which makes for a badass bit of animation spectacle, but any victory for this demon is just one step closer to annihilation for Yuji.

This is how, at this point in the story, Jujutsu Kaisen can get away with tossing its inexperienced protagonists into a battle more befitting a season finale. There isn't any Curse out there that is going to be more dangerous than the prospect of Sukuna getting out into the world and indulging in all the wanton slaughter he's been promising. This week's cliffhanger does not have anything to do with Yuji losing the fight against the Special Grade Curse; rather, he seems to be losing the fight to take his own body back. For our remaining would-be sorcerers, that is the real worst-case scenario, and I bet watching it unfold is going to be a hell of a time.

Rating:

Odds and Ends

• One of these days, I will remember to check for post-credits scenes every single week, I promise. I missed out on a couple of little asides: Last week, we saw the gang get into an argument about the merits of conveyer belt sushi versus the traditional dining experience, and this week's skit sees the kids bantering with their handler about the everyday quirks of using cellphones. Cute stuff. I'll make sure to keep my eye out for more.

• Something I didn't like about this episode was how, after spending so much time establishing her new role on the team last week, Jujutsu Kaisen basically ignores Nobara here. Her fight against the lesser Curses happens mostly off-screen, and then Megumi shows up to rescue her and send her to get medical aid, which means she likely won't have much to do next week, either. Laaaaaame.

• We've now been given a handy reference list of the different Curse Grades, complete with convenient references for the kind of weaponry you can expect to rely on for any given encounter:

• Grade 4: “A Wooden Bat Is Enough”
• Grade 3: "If You Have A Handgun, You Can Rest Easy”
• Grade 2: "Close Call With A Shotgun
• Grade 1: “Even A Tank May Be Insufficient”
• Special Grade: “Even Footing With A Carpet of Cluster Bombs” [For Special Grade, “even footing” is meant as “equal footing”, and the handler notes that this only might be enough.]

Jujutsu Kaisen is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.