JJK Season 2 Review

 

Credit — https://wallpapers.com/jujutsu-kaisen

The Hidden Inventory Arc was a setup for the friendship of Geto and Gojo and how they would soon become enemies. This arc was a way to get a deeper look into how Gojo gained his strongest power, which would come into play within the first season and later in Season 2. The second season was split up into two arcs which are Hidden Inventory, and the Shibuya, which Season 1 had been setting up to, mainly with what the villains were planning. The setup for Season 1 was done well, causing suspense for Season 2.

The character development between Gojo and Geto was something I loved about the first arc of season 1 and the slow decline of how Geto became what he was like in season 1. It does this by adding to the worldbuilding and shedding light on the less pleasant parts of the Jutjutsu-Sorcerer-Life and how people can see this and decide to go down a dark path. Geto reminded me very much of Anakin in the way that he saw that within the world and the role he took. He started to see, how curses were treated, and began to hate this aspect of the world, making him passionate about killing non-sorcerers, to in his opinion make the world better, no matter the cretily he took.

Geto, later in the season, was soon revealed to be taken over by an ancient sorcerer, who causes pain to not only Choso and his brothers but is also seen as one of the most dangerous sorcerers of all time. This was a major twist that I did not see coming and even though it was clear that Geto was being controlled it just made the twist feel shoved in like to add a major and strong enemy. I will look forward to seeing, how Season 3 expands on this element. I can kinda forgive this aspect since it not only adds so much more tension to the story, but it adds so many questions as to how a strong foe like this lived for so long before Geto.

Shibuya was a huge part of the setup of the villain’s plans, near the end of Season 1 and even at the beginning being lightly hinted at. The setup within Season 2 was to show the mindset behind Geto and how this could manifest in the villain that is seen in later Season 2. The fact that Geto’s Body was taken over is a mystery until the middle half of Season 2. So, with that fact aside, until the second part, it made me think, as to how Geto becoming evil played in the change in his personality and added many reasons, as to why he was so friendly with the curses within his gang. The mystery of Sukanas Finger had taken a slight backseat for a moment, so it was a matter of when this would come back into play.

The Animation within this season was among the best I had seen among the anime I had watched, matched to Fruits Basket. The fights were quick-paced, and the impact was felt with the pacing the show had set up. Frames were fast and chaotic, making each fight impactful and artistic. One downside however to be noted because the animators over at Mappa had been rushed to animate not only season 2 of JJK but also JJK 0 and this was seen in some frames due to how quickly the animation was it was hard to make out what was going on and this was seen in both the Mahoraga and Jogo fights.

There were three characters that died in this season of high note, being Nanami, Nobara and Mahito. Nobara was a person I found interesting in her treatment and the buildup leading to her death, and there has been much debate within the JJK fandom as to whether her death was done well or whether it was just used as a plot device. Compared to Nanami, who had a lovely representation and contrast between his dream and the reality within his scene and Season 1, showing how he worked hard just to go on holiday and get away to Malaysia for a day. His death made sense to his character, however Nobara lacked that buildup to make her death justified.

There is such a lack of strong female representation in Shounen as there is in Shoujo and JJK was seen to maybe change that with Nobara, however, to me, while watching the first and part of the second season, did very well of fleshing her out and making her a character instead of eye candy. This was changed however, when she was killed off, with no buildup or reasons for it, apart from Yuji’s character, in which there lies the problem of the female character dying to help the male protagonist and to add to his trauma. This would have been fine if there was a hint or buildup towards this outcome.

Overall this season was one of the best I’ve seen in anime, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have any major flaws, that not only showed how rushed the animators under Mappa were, but also the treatment of female characters within the shounen genre as a whole. The highlight was seeing the progression of characters such as Yuji, Nanami, and Geto within the first and second arcs of the season. Yuji has now grown to become more cynical in his role and I’m excited to read and watch how this character is challenged and resolves his issues in Season 3.