Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Movie Review

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 released into American theaters on March 18. The long-awaited movie is a prequel to Jujutsu Kaisen, an anime in which students at Jujutsu Tech fight off cursed spirits that are a danger to society. 

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 follows the story of Yuta Okkotsu, a character who is briefly mentioned throughout the anime. Yuta Okkotsu is a regular high school student who experienced trauma at an early age by seeing his best friend, Rika Oriomoto, die. After her death, she turned into a cursed spirit and attached herself to Yuta. The story follows Yuta as he tries to release Rika from being a cursed spirit and attaching herself to him. 

The movie itself contained captivating animation. The animation studio, MAPPA, is behind recent popular anime such as Attack on Titan and the upcoming Chainsaw Man. Just by watching any scene from the entire movie, it is evident that MAPPA put a lot of effort into animating the story beautifully. 

On top of that, the storyline is also enthralling. As Yuta faces struggles with trying to free Rika, he also experiences friendship and love—something that he had not experienced since Rika’s death. He learns that the bond of love is the strongest attachment one can face. Recurring themes such as love and friendship are very prominent in the movie.

Characters from the original anime are also included in the movie. Toge Inumaki, Maki Zenin, Panda, Gojo Satoru, and more are major characters both in the anime and the movie, bringing a sense of familiarity into the movie.