Movies
Jujutsu Kaisen Execution: unearthing trauma, awaiting redemption
Between trauma, action, and anticipation, this recap revisits what happened two years ago and guides us toward the Execution arc.
The days when watching anime in the cinema was a rare occurrence are becoming a thing of the past. Jujutsu Kaisen has managed to release two “films” in the same year. I put “films” in quotation marks because Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is not a film like the recent Kimetsu No Yaiba: Mugen Castle or Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, but rather has two clear objectives that are different from those of the other two films.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is divided into two parts, with a summary of the second half of season 2 covering the Shibuya Incident arc, while quickly showing us the first two episodes of season 3, which covers the Execution arc and the beginning of Culling Game, all with a duration of an hour and a half.
Recalling one of the most traumatic moments in anime
The Shibuya Incident Arc is one of the strongest and most traumatic arcs in the history of Gege Akutami, as well as in anime and manga (it’s even in our top 25 best arcs). The summary is quick and concise, condensing 18 episodes into about 40 minutes. Parts of this section are accompanied by the season’s intro and outro (Specialz by King Gnu and More Than Words by Hitsujibungaku), bringing back to mind those traumas that formed almost two years ago.
That said, this part is really designed to refresh our memory, so it’s more useful for those who have already seen the anime than for those who want a quick summary of what happened to catch up. It doesn’t stop to explain the complex lore of this universe. In the end, it is one of the most important arcs in the franchise, where much of what has been built takes a turn that completely shapes the characters, especially Yuji Itadori. The only criticism is that those combat scenes that at the time showed the chiaroscuro in which Mappa lived back then remain the same. There was no intention to retouch them from how they originally looked, maintaining the same quality. Although this was not even a large part of the season, these stumbles become much more noticeable when viewed on the big screen.
A glimpse into the future
While the summary of the Shibuya Incident is fascinating, the real hook is getting a glimpse of what awaits us at the start of the next season. Here we see Yuta Okkotsu again, whom we met in the movie Jujutsu Kaisen 0. From what we can see, without giving away any spoilers, the animation quality remains high. The pace may change, as we don’t know exactly how much may have been cut from this section and what we’ll see once it premieres in the next anime season. Here, the suffering doesn’t lie in what we saw, but in the thought that we have to wait until January to see this beginning again. That’s where the torture lies.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution fulfills its purpose: to give us a quick reminder of everything that happened two years ago during the Shibuya Incident, while also giving us a taste of what’s to come in season 3. While the edit manages to pull off a miracle, fitting all of this into about an hour and a half, there are aspects that fall short, such as an improvement in the scenes. An experience that becomes exclusive only for those who want the express reminder, but also to torture themselves once again with one of the most painful moments in anime.
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