The following contains spoilers for JUJUTSU KAISEN 0

With news brewing about the upcoming second season of the MAPPA-produced dark fantasy Shonen anime, JUJUTSU KAISEN, the upcoming streaming platform release of the franchise's movie, JUJUTSU KAISEN 0, comes at an opportune moment after the film's successful release in Japan and worldwide.

Featuring a character only mentioned in the main series, Yuta Okkotsu, JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 serves as a prequel to the events of the main series, and it is set only about a year prior to the events of JUJUTSU KAISEN. Here is the full run-down on the film ahead of its release on the Crunchyroll streaming platform.

RELATED: Crunchyroll To Start Streaming Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Psycho-Pass Movies & More Starting This Month

Plot

Yuta Okkotsu and his classmates

Yuta Okkotsu is a timid high school student who is traumatized not only from the bullying he experiences, but because he suffers from a deeply twisted curse. His deceased childhood friend, Rika Orimoto, died when they were younger in a tragic traffic accident, and upon her death, Rika attached herself to Yuta in full observance of their promise to be together forever. Now Rika is a Special Grade curse who has possessed Yuta, and is prone to lashing out violently towards anyone who threatens him.

One of the worst incidents occurred when four students were stuffed in a locker. Possessed by a supernatural entity that is in the same league as Ryoumen Sukuna, Yuta is captured by the Jujutsu authorities and set to be executed until Satoru Gojo intervenes. Yuta, ready to accept death due to the incredible strain the curse has placed on his life, sets out to learn more about the world of curses, with the promise of being able to one day exorcise Rika and live a normal life again. However, deep in the shadows lurks a radical who is planning to unleash pandemonium upon the world and rid it of all non-sorcerers – for good.

Themes

JUJUTSU-KAISEN-0-–-Queen-of-Curses-Orimoto-Rika

JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 is ultimately about Yuta's personal journey with grief, and how this grief culminated in a curse that affected his whole life, prompting his isolated, loner lifestyle. Through familiar shonen themes of friendship, triumph over evil and the senseless injustice in the world, JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 presents the grief of its main character and antagonist, juxtaposing two very different, yet very similar experiences. Destiny also forms part of the thematic fabric in JUJUTSU KAISEN 0; particularly in one of the standout themes in the film –the juxtaposition of the series powerhouse Satoru Gojo and his best friend-turned enemy Suguru Geto – who aims to rid the world of non-sorcerers.

This depraved desire for genocide stems from Suguru's own grief and anger at the world's apparent unfairness, and the "lies" fed to him regarding the role of the strong in relation to the weak. Believing sorcerers to be the true humanity, Suguru's path towards creating the utopia he envisions includes the abandonment of his humanity through the consumption of curses, amassing an army so that come Christmas Eve, he may envelop Shibuya and Kyoto in a sea of blood and curses. The climactic event in the film is referred to by Suguru as the "Hyakki Yakou" – "The Night Parade of a Thousand Demons", a direct reference to the idiom stemming from Japanese folklore.

RELATED: Jujutsu Kaisen: Gojo Satoru’s Most Powerful Abilities, Ranked

The idiom refers to either an orderly procession, or an outright riot or parade of thousands of demons and supernatural entities that fill Japanese streets at night. It is comparable to the English concept of Pandemonium, or the Wild Hunt of various northern European folklore.

The basic premise of the Hyakki Yakou is that on one night each year, the Nurarihyon (Demon Lord) is set to lead a legion of all yokai in existence through the streets of Japan on summer nights. Anyone caught in the procession will either lose their life or be spirited away. It is said that the only individual capable of passing through the Hyakki Yakou unscathed is the clan head of an onmyouji – an exorcist, or in this case, a super-powerful Jujutsu Sorcerer.

Notable Characters

JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 – Maki Inumaki and Panda
  • Yuta Okkotsu – the protagonist of JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 and the individual possessed by the Special Grade Curse known as Rika Orimoto – the Queen of Curses. While it is initially believed that Yuta is the one being cursed, he later comes to realize that Rika was unknowingly rendered into a curse by his own will after dying in a fatal traffic accident in front of Yuta as kids. Unaware of his own latent abundance of Cursed Energy, Yuta commits the dying Rika to the promise they made, effectively invoking and creating an unbelievably powerful curse borne from his grief. The film introduces Yuta in a way that parallels the introduction of the franchise's main character, Yuji Itadori, with both characters being sentenced to death due to their connection to incredibly powerful curses and even being saved from their execution by the strongest Sorcerer in the world, Satoru Gojo. Part of Yuta's journey in the film is freeing himself of his curse, as well as his grief, as well as opening up to the world around him.
  • Rika Orimoto – Yuta's childhood friend, first love and fianceé. When they were still in primary school, Rika and Yuta promised to be together forever, with the former presenting the latter with quite a grown-up gift: an engagement ring. After being hit by a car and dying on the scene, Rika is cursed by Yuta and becomes a Special Grade curse on par with Sukuna himself. Despite losing her humanity after death, Rika's intense feelings for Yuta become the praxis of her behaviour as a curse, and a large part of the reason why Yuta becomes isolated and timid when interacting with people. After the climactic battle against Suguru, Rika's curse is lifted, and she presents herself, as she once was to say her final goodbyes.
  • Satoru Gojo – one of the film's main characters. Largely an enigma in the first season of JUJUTSU KAISEN, Gojo is given some development in the film through his relationship with Suguru Geto. His incredible strength and intricate understanding of curses and cursed energy sees Gojo assume the role of mentor to a variety of characters in the series, including Yuta, Yuji, Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki. Gojo's strength is a bit of an interesting dilemma – as Geto puts it, "Are you Satoru Gojo because you are strong, or are you strong because you are Satoru Gojo?" Gojo is; however, not immune to the film's exploration of grief as his best friend and former fellow student at Jujutsu High treads a dark path that ends in his apparent demise.
  • Maki Zenin – the failure apparent of the powerful Zenin Clan of Jujutsu Sorcerers, Maki is one of the movie's best characters as her relationship with Yuta as a mentor, a peer (and maybe romantic interest?) bring more of her past to the fore. Abandoned for lacking the ability to sense or manipulate cursed energy, Maki's biggest draw is her headstrong personality and her uncanny ability to beat the living daylights out of her enemies despite her circumstances. Yuta takes the longest time to get closer to Maki due to her personality, but over time they become very good friends with Yuta saving her life a few times throughout the film's runtime.
  • Suguru Geto – the film's antagonist and the brains behind the Hyakki Yakou, Suguru harbors immense hatred and contempt for the non-sorcerers in the world. This intense feeling stems from Suguru having once believed that Jujutsu Sorcerers exist to protect the weak non-sorcerers in the world, but a certain incident leaves Suguru scarred. His goal in the film is to perpetrate a genocide of non-sorcerers and usher in an era of purely Jujutsu Sorcerers. Once Gojo's best friend, Suguru seems to largely be a contrast to Gojo – his dark hair, abandonment of his humanity in pursuit of power and even the fact that he doesn't succeed in the end all exist in opposition to the all-powerful Gojo. At the end of it all, a fatally wounded Geto shares one last conversation with his best friend before being seemingly killed off-screen.

Art and Animation

JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 – Panda vs Geto

MAPPA shines once more with the production of this film, as the studio staff manage to elevate the incredible art and animation seen in the original series. The introductory parts are rife with beautiful shots and delicately animated scenes that grab the attention of the viewer from the word go. JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 really shows off; however, during the climax, where various curses and sorcerers engage in battle royale-style combat.

The fights featuring Gojo were a masterclass and the cameo appearances of various other characters from the series spawned some of the best-looking scenes from the JUJUTSU KAISEN animated franchise to date. One of the most exciting scenes in the film featured the salaryman Nanami and a rehashed rendition of his character theme, "Working Overtime" among other familiar tracks from the original soundtrack.

Verdict

JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 – Yuta and Rika Pinky Promise

JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 is a gorgeous movie made with a great understanding of the horror elements that make JUJUTSU KAISEN such a unique and interesting shonen series, as well as an understanding of the level of spectacle required in anime feature films.

The bar was already set high by the first season of the series; however, the film took things to a different level, with the art and animation being one of the best things about the film. While coherent, interesting, and moving at times, the story seemed to be oversimplified in certain parts, with Yuta's obvious zero-to-hero trajectory building very predictably. Be that as it may, JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 is incredible, and comes recommended for any fan of the series, of shonen, and of anime in general.

MORE: Jujutsu Kaisen: Yuta's Cursed Technique, Explained