Reviews

呪術廻戦 2 [Jujutsu Kaisen 2] by Gege Akutami

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maxor76's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

kblum15's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

rereader33's review

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4.0

I am now officially invested in this series! The characters are fun, the artwork/art style's strong, and the story's pretty intriguing. The only main gripe I have is how fast paced it is. I felt like the first volume was a great introduction to the series, but this volume crammed so much into such a short space that I'm worried that the story might be going too fast (never thought I'd ever say that, considering I grew up on Dragon Ball Z).

One thing I want to note before continuing with this review is that I appreciate this series being comfortable with what it is. After ruminating over the last volume, something that I noticed was that for all the Shounen Jump cliches thrown into this series, I didn't think it was trite or boring. I realized the reason why is because it's not necessarily trying to be original or new; it's just doing its own thing by being a fun, slightly haunting action series. I like that about it because after trying so many "new" and "original" series that are really just other titles with a slight and uninteresting twist or are trying so hard to be "new" and "original" they come off as insufferable or nonsensical, its refreshing to find a series that's exactly what it advertises. Thank you, Jujutsu Kaisen, for doing your job and doing it well.

While I am not a fan of politics, I actually like the politics involved in this story. The Jujutsu higher-ups sent Itadori, Fushiguro, and Kugisaki on what can only be described as a suicide mission to kill Itadori and be rid of part of Sukuna. Rather than try to take of Sukuna themselves or simply let Gojo's plan for Itadori runs its natural course, they cowardly sent him on a dangerous mission to have him killed by something else. The higher-ups haven't been shown, but already they're painted as deplorable cowards willing to sacrifice children to achieve their goals. But what is most awesome is Gojo's plan for changing everything. He understands that he can't kill them because they'll simply be replaced with others who think similarly, as well as knowing that a mass massacre will never be seen in a positive light not matter how good the intentions are. Instead, he's raising a generation with good values to help him overthrow the higher-ups and establish a reign of pure-hearted Jujutsu sorcerers. I really like how thought out his plan is as well as how emotionally mature Gojo is for recognizing what needs to be done.

As for the new students introduced, I like the dynamic they add and am curious to see how they fight. Though I will say the dude that only speaks in rice ball fillings is ridiculously weird, even by manga standards. Also, the dude from the Kyoto school at the end rubbed me the wrong way considering his introduction is asking Fushiguro what kind of girls he likes and threatening to beat him up if he doesn't like the answer. There are so many things wrong with this that I honestly don't know how to properly articulate it, so I'm just gonna let it go for now.

Finally, I like the interactions between Sukuna and Itadori. Both have strong personalities and fighting spirits, but it's clear that Sukuna is leagues stronger than Itadori, but Itadori doesn't allow himself to wallow in it. Instead, he just keeps charging forward and while that's not a wholly original personality trait, I do like it when he interacts with Sukuna. Also, I'm dying to know more about Sukuna. When are we going to get more of his backstory?!

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I really am enjoying this series and am looking forward to future volumes. I hope the pacing slows down a bit, but if not I'll live with it. If you want an entertaining action romp, this is for you. Just don't expect anything new or original.