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zhaenya's reviews
33 reviews
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 16 by Gege Akutami
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
my boy okkotsu yuta finally made an appearance and is here to stay! rest in peace, yuji, here comes the original main character. i'm just joking, obviously, they're both my best boys and mean the world to me. can't wait for them to become best friends! <3 you'll see, it'll happen! <33
(five stars for the sluttiest volume cover of all time. this one, plus the one before this with mahito looking all gross, are my favorite jjk covers, nothing comes even close)
it's actually crazy to think that shibuya arc is officially over from this point on. it's been over for half the volume already, and we're starting a new part of the story, an even scarier one, the one that seems to be even bigger. lonelier. it was nice to see so many familiar faces at the beginning of this, with everyone coming together to try and fight brain-kun to get the prison realm from him. we've got a lot of yapping from body hopper, a lot of talk about reshaping the world by causing a lot of chaos, with him revealing some of his plans that involve fushiguro tsumiki, among other people, waking up and maybe becoming a vessel for some powerful sorcerer or a curse of the past. it's very scary to think about, that he is planning to bring back so many different people and curses and shape tokyo as some kind of playground for them to fight on. but also, this was the only part of the volume that had a little bit of humor and lightheartedness to it, it's been a while since we got anything like this, so a little bit of a warmer tone was very much welcomed. comedy kaisen was actually back, even if it was for a very short period of time. the way everyone just kept gagging kamo that day, first the body hopper by sharing the name with him (that whole part with everyone staring at him and him yelling out "me?!" was so funny, i still stand by the fact that his parents were fucked up for naming him after the most evil sorcerer ever), and then choso with his blood manipulation, much stronger than kamo's own. and i was giggling and kicking my feet over yuji busting choso out of the ice and asking "you're our ally, right?" just to get a hard "no!" in return, lol. he was there only for you, baby bro! "i'm your older brother." "take this seriously, would ya?!" "why don't you try calling me big brother? just once!" the fact they were fighting against basically the main villain plus another very powerful curse user, but it was all so cute and lighthearted was making me giggle way too much. i was so happy with the tone shift, it was really needed! it felt like this was supposed to be a very serious ending for the shibuya arc, but it was actually much more light, and filled with fun little moments like these, and i loved it so very much. i also loved yuki finally showing up, her conversation with 'geto' was really great, but she didn't do much else, unfortunately. i hope we get to see her fight soon too. my favorite part about that whole thing was actually uraume, we got to see them fight for the first time, and their technique is actually very cool. i didn't expect them to use ice, but it actually really suits them and their attitude, from what we've seen so far. i honestly can't wait to see this animated, mostly because i know the sound design is going to eat. i'm not sure why uraume is on kenjaku's side in the first place, i thought they were only loyal to sukuna, but i guess they share some kind of goal, or maybe they have an agreement? i'm very curious about that.
i don't think i say this nearly enough, but i love the way gege draws the fight scenes, the choreography is so nice. sometimes it's chaotic but it's also very clear what is happening, it's very rare for me to spend too much time on some specific page because i can't understand what's going on, even though it does happen from time to time. but it's mostly my problem because i don't read battle manga all that much, but i truly think that it's one of the best and more clear ones i've seen. and i think it's becoming better and better with each volume. it's very beautiful too, especially when it's hand-to-hand and not just technique after technique, though that also can be very fun, it depends. like, todo's technique is confusing and disorienting, but it's supposed to be. but the little bits we got of choso vs kenjaku going hand-to-hand, and then uraume with their beautiful ice powers, it was all just incredible. everything i love in one chapter. chapter 135, i will remember you always.
you would think that my favorite part about the volume would be my boy yuta finally coming back to japan, but it was actually all the choso and yuji bonding we got. well, i wouldn't call it bonding, but they were definitely getting closer, looking out for each other. but especially choso, of course. the love for his brothers is the biggest part of his character, so it's no wonder that he would do anything for yuji. he's much softer with him too, calling him by his given name and asking him to call him his older brother. it's okay, he'll get there! and so it seemed to be rather fitting that choso's opponent would be someone like zen'in naoya, zen'in naobito's son. the person who doesn't love or respect any of his brothers because in his eyes they're weak and not worthy to be respected by him. i can't stand either of them, father or son, (but i guess that can be said for any of the zen'ins, expect for maki and mai) they're both jerks and i would rather see anyone else, but naobito is a fun character, when he's not opening his mouth. his biggest flaw is how much he shittalks, and not even in a fun way, not in a satoru way, naoya is just very annoying and makes my eyes roll so much, i almost get a headache. but he has a very nice design, he's nice to look at and he shares the technique with his father, which i actually really liked and was hoping we would see more of. but the best thing about him showing up in the story was the way choso beat his ass, that was very satisfying. and then yuta looking down at him with "looks like you're hurt, naoya."
and now, onto yuta and rika finally showing up in the main story. i couldn't be happier! when i was reading these chapters for the very first time, i was reading them weekly, and it was the most frustrating thing ever, because i wasn't sure what the hell was going to happen to yuji. when one of your favorite characters is trying to kill your other favorite character, it tends to be very stressful. and even now, as i'm reading this years later, it's still tense as fuck. yuji's not dying, we know this, but it doesn't help to ease my nerves even a little bit. yuta's whole presence gives this overwhelming pressure, even though it didn't even look like he was trying to kill yuji, it was more like he was testing the waters. he didn't seem angry with yuji, he didn't have a look of revenge on his face, and we know just how yuta looks like when he's fighting for his friends, he tends to go unhinged and is full of rage, but this just wasn't it. he wasn't summoning rika, he was hitting yuji with the back of his sword instead of the sharp end. he still did a lot of damage, but it wasn't the type of knocking out choso with just one punch damage. for now, it looks like yuji is dead, it looks like yuta drew a sword through his heart, but we know that it can't be the end of it. does he need someone to confirm yuji's death by seeing his body? will he make sukuna bring yuji back somehow, if he's actually dead? or maybe that's exactly why he was fighting him in the first place, trying to see just how much control of his body yuji actually has? because if he doesn't switch to sukuna even when he's on the brink of death, he wouldn't be considered a threat by him, right? or maybe yuta was trying to bring out sukuna to fight him and not yuji, because sukuna is the one he was angry with in the first place, which i don't think was the case at all. so many possibilities, but i guess we'll just have to see. the one thing i'm actually really curious about is rika. more specifically, how is she back? it was kind of a big deal, her getting her peace at the end of volume 0, so now i can't help but wonder what happened. is it the same rika? did something change? is she somehow just back now? can't wait to know more about that whole situation.
(five stars for the sluttiest volume cover of all time. this one, plus the one before this with mahito looking all gross, are my favorite jjk covers, nothing comes even close)
it's actually crazy to think that shibuya arc is officially over from this point on. it's been over for half the volume already, and we're starting a new part of the story, an even scarier one, the one that seems to be even bigger. lonelier. it was nice to see so many familiar faces at the beginning of this, with everyone coming together to try and fight brain-kun to get the prison realm from him. we've got a lot of yapping from body hopper, a lot of talk about reshaping the world by causing a lot of chaos, with him revealing some of his plans that involve fushiguro tsumiki, among other people, waking up and maybe becoming a vessel for some powerful sorcerer or a curse of the past. it's very scary to think about, that he is planning to bring back so many different people and curses and shape tokyo as some kind of playground for them to fight on. but also, this was the only part of the volume that had a little bit of humor and lightheartedness to it, it's been a while since we got anything like this, so a little bit of a warmer tone was very much welcomed. comedy kaisen was actually back, even if it was for a very short period of time. the way everyone just kept gagging kamo that day, first the body hopper by sharing the name with him (that whole part with everyone staring at him and him yelling out "me?!" was so funny, i still stand by the fact that his parents were fucked up for naming him after the most evil sorcerer ever), and then choso with his blood manipulation, much stronger than kamo's own. and i was giggling and kicking my feet over yuji busting choso out of the ice and asking "you're our ally, right?" just to get a hard "no!" in return, lol. he was there only for you, baby bro! "i'm your older brother." "take this seriously, would ya?!" "why don't you try calling me big brother? just once!" the fact they were fighting against basically the main villain plus another very powerful curse user, but it was all so cute and lighthearted was making me giggle way too much. i was so happy with the tone shift, it was really needed! it felt like this was supposed to be a very serious ending for the shibuya arc, but it was actually much more light, and filled with fun little moments like these, and i loved it so very much. i also loved yuki finally showing up, her conversation with 'geto' was really great, but she didn't do much else, unfortunately. i hope we get to see her fight soon too. my favorite part about that whole thing was actually uraume, we got to see them fight for the first time, and their technique is actually very cool. i didn't expect them to use ice, but it actually really suits them and their attitude, from what we've seen so far. i honestly can't wait to see this animated, mostly because i know the sound design is going to eat. i'm not sure why uraume is on kenjaku's side in the first place, i thought they were only loyal to sukuna, but i guess they share some kind of goal, or maybe they have an agreement? i'm very curious about that.
i don't think i say this nearly enough, but i love the way gege draws the fight scenes, the choreography is so nice. sometimes it's chaotic but it's also very clear what is happening, it's very rare for me to spend too much time on some specific page because i can't understand what's going on, even though it does happen from time to time. but it's mostly my problem because i don't read battle manga all that much, but i truly think that it's one of the best and more clear ones i've seen. and i think it's becoming better and better with each volume. it's very beautiful too, especially when it's hand-to-hand and not just technique after technique, though that also can be very fun, it depends. like, todo's technique is confusing and disorienting, but it's supposed to be. but the little bits we got of choso vs kenjaku going hand-to-hand, and then uraume with their beautiful ice powers, it was all just incredible. everything i love in one chapter. chapter 135, i will remember you always.
you would think that my favorite part about the volume would be my boy yuta finally coming back to japan, but it was actually all the choso and yuji bonding we got. well, i wouldn't call it bonding, but they were definitely getting closer, looking out for each other. but especially choso, of course. the love for his brothers is the biggest part of his character, so it's no wonder that he would do anything for yuji. he's much softer with him too, calling him by his given name and asking him to call him his older brother. it's okay, he'll get there! and so it seemed to be rather fitting that choso's opponent would be someone like zen'in naoya, zen'in naobito's son. the person who doesn't love or respect any of his brothers because in his eyes they're weak and not worthy to be respected by him. i can't stand either of them, father or son, (but i guess that can be said for any of the zen'ins, expect for maki and mai) they're both jerks and i would rather see anyone else, but naobito is a fun character, when he's not opening his mouth. his biggest flaw is how much he shittalks, and not even in a fun way, not in a satoru way, naoya is just very annoying and makes my eyes roll so much, i almost get a headache. but he has a very nice design, he's nice to look at and he shares the technique with his father, which i actually really liked and was hoping we would see more of. but the best thing about him showing up in the story was the way choso beat his ass, that was very satisfying. and then yuta looking down at him with "looks like you're hurt, naoya."
and now, onto yuta and rika finally showing up in the main story. i couldn't be happier! when i was reading these chapters for the very first time, i was reading them weekly, and it was the most frustrating thing ever, because i wasn't sure what the hell was going to happen to yuji. when one of your favorite characters is trying to kill your other favorite character, it tends to be very stressful. and even now, as i'm reading this years later, it's still tense as fuck. yuji's not dying, we know this, but it doesn't help to ease my nerves even a little bit. yuta's whole presence gives this overwhelming pressure, even though it didn't even look like he was trying to kill yuji, it was more like he was testing the waters. he didn't seem angry with yuji, he didn't have a look of revenge on his face, and we know just how yuta looks like when he's fighting for his friends, he tends to go unhinged and is full of rage, but this just wasn't it. he wasn't summoning rika, he was hitting yuji with the back of his sword instead of the sharp end. he still did a lot of damage, but it wasn't the type of knocking out choso with just one punch damage. for now, it looks like yuji is dead, it looks like yuta drew a sword through his heart, but we know that it can't be the end of it. does he need someone to confirm yuji's death by seeing his body? will he make sukuna bring yuji back somehow, if he's actually dead? or maybe that's exactly why he was fighting him in the first place, trying to see just how much control of his body yuji actually has? because if he doesn't switch to sukuna even when he's on the brink of death, he wouldn't be considered a threat by him, right? or maybe yuta was trying to bring out sukuna to fight him and not yuji, because sukuna is the one he was angry with in the first place, which i don't think was the case at all. so many possibilities, but i guess we'll just have to see. the one thing i'm actually really curious about is rika. more specifically, how is she back? it was kind of a big deal, her getting her peace at the end of volume 0, so now i can't help but wonder what happened. is it the same rika? did something change? is she somehow just back now? can't wait to know more about that whole situation.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 15 by Gege Akutami
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
"you're right... mahito. i'm you. i wanted to reject you. convince myself that you were wrong. but that doesn't matter now. i'm gonna kill you. even if you come back as another curse, i'll kill you. change your name. change your form. i'll kill you again. i don't need to find meaning or a reason. maybe a hundred years after my death, the meaning behind my actions will become apparent. in the grand scheme of things... i'm probably nothing more than a cog. but i'll keep killing curses, for as long as i can. that's my role in all this." yuji's character development throughout this act was something else. the only time we ever see him smile is in the flashbacks, and i don't even blame him for not being nearly as bright as he was before. there's just nothing to be smiling about. he went through so much trauma just in this arc alone, i can't even imagine how he's still standing. but honestly, if he was left all alone, he would've already given up, we saw him at that state already, and nothing breaks my heart more than seeing him like this. it was just hit after hit for him. he lost to choso, he witnessed sukuna's rampage while he was in control of his body, he had to watch nanami die, and then nobara. when i tell you i cried so much when the volume started. all the little flashbacks we got of nobara's past, of saori-chan talking about nobara and wondering if she's okay, and the trio with the disaster that was a coffee stained expensive shirt that belonged to gojo. i just cried. i couldn't stop myself. because we're never getting any of this again, i don't think so. nobara's not breathing, but there's still a little chance of her being alive, though she definitely won't be the same. yuji is beyong traumatized, i don't know how someone can ever heal from something like this. megumi's probably okay for now, but there's still sukuna and his plans for him looming over him like a dark cloud, so we're not out of the water yet. everything is just fucked right now. even todo lost an arm and is not able to use his technique anymore, but at least he's alive. he was there to help yuji, as always, he brought him back up to his feet. one thing i appreciate about todo, is how great he is at motivating people, he always knew exactly what to say to yuji to bring him to the right set of mind, and i just couldn't be more thankful. we still don't know what happened with toge in that blast caused by sukuna, he was in the area when it happened, and we still haven't addressed that part yet. and kusakabe's chilling under all the ruins of shibuya, good for him!
needless to say, this volume was absolutely incredible. it was very mahito heavy, which i loved, but that was also the end of him, which i didn't love nearly as much. at least the fact that 'geto' turned him into a ball doesn't make him dead, technically. 'geto' can still probably use him, i don't know if he would be able to control him though. i honestly just think he won't ever let him come back out, and that's it. i don't know how complicated that would be to control a curse so intelligent. i will miss him, that's for sure. i hated that 'geto' had to intervene, yuji deserved to kill mahito more than anyone, he caused him so much suffering. mahito literally scarred yuji for life, both mentally and physically, and he wasn't even able to kill him. that is so frustrating. i loved everything about yuji's fight with mahito, and todo's involvement in it, i loved seeing mahito's new form, i loved seeing yuji still beating his ass, i loved the imagery of yuji being a wolf chasing after mahito like he's a little rabbit. and i don't think i noticed it before nobara pointed it out, but mahito really does run from a fight a lot. but i guess that's the reason he stayed alive so long, so i can't exactly call him a coward. but he did look like he was ready to shit his pants as yuji was approaching him. and i get it, this yuji is completely different from the one we saw before this, he's like a different person now, with so many things weighing on his shoulders. and that's exactly why he fucking deserved to kill mahito right then and there. he deserved that fucking win. no, i don't want to talk about the world to come, you fake ass geto, i wish you never showed up there to ruin absolutely everything. my geto would never.
also, can we talk about how many fucking black flashes everyone was landing on each other? i think yuji hit mahito with black flash like four times, and todo hit him once. mahito hit both yuji and todo at different times. that's a whole fucking lot, but it's not like i mind it, i always love when they land it because i love the way gege draws it, black flashes are always illustrated so beautifully. get black flashed, everyone!
by the way, this is probably my favorite jujutsu kaisen cover. the next one is close second, or maybe they're both at the very top for me, but i just love how gross mahito looks on this one. with his hand opening his mouth so fucking wide, and you can see the little hands inside his mouth casting a domain expansion (and he has the coolest one, i love it so much, and i can't believe i won't ever get to see it anymore </3 well, there's still anime, but you know what i mean).
needless to say, this volume was absolutely incredible. it was very mahito heavy, which i loved, but that was also the end of him, which i didn't love nearly as much. at least the fact that 'geto' turned him into a ball doesn't make him dead, technically. 'geto' can still probably use him, i don't know if he would be able to control him though. i honestly just think he won't ever let him come back out, and that's it. i don't know how complicated that would be to control a curse so intelligent. i will miss him, that's for sure. i hated that 'geto' had to intervene, yuji deserved to kill mahito more than anyone, he caused him so much suffering. mahito literally scarred yuji for life, both mentally and physically, and he wasn't even able to kill him. that is so frustrating. i loved everything about yuji's fight with mahito, and todo's involvement in it, i loved seeing mahito's new form, i loved seeing yuji still beating his ass, i loved the imagery of yuji being a wolf chasing after mahito like he's a little rabbit. and i don't think i noticed it before nobara pointed it out, but mahito really does run from a fight a lot. but i guess that's the reason he stayed alive so long, so i can't exactly call him a coward. but he did look like he was ready to shit his pants as yuji was approaching him. and i get it, this yuji is completely different from the one we saw before this, he's like a different person now, with so many things weighing on his shoulders. and that's exactly why he fucking deserved to kill mahito right then and there. he deserved that fucking win. no, i don't want to talk about the world to come, you fake ass geto, i wish you never showed up there to ruin absolutely everything. my geto would never.
also, can we talk about how many fucking black flashes everyone was landing on each other? i think yuji hit mahito with black flash like four times, and todo hit him once. mahito hit both yuji and todo at different times. that's a whole fucking lot, but it's not like i mind it, i always love when they land it because i love the way gege draws it, black flashes are always illustrated so beautifully. get black flashed, everyone!
by the way, this is probably my favorite jujutsu kaisen cover. the next one is close second, or maybe they're both at the very top for me, but i just love how gross mahito looks on this one. with his hand opening his mouth so fucking wide, and you can see the little hands inside his mouth casting a domain expansion (and he has the coolest one, i love it so much, and i can't believe i won't ever get to see it anymore </3 well, there's still anime, but you know what i mean).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Minor: Vomit, Incest, and Pedophilia
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 14 by Gege Akutami
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yeah, this one was just rough. it was just one traumatic event after the other. this is the volume that erases yuji's smile once and for all, and i feel like crying just thinking back on all the things he had to go through just in one day. and it's fuck sukuna every day of the week because of all the suffering he caused yuji, but this cover is so fucking sick. it's one of my absolute favorites. but not my favorite, because it's sukuna, and i won't give him the satisfaction of being on top. i have to say, i actually do really enjoy sukuna when he's in his fight mode. we got to see him fight twice in just this one volume, and it was two different fights, so let me talk about them both for a little bit. first, we start with him and jogo. there wasn't much of a fight, really, jogo didn't even stand a chance. but the thing is, he managed to amuse sukuna. he even received a compliment, and i just really liked that moment. "you know, it was actually fun while it lasted. humans. jujutsu sorcerers. cursed spirits. you're not bad compared to those i fought over the last thousand years. stand proud. you're strong." this. sukuna acknowledging jogo before killing him. making him cry. this is one of my favorite moments because yes, jogo is actually very strong, and sukuna is not proud enough to say otherwise. compared to gojo, at least. gojo straight up called jogo weak the first time they fought. and the thing is, jogo didn't even put up that much of a fight against sukuna, but sukuna could still see just how strong the cursed spirit fighting him was. and he was having fun, which is probably the thing that made him acknowledge jogo's strength in the first place. he hates boredom, maybe that's why he can't stand yuji, who forced him inside his body without any control and who is not even strong enough to make sukuna have a little fun when fighting him. sukuna values strength. but my favorite moment was actually jogo crying and not understanding what was happening to him, he even asked sukuna "what is this?" just to receive "don't ask me, i don't know what that is either" and death as his answer. i don't know why that specific moment stuck with me, but it was just so interesting. jogo wanted to replace humans for such a long time now, it was literally the goal of his life, and in his dying moments he was able to experience this new emotion. i don't know, it was just beautiful to me. and then just a moment later sukuna and uraume finally come face to face! i wonder how long it's been since they saw each other, because the face sukuna made when he saw them was priceless. but too bad they didn't have time to catch up, because sukuna had to go and save megumi's ass. thank you very much for that (i'm not being sarcastic here, megumi would be dead if sukuna wasn't there to fight mahoraga for him). and i know it's always funny to see megumi going "with this treasure, i summon..." when he faces literally anyone, he's always ready to throw his life away (this part is not as funny), but seeing him actually do it and summon eight-handled sword divergent sila divine general mahoraga for the very first time was incredible (what a fucking name btw). the flashback of megumi and gojo talking about their clans and how the heads who had the same powers as they both have fought each other to the death made me so fucking nervous. because it made me think of sukuna's plans for megumi, maybe he wants his body and his technique so he could fight gojo, or anyone for that matter... i just need sukuna to stay away from megumi, that is all. it's nice when he saves his life, but the fact that he has his own hidden agendas fucking scares me. but megumi thinking of yuji and apologizing to him in his head for his "i'll see you later" because he fully expected not to make out of it alive... just kill me already. no, but sukuna's fight with mahoraga was actually so much fun. it wasn't anything special, but i loved seeing sukuna in the filed for longer than ten seconds and against someone who makes him put in some effort, who makes him think and strategize, and i just loved every second of it. sukuna is very cool when he's being smart instead of being a smart-ass, if you know what i mean. when he's actually using his knowledge of thousands of years and his skills, that's when i can admit that i actually like him. but then he destroys half the city and makes a choice of making yuji watch all the destruction as he finally switches with him. "hey, brat. take a good look." shut. the fuck. up. that smirking bastard. i just hated him so much in that moment. i think it's one of the most painful moments in the manga, if not the most painful one for me. seeing yuji like this... feeling so sick to his stomach that he has to literally throw up... and finally understanding why so many people demand for him to be executed... and even begging to die... "just... die already. just me! just me! die! because of you... with how things have gone, i'm nothing but a murderer." my angel, my poor boy. i feel so sorry for him, because he deserved none of it, he just wanted to help people. (i'm dreading the moment i have to see this moment animated, because i already saw that the voice actor for yuji actually cried while recording what looked like this exact scene, and i don't think i can mentally survive seeing/hearing it) but that's not even the end of it. because just when yuji had to force his emotions back into his body and numb them as much as possible, we cut to nanami. with half of his body burned and his left eye missing. and still fighting. but not for long, because mahito is there. of course it would be mahito. as if it wasn't painful enough. god, how much do i wish that nanami got to move to malaysia instead of being stuck there... "haibara... what was i trying to do anyway? i ran. even though i ran, i came back with the vague reason of finding the work worthwhile. no, haibara, that's not right, i can't say that to him. i'll just end up becoming a curse for him. itadori... you've got it from here." rest in peace, i hope he finally finds happiness in the afterlife. the fact than nanami chose to encourage yuji rather than letting him see his fear of dying was the last dagger for me, even in his last moments he thought about others before himself. god, i just fucking hate that yuji had to watch nanami die, especially after everything that's happened to him that day already. chapter 120 is fucking brutal. it's definitely the most brutal one yet. mahito took so fucking much from yuji, it's unfair. just when yuji finally calmed himself down so he could continue to fight again, he sees one of the people closest to him die in front of him, without being able to help. how can someone even move on from something like this? how do you find a peace of mind or happiness when something so traumatizing happens to you? and that wasn't even the end of the day, he had to fight mahito right after. and...
that's when yuji gets his badass scar, right? the one choso gave him got healed by sukuna when they switched, so this has to be the one. i love the way it looks, and i think it's the perfect moment for him to get a scar across his face, if there ever would be one. that was probably the worst night of his life, so it only makes sense that he would get something like this as a reminder. that's kind of dark, but makes sense. and i have to say, i completely forgot about mahito splitting himself into two bodies, i forgot he could even do that. and that's why i'm rereading this now, so i write this shit down and can come back to it and remind myself what the hell happened in which volume! mahito vs yuji and mahito vs nobara is was damn fun, made me feel very stressed though because i kept waiting for horrible things to happen. but they both held their own, and i just love that it's not just yuji that's mahito's natural enemy, but nobara as well! even when they're separate, they're still such a good team! "kugisaki...! thank you! i couldn't save anyone. i wasted everyone's efforts. but... thank you for showing me that i'm not alone." 🫂 speaking of separation, i hate that everyone split up. they were all in teams at first, but now everyone's doing their own thing and it's giving me anxiety. i hate it. when you're alone, you either die, or seek other people out so you could fight together. that's it. and even though nobara did hold her own against mahito, she got really fucking lucky that it was his double and not the original, because as soon as they switched, she was fucked. okay, the fact that kugisaki called mahito a coward who always runs away at the very beginning of their fight, and that's exactly what happens by the end of it, was actually hilarious, but she really shouldn't have run after him, she really should've just ignored her gut telling her to chase after him, she really should have... the fact that we finished the fucking volume with the flashback of her younger days should tell you enough about what's going to happen to her now that mahito touched her soul.
mahito is one sick and twisted individual, but i can't help but love him, and i'm not even sorry. he's just too fun to read, to watch. he has an interesting technique, he can change his body in so many different way, and he always looks like he's having fun when he's fighting, so why wouldn't i enjoy it? when he turned one of his hands into junpei begging yuji to help him... sick. him hiding inside curse's mouth and jump scaring yuji... sick. him using all the people he got in store to torture yuji mentaly because he doesn't care about them one bit, but he know that yuji does... sick. him using the random person's body as his hiding place... sick. imagination is definitely something that mahito doesn't lack, he's very creative and i appretiate it! i do still want yuji to beat his ass, to kill him, because he deserves it more than anyone.
that's when yuji gets his badass scar, right? the one choso gave him got healed by sukuna when they switched, so this has to be the one. i love the way it looks, and i think it's the perfect moment for him to get a scar across his face, if there ever would be one. that was probably the worst night of his life, so it only makes sense that he would get something like this as a reminder. that's kind of dark, but makes sense. and i have to say, i completely forgot about mahito splitting himself into two bodies, i forgot he could even do that. and that's why i'm rereading this now, so i write this shit down and can come back to it and remind myself what the hell happened in which volume! mahito vs yuji and mahito vs nobara is was damn fun, made me feel very stressed though because i kept waiting for horrible things to happen. but they both held their own, and i just love that it's not just yuji that's mahito's natural enemy, but nobara as well! even when they're separate, they're still such a good team! "kugisaki...! thank you! i couldn't save anyone. i wasted everyone's efforts. but... thank you for showing me that i'm not alone." 🫂 speaking of separation, i hate that everyone split up. they were all in teams at first, but now everyone's doing their own thing and it's giving me anxiety. i hate it. when you're alone, you either die, or seek other people out so you could fight together. that's it. and even though nobara did hold her own against mahito, she got really fucking lucky that it was his double and not the original, because as soon as they switched, she was fucked. okay, the fact that kugisaki called mahito a coward who always runs away at the very beginning of their fight, and that's exactly what happens by the end of it, was actually hilarious, but she really shouldn't have run after him, she really should've just ignored her gut telling her to chase after him, she really should have... the fact that we finished the fucking volume with the flashback of her younger days should tell you enough about what's going to happen to her now that mahito touched her soul.
mahito is one sick and twisted individual, but i can't help but love him, and i'm not even sorry. he's just too fun to read, to watch. he has an interesting technique, he can change his body in so many different way, and he always looks like he's having fun when he's fighting, so why wouldn't i enjoy it? when he turned one of his hands into junpei begging yuji to help him... sick. him hiding inside curse's mouth and jump scaring yuji... sick. him using all the people he got in store to torture yuji mentaly because he doesn't care about them one bit, but he know that yuji does... sick. him using the random person's body as his hiding place... sick. imagination is definitely something that mahito doesn't lack, he's very creative and i appretiate it! i do still want yuji to beat his ass, to kill him, because he deserves it more than anyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
Minor: Vomit
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 13 by Gege Akutami
i tend to forget just how strong of a cursed spirit jogo actually is because he always somehow ends up fighting opponents stronger than him (gojo, sukuna), but then he shows up and wastes everyone just like that. nanami, maki, naobito... i don't know how any of them would come out alive after being burned like that, like, naobito is definitely gone, right? i won't cry for him, but his technique was kind of cool, so there's that. i need someone to show up and take care of nanami and maki though, because that shit looked serious. and you know what else i need? for everyone to leave yuji alone. i understand why nanako and mimiko fed him fingers, though it wasn't the best plan, they didn't think it through, but jogo was no smarter (though we got a chapter 112 cover thanks to him, and it's one of my favorites, so thank for that, i guess). "the moonlight's illumination... makes it easier to see just how pathetic you are." i'm sorry to say this, jogo, but you brought this on yourself. what did you think was going to happen, that the kind of curses would thank you for feeding him ten of his fingers and join forces with you? so naive. AND SINCE WHEN CAN SUKUNA USE FIRE? HE GOT JOGO SWEATING UP A STORM ALREADY, AND NOW HE'S COMING FOR HIS TECHNIQUE. i know jogo's not winning, and the place they're fighting at will just remain as ruins, and that's all really sad and i don't want people to die, but i just keep thinking of megumi and that i need sukuna to leave him the fuck alone. i know his plans, i know what he wants to do, i know he wouldn't hurt him, "how about i kill every human in shibuya? all but one, that is.", but i need him to save his life if needed and then back off and never think of him ever again. that bastard. that is all.
i genuinely feel so fucking bad for nanako and mimiko, those poor girls went through so much for the past year and now they're just gone. they just wanted to have their father's body back, that was literally the only thing on their mind, nothing more. it was definitely not the best idea to go to sukuna for help, but i get the desperation, and a lot of people seem to make that mistake anyway. but the tragedy of suguru, nanako and mimiko will never leave me be, i will always feel so sad for the three of them and how unfair it was all on them. the little flashback we got of them together almost finished me off. geto talking about gojo while he's reading a book and his daughters are brushing his hair, "he was my best fried. but we fought, and it's been like this ever since.", he was smiling so gently but i know he's sad too, i don't think i will survive when i see this get animated, i was already at the verge of tears while reading it again, but if i get to see it and hear geto's voice... good lord. "we love you. we love you. we love you. gojo satoru, we'll never forgive you for killing geto-sama. but we were okay with letting things be. gojo satoru is geto-sama's one and only best friend, after all." nanako and mimiko never going after gojo because they know geto never wouldn't wanted them to... i'm okay, i swear. i will never get over how tragic this family turned out to be, how it all ended for them three (four). but at least they had a time where they were happy together, that's all you could ask for, really. the rest of geto's group seems to be doing better though, still following 'geto', hoping to achieve their goal someday. though they're way too quick to underestimate humanity, i get why they would side with 'geto' still. i'm not sure how geto would feel about his family siding with a parasite that violated his body, but i guess their goals are still the same as geto's, so it's not too bad. but i'm still on nanako and mimiko's side about taking suguru's body back (satoru would agree). i honestly want to know more about all of the curse users that were a part of geto's cult, because they all seem so interesting and we're just now starting to focus on them a little more. i think larue is my favorite though, he's that middle ground that everyone needs. and it makes me wonder if larue was one of those who joined geto's cult because they thought he was handsome (i know that's a thing, i remember gege saying it), because it sure sounded like it, "same as miguel, i just wanted to help suguru become king.", that's such an interesting thing to say. king of what, exactly? (geto is a king of my heart already <3) and he's the only one who called him 'suguru', not 'geto-sama', so i guess they were really close. i think only satoru ever called him by his name like that.
anyway, this was not my favorite volume, but i had fun reading it anyway. i even laughed a bit, thanks to kusakabe and his goal to slack off as much as possible and not die, because there's no way he would be going against a group that sealed away gojo satoru. very understandable. and i really needed just a little bit of comedy in the midst of all the fighting and chaos, and death.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
there was so much water and fire in this volume, it's kind of crazy. not all of it was all that fun, but most of it had me hooked, that i can say. the very beginning with nanami, naobito and maki fighting dagon was probably the weakest and slowest part of the volume, but it definitely started to become a lot more interesting when megumi (using his domain expansion for the second time!!) and then toji pulled up. that was a whole zen'in family reunion, plus nanami. i honestly expected dagon to be much more interesting with how the volume started, with him caring about his name and people referring to him as such, and not just 'cursed spirit', but it all kind of got pushed aside and then buried when the fighting started. and then a few chapters later he was just gone, because there's no way he would be able to beat toji. but then the most stressful part of the volume starts, with toji sensing that megumi was the strongest of the bunch and throwing him out of the window so they could fight. and fight they did, though it was mostly toji charging at him and megumi overthinking and trying to defend himself. and then we get a flash of recognition on toji's face. and a little flashback of him deciding to sell his child to the zen'in clan for 'his own good' (bleh). and "hey. what's your name?" "...fushiguro." "not zen'in, huh? good for you." i bet megumi was so fucking confused in that moment. this man (who looks exactly like him, but who's really looking?) who thew him out of the window and proceeded to fight him just asked him name and then killed himself in front of him when he got the answer. if megumi knew he was actually looking at his father right then, that would've been fucking traumatizing. and look, i give toji a lot of shit because he deserves it, he was not a good parent, he left megumi to starve while he was out there killing teenagers, but it's nice to know that he still thought about his well being at some level, he thought it would be best for him to become a zen'in because they would value his technique and that means they would value him, but he still changed his mind by the end, so him keeping his distance from his kid and forcing him to grow up without parents was all for fucking nothing. i don't think that's what megumi's mother, his wife, meant when she asked him to take care of megumi. at least he remembered his name, and his last thoughts before his death, both times, were all about megumi. so that's nice. (and then gege drawing 'papaguro' with a halo... you know damn well this man is not seeing the gates of heaven)
i tend to forget just how strong of a cursed spirit jogo actually is because he always somehow ends up fighting opponents stronger than him (gojo, sukuna), but then he shows up and wastes everyone just like that. nanami, maki, naobito... i don't know how any of them would come out alive after being burned like that, like, naobito is definitely gone, right? i won't cry for him, but his technique was kind of cool, so there's that. i need someone to show up and take care of nanami and maki though, because that shit looked serious. and you know what else i need? for everyone to leave yuji alone. i understand why nanako and mimiko fed him fingers, though it wasn't the best plan, they didn't think it through, but jogo was no smarter (though we got a chapter 112 cover thanks to him, and it's one of my favorites, so thank for that, i guess). "the moonlight's illumination... makes it easier to see just how pathetic you are." i'm sorry to say this, jogo, but you brought this on yourself. what did you think was going to happen, that the kind of curses would thank you for feeding him ten of his fingers and join forces with you? so naive. AND SINCE WHEN CAN SUKUNA USE FIRE? HE GOT JOGO SWEATING UP A STORM ALREADY, AND NOW HE'S COMING FOR HIS TECHNIQUE. i know jogo's not winning, and the place they're fighting at will just remain as ruins, and that's all really sad and i don't want people to die, but i just keep thinking of megumi and that i need sukuna to leave him the fuck alone. i know his plans, i know what he wants to do, i know he wouldn't hurt him, "how about i kill every human in shibuya? all but one, that is.", but i need him to save his life if needed and then back off and never think of him ever again. that bastard. that is all.
i genuinely feel so fucking bad for nanako and mimiko, those poor girls went through so much for the past year and now they're just gone. they just wanted to have their father's body back, that was literally the only thing on their mind, nothing more. it was definitely not the best idea to go to sukuna for help, but i get the desperation, and a lot of people seem to make that mistake anyway. but the tragedy of suguru, nanako and mimiko will never leave me be, i will always feel so sad for the three of them and how unfair it was all on them. the little flashback we got of them together almost finished me off. geto talking about gojo while he's reading a book and his daughters are brushing his hair, "he was my best fried. but we fought, and it's been like this ever since.", he was smiling so gently but i know he's sad too, i don't think i will survive when i see this get animated, i was already at the verge of tears while reading it again, but if i get to see it and hear geto's voice... good lord. "we love you. we love you. we love you. gojo satoru, we'll never forgive you for killing geto-sama. but we were okay with letting things be. gojo satoru is geto-sama's one and only best friend, after all." nanako and mimiko never going after gojo because they know geto never wouldn't wanted them to... i'm okay, i swear. i will never get over how tragic this family turned out to be, how it all ended for them three (four). but at least they had a time where they were happy together, that's all you could ask for, really. the rest of geto's group seems to be doing better though, still following 'geto', hoping to achieve their goal someday. though they're way too quick to underestimate humanity, i get why they would side with 'geto' still. i'm not sure how geto would feel about his family siding with a parasite that violated his body, but i guess their goals are still the same as geto's, so it's not too bad. but i'm still on nanako and mimiko's side about taking suguru's body back (satoru would agree). i honestly want to know more about all of the curse users that were a part of geto's cult, because they all seem so interesting and we're just now starting to focus on them a little more. i think larue is my favorite though, he's that middle ground that everyone needs. and it makes me wonder if larue was one of those who joined geto's cult because they thought he was handsome (i know that's a thing, i remember gege saying it), because it sure sounded like it, "same as miguel, i just wanted to help suguru become king.", that's such an interesting thing to say. king of what, exactly? (geto is a king of my heart already <3) and he's the only one who called him 'suguru', not 'geto-sama', so i guess they were really close. i think only satoru ever called him by his name like that.
anyway, this was not my favorite volume, but i had fun reading it anyway. i even laughed a bit, thanks to kusakabe and his goal to slack off as much as possible and not die, because there's no way he would be going against a group that sealed away gojo satoru. very understandable. and i really needed just a little bit of comedy in the midst of all the fighting and chaos, and death.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 12 by Gege Akutami
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yeah, i'm giving this volume five starts, why not? i'm actually surprised just how many details i forgot, this felt like i was reading it for the first time with just a few sparkles of recognition/dejavu from time to time. and this is why i don't like reading any manga chapter by chapter, especially when the chapters are so short, i forget so many things.
when the volume started with toji taking control of the body he was forced into by the creepy grandma, and then killing said grandma, you know it's going to be good. even if it's the only time we see him in the volume, the impact is still there, and the lingering question of when are we going to see him again. and, it was probably the only time i was glad to see toji, aside from the fact that he beat the living hell out of ino, i just live for the drama, and there's no way he's going anywhere without meeting megumi.
and then we got, "'if you die, i'll kill you', right?" "hmph. don't you forget it. i'll see you later." the one itafushi moment that makes me want to grab my pillow and scream into it at the top of my lungs. do they have to separate? can't they stay together? please? (and btw, the way mappa animated this moment in episode twelve.. i will never move on, it was so beautiful)
i actually think we got some of the coolest fight scenes in this volume, two of them to be precise. but before i get to them, i want to mention mei mei. she would be one of my favorite characters if it wasn't for her weird relationship with her little brother, but let's put that aside for now (and forever). i was a little disappointed at first that we didn't get to see her fight the weird dude with big eyes, but the way she humiliated him while monologuing was even better, and then she got to meet 'geto' who sent a smallpox special grade at her, and now that was fucking cool, it was exactly what i was waiting for. i loved the curse's domain expansion, how it looked and the way it operated, but it was still no match for mei mei, special grade or not. i thought her cursed technique was just sharing eyesight with crows, spying and all that, but no, she's actually so much cooler than that. the only person who was able to survive her bird strike was gojo, which is not surprising but still crazy just how strong it is. also, i wonder what the hell happened between them for her to tell us that gojo was able to survive it, because that means she tried it on him. i wouldn't be surprised if gojo dared her to do it, his cocky ass would lol. anyway, i'm not looking forward to seeing mei mei and ui ui fight 'geto' now, that's for sure.
onto the two amazing fights we had in this volume. first, we got nobara and nanami vs haruta. it was great in the manga, but if you want to feel the full impact of it all, watch episode twelve of the anime, because mappa went crazy with this one. they're the best. i completely forgot about this part of the story, so i was at the edge of my sit reading this. especially with haruta beating the absolute hell out of nobara and nitta. and here's all i can say for this part, nobara is strong and i love seeing her fight, but she really needs backup, i feel like she shines her best when she has someone with her. and nitta is not a fighter, she was just slowing her down and making nobara worry instead of concentrating on a fight. it's the second time her opponent has taken someone hostage in front of her, and she really doesn't perform well under such pressure. but here comes nanami, pissed out of his mind. i think it's the second time we've seen him actually mad, the first time being haibara's death. and of course this would piss him off now, because so many manager assistants got killed and ijichi got hurt, reminding him of haibara. it all comes down to it. and it doesn't matter just how lucky haruta's technique makes him, he's got nothing on nanami's strength. nanami got him apologizing, in tears, all bloody and bruised up, while just a minute ago he was having fun and laughing at nobara for not being able to stand. that's what he fucking gets for even thinking of killing my girl!
and now the best fight, probably my favorite one of the manga so far. it would be tough to beat it, because it's yuji vs choso, two characters i love so dearly. when the fight first started, it just made me sad because choso was fighting to avenge his brothers but yuji really seemed like he didn't want to fight him, the deaths of eso and ketchizu still affected him as well. and by the way, i need to know yuji's pain tolerance because it's actually insane just how much he can take. choso put so many holes in his body, he got his liver destroyed and yet he was still able to fight back. and their hand-to-hand in the bathroom was the best part of the whole thing, i need mappa to give this whole fight justice or i don't know what i'm going to do with myself. if i won't be able to see anything because of ghosting, i will cry. it has to be perfect, it just has to be. i have the perfect animation idea in my mind, and if they do anything even close to that, i will definitely cry but then those would be tears of happiness. okay, moving on. can we talk about yuji's growth though? yes, he still technically lost the fight, but look how far he's come. from him crying and not wanting to die the first time he was up against the special grade, and look at him now, ready to risk it all. he was so ready to put his life on the line just to get his friends and upperclassmen to gojo, he didn't care if he wouldn't be there to help. i don't ever want to see him die for a cause, or die in general, but i'm so proud of him for never giving up. now, to the mystery part of it all. "at that moment, a memory was born inside choso's brain... of a past event that never happened." i think i have an idea of what that was all about, but that would be kind of a spoiler, so i'll just won't mention it here. but it's just so funny that first it was todo imagining yuji is his best friend and being convinced that they went to middle school together, and now choso thinking that yuji is one of his brothers and almost having a panic attack at the fact. maybe weird people just tend to stick to itadori lol. i can understand this situation with choso, it's not that hard to explain, but todo is just delusional and seems like he gets easily attached to people who meet his "requirements". and i guess yuji is just that lovable that people insert themselves into his life. somehow. it's just funny that it happened to him twice.
and so the octopus curse is actually a cursed womb? as in one of choso's siblings? because that's a surprise i didn't see coming (see, i told you i forgot a lot of the details).
when the volume started with toji taking control of the body he was forced into by the creepy grandma, and then killing said grandma, you know it's going to be good. even if it's the only time we see him in the volume, the impact is still there, and the lingering question of when are we going to see him again. and, it was probably the only time i was glad to see toji, aside from the fact that he beat the living hell out of ino, i just live for the drama, and there's no way he's going anywhere without meeting megumi.
and then we got, "'if you die, i'll kill you', right?" "hmph. don't you forget it. i'll see you later." the one itafushi moment that makes me want to grab my pillow and scream into it at the top of my lungs. do they have to separate? can't they stay together? please? (and btw, the way mappa animated this moment in episode twelve.. i will never move on, it was so beautiful)
i actually think we got some of the coolest fight scenes in this volume, two of them to be precise. but before i get to them, i want to mention mei mei. she would be one of my favorite characters if it wasn't for her weird relationship with her little brother, but let's put that aside for now (and forever). i was a little disappointed at first that we didn't get to see her fight the weird dude with big eyes, but the way she humiliated him while monologuing was even better, and then she got to meet 'geto' who sent a smallpox special grade at her, and now that was fucking cool, it was exactly what i was waiting for. i loved the curse's domain expansion, how it looked and the way it operated, but it was still no match for mei mei, special grade or not. i thought her cursed technique was just sharing eyesight with crows, spying and all that, but no, she's actually so much cooler than that. the only person who was able to survive her bird strike was gojo, which is not surprising but still crazy just how strong it is. also, i wonder what the hell happened between them for her to tell us that gojo was able to survive it, because that means she tried it on him. i wouldn't be surprised if gojo dared her to do it, his cocky ass would lol. anyway, i'm not looking forward to seeing mei mei and ui ui fight 'geto' now, that's for sure.
onto the two amazing fights we had in this volume. first, we got nobara and nanami vs haruta. it was great in the manga, but if you want to feel the full impact of it all, watch episode twelve of the anime, because mappa went crazy with this one. they're the best. i completely forgot about this part of the story, so i was at the edge of my sit reading this. especially with haruta beating the absolute hell out of nobara and nitta. and here's all i can say for this part, nobara is strong and i love seeing her fight, but she really needs backup, i feel like she shines her best when she has someone with her. and nitta is not a fighter, she was just slowing her down and making nobara worry instead of concentrating on a fight. it's the second time her opponent has taken someone hostage in front of her, and she really doesn't perform well under such pressure. but here comes nanami, pissed out of his mind. i think it's the second time we've seen him actually mad, the first time being haibara's death. and of course this would piss him off now, because so many manager assistants got killed and ijichi got hurt, reminding him of haibara. it all comes down to it. and it doesn't matter just how lucky haruta's technique makes him, he's got nothing on nanami's strength. nanami got him apologizing, in tears, all bloody and bruised up, while just a minute ago he was having fun and laughing at nobara for not being able to stand. that's what he fucking gets for even thinking of killing my girl!
and now the best fight, probably my favorite one of the manga so far. it would be tough to beat it, because it's yuji vs choso, two characters i love so dearly. when the fight first started, it just made me sad because choso was fighting to avenge his brothers but yuji really seemed like he didn't want to fight him, the deaths of eso and ketchizu still affected him as well. and by the way, i need to know yuji's pain tolerance because it's actually insane just how much he can take. choso put so many holes in his body, he got his liver destroyed and yet he was still able to fight back. and their hand-to-hand in the bathroom was the best part of the whole thing, i need mappa to give this whole fight justice or i don't know what i'm going to do with myself. if i won't be able to see anything because of ghosting, i will cry. it has to be perfect, it just has to be. i have the perfect animation idea in my mind, and if they do anything even close to that, i will definitely cry but then those would be tears of happiness. okay, moving on. can we talk about yuji's growth though? yes, he still technically lost the fight, but look how far he's come. from him crying and not wanting to die the first time he was up against the special grade, and look at him now, ready to risk it all. he was so ready to put his life on the line just to get his friends and upperclassmen to gojo, he didn't care if he wouldn't be there to help. i don't ever want to see him die for a cause, or die in general, but i'm so proud of him for never giving up. now, to the mystery part of it all. "at that moment, a memory was born inside choso's brain... of a past event that never happened." i think i have an idea of what that was all about, but that would be kind of a spoiler, so i'll just won't mention it here. but it's just so funny that first it was todo imagining yuji is his best friend and being convinced that they went to middle school together, and now choso thinking that yuji is one of his brothers and almost having a panic attack at the fact. maybe weird people just tend to stick to itadori lol. i can understand this situation with choso, it's not that hard to explain, but todo is just delusional and seems like he gets easily attached to people who meet his "requirements". and i guess yuji is just that lovable that people insert themselves into his life. somehow. it's just funny that it happened to him twice.
and so the octopus curse is actually a cursed womb? as in one of choso's siblings? because that's a surprise i didn't see coming (see, i told you i forgot a lot of the details).
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 11 by Gege Akutami
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
finally i'm all caught up with the anime, that's eleven episodes of the second season. it was fun to reread it all and almost hear some of the scenes because of how fresh in my mind they are. but that also means that from this point on, the plot will be a little more blurry for me, because it's been a while since i read the manga, and i don't remember it that well (i think i only remember huge things that wouldn't erase themselves out of my head no matter how much i tried).
should i start with "my six eyes tell me you're geto suguru. but my soul knows otherwise!" because i really don't want to. this moment, this whole situation... it breaks me every time i see it. imagine seeing your best friend, your soulmate, but not actually seeing him in front of you. you know it can't be him, you can feel that it's not, you can't even trust your eyes, the thing that's been guiding you and giving you strength your whole life. and then you find out that his body has been violated because you didn't get rid of it properly, and now you can't do anything about it because you're trapped. this is just brutal, is it not? but there's some hope. there's something left. because geto did respond to him when he called, making it the first ever time something like this happened to the person occupying geto's body. imagine how strong of a bond you need to have with someone for something like this to happen? satoru is immobilized and lost all control of his body, all he has is his soul now, which knew exactly that it's not suguru he was looking at, while his eyes kept lying to him. and suguru's soul is gone and all he has left now is his body, and his body knows that it's satoru in front of him, so he has to protect him. they drive me insane, absolutely crazy. and then, of course, after all of this heartbreak, gojo gets sealed. his exist wasn't quiet though, that's for sure. that's gojo satoru for ya!
fuck the brain inside of suguru's body for being mean to nanako and mimiko btw, could've just given the girls their father back (it's not like he needs him anymore with satoru gone, right?), but nah, he just needed to be an asshole about it. i sure hope he will regret it.
now to one of my favorite fights of the whole series, itafushi vs awasaka. i'm pretty sure this is the only time we see itadori and fushiguro fight side by side, so i treasure this moment like no other. i think i rewatched this fight every day since last week, so i couldn't wait to reread it. they really didn't get the chance to fight together before, so it was so cool seeing megumi struggling to keep up with yuji at first, but then they ended up being the best duo of them all (sorry, todo), working together so well. yuji's raw strength and megumi's brain and use of technique really shined here. and they're always so cute and fun together, i don't ever want them to separate! (cries) "you're not a good liar, fushiguro. no worries! i said, no worries!" "shut up." please, i could literally hear enoku junya and uchida yuma so clearly here, i love this moment so much, i repeated it so many times in the anime. and btw, rabbit escape is literally the cutest thing ever, yuji agrees.
should i start with "my six eyes tell me you're geto suguru. but my soul knows otherwise!" because i really don't want to. this moment, this whole situation... it breaks me every time i see it. imagine seeing your best friend, your soulmate, but not actually seeing him in front of you. you know it can't be him, you can feel that it's not, you can't even trust your eyes, the thing that's been guiding you and giving you strength your whole life. and then you find out that his body has been violated because you didn't get rid of it properly, and now you can't do anything about it because you're trapped. this is just brutal, is it not? but there's some hope. there's something left. because geto did respond to him when he called, making it the first ever time something like this happened to the person occupying geto's body. imagine how strong of a bond you need to have with someone for something like this to happen? satoru is immobilized and lost all control of his body, all he has is his soul now, which knew exactly that it's not suguru he was looking at, while his eyes kept lying to him. and suguru's soul is gone and all he has left now is his body, and his body knows that it's satoru in front of him, so he has to protect him. they drive me insane, absolutely crazy. and then, of course, after all of this heartbreak, gojo gets sealed. his exist wasn't quiet though, that's for sure. that's gojo satoru for ya!
fuck the brain inside of suguru's body for being mean to nanako and mimiko btw, could've just given the girls their father back (it's not like he needs him anymore with satoru gone, right?), but nah, he just needed to be an asshole about it. i sure hope he will regret it.
now to one of my favorite fights of the whole series, itafushi vs awasaka. i'm pretty sure this is the only time we see itadori and fushiguro fight side by side, so i treasure this moment like no other. i think i rewatched this fight every day since last week, so i couldn't wait to reread it. they really didn't get the chance to fight together before, so it was so cool seeing megumi struggling to keep up with yuji at first, but then they ended up being the best duo of them all (sorry, todo), working together so well. yuji's raw strength and megumi's brain and use of technique really shined here. and they're always so cute and fun together, i don't ever want them to separate! (cries) "you're not a good liar, fushiguro. no worries! i said, no worries!" "shut up." please, i could literally hear enoku junya and uchida yuma so clearly here, i love this moment so much, i repeated it so many times in the anime. and btw, rabbit escape is literally the cutest thing ever, yuji agrees.
i remembered nothing about ino's technique going into the reread of the manga, but the anime reminded me last week and i had to kick myself for forgetting it when it's so cool. then again, we haven't seen much of it, and i tend to forget things we were barely shown, unsurprisingly. but gege just had to put him against motherfucking toji of all people, of course ino would lose (literally how is he alive right now?). it's so crazy to me that jujutsu sorcerer don't know who toji is, ino was literally so confused when he saw him. it should've been in some reports, no? he literally almost killed gojo. and here we got some unknown curse users using toji's remains (i'm assuming that's what it was) to access his power. it's so crazy to think about, he was literally not accepted by his family because he wasn't considered a sorcerer, and here are people using him for power, so many years later. that's fucking zen'in for ya, so stupid.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 10 by Gege Akutami
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wow, this whole volume just flew by, did it not? i didn't exactly read it in one sitting, but close enough, it took me a few hours but it didn't even feel like it. i would give it a lower rating, like maybe 3.5 or 3.75, but it's higher because of the gojo vs jogo and hanami (and i guess choso) fight, i just love it a lot. i really found the best time to reread this, because it's october and the shibuya incident takes place during halloween, even most of the anime episodes all air this month, so it's just perfect.
i want to start with mechamaru vs mahito fight, because now i actually liked it. i didn't really care for it when i read the manga for the first time, i cared even less when i saw it animated, but this time i actually enjoyed it for some reason. i took my time looking at all the panels and i could really feel how determined kokichi was the entire fight, he was hopeful, almost. he wanted to go back to his friends, to miwa. and i wanted him to, i really wanted him to see them all again. so he could explain his betrayal, for them to understand and forgive him, and let him help them fight with all the knowledge he now has of geto and the curses. but it wasn't meant to be, he really underestimated mahito, and it cost him his life.
at 8:31 p.m. gojo satoru arrives, no matter how much i scream at him to get out of there, don't go in there alone, he wasn't able to hear me. but to be fair, it's not like i actually want him to leave, i always want to see him fight. especially when he looks the way he does. look, i love it when he hides his eyes, he always looks so hot when they're not visible, but when he takes the blindfold off and lets his unhinged side out, that's a whole other deal. just looking at gojo fight jogo and hanami is making me me more turned on than i've ever been, it feels like (sorry not sorry). "do you know when gojo satoru is most in his element? it's when he's alone." gojo straddling jogo's arm and ripping it off with "ready, steady" is something that can be so personal. he didn't smile here like he did in the anime, he just looked fucking scary with his eyes wide open, and i couldn't be more turned on (SORRY NOT SORRY). why can't i be jogo for just that one moment? first they hold hands back when they fist met, now gojo is with jogo's arm between his legs... crazy. god, i just love it when he's so confident, with his eyes open wide as fuck and with his all teeth smile, especially when he was going at it with hanami, that was just brutal. it's so sexy how everyone going against him is so fucking scared. and it was so fucking funny how choso didn't even want to fight gojo in the first place (i know why, he's not there for him), and jogo even had to yell at him to finally do something to help him, lol. why did they even let him come if they expected gojo alone, did they not know that choso wasn't planning on helping much?
also, i find it so interesting how whenever someone knows that they're going to fight gojo and they're familiar enough with his technique, they always seem to want to put some distance between them. like toji (fuck him) using fly heads to disguise himself and be able to surprise gojo with his attacks, and now the curses using normal people to ensure that gojo won't use his full power because that would mean killing more people than he would be able to save. that's just something i've noticed.
i always forget the grasshopper curse, not gonna lie. ko-guy, ko-guy, ko-guy... i'm repeating his name because i always fucking forget it, it's probably because he was there for only one chapter, but damn, it's not even a complicated name. and it's a really cool fight and i love when yuji is angry, because it's not often we see him like this, it usually happens only when people he loves or normal humans get hurt, and i just love how personal he takes it every time. even if you're not capable of avenging yourself, itadori yuji will do it for you. the fight was definitely much better here, i'm not a big fan of how they animated it, and not even the whole ghosting stuff, i get that it's important, it just wasn't that fun to watch, but it was cool to read it again. it's not the fight that will get stuck with me, but yuji's attitude, "you... every single one of you... stop looking down on humans!"
and the ending, the strongest panel with gojo and just his shadow... so isolating. the next volume is going to hurt like a bitch.
i want to start with mechamaru vs mahito fight, because now i actually liked it. i didn't really care for it when i read the manga for the first time, i cared even less when i saw it animated, but this time i actually enjoyed it for some reason. i took my time looking at all the panels and i could really feel how determined kokichi was the entire fight, he was hopeful, almost. he wanted to go back to his friends, to miwa. and i wanted him to, i really wanted him to see them all again. so he could explain his betrayal, for them to understand and forgive him, and let him help them fight with all the knowledge he now has of geto and the curses. but it wasn't meant to be, he really underestimated mahito, and it cost him his life.
at 8:31 p.m. gojo satoru arrives, no matter how much i scream at him to get out of there, don't go in there alone, he wasn't able to hear me. but to be fair, it's not like i actually want him to leave, i always want to see him fight. especially when he looks the way he does. look, i love it when he hides his eyes, he always looks so hot when they're not visible, but when he takes the blindfold off and lets his unhinged side out, that's a whole other deal. just looking at gojo fight jogo and hanami is making me me more turned on than i've ever been, it feels like (sorry not sorry). "do you know when gojo satoru is most in his element? it's when he's alone." gojo straddling jogo's arm and ripping it off with "ready, steady" is something that can be so personal. he didn't smile here like he did in the anime, he just looked fucking scary with his eyes wide open, and i couldn't be more turned on (SORRY NOT SORRY). why can't i be jogo for just that one moment? first they hold hands back when they fist met, now gojo is with jogo's arm between his legs... crazy. god, i just love it when he's so confident, with his eyes open wide as fuck and with his all teeth smile, especially when he was going at it with hanami, that was just brutal. it's so sexy how everyone going against him is so fucking scared. and it was so fucking funny how choso didn't even want to fight gojo in the first place (i know why, he's not there for him), and jogo even had to yell at him to finally do something to help him, lol. why did they even let him come if they expected gojo alone, did they not know that choso wasn't planning on helping much?
also, i find it so interesting how whenever someone knows that they're going to fight gojo and they're familiar enough with his technique, they always seem to want to put some distance between them. like toji (fuck him) using fly heads to disguise himself and be able to surprise gojo with his attacks, and now the curses using normal people to ensure that gojo won't use his full power because that would mean killing more people than he would be able to save. that's just something i've noticed.
i always forget the grasshopper curse, not gonna lie. ko-guy, ko-guy, ko-guy... i'm repeating his name because i always fucking forget it, it's probably because he was there for only one chapter, but damn, it's not even a complicated name. and it's a really cool fight and i love when yuji is angry, because it's not often we see him like this, it usually happens only when people he loves or normal humans get hurt, and i just love how personal he takes it every time. even if you're not capable of avenging yourself, itadori yuji will do it for you. the fight was definitely much better here, i'm not a big fan of how they animated it, and not even the whole ghosting stuff, i get that it's important, it just wasn't that fun to watch, but it was cool to read it again. it's not the fight that will get stuck with me, but yuji's attitude, "you... every single one of you... stop looking down on humans!"
and the ending, the strongest panel with gojo and just his shadow... so isolating. the next volume is going to hurt like a bitch.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 9 by Gege Akutami
"if you want to kill me, kill me. there would be a point to that."
i could talk about this volume all day, simply because there's just too much to say and i have a lot of thoughts about these characters, and they mean a lot to me, but i feel like there would just too many words for one review, and it's already pretty lengthy. i have two things left to say: rest in peace to haibara, i didn't know much about him but he reminded me of yuji and that makes me feel a lot more sad; and i'm excited to see mechamaru vs mahito again, because i completely blacked out that part of the story and mechamaru being a mole, it took mappa to animate it for me to remember it was a thing at all, and i'm not a huge fan of robot fights in general, so i'm excited to see how i will feel when i read it again. that is all.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"are you the strongest because you're gojo satoru? or are you gojo satoru because you're the strongest?"
if you're not giving this volume its deserved five stars, what are you even doing? this is so perfect in my eyes, i'm ready to buy the volume and then eat all the pages, or tattoo them all out on my back somehow. something along those lines. i'm not even exaggerating when i say that gojo and geto's story will forever be one of my favorite pieces of not just jujutsu kaisen, but media in general. they're so tragic, so fucking tragic, there is no happy ending for them and my heart will never stop breaking. geto was gojo's blue spring, his youth that was taken from him too early. so whenever he says that no one should ever take away the youth from the young, whether he's talking about yuji or yuta, it hits too damn hard. their bond was so special to him, because it wasn't 'i'm the strongest' anymore, but 'we're the strongest', he didn't feel as much of an outcast when there was someone who could finally match him in strength and who didn't treat him like some kind of untouchable god. until. fucking toji. yeah, i'm not the biggest fan of the guy, i don't really get why anyone would be. he has beef with literal teenagers because they're strong. and he killed a child too. and forgot his own son's name, the name he gave to him. so yeah, it's fuck him in my book, i don't feel bad for him and will always love the moment when gojo puts a giant hole in his body using hollow purple. because it all started going downhill the second toji showed up. the only good thing he did was make gojo unlock his full potential, and even that was accomplished by basically killing him. and gojo now being the sole strongest sorcerer in the world, put a (literal) distance between himself and other people. including geto. and the fact is, he did notice that geto wasn't well, he noticed that he lost weight but he brushed it off because geto himself brushed it off. but he just kept getting worse and he was left completely fucking alone. and shitty things just kept piling up, one after the other. there was no breaks for him. and so, 112 people were murdered, his parents as well. and suguru was now considered a curse user and was to be executed. it's not anyone's fault but geto's, but i honestly blame so many other things for making him go down this path. i blame the cursed technique he was born with, i blame the jujutsu world for using him as nothing but a storage for curses (and just the way the jujustu world works in general, making children risk their lives every single day), i blame people at the school who were around geto at the time for not noticing how bad he was taking the events of last year and not reaching out to him in any way, i blame the people who clapped with a smile on their faces when a teenage girl died, i blame toji for fucking everything up because of his pride and greed and putting the word 'monkeys' in suguru's brain in the first place, i blame the people who beat up two little girls because they were different from them. geto did what he thought was best for him and people like him, he took yuki's lesson to heart and even though she said she was not crazy enough to kill all the non sorcerers to rid the world of the curses, he realized that he was, so i don't blame him, i can't. his methods and the attitude towards non sorcerers were not the best, but i understand him too well to care enough about that. and after he killed over a hundred people, he pulled up to shoko looking healthier than ever, and smiling. i think it's the first time we've seen him smile so brightly, so genuinely. and i just love how casual shoko was with him. yes, he killed people, he didn't even deny it, but she still wasn't scared of him, she wasn't crying or yelling 'how could you?' at him. she didn't take his actions personally. that's gojo's job. so of course she would call him right away, even though i don't think geto wanted to say goodbye to him in particular, because he knows him too well and i'm sure he already knew how the other man would react. but if shoko didn't call gojo right away, we wouldn't have the infamous kfc breakup scene. who thought that eating chicken wings could make me sad?
if you're not giving this volume its deserved five stars, what are you even doing? this is so perfect in my eyes, i'm ready to buy the volume and then eat all the pages, or tattoo them all out on my back somehow. something along those lines. i'm not even exaggerating when i say that gojo and geto's story will forever be one of my favorite pieces of not just jujutsu kaisen, but media in general. they're so tragic, so fucking tragic, there is no happy ending for them and my heart will never stop breaking. geto was gojo's blue spring, his youth that was taken from him too early. so whenever he says that no one should ever take away the youth from the young, whether he's talking about yuji or yuta, it hits too damn hard. their bond was so special to him, because it wasn't 'i'm the strongest' anymore, but 'we're the strongest', he didn't feel as much of an outcast when there was someone who could finally match him in strength and who didn't treat him like some kind of untouchable god. until. fucking toji. yeah, i'm not the biggest fan of the guy, i don't really get why anyone would be. he has beef with literal teenagers because they're strong. and he killed a child too. and forgot his own son's name, the name he gave to him. so yeah, it's fuck him in my book, i don't feel bad for him and will always love the moment when gojo puts a giant hole in his body using hollow purple. because it all started going downhill the second toji showed up. the only good thing he did was make gojo unlock his full potential, and even that was accomplished by basically killing him. and gojo now being the sole strongest sorcerer in the world, put a (literal) distance between himself and other people. including geto. and the fact is, he did notice that geto wasn't well, he noticed that he lost weight but he brushed it off because geto himself brushed it off. but he just kept getting worse and he was left completely fucking alone. and shitty things just kept piling up, one after the other. there was no breaks for him. and so, 112 people were murdered, his parents as well. and suguru was now considered a curse user and was to be executed. it's not anyone's fault but geto's, but i honestly blame so many other things for making him go down this path. i blame the cursed technique he was born with, i blame the jujutsu world for using him as nothing but a storage for curses (and just the way the jujustu world works in general, making children risk their lives every single day), i blame people at the school who were around geto at the time for not noticing how bad he was taking the events of last year and not reaching out to him in any way, i blame the people who clapped with a smile on their faces when a teenage girl died, i blame toji for fucking everything up because of his pride and greed and putting the word 'monkeys' in suguru's brain in the first place, i blame the people who beat up two little girls because they were different from them. geto did what he thought was best for him and people like him, he took yuki's lesson to heart and even though she said she was not crazy enough to kill all the non sorcerers to rid the world of the curses, he realized that he was, so i don't blame him, i can't. his methods and the attitude towards non sorcerers were not the best, but i understand him too well to care enough about that. and after he killed over a hundred people, he pulled up to shoko looking healthier than ever, and smiling. i think it's the first time we've seen him smile so brightly, so genuinely. and i just love how casual shoko was with him. yes, he killed people, he didn't even deny it, but she still wasn't scared of him, she wasn't crying or yelling 'how could you?' at him. she didn't take his actions personally. that's gojo's job. so of course she would call him right away, even though i don't think geto wanted to say goodbye to him in particular, because he knows him too well and i'm sure he already knew how the other man would react. but if shoko didn't call gojo right away, we wouldn't have the infamous kfc breakup scene. who thought that eating chicken wings could make me sad?
"if you want to kill me, kill me. there would be a point to that."
i could talk about this volume all day, simply because there's just too much to say and i have a lot of thoughts about these characters, and they mean a lot to me, but i feel like there would just too many words for one review, and it's already pretty lengthy. i have two things left to say: rest in peace to haibara, i didn't know much about him but he reminded me of yuji and that makes me feel a lot more sad; and i'm excited to see mechamaru vs mahito again, because i completely blacked out that part of the story and mechamaru being a mole, it took mappa to animate it for me to remember it was a thing at all, and i'm not a huge fan of robot fights in general, so i'm excited to see how i will feel when i read it again. that is all.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 8 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hidden inventory arc is one of my favorite parts of jujutsu kaisen because it gives us more about the character of geto suguru, whom i adore, so i was really excited to read it again. and with it being already fully animated by mappa, it felt a little strange, because of how fast it now seems in the manga. they added some things in the anime, expanded on the others and it was all done so beautifully, so now coming back to this feels empty. i'm not saying it's bad, i'm just saying i liked the way mappa decided to adapt this arc in particular, it still feels the same but with just a few things added. i'm not sure i have a lot of things to say about the volume as a whole, because the real shit will begin in the next one, but i guess i can talk about how different gojo and geto were in their school days. that's what this whole arc is about, their growth. "it's such a pain looking out for the weak." "society should protect the weak and keep the strong in check. you see, satoru... jujutsu exists to protect non-jujutsu users." "being righteous? i hate that stuff! applying reasoning and responsibility to jujutsu is what weak people do. don't get all proud of yourself for spouting that garbage. blech!" it's the way their views change completely by the end, is what crazy to me. especially in case of suguru, i find his character so fascinating. i don't really want to talk about it too in depth here because that would be spoilers, and i don't want to spoil anyone here, but i'll come back to it sometime. i love everything about this arc, so i'm really excited to finish it as soon as i can and move on to shibuya, so i could finish that before the next episode of the anime comes out, i forgot too much of it, and i want to be ready. the only thing i would change about hidden inventory, is how much we see of shoko. and by how much i mean basically never. i know it's not about her, but i just want to see her more in jujutsu kaisen in general </3 fuck toji, give me more shoko instead!
and i guess the last thing i could talk about is itafushi, my favorite boys. they keep stressing me out, with megumi not wanting to tell yuji about sukuna's finger being the reason that some curses awakened and killed people because he wants to protect yuji's heart and conscience as much as possible, and sukuna yelling at yuji that it's all his fault and yuji telling him not to say such things to megumi because he doesn't want megumi to blame himself or yuji. look, i love satosugu and the tragedy of them, but itafushi are everything to me, i love those two so much and i can only hope that they won't repeat satosugu's fate with how many parallels between the two can be drawn already at this point. that is all.
and i guess the last thing i could talk about is itafushi, my favorite boys. they keep stressing me out, with megumi not wanting to tell yuji about sukuna's finger being the reason that some curses awakened and killed people because he wants to protect yuji's heart and conscience as much as possible, and sukuna yelling at yuji that it's all his fault and yuji telling him not to say such things to megumi because he doesn't want megumi to blame himself or yuji. look, i love satosugu and the tragedy of them, but itafushi are everything to me, i love those two so much and i can only hope that they won't repeat satosugu's fate with how many parallels between the two can be drawn already at this point. that is all.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Thorny Road at Dawn by Ballad Kitaguni, Gege Akutami
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
maybe i'll finish it someday, but for now i just find it a bit boring, and want to move forward with the main jjk story instead </3