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zhaenya's reviews
33 reviews
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 7 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
5.0
talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it. yes, this is my first five stars for jujutsu kaisen volume, that's how much i fucking love it (and it's actually my first five stars since i started using storygraph, isn't that crazy?). it's not just the story, but the cover art for the chapters.. some of the best. i especially want to mention chapter 56, with yuji and sukuna holding each other by the throat with four special grades (yuki, geto, yuta and gojo) behind them, and chapter 58, with now mahito's hands around yuji's neck and sukuna's around megumi's. those two!
i've taken so many fucking notes for this volume, and just now going over them and thinking what i should mention in my final review is making my head hurt. i wish i could just make my reading journal public, ugh.
good god, i don't even know where to start with this one. because to me, this is perfect, to put it simply. as soon as you see that it's choso holding his brother's hands on the cover, you know shit is about to be good (and you don't even know any of them yet!). and oh, how good it was. i honestly just love choso, eso and kechizu (yes, all three of them), i love their designs, i love their techniques, i love their love for each other. it will always be a bummer that we do not get to see more of the younger brothers because they're really cool, but it makes sense for them to go down here, with every first year taking down a special grade. and as much as i love them, i will always love seeing nobara kick their asses even more. she's crazy and i love her more for it. and she did it a black flash for the first time, with yuji! god, i love them.
i have to mention eso here again, and i don't know if it's controversial, but to me he's actually the sexiest man in the whole manga. and if gege didn't want me to think all these bad things about him, they shouldn't have drawn him like that! that's an objectively sexy man! he even has beautiful wings! and his technique is so damn cool, it's like gege knows how much i love all the death, rot and blood stuff, that's the stuff. i need to know if eso can pole dance, it's for science.
and kechizu is just cute, he's one funky looking dude, but he's adorable, we love the youngest brother.
this volume was very much focused on megumi's growth, from his talk with itadori and nobara when they were eating pizza together, to the baseball game, to his training with gojo (which is one of my absolute favorite moments of the entire manga, plus everything that comes after) and then finally him taking down a special grade all by himself, using his domain expansion for the first time. and even if his domain was still incomplete, it was incredible, it was so beautiful and so megumi, and i just loved seeing him finally let go and just have fun beating up some (special grade) curse, even stronger than the one he ran away from the night yuji got killed. he was like a maniac, all covered in blood and grinning with all his teeth. i loved every second of it. and the flashbacks of him in middle school where he was putting bullies in their place, he was such an icon. he of course changed a bit since then, his sister got cursed and he grew up, his outlook on life changed as well, but he can still be that bratty kid that gets annoyed super easily, and i love him for it. but i think he's a little more lonely now, especially with tsumiki not being there for him anymore. he still has gojo, of course, but it's hardly the same. he had it rough since he was a kid, and tsumiki was the only one there for him, and i just hope they get to see each other again. please.
the last thing i want to say, can we ask kamo noritoshi's parents why the hell they named him after the most evil jujutsu sorcerer in all of history? because that's so mean. 💀
i've taken so many fucking notes for this volume, and just now going over them and thinking what i should mention in my final review is making my head hurt. i wish i could just make my reading journal public, ugh.
good god, i don't even know where to start with this one. because to me, this is perfect, to put it simply. as soon as you see that it's choso holding his brother's hands on the cover, you know shit is about to be good (and you don't even know any of them yet!). and oh, how good it was. i honestly just love choso, eso and kechizu (yes, all three of them), i love their designs, i love their techniques, i love their love for each other. it will always be a bummer that we do not get to see more of the younger brothers because they're really cool, but it makes sense for them to go down here, with every first year taking down a special grade. and as much as i love them, i will always love seeing nobara kick their asses even more. she's crazy and i love her more for it. and she did it a black flash for the first time, with yuji! god, i love them.
i have to mention eso here again, and i don't know if it's controversial, but to me he's actually the sexiest man in the whole manga. and if gege didn't want me to think all these bad things about him, they shouldn't have drawn him like that! that's an objectively sexy man! he even has beautiful wings! and his technique is so damn cool, it's like gege knows how much i love all the death, rot and blood stuff, that's the stuff. i need to know if eso can pole dance, it's for science.
and kechizu is just cute, he's one funky looking dude, but he's adorable, we love the youngest brother.
this volume was very much focused on megumi's growth, from his talk with itadori and nobara when they were eating pizza together, to the baseball game, to his training with gojo (which is one of my absolute favorite moments of the entire manga, plus everything that comes after) and then finally him taking down a special grade all by himself, using his domain expansion for the first time. and even if his domain was still incomplete, it was incredible, it was so beautiful and so megumi, and i just loved seeing him finally let go and just have fun beating up some (special grade) curse, even stronger than the one he ran away from the night yuji got killed. he was like a maniac, all covered in blood and grinning with all his teeth. i loved every second of it. and the flashbacks of him in middle school where he was putting bullies in their place, he was such an icon. he of course changed a bit since then, his sister got cursed and he grew up, his outlook on life changed as well, but he can still be that bratty kid that gets annoyed super easily, and i love him for it. but i think he's a little more lonely now, especially with tsumiki not being there for him anymore. he still has gojo, of course, but it's hardly the same. he had it rough since he was a kid, and tsumiki was the only one there for him, and i just hope they get to see each other again. please.
the last thing i want to say, can we ask kamo noritoshi's parents why the hell they named him after the most evil jujutsu sorcerer in all of history? because that's so mean. 💀
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Gore
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 6 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
my favorite volume since jjk 0, and that's saying something, because i love jjk 0 a lot. the best part about it is of course all the fighting against hanami, there's no doubt about it. he was in the center of it all since the beginning of the volume, and things just kept getting progressively more intense, which i loved. it started with the weakest, with kamo, fushiguro and inumaki vs hanami, with inumaki carrying but also injuring himself pretty badly; then continuing on with maki and fushiguro vs hanami, which was incredible, in my opinion, but maybe i'm biased because i love them both individually but also working together as a team, because they both use cursed tools so much and they work so well together, bouncing off of each other, so i guess all their training together paid off in the end (i wish we would see them fighting together in the future as well, that would be so cool). and we of course got megumi trying to be a martyr once again, blaming himself whenever something goes wrong and getting ready to put his life on the line to save his friends... i love him, i love him so much, but someone please knock some sense into him, i don't need him to go dying on me whenever he feels like it! screw that! but of course, we got yuji and todo saving the day, saving megumi and maki (it's basically their thing, megumi and yuji's, saving each other. i love them more than you would ever know), leading to the best fight of the manga so far, in my humble opinion. but i'm right though. todo and itadori are just perfect together, they work incredibly well while also learning and adapting to any situation. yuji using black flash for the first time, and almost beating nanami's record! he's so cool!! and of course hanami would have fun fighting them, just like mahito had fun fighting nanami and itadori (that's yuji's effect on special grades, he's iconic like that). we saw them bringing a special grade to his limit, he even almost used his doman expansion, that's how crazy that fight was! but then we got the strongest player on the scene, so of course everyone decided to scram as soon as possible lol (and that's gojo effect on basically everyone, also iconic). if i had to say something about gojo satoru without his blindfold, people would side eye me so hard, so i'll just keep my mouth shut and leave it with one simple thing: he's pretty. (when he used hollow purple, i immediately got the anime soundtrack that was playing during that scene stuck in my head, that's how many times i watched that episode. crazy)
yeah, this was incredible. if i had to change one thing, it would be the timing of gojo lifting the veil, because i wanted to see utahime fight for the first time, but then he had to go and ruin it all. of course. but i can wait, i'm sure i'll see her fight sometime in the future. overall, this was almost a perfect chapter, it's the first one since jjk 0 i couldn't put down and just had to read in one sitting, only taking a break when i had some notes i wanted to write down in my reading journal. it was just so tense but also fun, and all the fight scenes felt really impactful (except for the one with megumi and noritoshi, but it's not like they were going all out and trying to actually hurt each other), and the flow of each chapter just felt really smooth, very natural, there was no crazy interruptions during exciting fights (if we don't count gege's end of the chapter comments and notes, and i'm not counting those because i love them and they often make me laugh a lot), and i loved that.
yeah, this was incredible. if i had to change one thing, it would be the timing of gojo lifting the veil, because i wanted to see utahime fight for the first time, but then he had to go and ruin it all. of course. but i can wait, i'm sure i'll see her fight sometime in the future. overall, this was almost a perfect chapter, it's the first one since jjk 0 i couldn't put down and just had to read in one sitting, only taking a break when i had some notes i wanted to write down in my reading journal. it was just so tense but also fun, and all the fight scenes felt really impactful (except for the one with megumi and noritoshi, but it's not like they were going all out and trying to actually hurt each other), and the flow of each chapter just felt really smooth, very natural, there was no crazy interruptions during exciting fights (if we don't count gege's end of the chapter comments and notes, and i'm not counting those because i love them and they often make me laugh a lot), and i loved that.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 5 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
"all these one-on-ones... did they forget the main objective?" i would even say no one cares enough to fight the damn curses, they only get exorcised if they get in the way lol. and honestly, i do understand why everyone who doesn't know itadori is so against him, my boy has a king of curses inside of him and no one knows when it blows up in everyone's face, because it will, so i understand their fear and desire to get rid of him as soon as possible. but i will not root for them, because that's my boy, and i'm tired of everyone treating him as nothing but sukuna's vessel! the best part about them all fighting each other is of course the growing bond between yuji and todo, he even declared him his new best friend (yuji didn't really care, he just wanted to fight and get stronger, but still, it was cute), the rest of the students just have a lot of personal issues they had to sort out. especially mechamaru and mai, but i do feel for both of them, their situations are pretty bad (i'm too lazy to write down how i feel about it all again, but if you could see my reading journal here, you would understand just how much i feel for them both, honest to god).
but now that we're done fighting each other, here come the special grades to raise the stakes. i'm excited!
but now that we're done fighting each other, here come the special grades to raise the stakes. i'm excited!
Jujutsu Kaisen: Summer of Ashes Autumn of Dust Novel by Ballad Kitaguni, Gege Akutami
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
i was looking forward to finally reading this, but it was just alright, honestly. left me feeling a bit empty, overall. it started out so good with yuji and megumi having a day off and just hanging out, but then they started trailing gojo and i thought it would go in some funny place, like gojo knowing they were following him and just playing them, dragging them to the most random places, but it was just meh, the last bit of the chapter ruined it for me (and the situation as a whole reminded me of that one naruto episode with team seven following kakashi around, trying to see him without his mask on lol). the second one was a bit better, a little twisted, with a curse user using bodies of dead babies to make dolls and "resurrect" them, and then the ending with nanami and gojo hanging out at the bar, talking about yuji and gojo wanting nanami to take care of him, i loved that so much. but the third chapter is what actually elevated my rating a bit, because of how good it was. mahito will always be one of the most interesting characters of jujutsu kaisen for me, i'm his biggest fan and will always be happy to read more stuff about him (like his "love" for the books and the movies, that honestly makes so much sense), but this was such a new side of him, and i loved loved loved it so much. him being intrigued by this blind old man and thinking how different he was than any other human he ever met, just to realize that it wasn't actually the case, that he was just like every other person on this earth, he needed people and company, and mahito ended up being just that for him, that old man literally died with a smile on his face and thanked mahito for being there for him in his final moments. just.. everything about chapter three was incredible, they should've just focused on the curses and gave us a little story about jogo and hanami going on a date or something! and the last two chapters were just there. the last one was okay, but chapter four was a snoozey, i couldn't even finish it (i'm so sorry, ijichi).
yeah, this was alright, but the only chapter i would come back to and reread it with pleasure is chapter three, mahito carried!
yeah, this was alright, but the only chapter i would come back to and reread it with pleasure is chapter three, mahito carried!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Body horror, and Child death
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 4 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
to go from the arc with junpei, to the goodwill event with kyoto students (and itadori finally being back, gojo's idea of a surprise was absolutely ridiculous btw, nanami agrees) is insane. from something so dark and depressing, especially when looking at yuji's character development and forced growth (is it really okay to be a child in current circumstance when such horrible stuff tends to happen all around him?), to something so lighthearted and fun, but also not really because yuji is still in danger, the higher-ups still want to get rid of him, so i guess the shift in tone is not too crazy. but now yuji's stronger, he's more ready, and he will only keep getting better! <3 god, i can't tell you how excited i am for him and todo to fight (and bond) during this arc, it's so much fun!
(they better stop teasing me with yuta, or i swear to god.. he made the goodwill event his bitch last year and i wasn't even able to see it? not even in a flashback or something? and they made him and miguel a center for one of the chapter covers? this is torture at its finest!)
look, i watched the anime a lot, and i read the manga before, but only while reading through the manga this second time and taking my time with it, and writing down my thoughts, i realized how similar yuji and megumi's arc of growing and not wanting to lose anymore has been. they've both lost people, megumi lost yuji and yuji lost junpei, and were forced to fight special grade curses. there was such a difference in their state of mind though, and we will get into that later in the manga as well, with yuji ready to kill mahito and striking him with all the rage he's got build up inside of him, but with megumi just wanting to bring yuji back by trying to hurt sukuna so he would reach his limit and heal yuji's heart, that was the only thing on his mind, he was cautious and scared, but still fought until he couldn't no more. and that is just so fascinating to me, i love their characters so much even when they're so incredibly different in everything they do.
now, the last thing i want to say, gojo better leave utahime alone, my man is not funny! 😤 the way i wouldn't be able to stand his ass if i was in her place, i can't even blame her for snapping at him all the time! give her a break, would you, you're so annoying! okay, now that i'm done yelling at him, i can say, this is the best volume art yet, gojo satoru looking all cool! i love the colors and i love his pose, it's just so gojo, you know? (it's not my favorite cover of all time, there's more to come, but it's definitely up there, and it's the best one yet)
(they better stop teasing me with yuta, or i swear to god.. he made the goodwill event his bitch last year and i wasn't even able to see it? not even in a flashback or something? and they made him and miguel a center for one of the chapter covers? this is torture at its finest!)
look, i watched the anime a lot, and i read the manga before, but only while reading through the manga this second time and taking my time with it, and writing down my thoughts, i realized how similar yuji and megumi's arc of growing and not wanting to lose anymore has been. they've both lost people, megumi lost yuji and yuji lost junpei, and were forced to fight special grade curses. there was such a difference in their state of mind though, and we will get into that later in the manga as well, with yuji ready to kill mahito and striking him with all the rage he's got build up inside of him, but with megumi just wanting to bring yuji back by trying to hurt sukuna so he would reach his limit and heal yuji's heart, that was the only thing on his mind, he was cautious and scared, but still fought until he couldn't no more. and that is just so fascinating to me, i love their characters so much even when they're so incredibly different in everything they do.
now, the last thing i want to say, gojo better leave utahime alone, my man is not funny! 😤 the way i wouldn't be able to stand his ass if i was in her place, i can't even blame her for snapping at him all the time! give her a break, would you, you're so annoying! okay, now that i'm done yelling at him, i can say, this is the best volume art yet, gojo satoru looking all cool! i love the colors and i love his pose, it's just so gojo, you know? (it's not my favorite cover of all time, there's more to come, but it's definitely up there, and it's the best one yet)
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 3 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"being a child is not a sin" they said, and then proceeded to strip away every good thing a child has ever had in his life (there wasn't a lot to begin with). i honestly feel so incredibly bad for yoshino junpei, his life was already miserable enough, but then he had to meet mahito of all 'people' so that he could make his life even worse. and don't get me wrong, i love mahito, i'm his biggest fan, but he did junpei so wrong and it wasn't even worth it! their whole plan was to use the kid, to have him befriend itadori and then do something horrible to him so that itadori would make a pact with sukuna. but they already made a pact! (i don't think they can make another one?) but they don't know about it (neither does itadori himself, to be fair)! so they basically destroyed an innocent, already depressed, child's life for nothing! i'm not ready to read the next volume, i'm not ready to see yuji and junpei fight. we could've had it all, they could've been such good friends! 😠ugh.
the best part of the third volume was mahito and nanami's fight btw, i always love it so much because of how cool and not at all comparable their cursed techniques are, it's so much fun!
and we got nobara on the cover, and we barely got to see her, or megumi 😤 i miss them already, give me my trio back, this is too depressing!
the best part of the third volume was mahito and nanami's fight btw, i always love it so much because of how cool and not at all comparable their cursed techniques are, it's so much fun!
and we got nobara on the cover, and we barely got to see her, or megumi 😤 i miss them already, give me my trio back, this is too depressing!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 2: Fearsome Womb by Gege Akutami
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
this volume felt a little more lighthearted, it's just the beginning that was kind of dark and mysterious, but also very fun. i almost forgot how early we got megumi's "with this treasure, i summon.." for the first time, even if he didn't actually finish (he knows the words and everything though!). but honestly, i just want yuji, megumi and nobara to be together again, because this separation thing is always killing me, even though they're all busy working on themselves and learning knew things, i wish they would be doing it together </3 we finally got to see more of the villains, got a little glimpse of mahito (i know most of the fandom hates him, but i'm actually his biggest fan, that's my guy), and gojo humiliating jogo is always a lot of fun, no matter how many times i see it (it looked cooler in the anime though, and gojo felt more scary than he did here).
it took me a little longer to finish this second volume because i really didn't feel like reading anything for more than a few hours, but it's finally done, and i'm ready to move on to the next one! i've seen the first season of jjk so many times at this point, and read the manga before, but i'm still excited to revisit some parts of the story, believe it or not. and the next volume is one of those parts, i don't know if i'm ready for the sadness though, it will probably hit me like a truck when i get to the parts i'm dreading the most, concerning one character we haven't even met in the manga before.. well, good luck, me.
it took me a little longer to finish this second volume because i really didn't feel like reading anything for more than a few hours, but it's finally done, and i'm ready to move on to the next one! i've seen the first season of jjk so many times at this point, and read the manga before, but i'm still excited to revisit some parts of the story, believe it or not. and the next volume is one of those parts, i don't know if i'm ready for the sadness though, it will probably hit me like a truck when i get to the parts i'm dreading the most, concerning one character we haven't even met in the manga before.. well, good luck, me.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
how a simple phrase "help people" can change a life of one special fifteen year old boy (and him eating a cursed finger of course lol). it feels so nice to take my time with the story now, because the first time i read this, i was in such a hurry to finish all the chapters available before the anime started to come out, but now i can really sit with it all and just look at the art style, think about the things being said and go deeper into it. but also, i just know and love the characters now, i'm overly familiar with each of the main cast at this point, but it doesn't feel like a chore to come back and read it all from the beginning again. because, like i said, i just love them all, and there are always (some) new things i can pick up on with the knowledge of the future chapters i have.
itadori yuji deserves the world, and i wish i could give it to him, genuinely 🫂 my boy is so young and already got a death sentence because he wanted to help a person.
itadori yuji deserves the world, and i wish i could give it to him, genuinely 🫂 my boy is so young and already got a death sentence because he wanted to help a person.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 0 by Gege Akutami
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
"i've always believed.. that love is the most twisted curse of them all."
it's been a while since i've read this, but i watched the movie yesterday, so it was still all fresh in my mind. why am i reading this again then, you ask? wanted to experience the manga since the beginning once again, instead of jumping to the chapter i read last. thought it would be best to catch up this way! and i love the story a lot anyway, so i don't mind rereading it over and over again.
i will miss yuta so much though, that's my baby and i will have to go through so many chapters before i get to seem him again..ðŸ˜
it's been a while since i've read this, but i watched the movie yesterday, so it was still all fresh in my mind. why am i reading this again then, you ask? wanted to experience the manga since the beginning once again, instead of jumping to the chapter i read last. thought it would be best to catch up this way! and i love the story a lot anyway, so i don't mind rereading it over and over again.
i will miss yuta so much though, that's my baby and i will have to go through so many chapters before i get to seem him again..ðŸ˜
The Awakening by L.J. Smith
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
the story of elena gilbert and how the world seems to be revolving all around her. as a fan of the vampire diaries, the show, since i was a teen, this was kind of a nightmare to get through, not gonna lie. i found myself really disliking elena and her romance with stefan is the most uninteresting thing ever, and it's literally the focus of the book. at least damon is here! unsurprisingly, he was the best part of the whole thing, lurking in the shadows and messing with his brother, but then he started with his "give elena to me" and lost me there a little. everything in the book just happens so fast, it feels unearned.
the weirdest thing that i had to make myself get used to was katherine, how different they describe her here. i'm so used to her in the show (and i love her dearly), so it was weird reading about her here, i didn't exactly like it, maybe i'll have to get used to it even more. but then again, i disliked more things than i liked, unfortunately. even if i never watched the show, i would still think of this book as something ridiculous and not at all compelling. i'm determined to finish the whole series though, even if i have to power through it..
the weirdest thing that i had to make myself get used to was katherine, how different they describe her here. i'm so used to her in the show (and i love her dearly), so it was weird reading about her here, i didn't exactly like it, maybe i'll have to get used to it even more. but then again, i disliked more things than i liked, unfortunately. even if i never watched the show, i would still think of this book as something ridiculous and not at all compelling. i'm determined to finish the whole series though, even if i have to power through it..