Feeds Recommends: JUJUTSU KAISEN
Anime has not attained much popularity in India as compared to the rest of the world. One major issue is the lack of TV channels and legal websites for streaming and DVDs in stores. But with many coming out of the prejudice that anime is for kids and India proving itself to be a good market, the viewership rates are slowly on the increase.
Within the anime community in India, shounen, a category associated with action-filled plots is one of the most popular genres. One reason is that an anime or manga fight scene massively outclasses the same in any other form of entertainment. The best ones have fluid animations, intriguing plot and epic fight scenes. With just a few episodes on the release, Jujutsu kaisen has already proved to have them all, setting it apart from all the other anime which debuted this year. Studio MAPPA, known for their consistently fantastic work, is firing on all cylinders to give anime lovers around the world an incredible show.
Jujutsu kaisen, a horror-action anime, follows the story of an easy-going but upbeat highschooler, Itadori Yuji. After swallowing a finger of an extremely powerful Cursed spirit, Ryomen Sukuna, to save his friends, Itadori begins to see the dire side of his world. Through this incident, he meets a group of people known as Jujutsu sorcerers who defend humanity from Cursed spirits. The Cursed finger of Sukuna gives the already physically skilled Itadori massive amounts of powers in close combat which he decides to put into use by becoming a sorcerer himself. Joining Jujutsu High, one of the two schools for Jujutsu sorcerers, he goes on several missions to exorcise Cursed spirits with fellow first-year students, Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki under the counsel of their teacher Satoru Gojo.
A cliche this anime managed to shatter was the ‘damsel in distress’ attitude of the female characters, which unfortunately, is often the case in shounen anime. Gege Akutami, the mangaka, gave Kugusaki a stubborn personality and powerful abilities, making her both a reliable ally and an intimidating enemy. The characters are full of energy and their relationships, realistic, which adds interest to the already captivating storyline. With hilarious moments between the equally frisky student-teacher duo, Itadori and Satoru establish themselves as extremely funny protagonists from episode one.
Straying from the typical good-versus-monsters plot of shounen anime, Jujutsu Kaisen adds several twists to the story, blurring Itadori’s morales and making characters question the value of human lives. But despite being a work of wonder, this anime has its setbacks. Although it’s far from being a copy-paste, one can draw parallels between the characters here and the ones from Naruto. The relationship between Itadori and Sukuna and the nonchalance of the genius mentor Satoru are very similar to what we have in Naruto.
Jujutsu Kaisen is sure to take us back to the times we used to eagerly wait every week for the next episode of the series to air. With an easy to follow plot, characters with depth, quirky dialogues and exaggerated expressions, this anime is sure to hit home for the Naruto and Bleach fans and is a good start for the first-timers as well. The intense opening and eccentric closing only add to the viewers’ intrigue. Currently airing its first season with twenty-four episodes planned, Jujutsu Kaisen has exceeded all expectations and is possibly on the road to becoming one of the best shounen anime of all times.
