Jujutsu Kaisen #1-5

Jujutsu Kaisen #1-5

Originally released in 2018

Written by Gege Akutami

Art by Gege Akutami

Jujutsu Kaisen, much like Chainsaw Man, is a Shonen Jump series that I missed out on, so I decided to read the first few chapters of that.  My first impressions are that it reminds me a lot of Naruto (particular the main cast, which consists of an energetic boy, a serious boy, a girl, and a white-haired teacher, with the energetic boy sharing his body with a powerful demonic force) mixed with elements of Bleach. (the modern setting and demonic elements)  That's not a bad thing - any form of art takes inspiration from something (a ton of manga are inspired, either directly or indirectly, from Dragon Ball), and I enjoyed what I've read of the series.

The comedy comes pretty naturally here (compared to something like Bleach, where the comedic elements felt a bit forced by the end), and while we don't learn much about Yuji, he's a likeable straightforward character.  He's ordinary compared to some of the more outlandish manga protagonists out there, feeling more like a modern teenager, but he's still a likeable character.  It seems easy for a series to fall into the trap of the protagonist being the least interesting character (as they wind up being the everyman to serve as a reader's viewpoint into this setting), but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same about his teammates.  Megumi Fushiguro (the one with the spiky black hair in the above picture) is the more serious foil to Yuji, but as a result, he didn't stand out all that much to me.  Nobara Kugisaki was a bit more interesting, being a young woman from the country who joined the team to be able to live in the big city and reunite with her friend, but I'm concerned that it will turn out like Naruto where the women don't get to do much. (her sorcery power acts similarly to voodoo dolls - I'm concerned that she's going to reach a point where the feeling of a nail through the head won't even inconvenience some enemies, and then she'll hit a wall and be stuck in the background while the men do all of the work)  Maybe it's irrational of me, but it seems to be a recurring issue within the shonen manga genre.

The teacher of the trio, Satoru Gojo, seems like an interesting character.  He hasn't gotten to do anything yet, as none of the threats have been big enough for him to step in, though he's confident in his strength. (his response to what would happen if he fought the demon trapped inside of Yuji became a meme, though I'm not sure if the meme is meant to be accurate or a sign that a character severely overrates their own strength)

Speaking of which, there's the demon that's trapped inside of Yuji.  Upon finding out that a demon that attacked his friends was trying to eat a cursed finger in order to gain great power, Yuji ate the cursed finger instead.  As a result, he became possessed by Ryomen Sukuna, a powerful four-armed sorcerer.  Normally, this would lead to his immediate execution, though as he was able to suppress Sukuna, Yuji was taken to Jujutsu High School, where he will train, eat Sukuna's remaining nineteen fingers... and then be executed so that Sukuna dies with him.

Yuji's grandfather passes away in the first chapter, telling Yuji to be more friendly than he was so that when he dies, he'll be surrounded by people who care about him. (Yuji's grandfather only has Yuji at his bedside)  Between the stay of execution and his grandfather's final words, it has me concerned that this manga will have a tragic ending where Yuji ultimately succumbs to Sukuna's possession, manages to maintain enough control to create an opening for Sukuna to be killed, and ultimately die surrounded by his friends and allies who gathered to defeat Sukuna. (or maybe I'm reading too much into it)

That's not to say it's completely serious, though, which is good in my eyes. (levity helps to keep my interest)  It's a good start to the series, with a lot of my concerns or worries being more like wild speculation than based on anything specific in these chapters.

This is a series that's been doing extremely well for itself in recent years, and I can see why - it seems like a good gateway anime/manga, something that can help people to get into the medium.  It does a good job with balancing light and dark elements, rather than leaning too heavily one way or the other.  The issues that I had could very well get dealt with later on in the series, for all I know; this isn't a series that I knew much about, and as a result, it's kind of refreshing to go into it having no idea what will come next.