Featured Image: (Pacer Graphic / Sophia Phillips)
Season three of “Jujutsu Kaisen” is a hit amongst the fandom and has been both praised and criticized for the unique animation used.
There are some minor spoilers for season three in this article, so tread lightly.
There are a few points in the anime that really caught my attention when watching. I may be biased in saying that Toji and Maki look especially good in this season.
One scene in particular sent Toji fans in a flurry: Naoya’s memories of him from childhood. These scenes showcased Toji as this massive, exhausted man–a shell of himself compared to how he was presented in the show before.
The animation also does a stellar job of making it feel like a memory. The entire scene moves from an over-shoulder shot from Naoya’s point-of-view to a distant shot from down the hallway. It feels disjointed in a way that makes it feel like he cannot even fully remember what Toji looked like, but from what he did remember, he looked like a monster.
Maki had several notable scenes in this season. When her sister Mai dies, the transition from reality to the world that exists only between the two of them paints a powerful picture between the two sisters. In her final moments, it makes it clear that the two still have one another, despite their differences. The use of color in the background made the scene feel much more profound than just having the standard run-of-the-mill death scene.
Another scene that was beautifully executed was Maki annihilating the Zenin clan. The way that she ends up using the blood to propel herself across the floor and to one single guy just makes the scene that much scarier. It also points to a scene straight out of an Uma Thurman movie. I believe it was a reference to “Kill Bill,” but do not quote me on that.
The following scene when she trails the building looking for her mother felt like a scene straight out of a horror movie, especially if you take into account how afraid her mother had to be. The wide shot of her walking from room to room is just jarring and overall adds a tenseness that anime does not frequently achieve.
Going back to Naoya, the scene when Maki breaks his jaw is one of the funniest scenes that I have seen in a Shonen fight. The multiple angle replay of her breaking his jaw was genuinely crazy, especially since I have never seen an anime do a replay of a hit.
This season has some major moments, especially with the unique animation. There are so many scenes that I could touch on from this season, or even from just one episode alone, but instead I would like to give the viewer the opportunity to witness it for themselves.
If you have the time, check out “Jujutsu Kaisen” season three on Crunchyroll or Netflix.
