Jujutsu Kaisen
Rating: Average 8.30 / 10
Alternative: Jujutsu Kaisen (呪術廻戦)
Author(s): Gege Akutami
Artist(s): Gege Akutami
Genre(s): Action, Supernatural
Type: Manga
Release: Mar 5, 2018
Status: Finished
Plot Summary:
Hidden in plain sight, an age-old conflict rages on. Supernatural monsters known as Curses terrorize humanity from the shadows, and powerful humans known as Jujutsu sorcerers use mystical arts to exterminate them. When high school student Yuuji Itadori finds a dried-up finger of the legendary Curse Sukuna Ryoumen, he suddenly finds himself joining this bloody conflict. Attacked by a Curse attracted to the finger's power, Yuuji makes a reckless decision to protect himself, gaining the power to combat Curses in the process but also unwittingly unleashing the malicious Sukuna into the world once more. Though Yuuji can control and confine Sukuna to his own body, the Jujutsu world classifies Yuuji as a dangerous, high-level Curse who must be exterminated. Detained and sentenced to death, Yuuji meets Satoru Gojou—a teacher at Jujutsu High School—who explains that despite his imminent execution, there is an alternative for him. Being a rare vessel to Sukuna, if Yuuji were to die, then Sukuna would perish too. Therefore, if Yuuji were to consume the many other remnants of Sukuna, then Yuuji's subsequent execution would truly eradicate the malicious demon. Taking up this chance to make the world safer and live his life for a little longer, Yuuji enrolls in Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, jumping headfirst into a harsh and unforgiving battlefield.
Reviews
Rating: ★★★★☆
"I gave this series a very high rating and probably one of the best new series, there with chainsaw man. First off, who would like this series? The series are for those who love hard magic systems, good world building and are willing to wait for stories to pick up. That's as spoiler free as I can give you. I would say the first few chapters of the series are very generic and is not as interesting as chainsawman. But it picks up, alot. Escalations mainly occured in chapter 14, as we deeper look into power systems. chapter 40ish, with great chemistry between characters, and then chapter 70ish as we learn more about the things that went about. Additionally, the side story Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical School is also a good read and helps you understand the world more. The world seems not yet vastly explored, we've only seen two schools so far and have not seen the head of different jujutsu families yet. We are not yet exposed to many potential story lines, and neither do we completely grasp the magic system (whcih definitely has hard rules) yet. Read it now, and enjoy the ride. "
Rating: ★★★★☆
"First, one must consider that it's a weekly published shounen manga with its stereotypical flaws and pitfalls, and readers should expect that they exists here as well. Considering that, Jujutsu Kaisen is overall a very engaging story, with great characters, great consistent themes and a fun power system. The characters are very engaging with good narratives and arcs. But most of all, I love how so many characters parallel, mirror and contrast each other, giving each other more depth and showcasing the circle of violence, isolation and negativity that the new gen has to break. The themes are very consistent throughout with good conclusions and are very enjoyable, like connection and love vs isolation, or perseverence through dark times vs getting lost in the past. Of course it has flaws. There are some pacing/sequencing issues, some set ups and plot points are dropped, some ass puls or a lack of foreshadowing for certain events exist, and the ending is very rushed. Because it's rushed the last 5 chaptes have a weird pacing and often seem more like cliffnotes which makes it lackluster, but it ties off the themes in a satisfying manner. (Many of those same issues can be found in other weekly published shounen manga. As I said: expected flaws). But still, despite it's flaws overall it's a fun and enjoyable manga."