Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc
(Some spoilers for episodes 14-21 of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime)
The tournament/competition arc is an absolute staple of the anime genre, and when done right, can produce some really epic moments. It can also be a good way to expand the world of an anime as we get to experience new and different characters. Does Jujutsu Kaisen’s school competition stand with some of the classics? The simple answer is no.
We’ll get there, but let's start with the good. First, as always the animation and fight scenes are absolutely top notch. The intensity and epicness of the fights vary but they are all impressive to look at. The characters’ flow so smoothly through combos, a few flurries of blows transition into grapples that will drop your jaw. Same goes for the power moves. The simple textured cursed energy always looks really great wrapped around a sorcerer's fist. Other moves like Hanami’s (the plant curse) can create sprawling landscapes of evil flowers and trees that almost pop off the screen.
Perhaps the most impressive sequence was Yuji and Todo’s fight with Hanami. Once Todo reveals his powers we are treated to some of the best fight choreography I’ve ever seen. Every time Todo claps he and Yuji switch places. It becomes more complex and awesome than that as the fight goes, but that is the gist. The way this power is used is incredible. Watching Yuji and Todo get into an offensive rhythm with the claps as they absolutely jump Hanami is fantastic.
Aside from great fighting, arcs like this are designed to open up the world and introduce new characters. The Kyoto Goodwill Event definitely brings some vibrant new characters into the mix. Maki and Mai for instance have a great story about overcoming familial expectations. Mechamaru, the robot, and Panda, the panda, do battle while exploring life as outcasts. There is some real heart to some of the character dynamics set up in these fights.
With all of that being said, how is this arc not standing with or above some of the similar arcs in the genre? There are two reasons this arc sort of flops outside of the fights. A lack of stakes and clunky writing keep this arc from ever really getting into a good flow.
First for the lack of stakes we are never really given a good sense of what this competition is about. Two schools playing a yearly game for bragging rights I guess. But, they go through the trouble of setting up a game, a point based hunt where the students must kill curses, only to immediately throw the whole game away as an afterthought. Instead it becomes a plot to kill Yuji, but then it ends up really just being everyone pairs off and fights someone while no one actually cares about the competition.
By the way, why should they? It seems like a huge step down for characters like Todo who we are told was actually out in the field killing special grades (which seems like the apex of this profession so I am again confused why he is in this school and competition). As a viewer I was never really able to really grasp the stakes of the competition, nor did I think a rival school would ever actually get close to killing our hero.
On top of this there are some really clunkily written moments in this block of episodes. Worst of all, is Yuji learning Black Flash. He spends an episode with Todo trying to figure out this attack, in the middle of a competition/assasination attempt by the way. He has his chance to use it when the Hanami fight starts. When Yuji finally uses the attack, the scene pulls away to someone interviewing Kento about it, who claims he has the record of doing it four times in a row. Then it cuts back to Yuji using it four times in a row. A moment we were just told should be important. A rookie just tied the record of this attack with zero fanfare. To make matters even clunkier the fight goes on as if the hyped up black flash was not just hit four times on the curse Hanami.
This sort of encapsulates the issues of this arc in a nutshell. We are told things matter but nothing actually seems too. If you are willing to put the story telling aside though, there are some of the best animation and action scenes you will find in modern anime.
Overall the show is really fun but it feels like it hasn’t been able to hit its full potential yet and this arc is sort of a microcosm of all that is right and wrong with Jujutsu Kaisen.