Review: Gojo on the big screen is a big "yes" for me

I love me some GKIDS, which is why I'm a bit bummed that so many of their theatrical releases so far this year have been "a bunch of episodes of an anime" packages. I like seeing them, sure, but I definitely prefer when they're putting out proper movies (and they have a lot on their slate, so I'm excited to see them when they start releasing, hopefully later this year). That said, JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie feels more like an actual movie than GKIDS' recent releases for Witch Watch, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, and DAN DA DAN. Because this movie is an entire arc, comprising the first five episodes of the show's second season. Which is great, because it flows nicely and feels complete. Which is (for some people) also not great, because this is almost entirely stuff we've seen before.

I use "we" a bit loosely, and for me, recently. I caught up with the show to prepare for this release, and decided to watch the included episodes beforehand so I could compare the movie experience to watching the show. And honestly, big screen is the way to go. It does away with a few repeated scenes that happen between episodes, and makes the scale and stakes of the mission hit harder. This is an intense, emotional arc, and I was really happy to see it in the theater.

It's also a great dropping-in point for the uninitiated. This arc is a prequel to the first season, and is the earliest story from everything that's been released so far (I think). So even if you don't know the world or the characters, this is a place you can start with relatively little friction. Of course, there will be some lore and some world-building infrastructure that you'd be missing from the first season, but that brings me to my experience of watching JJK: it's a bit hard to follow. The story beats are generally pretty legible, but sometimes when the show is explaining the rules of its world, the characters' powers, lore stuff, I do feel my mind going a little hazy. I don't know if it's that the show doesn't do exposition well, or that I'm not super invested, or a little bit of both. I like the show just fine, but it's not one of my favorite anime. So this might just be a me thing. But the point is, even if you're a little lost, this movie is still easy enough to ride along with and enjoy, and mostly follow.

(For what it's worth, my introduction to the series was the previous movie, JUJUTSU KAISEN 0, which I saw in theaters and loved loved loved. It's still my favorite part of the series that I've seen, and I'm excited to revisit it once I'm fully caught up on the show.)

The gist of JJK's world is that there are sorcerers who are secretly working to fight against curses, which manifest as ugly creatures with crazy powers who wreak havoc all over the place. They're born from humanity's bad feelings, and they fester and mutate and grow into super-powerful forms in some instances. The show focuses on an academy where students are taught to hone and harness their powers, are sent out on missions, and sometimes get to just be a little silly. In the show's "current" timeline, Satoru Gojo, the devilishly handsome and sometimes frustratingly laidback sorcerer with incredible power, is a teacher at the high school, where he takes a particular interest in a new student who's on a mission to swallow a bunch of cursed fingers as a way to undercut a dangerous demon's powers (it's a whole thing).

In this prequel arc, Gojo is himself a student, working alongside his classmate Seguru Geto (an antagonist in the "current" timeline) on a special mission. A young girl, Riko Amanai, is going to assimilate into an immortal being named Tengen to help him reset his body before he evolves into something non-human, and thus potentially dangerous. Gojo and Geto are tasked with protecting her and escorting her to Tengen, while various groups are seeking to eliminate her before she can be assimilated. 

There are a few reasons this arc is so good, and so well-suited to a theatrical edit. It's tight, focused, easy to follow. Gojo and Geto are great foils to each other, with their differing worldviews about how sorcerers should exist alongside humanity, what responsibility they have to serve and protect. And Riko's story is emotional and beautifully rendered. She's fiery, determined, but ultimately so human (tragically so). Through this story, we basically see the birth of Gojo and Geto as we've come to know them in the first season, and it's exciting stuff. (Plus, we get to know the father of another main character, Megumi Fushiguro, which provides insight into his character, too.) It's the best kind of prequel, one that adds context, texture, and deeper meaning to the events and characters we've already witnessed, and will color whatever comes next.

This was supposed to be a two-day release, but GKIDS announced they're adding weekend showtimes (likely due to demand). If you go, make sure to show up early. At my showing, at least, there were no trailers, so I missed a little of whatever played at the top, which seemed to be some of the characters going to the cinema. The only other new bit was a lovely slideshow that plays at the end of the movie, showing photos of Gojo, Geto, their classmate Shoko, and some of their other friends and comrades. A bittersweet way to wrap things up.

Now, I'm ready to get back to the Shibuya Incident, which I'm in the midst of watching. またね！