Jujutsu Kaisen Zero (which to save everybody time I will be calling JJK0 from now on) arrived in US theaters a few days ago on Friday March 18th, and you can bet that Kinky and I immediately took our asses out to go see it on the big screen. Jujutsu Kaisen has carved itself a unique space in the shounen atmosphere and I’ve been waiting for some more content for a minute. It’s not a fighting game from Arc Sys… please God… but I’ll take what I can get. The movie did great in Japan, earning several number two spots right behind Demon Slayer. I doubt it will perform that similarly over here in the West as the gap between Demon Slayer and JJK seems way bigger over here in terms of fanbase size. Regardless, fuck the statistics. Which movie was more bussin’ in my heart?
I came into this prepared to love it a bit more than Mugen Train since I’m more attached to the world and characters of JJK, but I forgot about one key element: the prequel curse. Prequels can be a hard thing to get right because the audience already knows how events will play out in a way. “That person can’t die because they do shit later” type of thoughts plague your mind as you're watching. Instead, prequels either have to do an amazing job of depicting events that led up to the current point in the story, or reveal new information that recontextualizes the present story. JJK0 is all about the former. Half the movie is character building scenes for Okkotsu, the main character of the film, and the other half is nuts to butts action that looks gorgeous by MAPPA. Gojo and Geto’s past is briefly touched upon here and there but never fully explored. So in essence it merely focuses on depicting how Okkotsu came to be where he is today and why it matters.
Wait a minute...I know everyone here makes it out of this uninjured!
Don’t get me wrong, I love this shit. The fights were incredibly choreographed with music bumping through the speakers and since it was opening day, the theater where we’re from actually had enough people to like, cheer and laugh and clap every now and then. That shit has us on the edge of our seats and once again made me cry for a fighting game with this franchise. But with all this hype, did it manage to beat Mugen Train? I’d have to say no for me. After walking out of the theater I felt like both movies were about the same level. I enjoyed the choreography and characters more in JJK0, but Mugen Train progressed the story and what happened with Rengoku was a HUGE moment for the entire franchise, whereas in JJK0 nothing really takes place that’s like…OH SHIT that changes everything! It’s more of “oh okay, that’s how they met. Cool. OH MY FUCK THIS FIGHT IS LITTY! Oh wait this is a prequel so those characters survive anyway…BUT OH FUCK HE HAS NUNCHUCKS!” At the end of the day I’d place both movies at an 8/10 for different reasons.
Hard to stop this shit where I really didn't know who was making it out alive.
Shounen movies, while not a new concept, have dominated these past few years and I wonder if this means we can expect even more coming down the pipeline. I’m still trying to decide if I like the whole idea of “Watch some episodes, then switch to a movie, then go backs to episodes” but at least with JJK0 it was a prequel so you could skip it if you really want, and Mugen Train ended up being changed back into an episodic format eventually anyway so the viewers still had options. Are you planning on watching this movie? Did you watch Mugen Train? Can we expect more shounen movies to pop up? Put down a veil, purify that which is impure, and leave a comment below!
