Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the prequel film to Jujutsu Kaisen, has been high on my anticipated anime list this year. The film was released on December 24th in Japan last year, the perfect Christmas gift, if you ask me, but also a tie-in with the events that take place in the film itself.
With Jujutsu Kaisen 0 having the second-highest opening for a film in Japan’s box office history (the first being Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Mugen Train), I’ve been hoping it would lead to a release here in the U.S.
Today, Crunchyroll made my anime fangirl dreams come true.
What is Jujutsu Kaisen 0?
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a prequel to the anime/manga series, Jujutsu Kaisen. Jujutsu Kaisen focuses on Yuji Itadori, who ends up at Jujutsu High by having a death sentence placed on him because of swallowing a cursed finger (you had to be there). Meanwhile, the film focuses on Yuta Okkotsu, who was also scheduled to be executed, only his story takes place a year before Yuji’s.
Both boys ended up having everyone’s favorite OP troll, Satoru Gojo, convince school officials to let them attend Jujutsu High instead of defaulting to murder. While Yuji was okay with this and has been working to be a good, pink-haired protagonist, Yuta actually wanted to die.
The film synopsis is as follows:
When they were children, Rika Orimoto was killed in a traffic accident right before the eyes of her close friend, Yuta Okkotsu.
“It’s a promise. When we both grow up, we’ll get married.”
Rika became an apparition, and Yuta longed for his own death after suffering under her curse, but the greatest Jujutsu sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, welcomed him into Jujutsu High. There Yuta meets his classmates, Maki Zen’in, Toge Inumaki, and Panda, and finally finds his own determination.
“I want the confidence to say it’s okay that I’m alive!”
“While I’m at Jujutsu High, I’ll break Rika-chan’s curse.”
Meanwhile, the vile curse user, Suguru Geto, who was expelled from the school for massacring ordinary people, appears before Yuta and the others. “This coming December 24th, we shall carry out the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.” While Geto advocates for creating a paradise for only jujutsu sorcerers, he unleashes a thousand curses upon Shinjuku and Kyoto to exterminate all non-sorcerers.
Will Yuta be able to stop Geto in the end? And what will happen to breaking Rika’s curse…?
What’s neat about the way Yuta’s story is being told is that in the series, you learn about Yuta through the other characters. According to everyone who knows him, he’s an extremely skilled sorcerer who deserves the utmost respect. The film is our chance to see how he reached that point since, in the beginning, he was at such a low point that he didn’t want to live anymore.
The film will also show the second years (Maki, Toge, and Panda) in their first year and also reveal a lot about the series villain, Geto.
When will it be released?
The film will be released in theaters beginning March 18, 2022, in the U.S. and Canada. Tickets will go on sale beginning February 25th. The film, which will be released in over 1500 theaters across the nation, will be available subbed and dubbed. Select IMAX theaters in the U.S. will also be showing the movie.
More information on the film will be available right over here.
That website will also have information on the film’s release in, deep breath, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, French-speaking Africa, and Latin America. Additional territories will be announced at a later date along with release dates for all of the countries mentioned.
How much Jujutsu Kaisen do I need to be familiar with to watch?
Honestly? Not all that much, I think! Since it’s a prequel that fleshes out a character who hasn’t technically been seen in the anime yet, you don’t have to have a whole lot of knowledge about the series. You could very well watch this first then move into the series if you wanted to.
That being said, you will definitely appreciate the film more if you go in knowing who characters like Maki, Gojo, and Geto are. If the movie is like its manga counterpart (and I’m assuming it is), this is a fantastic way to see how present-day characters got to the point where they are now without taking up space in the anime series. Since we’re getting this prequel as a film, the anime – whenever season 2 is officially announced – can just go right into the next part of the story.
Basically, you can just go in and watch a really cool anime movie, but if you got time to check out the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen, I definitely would, so you can develop a love for these characters before seeing their backstory on the big screen.
I am very much looking forward to seeing Yuta’s development after hearing so many people speak so highly of him in the anime, though, honestly, I’ve read the manga so I know what happens. Even so, I can’t wait to see how everything plays out in the movie AND watch anime-only viewers fall in love with Yuta the way I did.
The first season of Jujutsu Kaisen is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and HBO Max.
(Image: Gege Akutami/MAPPA/Toho)
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