“Jujutsu Kaisen 0,” directed by Sunghoo Park, authored by Hiroshi Seko and produced by the all-famous production studio of MAPPA, just like its successor, had audiences pouring over the theaters. The prequel garnered an enormous audience, with each scene keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. All of the characters had their own dramatic entrances, which sent the audience cheering and hooting. The mystery behind the character Yuta paid off, as the audience simply loved his character; however, the early announcement of the movie did lead us to believe that the movie might cover Gojo’s past and his battle with Megumi’s father, Toji.
Spoilers Ahead
The film does bridge the gap between the early past and the present timeline and also covers the plot where Geto behaves uncannily, unlike himself, and we get a glimpse into his real persona. This could be pointing to another movie or series addressing the past and the beginning of the era of the new Jujutsu sorcerers. The ending of “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” catches on to the present timeline, thus keeping the fans guessing about the arrival of Yuta in the present timeline. Akutami simply creates masterpieces by not divulging more than enough and letting the audience connect the dots, thus contributing to a more interactive fan base and keeping the series evergreen for times to come. A masterpiece, “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” does not disappoint either; following the manga to a T, it gains its place as one of the best animation action sequences. With an eerie atmosphere and the character sketches contributing to a true horror experience, Jujutsu Kaisen is well along the way to becoming an all-time favorite.
‘Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie’ Plotline: What Is The Film About?
The movie begins with Yuta being introduced as the bullied, and he unknowingly sets off a curse that gravely injures the bullies, making Yuta responsible for the situation, after which Jujutsu High is informed about him and his unnerving power. Yuta is brought to Jujutsu High, where he mingles with fellow sorcerers Maki, Panda, and Inumaki. He finds a place to belong and starts training with them. Meanwhile, Geto Suguru comes to learn about Yuta and his powers. This drives him to declare a full-fledged war on Jujutsu High and its sorcerers. Geto strives to gain Rika, the queen of curses wielded by Yuta but instead is defeated by Yuta’s innate power, putting an end to his attack. Geto later flees the scene and meets Gojo, while Yuta reconciles with Rika and sets her free.
Character Of Yuta Explained: Yuta’s Introduction To The World Of Curses
The film is a prequel to the famous anime series “Jujutsu Kaisen.” In this prequel, the audience is introduced to a new character, Yuta Okkotsu, who has been mentioned quite a few times in the series. However, the series neglects to mention his characteristics and relies on a sneak peek by just acknowledging his presence and the overpowering curse he wields. It’s just enough to hold the attention of the audience while hyping them up to accept and look forward to the character that is Yuta. The movie then proceeds to set the stage for Yuta’s appearance and throws some light on his thought process and the source of his power. Yuta’s backstory and behavior impact his life in normal schooling and are therefore transferred to Jujutsu High. This begins the tale of his prowess, shedding light on the various relationships he shares with his classmates and his sensei.
Yuta is presented as a timid character, afraid of his own shadow. Although he desires friendship, he hesitates in front of acquaintances because he detests hurting others. He is always on guard lest Rika, the curse he wields, perceive his friends as a threat and harm them. His body language hovers around being under confident. His spiky hair and dark circles under his eyes convey the exhausting levels of stress he is under. His personality is impacted by his overly cautious actions to keep Rika from attacking. He improves and lets his guard down little by little after Gojo introduces him to his classmates. Upon his introduction, Maki, Toge, and Panda sensed the presence of Rika and assumed defensive positions immediately. Rika intervened as well after sensing hostility from them. The altercation that took place between Rika and the others helped Yuta gain a little bit of confidence when he realized that his new friends would not be in any immediate danger and could fight back. In his own way, Gojo had understood the need for a mock fight between the students so that Yuta could let a portion of his anxiety go. As “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” progresses, Yuta discovers his underlying personality and bounces back to the boy he was in his childhood before Rika died. He is naturally a friendly guy who takes into consideration his friends and always strives to help Rika to the best of his abilities. The biggest personality trait that Yuta exhibits is that he lives by relying on the well-being of his friends. His loyalty is proven time after time when he has to defeat any entity endangering his friends. He does not necessarily differentiate between good and evil; he is rather accepting of everyone except for when any entity endangers his friends, thus setting him aside from a preconceived notion of a heroic character. He gives everybody an equal chance, and he relies on his judgment rather than others to determine whether they are good or evil. He rather shares the insight of viewing people as shades of gray instead of the age-old black and white. This is because he had been mistaken for the perpetrator behind Rika’s actions one too many times, which led him to accept a better worldview and give an equal chance to others.
“Jujutsu Kaisen 0” sheds light on Yuta’s exorbitant power and provides an introduction to how he wields this enormous power against people he considers his enemies. Yuta rarely goes out of his way to hurt anybody; he reacts only when there is an entity endangering his friends’ lives. He exudes uncontrollable raw power from the very beginning. Gojo gauges that power by sending Yuta off to fight a curse alongside Maki. Yuta realizes his weakness in that fight and then proceeds to train himself in combat mentally as well as physically so that he can wield his powers better. Gojo then sends him with Inumaki so as to gauge his combat and strategy. This elucidates more on the source behind Yuta’s powers. Rika is an overwhelming and overpowering curse which is also known as the Queen of Curses. At first, she was simply a kid who was Yuta’s friend, but after she met with an accident that left Yuta traumatized, she took on the appearance of a curse with powers to behold. This led to people mistaking the source of Yuta’s power for Rika’s power, when in fact, after Yuta rejected her death, he placed a curse on Rika, turning her into an all-powerful curse that secured him the position of a Special Grade student. Therefore, Rika simply tapped into the overwhelming source of power that Yuta possessed unknowingly and helped him wield it until he was ready to wield the entire power on his own. After months of practice, Yuta finally let go of Rika and could wield his power on his own after his battle with Geto. Yuta definitely earned his place as the second-most powerful being, right after Gojo.
‘Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie’ Ending Explained: Did Gojo Kill Geto?
“Jujutsu Kaisen 0” becomes the last glimpse into Geto Suguru’s real personality before he is killed by Gojo. The two estranged best friends shared a rather specific worldview, both standing on the other end of the spectrum. Both of them wanted to weed out the corrupt officials and begin a new era of Jujutsu officials; Satoru was the arrogant one, believing in the destruction of weakness, and Geto was his conscience, urging him to be better. However, when Geto came across the incident where Nananko and Mimiko were treated terribly, it changed him, and both best friends crossed paths with Geto assuming the role of the villain. It is unclear as to what changed Gojo’s mind, but of course, their pact, where one had to kill the other if they surpassed their ideals, was valid. Thus, Geto gave up his life to Gojo from the beginning when he realized the consequences of the full-blown battle that his actions had brought about. In the scene where Gojo returns Yuta his ID, which was found and taken by Geto, Gojo divulges that his best friend had it; the past tense also certifies that Geto died. Although Gojo used Geto to let Yuta tap into his power and let go of his insecurities, Geto served as Yuta’s last mentor before he left his kids, Mimiko and Nanako, to Gojo. In a way, Geto always knew what Gojo was up to, which is why Gojo trusted him not to kill Maki, Panda, and Inumaki and instead provoke them into being better, and after defeating them, he left them injured with superficial wounds needed to provoke Yuta. Geto was a true antihero, and it was his conscience that helped Gojo. However, the Geto in the series is not the actual Geto but a curse that had taken hold of Geto’s corpse and was using it to rule the world.
Gojo Meets Yuta Okkotsu
Right after the battle and after he finishes his studies, Yuta sets out on a long vacation. In the post-credit scene, he meets Gojo after a long time; this marks the beginning of the long chapter of Itadori Yuji and Ryomen Sukuna, where Yuta will later play a major supporting role. Gojo lays the groundwork for Yuta to rescue Yuji from his imminent death decreed by the higher-ups. Thus, catching up to the present timeline and establishing itself as the prequel to the series. This introduction was necessary to understand and establish Yuta and Yuji as two separate individuals wielding powerful curses, where Yuta could control the curse as he liked, and Yuji was controlled by the curse when Sukuna felt like it. This establishes a power dynamic between both of them, setting them apart from the rest of the sorcerers while also highlighting their similarities as curse wielders. It is important to notice that this is where the similarities end, establishing them as two personalities that could either clash or become “Besto Friendo.” The movie now sets off the timer for the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen, which should now catch up to the manga and shed more light on the dynamic duo by introducing Yuta in the present timeline.
“Jujutsu Kaisen 0” is a 2022 Animated Action film directed by Sunghoo Park.
