Jujutsu Kaisen Is The Future Of Shounen
The battle shounen genre has always been the most staple category in anime. Disregarding tentacle porn, it’s the first example the casual watcher imagines when they think “anime”. Uniting every demographic across the grope to watch buff dudes knock each other's lights out, in highly entertaining battles. Even the most elitist weeb can rely on the good ol battle shounen to fulfill their lack of entertainment, when the season is lacking its usual dose of degeneracy.
However, in the past decade the battle shounen genre has reached peak oversaturation, with an abundance of mediocre series being produced at rapid pace. Almost leading to the demise of shounen jump, with sells plummeting as their breadwinners reach their finales. Also doesn’t help that most of mediocrity is constantly getting axed in a year for not fulfilling daddies (shounen jump) pockets.
with webtoons right around the corner ready to snatch that mulah from their grubby hands. Luckily crunchyroll delayed that conquest, after fluking THREE webtoons in a row. Now obviously there have been a couple of bangers appearing here and there such as: Demon slayer, AOT, and MHA.
However, the majority of the genre is plagued with mediocrity. Endless recycling of similar content with a different coating of paint; not even five-star paint, but the garbage you would find at the run-down corner store across the street from a crack house...
Now if you enjoy any nyquil on this long list mediocrity, that’s ok! You have the right to enjoy whatever you want, regardless of dissenting opinions. My word is not god, I'm just your average weeb ranting about anime! Hell, I appreciate the occasional dose of degeneracy as well.
Nevertheless, Jujutsu Kaisen has shaken the anime community in its grand entrance surpassing all expectation, reviving faith in battle shounen by doing NOTHING NEW! Yes, Jujutsu Kaisen is not unique, but that’s ironically, its greatest strength!
It’s nigh impossible to create a truly distinct battle shounen now of days, or rather any genre for that matter. So, every writer takes influence from their successful peers and predecessors. And jujutsu kaisen is the perfect example of “spectacular execution of familiar content”. Which is quite ironic considering MHA used be crowned as “it’s not plagiarism, it’s inspiration”! Only for it to have a steep decline in quality in season 4...
But jujutsu kaisen has managed to make its traditional shounen formula, feel consistently fresh because of its high quality. You can easily spot its heavy influence from its peers, and the author doesn’t hide that. Such as: the traditional team 7-eque team. Demon hunting society with a corrupt nature hidden beneath its layers of justice. And a spiritual based power-system encompassing strict rules that can swiftly decide the fate of a battle.
Even with the blatant copying off other mangakas homework, it still deserves an S+ because jujutsu kaisen executes nearly everything better! Starting off with debatably the most important factor in hooking the viewer; the characters! JJK takes heavy influence from naruto with its team 7 formula.
You have the hot-headed protagonist with a legendary demon residing in him, a feisty tsundere with a soft heart, an edgelord troubled by the history of his clan, and a badass mysterious sensei who looks like kakashis lost twin! Yet, unlike naruto, the main cast actually has depth. Each have a balanced amount of screentime showcasing them battling against inner demons, as their ideas are constantly challenged in various encounters.
And witnessing them finally reach the climax of their battles, as they solidify their resolve as jujutsu sorcerers is extremely satisfying! Because, in one season the main cast has already developed so much, and in reasonable pacing for the matter! In most other shounens, it would take multiple seasons for anyone other than the protagonist to substantially develop as a character; calling you out MHA, who the hell (class A-1) are even half of these doofuses?
And while Yuji at first glance may seem like your standard shounen protagonist, who’s all about never killing humans, fighting for your friends, and forgiving anyone; his character actually has far more weight! Just in one season, his beliefs have been challenged tremendously. And Yuji doesn’t bullshit his way out of these complicated manners; he’s forced to make harsh decisions that heavily conflict with his morale's.
This sense of reality makes him such an intriguing protagonist. And this extends beyond the main cast; as most side characters have had phenomenal moments developing their characters in the span of ONE arc! In most shounens, development is resided for the most popular side characters, if lucky! While the rest are forgotten as textbook tropes with little depth.
Every JJK character feels realistic, because they share reasonable motives in why they fight as sorcerers. None of them are nigh-perfect fantasized badasses with little purpose. There is plenty of weight behind their characters, because they each deal with internal demons, dealing with the constant conflict of abiding their beliefs vs obeying the corrupt jurisdiction of sorcery society.
Even Gojo, the GOAT himself, has so much depth behind his character. But touching apon his tragic past would be major spoilers in this anime only review. So go read the fucking manga already you weebs!
And when it comes to female characters, JJK legitimately has some of the best in the genre. Shounen authors heavily struggle in writing woman, probably from a lack of experience with how much of a basement dweller some of these guys where lol. Usually resulting in over sexualization for eye candy, as their character are nonexistent.
The two ugly queens of shounen are the “damsel in the distress”, and the OP chick devoid of any personality. However, in JJK each woman is powerful and independent. They don’t rely on their male allies to resolve every issue, and have strong motives for fighting, giving them purpose.
With the best example, being the main heroine nobera herself! She doesn’t let her gender define her, as she loves traditional female things but is first and foremost her own person! And while she may seem very feisty and cold hearted, she’s actually a softy who cares deeply for her friends. Even in her damsel in distress moments, she uses this to her advantage as she makes her adversaries regret trifling with her!
Then there are the intriguing cast of villains; while at first glance, they look like one note psychopaths who’s only motive is death. But there is a fascinating dynamic between curses and humanity. Curses are born from humanities strongest negative emotions. And are resultingly executed because they’re a major threat to humanity. However, the curses have begun developing intelligence, and now wish to be treated as equals to humanity.
Yet unfortunately this can never happen any time soon, because of how different their inherit nature is. However, the weight of this conflict is much deeper, because a large part of humanity matches the curses degeneracy in many ways. Thus, birthing the dilemma of “are humans truly that much better than cursed spirits”?
Now when it comes to worldbuilding, it’s a pretty basic setting with a japan centered location. With a powerful society enlisting demon hunters to protect the locale. Yet, it has far more depth when you look past the surface value!
We see how the corrupt hierarchy of the jujutsu world affects the characters. With the conflict between the different clans operating shady business in the background. And then you have the lore of the cursed spirits. With the core foundation of the conflict arising from sakunas fingers. Attracting conflict between various factions, as they each have their own motives for obtaining sakuna.
Now it’s time to retract back into our lizard brains as we ooze at jujutsu kaisens spectacular fights! Ok I kid, but seriously Mappa has done a magnificent job at animating jujutsu kaisen. The outstanding fight choreography is enhanced by fluid animation, exhilarating music, and gorgeous effects that make each impact seem real! You can tell the team behind JJK loves the manga, with how much hard work they dedicated towards its quality!
The only other shounen that rivals JJK in consistent high-quality production, is OPM season 1. But we know how mediocre season 2 is in comparison. So, I pray the same team behind S1 of JJK, returns for the inevitable sequel!
And for the final point to tackle, is jujutsu kaisens fantastic management of tone. JJK is far darker than your average shounen. It doesn’t hold back with the causalities, casually killing off random citizens in gruesome manners. And it’s not just the fodder that are at risk; everyone is riding on the thin line of death because that’s the nature of the dangerous job of a sorcerer.
And the moment that solidified that JJKs story should be taken seriously, is the tragic death of junpei. This early in the series, a key character who was hinted at being redeemed into an ally was casually executed right as he realized his foolishness. Thus, traumatizing itadori as he already failed his ridiculous mission in saving everyone.
Moments like these signify that that stakes are real in JJK. This isn’t your average shounen where any antagonist can be redeemed with the power of friendship! The consequences are real, with death being the most common outcome. However, even with the everlasting sense of dread, JJK is surprisingly quite light hearted!
When the characters aren’t out risking their lives in dangerous battles, they are growing their bonds in hilarious situations, and heartwarming moments. And neither of the tones conflict each other, as JJK perfectly transitions between seriousness and down time!
And overall, jujutsu kaisen is a phenomenal series. It’s easily my favorite modern shounen, surpassing chainsawman, my hero academia, and even one piece for fucks sake! I’m halfway caught up with the manga, and I highly encourage you to read it if you haven’t already! The story consistently increases in quality, and I already know the sequel to the anime is going to blow everyone away even more than S1! Now is it my favorite shounen? Hell no, I can never see HxH being dethroned any time soon, even if it never finishes...
Now I'm curious to hear you’ll thoughts on JJK? Is it your favorite shounen and why? Or do you prefer a different series? Let me know in the comments, I'm curious to know! Don’t forget to like if you enjoyed the video, and hit that sub button if you want similar types of content! And Have a good day!
The battle shounen genre has always been the most staple category in anime. Disregarding tentacle porn, it’s the first example the casual watcher imagines when they think “anime”. Uniting every demographic across the grope to watch buff dudes knock each other's lights out, in highly entertaining battles. Even the most elitist weeb can rely on the good ol battle shounen to fulfill their lack of entertainment, when the season is lacking its usual dose of degeneracy.
However, in the past decade the battle shounen genre has reached peak oversaturation, with an abundance of mediocre series being produced at rapid pace. Almost leading to the demise of shounen jump, with sells plummeting as their breadwinners reach their finales. Also doesn’t help that most of mediocrity is constantly getting axed in a year for not fulfilling daddies (shounen jump) pockets.
with webtoons right around the corner ready to snatch that mulah from their grubby hands. Luckily crunchyroll delayed that conquest, after fluking THREE webtoons in a row. Now obviously there have been a couple of bangers appearing here and there such as: Demon slayer, AOT, and MHA.
However, the majority of the genre is plagued with mediocrity. Endless recycling of similar content with a different coating of paint; not even five-star paint, but the garbage you would find at the run-down corner store across the street from a crack house...
Now if you enjoy any nyquil on this long list mediocrity, that’s ok! You have the right to enjoy whatever you want, regardless of dissenting opinions. My word is not god, I'm just your average weeb ranting about anime! Hell, I appreciate the occasional dose of degeneracy as well.
Nevertheless, Jujutsu Kaisen has shaken the anime community in its grand entrance surpassing all expectation, reviving faith in battle shounen by doing NOTHING NEW! Yes, Jujutsu Kaisen is not unique, but that’s ironically, its greatest strength!
It’s nigh impossible to create a truly distinct battle shounen now of days, or rather any genre for that matter. So, every writer takes influence from their successful peers and predecessors. And jujutsu kaisen is the perfect example of “spectacular execution of familiar content”. Which is quite ironic considering MHA used be crowned as “it’s not plagiarism, it’s inspiration”! Only for it to have a steep decline in quality in season 4...
But jujutsu kaisen has managed to make its traditional shounen formula, feel consistently fresh because of its high quality. You can easily spot its heavy influence from its peers, and the author doesn’t hide that. Such as: the traditional team 7-eque team. Demon hunting society with a corrupt nature hidden beneath its layers of justice. And a spiritual based power-system encompassing strict rules that can swiftly decide the fate of a battle.
Even with the blatant copying off other mangakas homework, it still deserves an S+ because jujutsu kaisen executes nearly everything better! Starting off with debatably the most important factor in hooking the viewer; the characters! JJK takes heavy influence from naruto with its team 7 formula.
You have the hot-headed protagonist with a legendary demon residing in him, a feisty tsundere with a soft heart, an edgelord troubled by the history of his clan, and a badass mysterious sensei who looks like kakashis lost twin! Yet, unlike naruto, the main cast actually has depth. Each have a balanced amount of screentime showcasing them battling against inner demons, as their ideas are constantly challenged in various encounters.
And witnessing them finally reach the climax of their battles, as they solidify their resolve as jujutsu sorcerers is extremely satisfying! Because, in one season the main cast has already developed so much, and in reasonable pacing for the matter! In most other shounens, it would take multiple seasons for anyone other than the protagonist to substantially develop as a character; calling you out MHA, who the hell (class A-1) are even half of these doofuses?
And while Yuji at first glance may seem like your standard shounen protagonist, who’s all about never killing humans, fighting for your friends, and forgiving anyone; his character actually has far more weight! Just in one season, his beliefs have been challenged tremendously. And Yuji doesn’t bullshit his way out of these complicated manners; he’s forced to make harsh decisions that heavily conflict with his morale's.
This sense of reality makes him such an intriguing protagonist. And this extends beyond the main cast; as most side characters have had phenomenal moments developing their characters in the span of ONE arc! In most shounens, development is resided for the most popular side characters, if lucky! While the rest are forgotten as textbook tropes with little depth.
Every JJK character feels realistic, because they share reasonable motives in why they fight as sorcerers. None of them are nigh-perfect fantasized badasses with little purpose. There is plenty of weight behind their characters, because they each deal with internal demons, dealing with the constant conflict of abiding their beliefs vs obeying the corrupt jurisdiction of sorcery society.
Even Gojo, the GOAT himself, has so much depth behind his character. But touching apon his tragic past would be major spoilers in this anime only review. So go read the fucking manga already you weebs!
And when it comes to female characters, JJK legitimately has some of the best in the genre. Shounen authors heavily struggle in writing woman, probably from a lack of experience with how much of a basement dweller some of these guys where lol. Usually resulting in over sexualization for eye candy, as their character are nonexistent.
The two ugly queens of shounen are the “damsel in the distress”, and the OP chick devoid of any personality. However, in JJK each woman is powerful and independent. They don’t rely on their male allies to resolve every issue, and have strong motives for fighting, giving them purpose.
With the best example, being the main heroine nobera herself! She doesn’t let her gender define her, as she loves traditional female things but is first and foremost her own person! And while she may seem very feisty and cold hearted, she’s actually a softy who cares deeply for her friends. Even in her damsel in distress moments, she uses this to her advantage as she makes her adversaries regret trifling with her!
Then there are the intriguing cast of villains; while at first glance, they look like one note psychopaths who’s only motive is death. But there is a fascinating dynamic between curses and humanity. Curses are born from humanities strongest negative emotions. And are resultingly executed because they’re a major threat to humanity. However, the curses have begun developing intelligence, and now wish to be treated as equals to humanity.
Yet unfortunately this can never happen any time soon, because of how different their inherit nature is. However, the weight of this conflict is much deeper, because a large part of humanity matches the curses degeneracy in many ways. Thus, birthing the dilemma of “are humans truly that much better than cursed spirits”?
Now when it comes to worldbuilding, it’s a pretty basic setting with a japan centered location. With a powerful society enlisting demon hunters to protect the locale. Yet, it has far more depth when you look past the surface value!
We see how the corrupt hierarchy of the jujutsu world affects the characters. With the conflict between the different clans operating shady business in the background. And then you have the lore of the cursed spirits. With the core foundation of the conflict arising from sakunas fingers. Attracting conflict between various factions, as they each have their own motives for obtaining sakuna.
Now it’s time to retract back into our lizard brains as we ooze at jujutsu kaisens spectacular fights! Ok I kid, but seriously Mappa has done a magnificent job at animating jujutsu kaisen. The outstanding fight choreography is enhanced by fluid animation, exhilarating music, and gorgeous effects that make each impact seem real! You can tell the team behind JJK loves the manga, with how much hard work they dedicated towards its quality!
The only other shounen that rivals JJK in consistent high-quality production, is OPM season 1. But we know how mediocre season 2 is in comparison. So, I pray the same team behind S1 of JJK, returns for the inevitable sequel!
And for the final point to tackle, is jujutsu kaisens fantastic management of tone. JJK is far darker than your average shounen. It doesn’t hold back with the causalities, casually killing off random citizens in gruesome manners. And it’s not just the fodder that are at risk; everyone is riding on the thin line of death because that’s the nature of the dangerous job of a sorcerer.
And the moment that solidified that JJKs story should be taken seriously, is the tragic death of junpei. This early in the series, a key character who was hinted at being redeemed into an ally was casually executed right as he realized his foolishness. Thus, traumatizing itadori as he already failed his ridiculous mission in saving everyone.
Moments like these signify that that stakes are real in JJK. This isn’t your average shounen where any antagonist can be redeemed with the power of friendship! The consequences are real, with death being the most common outcome. However, even with the everlasting sense of dread, JJK is surprisingly quite light hearted!
When the characters aren’t out risking their lives in dangerous battles, they are growing their bonds in hilarious situations, and heartwarming moments. And neither of the tones conflict each other, as JJK perfectly transitions between seriousness and down time!
Now I'm curious to hear you’ll thoughts on JJK? Is it your favorite shounen and why? Or do you prefer a different series? Let me know in the comments, I'm curious to know! Don’t forget to like if you enjoyed the video, and hit that sub button if you want similar types of content! And Have a good day!
