The Jujutsu Kaisen prequel movie has it all: an intro for newbies, satisfying action for fans

polygon.com:

This review of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 originally ran in connection with the film’s theatrical debut in Japan. It has been updated and republished to coincide with its wide release in American theaters.

When Jujutsu Kaisen 0 opened in Japan in December 2022, it sold more than 1 million tickets and earned more than 1 billion yen. Over the course of opening weekend, the prequel to the popular anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, based on Gege Akutami’s manga, nearly tripled its box-office take, giving the record-breaking Demon Slayer film a run for its money. That was no Christmas miracle. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 earns its success by doing something many prequels fail at: It tells a satisfying standalone story that connects to the main series and enhances its story, while also welcoming newcomers to the franchise.

Set in a world where humans emanate Cursed Energy that can create eldritch creatures known as Curses or Cursed Spirits, the Jujutsu Kaisen anime focuses on Yuji Itadori, a high-schooler who becomes a vessel for Ryomen Sukuna, one of the most powerful Curses in existence. Following this, a group of Jujutsu Sorcerers — people who can control their Cursed Energy to fight evil spirits — enroll Yuji in the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School to help him control his power while keeping an eye on him. That basic synopsis of the 2020 series is also the synopsis for Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which walks a different high-schooler through the same induction process.

Protagonist Yuta Okkotsu is very different from Yuji — the former starts out as a timid, gloomy, bullied kid, while the latter is a hyper-energetic extrovert with the kind of strength and stamina that would make Batman jealous. Still, the similarities between the setups of the TV series