Jujutsu Kaisen is such an interesting case study in an anime that has managed to jump in popularity while also crashing out quite hard when it came to the manga. There are a lot of mixed feelings around the franchise at this point in time, with a few controversies that follow it after the massive exodus from MAPPA after the intense pressure placed on the animation staff. There is, however, still a lot to love about the franchise. The characters are fun, the action is great, and the animation is still amazing.

The second Jujutsu Kaisen movie will be dropping relatively soon, encompassing the Hidden Inventory and Premature Death Arcs of the anime. As these particular arcs are deeply beloved, especially by fans of the tragic duo of Geto and Gojo, there is a lot of hype circling around the release. The main franchise often has shorts at the end, called “Juju Strolls”, to help relieve some of the incredibly built tension. As the movie will be showing off some of the most stressful content in the franchise, there will be a new Juju Stroll starring Geto, Gojo and Shoko.

JJK’s Hidden Inventory and Premature Death Arcs Need the Relief of a Juju Stroll

The New JJK Movie Will Cover the Most Stressful Arcs

While the new JJK movie will be a recap, there is a lot to be said about these particular arcs. The Hidden Inventory and Premature Death arcs follow Gojo, Geto, and Shoko back during their time as students of Jujutsu Tech. Gojo and Geto specifically are given the task of escorting Riko Amanai to Tengen, allowing her to become the next Star Plasma Vessel to transfer Tengen’s consciousness into her body to prevent Tengen’s powers from becoming too evolved. These arcs give the audience a good look into the workings and prejudices of the Jujutsu world, setting up a lot of future conflict at the same time. The positioning of the characters in the plot is also important, as Gojo and Geto are shown to be the “strongest”, while Shoko’s command over reverse curse techniques is considered incredible.

Beyond the action and world building, though, the arcs show the slow dissolution of Gojo and Geto’s friendship as circumstances pull them apart. The sudden death of Amanai and Toji’s introduction into the story directly challenges both characters, and Geto is the one who makes the decision that non-Jujutsu sorcerers are less than worthless, calling them “monkeys”, whereas Gojo strengthens the resolve to change the Jujutsu world and destroy the status quo through any means necessary. This also leads to both characters ending up relatively isolated, despite their respective disciples and students. The story is incredibly dark, and the JJK anime doesn’t shy away from how the two of them are deeply affected by the whole event. Geto would end up losing his life to Gojo later on and his body would be taken by Kenjaku, an event which definitely still has an impact on Gojo going into the future.

With this set up, it’s obvious Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death is going to have a lot of dark moments. While fans of the franchise have already experienced much of this, movies can create a new perspective. Movies like Demon Slayer: Mugen Train were covered in the series proper, but they were also far more intense in the movie. Films have the ability to capture moments that can feel a little too drawn out in the week-to-week format of anime, but movies have to get that real emotional devastation in as hard as humanly possible. The Hidden Inventory and Premature Death Arcs follow two characters falling completely apart because of the world around them, how it isn’t one that is built for the kind of connection that they had managed to build together. Shoko and Gojo never seem to fully recover from the loss of Geto. The Jujutsu world is one built around death and treating people as disposable, so it makes sense as to why the movie would need to add in something a little bit lighter for the sake of it not all feeling hopeless.

Juju Strolls Are Needed Pallet Cleansers

Things Can’t Be Dark & Devastating All the Time

Much of Jujutsu Kaisen gets pretty dark. The anime takes some of the goofier moments and undercuts them with violence and pain. JJK never shies away from the realities of the Jujutsu world. Nanami’s death is one of the bigger moments that the fandom points to, putting him up there with famously painful losses like Naruto‘s Jiraya and Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Just having death in a series often isn’t enough — it is the actual emotional sense of grief that gets audiences hooked. Jujutsu Kaisen does that shockingly well, managing to drag everyone along for the painful ride, and Gojo’s particular kind of grief is one that is shockingly raw. Often, it is grief that makes people double down on their worst traits while trying to make the world a slightly less terrible place for others.

The Juju Stroll shorts are a way to take some of the pain out of the injury that comes with those darker moments. A lot of them are actually very funny, with famous ones involving Gojo wearing Nobara’s uniform or the team trying to embarrass Megumi lest a woman end up hitting on him. The Juju Strolls give a lot of lighter content for a darker series, while also giving little slice-of-life moments which help to expand the characters themselves. It’s fun to see these dynamics build, to see these beloved characters acting like normal people in a very stressful universe. JJK‘s Juju Strolls are very clever, giving the audience some relief in between sessions of being absolutely emotionally destroyed.

The Juju Strolls are fan-favorite content, referenced by a majority of the fanbase in their fan-created works and offering a new look into the characters. Jujutsu Kaisen does a very good job of using those little scenes to make their characters feel more human and approachable, which is especially important for characters like Gojo who are explicitly untouchable in the main series. Having a Juju Stroll involving Gojo, Geto and Shoko is bound to be rather bitter-sweet when it comes down to its content, and it is more than exciting to think about. Those three have a lot of history that has yet to be explored.

Season 2 was the most successful season of Jujustu Kaisen despite the setbacks which came with the animation and the mistreatment of workers over at studio MAPPA. While there is going to be a wait for Season 3, the new movie should act as a great way to tide fans over. With the promise of a brand-new Juju Stroll, that shows a continued desire to allow the audience to get to know the characters better. There’s a lot of good work that a Juju Stroll at the end of the new movie can do, especially when it comes to softening the blow of one of the most painful friend break-ups in anime history.