This review will contain no spoilers
Near the end of the year I watched “Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution,” which served as the prescreening for Season 3 and recap of Season 2. Now that the Season 3 has released in full and I’ve watched the majority of it, I feel pretty safe in saying that not only was the third season of “Jujutsu Kaisen” on par with the first and second seasons, it also exceeds them in how it delivers its story and that story’s tone. Every use of color, cinematography, music and even its episode organization feels intentional and adds to the dark and almost alien theme. It does this by choosing to follow the manga’s story but changing the way in which the same story is shown.
Color changes are not only based on the location or overall tone but also the emotions of specific characters. Where Season 1 and 2 are blue and yellow, Season 3 is lavender and white. When characters are ecstatic colors become more exaggerated, whereas when characters are emotionless or unsympathetic colors become more grey. These simple tints and changes in coloring completely change the scene to make the viewer feel like they are inside of the scene rather than looking at it from an outside perspective.
Not only the color has changed though, even the music has been changed to fit the new tone. Very few if any songs are reused without being entirely forgotten. Many songs feature leitmotifs from previous songs depending on the characters without relying on them. The music can be both dark and soothing, and “Jujutsu Kaisen” has always flexed its music and their instrumental diversity, but it’s more apparent here than ever. Some songs mix acoustic guitar and techno, while other songs mix rock with the harmonica, I was listening to one of the songs at the start thinking it would focus on using electronic instruments and then half-way through they brought in big band jazz! This soundtrack has something for everyone and not in the way where it’s generic or neutral. If you have a favorite genre “Jujutsu Kaisen” probably has at least one track featuring it.
But it’s not just the difference in vibes, even how scenes are structured and the changes in cinematography differ from the original for the better. For example in one scene originally in the manga a character is placed side by side to another long-dead character to compare them to the other after a life changing event. However, in the episode, they are instead layered on top of each other, doing the same action to represent how this character shared not only the same experiences but the same desires as the other. While this is only one change, it really shows how much care was put into the anime and how every scene was not only adapted but also improved to create the ultimate viewing experience.
Overall, “Jujutsu Kaisen” Season 3 is not only a great continuation of the series but it also is so good that it raises that bar for all of animation. It’s a Shonen adaptation that is so good that the exposition episode is a 9/10, that the sections added in the anime feel like they were always meant to be there, and that it made me wish I could forget the entire series just to have a chance to watch season 3 all over again completely blind.`
