‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ review: Nanami and personal apocalypse in “Right and Wrong”

Despite their very different exteriors and general dispositions, Nanami and Gojo both viewed the world of jujutsu sorcery from a similar lens. Their goal was to make the world easier, and brighter, for the younger generation of students, so that they wouldn’t have to endure the loss and pain that followed that they did. That they, Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, and co., might live past their twenties and might be able to thrive in a world that operates in cruelty. There’s a reason why one of the most poignant moments of Jujutsu Kaisen season one was Nanami telling a grieving guilty Yuj that “being a child is not a sin.” The errors of youth are meant to be lost to our childhood, to be grown out of and shaken away with maturity while jujutsu sorcerers stake their lives on teenage judgment. Gojo, for his efforts, has been sealed. Nanami, meanwhile, following one last desperate purge of the darkness infecting his world, loses his life to Mahito in a brutal swing of the proverbial ax as Yuji watches on. Jujutsu Kaisen has never shied away from the inherent darkness that poisons the world these characters live in, but in “Right and Wrong” we’re dealt its most devastating blow to date. 

Nanami was about as heroic as a character comes in Jujutsu Kaisen, equipped with hard-learned lessons and years of salaryman grinding. His last moments are gorgeous and melancholy — heartbreaking, really, as he dreams of a vision of a beach, of books he can read every page of after wasting his youth in the deepest corners of hell. In reality, his body is scorched, as he scrambles to stay steady in pools of blood as he continues to kill against a hoard of mutations. It’s what makes Mahito’s gentle touch as he’s turned away all the more sinister. Nanami no longer stands a chance and we know that. He knows that, as he wonders if it’s even worth the continued fight. “I’m exhausted,” he thinks, realizing that he’s “done enough” in the fight for good versus evil. And even still, he’s able to offer Yuji one more platitude, and a smile, even as his body contorts before bursting, yet another causality of an infrastructure he so long worked to fix. 

“You take it from here.” 

Nanami and the cruel nature of his death speak to the series overarching nihilism. For all of the Gojo’s in the world and their infinite power, and all the Yuji’s and their stubborn want to be good, there will always be an oppressive, opposing force. It’s what makes Mahito and Yuji’s standoff so well-written and devastating for the latter, as Mahito bellows that the two of them are the same and until Yuji can admit it he’ll never stand a chance of beating him. Yuji for his part gives it his best, his greater opponent being the guilt that continues to swallow him. He spends the initial part of the episode wandering through Shibuya Station recalling old advice and wisdom from friends, teachers, and his grandfather, drowning in the fear that he has no right to live following the devastation Sukuna wrought with his hands. To then witness the casual murder of another mentor of his makes those fears heighten, though it also pushes him into full feral mode as he attacks Mahito. 

The voice acting between the two is superb, demonstrating how anime is able to add greater texture to manga panels. While the animation itself suffers this week, Junya Enoki’s work as Yuji remains terrific, mirrored by the work by Nobunaga Shimazaki as Mahito. Shimazaki is particularly terrifying as he shouts at Yuji in a display of condescending mockery, following Yuji yelling Mahito’s name. More than any other villain in the series Mahito is the pure manifestation of evil. Sukuna might be the greatest sense of it, the embodiment of evil, but Mahito drips with venomous glee over the lives he takes, so steady in his belief that no person truly matters, all of them playthings for his impatient whims. 

It’s why he makes such a terrific match for Yuji who believes that every life matters, who prays for fallen curses in quiet, solitary acts of grace. Their fight deserved greater time, no matter the considerable skill involved, with certain action sequences dampened by a lack of impact and weight to the combat. Even the blood spray in the opening scenes seems to hover an inch above the ground, painted but not settled nor blended into the surroundings. 

This is why the best action in “Right and Wrong” happens in confined spaces. From the claustrophobic fight where Mahito tries to suffocate Yuji with his body that contorts and grows, to the elevator showdown where there’s urgency and even fear, these moments excel because there’s no empty space for the scenes to lose their tether. Instead, in the confines of the elevator shaft we’re able to watch as Mahito’s face indicates how he’s toying with Yuji, egging him on and provoking him even as Yuji lands devastating blows. 

When the space widens and where there’s room to spot inconsistencies and lack of depth the episode falters. Which is a shame considering the emotional throughline hurts. From Nanami’s death to Mahito admitting his main goal is to mentally crucify Yuji by killing Nobara to parade in front of him, Jujutsu Kaisen seeks to destroy with personal, apocalyptic obliteration. Mahito doesn’t just want to kill Yuji, he wants to annihilate everything that makes him a hero, everything that makes him good. And with the way things are going, as Yuji takes in every horror Mahito inflicts on innocent bystanders (in truly grotesque fashion), it’s hard not to wonder just how much will be too much before our protagonist buckles under the weight.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is available now to stream on Crunchyroll

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Featured Image © Gege Akutami/Shueisha, JUJUTSU KAISEN Project