The best episodes featuring curse wombs, bromances, and more
Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen has quickly become one of the most popular shonen anime in recent history. The supernatural series centers around high schooler Yuji Itadori as he trains under the curse-battling sorcerer Satoru Gojo. Jujutsu Kaisen is widely acclaimed for its epic fight scenes, wild visuals, and instantly iconic characters.
Waiting for Jujutsu Kaisen’s second season to finish releasing? Want a reminder of what made the original so great? This list features the ten best episodes of Season 1 and their most spectacular and occasionally gut-wrenching moments. Be warned: this list contains spoilers for the first 24 episodes of the series.
10. “Ryomen Sukuna”
The first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen might seem simplistic when compared to the rest of the show. However, it still functions as a respectable introduction to Yuji, his soon-to-be classmate Megumi, and the world of curses. Yuji enters the fold as a physically capable yet endearing protagonist, showing off his personable nature with the occult research club before proceeding to absolutely demolish his track and field coach in a comedic shot-put competition. Yuji’s character is further built upon thanks to the driving motivation — which will stick with Yuji throughout the rest of the season — his dying grandfather provides him with.
Following this, Ryomen Sukuna’s first finger appears, and the episode takes a turn for the supernatural. The show’s signature cursed spirits are introduced in a truly creepy manner that forces Megumi and Yuji to act. Viewers are greeted with the first of many visually spectacular battles that Jujutsu Kaisen has to offer, and it results in Yuji’s pivotal possession by Sukuna. Overall, “Ryomen Sukuna” is an above-average pilot that provides some fun and meaningful moments.
9. “For Myself”
The series’ second episode follows “Ryomen Sukuna” on this list. It picks up after Yuji eats a cursed artifact and becomes Sukuna’s vessel. Megumi, worn out from his previous battle, seems hopelessly outmatched against the king of curses. Luckily, the world’s greatest jujutsu sorcerer was in the area shopping for souvenirs. “For Myself” is significant in that it features the first full appearance of Satoru Gojo in the series. The quipping, nonchalant teacher instantly gives fans a reason to love him as he takes on a nerfed Sukuna. Using incomprehensible speed and very blatantly showing off, Gojo gives viewers another taste of the series’ signature action and hints towards his true power level. There’s more to this episode than a mere fight scene, though. The exposition from Gojo following Yuji’s capture hurls the high schooler to the forefront of the war on curses, and Yuji’s goodbye to his grandfather adds some nice reinforcement to his central motivation.
8. “Curse Womb Must Die -II-”
Skipping forward a bit in the season, “Curse Womb Must Die -II-” is the first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen that has true stakes. After killing the special grade spirit in the juvenile detention center, Sukuna refuses to hand the reins back to Yuji and rips his own heart out to hold the young sorcerer hostage. Megumi attempts to fight against the possessing curse but gets pummeled through building after building in an acutely uphill battle. After a brutal beatdown, Megumi’s pleas to Yuji eventually break through, and Sukuna is ousted from his position of power. However, without the cursed spirit’s healing abilities, the literally heartless Yuji dies right in front of his classmate.
This death might end up being a fakeout, but it’s still incredibly poignant at the moment. Another plus of this episode is that it greatly expands the series’ cast. Suguru Geto, Jogo, Maki Zen’in, Toge Inumaki, and Panda all enter the ensemble in this episode.
7. “Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event – Group Battle 2”
The second part of the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event arc asks the age-old question, “Who would win in a fight: a panda puppet or a remote control robot?” Panda’s duel against the Kyoto second-year Mechamaru — AKA Kokichi Muta — is easily the best of the student battles this season. The close clash of strength vs. sorcery is a destructive affair that showcases the vast diversity of cursed techniques one could harness.
Panda’s lore — both as a combatant and as a cursed puppet — is expanded upon to a nice degree throughout the episode, and even Mechamaru is given enough of a tragic backstory to portray the character in a sympathetic light. While Jujutsu Kaisen might not be the first anime to have a “student protagonists fight each other in a fanservice-y tournament” arc, episodes like this prove why this series has been such a standout shonen recently.
6. “Narrow-minded”
“Narrow-minded” sets up Jujutsu Kaisen’s first tragedy by bringing Yuji Itadori and Junpei Yoshino into contact. With their respective mentors, Nanami and Mahito, finishing up a secret — and cool as always — duel in the sewers, the two unsupervised boys cross paths at a stairwell on a riverbank. The anxious Junpei is wary of Yuji due to his Jujutsu High uniform, but Yuji’s relaxed personality and shared interest in movies allow them to bond quickly. After Junpei’s mom, Nagi, runs into the boys, she invites her son’s new “friend” to dinner. The meal that follows makes for one of the most endearing scenes in the season. It’s the only time in the whole show where Junpei is truly happy, and Yuji finally gets to relax after a rather… traumatic start to his Jujutsu education. The sweet moment is heartfelt and amplifies the heartbreak of the events that come after tenfold.
5. “To You, Someday”
Junpei, Junpei, Junpei. After being bullied and abused at school, he was on the verge of happiness. He had found friendship and was so, so close to the righteous path. Every audience member assumed this, too, as Junpei appears in the show’s first opening wearing a Jujutsu High uniform and laughing alongside Yuji. Wrong. First, Junpei’s mother gets murdered, then his mentor manipulates him into attacking the students at his high school. When Yuji arrives on the scene, the two friends have no choice but to fight one another as pawns at the discretion of careless teachers. To add insult to the viewer’s injury, Mahito shows up and irreversibly transforms Junpei into a cursed monster, all in an attempt to force Sukuna to make a pact with Yuji… which he doesn’t. Junpei’s resulting death proved that Jujutsu Kaisen was willing to go to darker places and even trick its audience.
4. “Tomorrow”
Continuing where “To You, Someday” left off, Yuji regroups with Nanami to retaliate against Mahito. Nanami gives Gojo a run for his money as the series’ coolest character, using his cursed technique to slice through Mahito and create openings for Yuji. The two tag team the special grade spirit until Nanami realizes they’ve played right into Mahito’s plan. The spirit activates his newly acquired domain expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection. Nanami is trapped inside, and since the last episode established that the show is willing to kill off characters, the stakes are high.
Tensions build, and Nanami accepts his fate, but just before Mahito can go in for the kill, Yuji miraculously busts through the domain’s outer shell. With Sukuna now caught in the crossfire, the king of curses punishes Mahito with a debilitating strike and sends the enemy running for the hills. This is a great ending to this storyline, and the “Juju Stroll” at the end is surprisingly sweet, too.
3. “Assault”
Just how powerful is special-grade sorcerer Satoru Gojo? It’s a bit iffy, as Jujutsu Kaisen’s power scaling can be… confusing, to say the least. Regardless, “Assault” cements Gojo as the most powerful character in this series and one of the most powerful in all of anime. The episode begins with Jogo, an intelligent special-grade spirit like Mahito, ambushing Gojo on an isolated cliffside. Jogo unleashes a volcanic barrage of cursed energy that surpasses the power level of anything else seen in the show thus far… and has absolutely no effect on the teacher. The cursed spirit is utterly flabbergasted, which gives Gojo an easy opening to obliterate his foe casually — emphasis on “casually.”
Gojo’s retaliation is a beautiful yet brutal tour de force. It showboats to such an unnecessary extent that it becomes comedic, with Gojo even pausing mid-fight so that he can bring Yuji in to watch him win. Gojo’s attitude, eyes, and domain expansion make this a fight to remember.
2. “Accomplices”
Despite the show losing some of its steam once the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event wrapped up, “Accomplices” ends the season on a high note. The final episode continues the bloody confrontation between Yuji, Nobara, and the two sibling spirits, Eso and Kechizu. Things look grim as the two students are inflicted with the curses’ rotten blood, but quick thinking from Nobara changes the tide of the battle. Since Eso and Kechizu’s blood runs through her veins, Nobara can link the brothers to her cursed technique.
The ultimate game of chicken begins as the young sorcerer shoves nails into her wrist, turning her body into a makeshift voodoo doll that harms both brothers with every blow. The desperate brawl that comes after carries high stakes, well-animated momentum, and moments to shine for the two protagonists. Nobara’s time in the spotlight is well deserved, and the episode’s decision to humanize Eso and Kechizu makes two of the more memorable antagonists in season one.
1. “Nonstandard”
In a season filled to the brim with exciting fight scenes, none manage to top Yuji and Todo’s battle against Hanami. The unexpected chemistry that the rival students develop due to their newfound “brotherhood” adds such a fun energy to the extended sequence. It pairs amazingly with the duo’s debilitating cursed combo attack. Yuji’s flurry of Black Flash blows lends some visual flair to the combat.
However, the gimmick created by Todo’s technique takes the fight and the episode as a whole to the next level. The mind tricks played on both Hanami and the viewer as previously omitted mechanics for Todo’s teleportation power come to light are both clever and creative. It makes for an unpredictable encounter that pays off the entire Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event storyline in a satisfying way. To cap it off, Gojo proves his supremacy again by tossing a hollow purple Hanami’s way.
Jujutsu Kaisen (2021) Crunchyroll
Source: Dead Talk Live
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Author
| Ethan Mallory joined the Dead Talk News team in 2023. Aside from writing for Dead Talk News, he has also worked as a student editor for the Short Vine Literary Journal. Ethan is currently pursuing a film major and an English minor at the University of Cincinnati. While working for Dead Talk News, he has covered trending horror and action film news and written comic reviews. |
| Matt Keyser is a recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton University with a bachelor's in Communications-Journalism. He is a freelance entertainment reporter with a focus on film and television. As a former senior programming coordinator for the Newport Beach Film Festival, Matt's experience with critiquing narratives and documentaries has helped showcase his passion for television and cinema through his writing. |
