Warning! Contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode #11!Jujutsu Kaisen is no stranger to disturbing images, but one episode of Season 2 completely pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable to represent in Shonen anime. It’s perhaps not surprising that a film as dark as Jujutsu Kaisen would push the envelope when it comes to horror and gore. Still, it’s hard not to be shocked watching the scene because of how gruesome it is.
In episode #11 of Jujutsu Kaisen Part 2, the evil witch Awasaka reminisces about the time before Gojo was born when he was free to act however he wanted. He fondly recalls burying the forest dwellers until only their heads emerged from the ground and then vividly tearing off their faces. The anime doesn’t just imply this while leaving out the action itself like any other Shonen with dark content like this would do. Instead, it shows in full detail as Awasaka makes an incision on the back of the victim’s head and reaches under their face, peeling it off.
Jujutsu Kaisen is pushing the limits of gore in Shonen Anime
This is the most disturbing scene in a Shonen animated in such detail. Of course this isn’t the first time the series has had such horrific themes. Jujutsu Kaisen’s anime makes the villains even more disturbing by implying that they kill children. Other series have also had some pretty gruesome scenes, such as the infamous Hunter x Hunter brain surgery scene in the Chimera Ant arc. However, in general, those scenes are not very graphic, hinting at horror rather than outright animation. This Jujutsu Kaisen scene suggests that the approach to displaying disturbing content in Shonen may be changing.
This could be the culmination of a trend increasingly towards darkness in new Shonen series. Jujutsu Kaisen is a member of the so-called “Dark Trilogy” that includes Chainsaw Man and Hell’s Paradise, all of which are Shonen Jump series considered darker and more mature in approach than their predecessors. responsibility. However, the growing acceptance of gore and dark themes in anime can be traced back to Attack on Titan, which became a blockbuster despite its large amount of graphic violence that may turn off many people. watching is more difficult than turning away. Appropriately enough, animation studio Jujutsu Kaisen is also responsible for Chainsaw Man, Hell’s Paradise and the final season of Attack on Titan.
Jujutsu Kaisen sets a violent example for future Shonen to follow
The fact that Studio MAPPA does the animation for all those shows could imply that it is the only studio willing to create such dark and graphic Shonen series. However, this would ignore the broader trend in the genre in recent years towards more grotesque imagery. Hence this Jujutsu Kaisen the scene featuring the brutal Awasaka could be a harbinger of future Shonen scenes to come as the genre’s boundaries continue to be pushed beyond its previous limits of gore and graphic violence.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode #11 is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
