Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (film)

• 1. Midnight Crowds

  ›

  Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a 2021 Japanese animated dark fantasy film, and its first audience came at midnight. About 15,000 people watched it at the earliest public screenings on opening day, spread across 58 screens. Theaters had planned to show it on only 28 screens in 14 theaters, in places such as Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. Tickets sold out on the very first day of sales, so theaters kept adding screens. The crowd had come for a prequel to the Jujutsu Kaisen television series, adapted from a manga by Gege Akutami. Why did a story about a lonely student and the ghost of his childhood friend draw such a rush? How did material once meant for television end up on a cinema screen? And what did the filmmakers add that the manga never had?

  7071183053

• 2. Yuta and Rika

  ›

  Yuta Okkotsu, a high school student, is bullied until the day his tormentors are brutally killed by a Cursed Spirit that clings to him. The higher-ups of the Jujutsu Society want him dead, since the spirit is so dangerous. A teacher named Satoru Gojo, who works at Tokyo Jujutsu Technical High, saves him by recruiting him to the school in November 2016. Yuta explains that the spirit is Rika Orimoto, a childhood friend he once promised to marry. She died in a freak accident and returned as an overprotective spirit that harms anyone who threatens him.

  At school, Yuta meets Maki Zen'in, Toge Inumaki and Panda, each with distinct abilities. Three months of training pass, and he grows close to all three. Then a high-level Curse attacks Toge and Yuta on a mission together. Behind it stands Suguru Geto, a former student and old friend of Gojo. Geto left the school and killed over a hundred innocent people on a mission.

  Geto wants Yuta on his side so that he can use Rika. Yuta refuses after Geto insults his friends. Geto then declares war, promising to release a thousand Curses on the city to remove non-sorcerer humans, whom he considers beneath sorcerers. His true aim is to keep Gojo busy, kill Yuta and add Rika to his collection of cursed spirits. Gojo guesses as much and sends Inumaki and Panda back to protect Yuta and Maki. Geto overpowers them all, and only Yuta stays conscious.

  Enraged at seeing his friends hurt, Yuta offers himself to Rika as a sacrifice to strengthen their bond. Geto is left severely wounded. Gojo finds him, reflects on their friendship and executes him. Gojo then tells Yuta that the curse ran the other way around. Yuta had inadvertently cursed Rika, through unspecified ties to royal bloodlines in the hierarchy of Japan's caste system, because he could not accept her death. Once Yuta breaks the curse by promising himself to her, Rika can pass on peacefully. A post-credits scene shows Geto's former ally Miguel eating lunch with Yuta in Kenya, until Gojo joins them.

  6392949597

• 3. From Series to Film

  ›

  Studio MAPPA first imagined Yuta's story as an arc of the Jujutsu Kaisen television series, and the format changed during discussions. Director Sunghoo Park once considered adapting the series' first three episodes to build up Yuji Itadori, then swapping in Yuta as the lead. That plan was dropped, and the anime began with Yuji's introduction to sorcerers and curses. Park later decided that a prequel suited the movie format better than television.

  The manga volume behind the film was a single book. The team wanted a long feature rather than a thirty-minute work. Screenwriter Hiroshi Seko said that filling two hours meant adding new material, namely Yuta's past and the bond between Gojo and Geto. MAPPA CEO Manabu Otsuka said the team had been impressed by the original manga and believed fans would want to see it adapted. Seko also reshaped parts of the original story so that Yuta's character arc would stand out more.

  Some additions came from the series itself. The film includes the four consecutive Black Flashes that Nanami mentioned in an interview scene in the television show. Park asked Seko to give the climax a new fight between Gojo and Miguel. Seko also lengthened the last duel between Yuta and Geto with a moment where Geto vomits blood. Even so, the staff did not want Gojo and Geto to take too much screen time, since the story belongs to Yuta and Rika.

  The post-credits scene is original to the film. Toho had doubts about creating such a scene until they contacted Akutami, and it was the author who supplied the idea.

  1921242595

• 4. Fights and Frames

  ›

  Hiroshi Seko believed that the action scenes were the most important part of Akutami's manga, and he wanted the movie to centre on them. Director Sunghoo Park agreed and added elements of Chinese movies, which he hoped fans would look forward to. The television series had already been noted for entertaining fights, but the team wanted to improve on them. With the large budget the film received, MAPPA aimed for fight sequences more appealing than the television ones.

  Park also wanted the film to have its own look, even though it stayed close to the series. One example was the background colors whenever the sky appeared. Tadashi Hiramatsu handled the character designs. In the fights, Park took care to give each character a fitting facial expression.

  Making an animated feature was a new kind of challenge for Park, who compared it with his live-action experience. The reason was the sheer amount of animation required. Several animators were not used to drawing in a cinemascope frame. They still managed to paint wider scenery and backgrounds beautifully, and they felt satisfied at having built the franchise's world for the audience. Park also set much of the film at Jujutsu High, where Yuta begins exorcising Curses alongside his teammates.

  2425192022

• 5. Casting Yuta

  ›

  Gege Akutami described Yuta as "neutral, soft, and kind, and there is also a big emotional swing and head." Megumi Ogata was mentioned as an example of an actor close to that, and Park and the anime staff unanimously cast her. Yuta is a young man voiced by a woman, a choice Park himself backed. Ogata surprised Park by giving Yuta a sensitive way of crying. Park sees Yuta as a representative teenager possessed by loneliness, which in his case comes from being beset by Rika's curse.

  Kana Hanazawa wanted to audition as Rika because she was a fan of the original manga and television series. Mikako Komatsu voiced Maki, who is a year younger than in the television series and has a different design. Komatsu enjoyed the more comical take on Maki, who often argues with Panda and the other students.

  Tomokazu Seki, voice of Panda, had little understanding of a character who is so simple and comic beside the richly drawn cast. Park told him he was like a father to the movie. Seki still wished Akutami had explored Panda more. Kōki Uchiyama voiced Toge Inumaki, whose lines are few because he communicates with food-related keywords, and so he put emphasis on the emotion each line carried. Yuichi Nakamura returned as Gojo and enjoyed the comedy, while Takahiro Sakurai voiced Geto and was struck by Geto's friendly bond with Gojo. Koichi Yamadera voiced Miguel.

  The English dub brought back the supporting cast. Kayleigh McKee joined as Yuta and Anairis Quiñones as Rika, and Quiñones studied Hanazawa's vocal style. McKee read Yuta's story as a coming-of-age tale. Lex Lang found Geto more compelling in the film because it dug deeper into his idealism. Matthew David Rudd called Panda's inclusion a "baller" moment.

  3596465

• 6. Songs and Souvenirs

  ›

  The rock band King Gnu performed both the theme song and the ending song of the film. "Ichizu" puts its focus on the relationship between Yuta and Rika. Daiki Tsuneta, the band's vocalist, guitarist and writer, felt pressure to deliver the ideal masterpiece that audiences had waited for. He settled on a straight song with a tingling punch that suited the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. "Ichizu" and "Sakayume" came out together on a single CD on the 29th of December 2021. Hiroaki Tsutsumi, Yoshimasa Terui and Alisa Okehazama composed the score, and Toho Animation released the soundtrack on the 22nd of December 2021.

  The film was first announced in March 2021 in the credits of the final episode of the television series' first season. In June 2021, at the Juju Fes 2021 event, MAPPA showed a first poster of Yuta and Rika, and Akutami drew his own version to celebrate. The first teaser in July revealed Ogata as Yuta, and Hanazawa's role as Rika followed soon after. Advertisements made with SoftBank Group showed Gojo as a dog.

  A novel adaptation by Baraddo Kitaguni, based on Seko's script, was published on the premiere date. Audience members also received a booklet titled Jujutsu Kaisen #0.5 Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, with a print run of 5 million copies. It held a nine-page manga by Akutami about the daily lives of Yuta and the other first-years, plus thumbnail layouts for the manga's first chapter, character designs, a question-and-answer session with Akutami, and comments from staff and cast.

  4038434753

• 7. The Box Office Run

  ›

  Toho projected that Jujutsu Kaisen 0 would sell over 1 million tickets on its opening day, the 24th of December 2021. It opened in 418 theaters, with some IMAX screenings, and debuted at number one. Its first three days earned 2.694 billion yen, about 23.5 million dollars. The film became the highest-earning film at the Japanese box office in 2021, passing Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. It left theaters on the 29th of May 2022 with 13.75 billion yen, about 108.1 million dollars. That made it the eighth highest-earning anime film in Japan and the 14th highest-earning film overall, until One Piece Film: Red passed it in September 2022. Showings in 4D and Dolby Cinema began in Japan on the 5th of February 2022.

  North America opened on the 18th of March 2022 in over 1,500 theaters, with Crunchyroll and Funimation holding the rights. Forecasts had suggested 8-13 million dollars from 2,336 theaters. Friday brought 5.8 million dollars, including 2.9 million from Thursday-night previews. The weekend reached an estimated 17.7 million dollars, second behind The Batman. Men made up 61% of the opening audience, and 75% of ticket sales came from the 18-34 age group.

  In the United Kingdom, the three-day opening weekend earned 514,000 pounds, fourth highest that weekend. In France, 347,583 tickets sold over the opening weekend, placing third. India opened on 200 screens with 50,000 advance tickets sold. In Zambia, the film became the first anime film to have an official theatrical release in the country, in April 2022. By November 2022, the worldwide total stood at 195,870,885 dollars from 20.51 million tickets sold. That placed it sixth among anime films, behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train, Your Name and three Hayao Miyazaki films.

  Home video set further records. The Japanese discs came out on the 21st of September 2022. The regular DVD sold 30,000 copies in its first week and the deluxe edition 28,000, beating the first-week record set by My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission. The deluxe Blu-ray sold 65,000 units and the regular edition 27,000, overtaking a record held by Girls und Panzer. On Netflix in Japan, it was the ninth most watched work of 2023.

  7172747884

• 8. Critics and Awards

  ›

  On Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 54 critics' reviews were positive. Metacritic gave the film 71 out of 100 from 8 critics, which it labels generally favorable. Critics from Siliconera and the Los Angeles Times praised how easily new viewers could enter the story. The film centers on Yuta and the supporting characters rather than the main television cast. The criticism fell on its short length, since some characters felt underdeveloped next to the lead. Otaku USA wished the prequel had been a mini-series, with more time for the likable cast and especially the villain Geto.

  Reviewers read the central pairing in different ways. We Got This Covered saw the Curse as a manifestation of trauma, while Polygon saw an inability to accept a friend's death. Anime News Network felt that the dynamic between Yuta and Rika stopped being the main focus in later sequences. IGN noted that the manga better explains how Geto survived, a point that had confused some viewers of the anime's first season.

  The animation drew the loudest praise. Polygon rated the Yuta and Geto sequences above MAPPA's work on The God of High School. Otaku USA singled out Gojo's battles. IGN admired the designs and movement of the Curses. Yatta-Tachi called the animation "utterly superb" and among the "best key animated action cuts in anime." The Guardian enjoyed how the animation and soundtrack combined into adrenaline-pumping showdowns.

  Ogata's Yuta was praised for its depth, especially the shift from a calm tone, set against her portrayal of Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion, to an aggressive one in horror or action scenes. The Fandom Post compared McKee's English performance to Spike Spencer's Shinji. Pop Culture Maniacs criticized it for making Yuta sound childish rather than traumatized.

  In 2022, the film won the Anime Grand Prix poll, and Yuta and Gojo took second and third place among male characters, behind Tengen Uzui. It was nominated for Animation of the Year at the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize. It placed third for Best Picture at the Newtype Anime Awards and won Best Anime Film at the Manga Barcelona Awards. In 2023, it won three of four categories, including Best Film, at the 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards. It also won the Daruma for Best Feature Film at the Japan Expo Awards.

  8586929398