Highlights
- The production flaws of Jujutsu Kaisen’s latest episode are evident the more time passes since its release.
- Despite the flaws, the episode’s strong start showcases excellent editing, narrative flow, and stunning visuals.
- The undercooked climax of Episode 41 suffers from chaotic fight scenes, animation errors, and confusing storytelling, but viewers still appreciate the passion of the animators.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen, Episode 41, “Thunderclap, Part 2,” now streaming on Prime Video.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the production of Jujutsu Kaisen has been rough, which made fans nervous about the release of “Thunderclap, Part 2” on November 16. When it aired, the sheer might of its imagery in spite of the production troubles almost propelled it to great heights, but with each day that has passed since that episode, the more its flaws have stuck out.
Recently, we put out a piece discussing why Episode 40, directed by Itsuki Tsuchigami, is a masterclass not just in terms of animation, but also in pacing, and its inspired spin on the artwork. Just as Hakuyu Go’s Episode 41 is a sequel to Tsuchigami’s, this feature is a companion piece, elaborating why one succeeded while the other collapsed under its own weight.
Jujutsu Kaisen: How Will the Series End?
After the horrifying events of the Shibuya Incident and the Culling Game, what does the end of Jujutsu Kaisen hold for our heroes?
A Strong Start
To clarify, this isn’t just going to be a collection of screencaps, pointing out how janky the artwork might look. Anybody can freeze-frame a cut mid-way and mock some off-model character pose, but that would be counter-intuitive. Some of the best episodes in the medium have sacrificed some degree of fidelity to create animation that is dynamic, bold, and full of character.
Instead, the objective here is to focus on things like editing and the narrative flow as conveyed through visuals, because these are where this episode falls short the most. But before getting into that, it’s worth appreciating the good, because much of the first half of the episode is pretty spectacular, and it’s no surprise with a director like Hakuyu Go at the helm.
One of Go’s most famous works is his episode in Mob Psycho 100 Season 2, “Discord,” an emotional and visual powerhouse. It shares a lot of similarities to his episode in JJK, from the dramatic buildup to an explosive climax brimming with abstract animation set against the backdrop of a destroyed city. Not to mention the use of letterboxing, which, depending on one’s taste, just makes everything feel a little more cinematic.
The first ten minutes are genuinely fantastic, thanks to the excellent tone-setting of the introductory scene, which makes the transition between Parts 1 and 2 all the more seamless. Yuji’s memory of his grandfather’s final words cuts abruptly to Sukuna infesting his body as the aspect ratio narrows. The most sinister part? The letterboxing won’t go back to the way it was until the moment Yuji’s eyes widen in horror at what he’s been made to do.
There are so many brief shots that are utterly striking that there could be an entire chapter in an art book from just this two-parter. Megumi’s summoning of Mahoraga, in particular, feels so eerie and haunting. For a show with so many different curses, each steeped in folklore as they are, this series’ capacity to introduce new threats and sell their awesome power is no small feat. The build-up of tension is excellent. [Clip]
When Sukuna and Mahoraga begin their fight, that tension certainly pays off. The opening salvo of attacks, as hectic as it is, feels like nothing more than a warm-up in retrospect, but it’s probably the most consistent the episode gets in terms of quality. It’s big, but it’s all easy to follow, which is something to savor as that clarity will not last much longer. [Clip]
An Undercooked Climax
Ambition is never something to scoff at with regard to animation and JJK #41 is entirely saved by the talent of its animators and their ambition. Make no mistake, there are some stunning, arguably career-defining cuts in some of these scenes. Vincent Chansard, Saucelot, Hironori Tanaka, Hisashi Mori, Hakuyu Go himself, and many more, do such a great job, but they are done absolutely dirty by the constraints they were working under.
The problems seem to commence right at the cut pictured below [see it here]. It’s like the starting gun for what is the most chaotic anime fight scene in a long time, both diegetically and technically. There are so many ambitious cuts, but they haven’t been touched up or corrected nearly enough, and worse yet, the cohesion between these cuts can create a lot of confusion as to what’s even happening.
Ghosting certainly contributes to this problem, much the same way it has held back the series before, but the larger reason is that there simply wasn’t enough time to finish it. As the battle progresses and debris fills the air, it can be hard to tell what debris is meant to be floating in midair, and which is the result of animation errors. Watch this clip and keep an eye at the top of the screen for the debris that just sorta hangs in one place until it starts moving.
Whereas Tsuchigami’s episode a week prior excelled thanks to how it took the setting into account to create easily readable action, Episode 41’s abstraction is its worst enemy. When Sukuna activates Malevolent Shrine, the imagery is awe-inspiring, but the editing and visual storytelling can once again send mixed signals about what is transpiring. Without Yoshiko Sakakibara’s soothing narration, it would have been hard to make sense of it all.
The episode clearly plays around with the order of events, like the foreshadowing shot of Yuji reacting to the crater in Shibuya, but in an unfinished episode, this presents more problems. These individual cuts of Mahoraga, of which many are beautiful, convey conflicting information. Mahoraga is completely eviscerated, but then he shrugs off Sukuna’s attacks, and later, he’s on his knees. There’s a lack of connection between the shots.
The Takeaway
Even avid enjoyers of this episode would say, “It needed more time in the oven.” It was rushed, because the entire production had been – and still is – poorly planned, and only now is it finally catching up to MAPPA in such a big way. But if that’s the lesson, then it’s not exactly surprising. It’s practically the default addendum to any coverage of a MAPPA project.
What is surprising is that a majority of the audience seems to have absolutely loved this episode despite its occasionally rough and largely inconsistent construction. Whereas an episode like this may have been derided for its shortcomings in the past, the metrics among casual viewers for good animation have shifted with the times.
With animators given more of a voice than ever before, the passion behind it all has been clearly felt by the viewers, regardless of technical comprehension. The community has gone to great lengths to recognize the animators who made this episode even remotely possible under the worst circumstances.
Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 41 is only remotely watchable because of the passion of its staff, as quickly as it seems to deplete week by week. It absolutely wasn’t worth it, though, because all the passion in the world can’t erase the fact that a better schedule would have yielded something greater. That there is so much beauty to have come from the episode at all is worth praising the artists, but one can’t shake the feeling that MAPPA will take the wrong lesson from that miracle.
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