Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 Blu-ray Movie

Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 (2020)

Yuji Itadori is a boy with tremendous physical strength, though he lives a completely ordinary high school life. One day, to save a classmate who has been attacked by curses, he eats the finger of Ryomen Sukuna, taking the curse into his own soul. From then on, he shares one body with Ryomen Sukuna. Guided by the most powerful of sorcerers, Satoru Gojo, Itadori is admitted to Tokyo Jujutsu High School, an organization that fights the curses.

Starring: Junya Enoki, Yûichi Nakamura, Yuma Uchida, Asami Seto, Mitsuo Iwata
Director: Seong-Hu Park

Anime	Uncertain
Foreign	Uncertain
Comic book	Uncertain
Action	Uncertain
Supernatural	Uncertain
Thriller	Uncertain

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard April 23, 2023

JuJuTsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 includes the first batch of action-packed episodes in the popular saga. The set includes episodes 1-12. Created by Gege Akutami, the action-packed anime focuses on a world of curse fighting.

Executive produced by Akifumi Fujio (Spy×Family, World’s End Harem), Akito Takahashi (Dr. Stone, My Hero Academia), Kazutaka Yamanaka (My Hero Academia, ONIMAI: I'm Now Your Sister! ), and Susumu Hieda (My Hero Academia, Witchblade), JuJuTsu Kaisen is an action-adventure series that explores an intriguing concept.

The hit series features animation produced by MAPPA (Terror in Resonance, Vinland Saga). Produced by Hiroaki Matsutani (Dr. Stone, Dr. Stone: Stone Wars), Makoto Kimura (Attack on Titan The Final Season, House of Five Leaves), Toshihiro Maeda (Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, Tanaka-kun is Always Listless), Yoshiaki Takagaki, and Yuriha Murai, JuJuTsu Kaisen packs a mighty punch for those genre enthusiasts looking for some exciting thrills.

Yūji Itadori (Junya Enoki) might seem like a typical high school boy at first glance – nothing seems out of the ordinary. Indeed, the daily life of Yūji isn’t particularly eventful at the start. Yet this boy has been gifted with incredible strength and skill.

An eventful day leads Yūji to fighting to protect a classmate from an attack by powerful curses. As the attack goes underway, Yūji ends up eating the finger of Ryōmen Sukuna (Junichi Suwabe) in order to stop the curses. Nonetheless, the end result is that these curses end up taking over Yūji.

Now Yūji must share the body of Ryōmen Sukuna. This is not the end of Yūji’s story. Now admitted in to the elite Tokyo Jujutsu High School, Yūji has joined a group fighting curses. Led by the powerful sorcerer Satoru Gojō (Yūichi Nakamura), Yūji has a lot of growing left to do. The fight to stop the curses is underway.

The series offers some entertaining action-packed adventure. This is one of the key highlights of the series. Action anime fans will appreciate the exciting energy of the production. These elements do contribute something fun to the experience. This is reason enough for some audiences to explore further.

The characters are compelling, too. The series explores the saga of Yūji. The heroic element is on full display. These elements of the story certainly play a big role in why the series became a popular hit. Audiences enjoy this type of element in anime series.

The character designs by Tadashi Hiramatsu (His and Her Circumstances, Yuri!!! on Ice) are impressive as well. The designs certainly aid the development of these central characters. There is a unique aesthetic here – these designs certainly stand out as something unique. The results are worthwhile and fun.

The cinematography by Teppei Ito (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen 0) provides the action-packed fun of JuJuTsu Kaisen with a compelling backdrop. The cinematography certainly helps to accentuate a nice, colorful, and robust aesthetic. The effort is visually compelling.

The animation is often stunning. There is perhaps nothing more compelling about the series than the animation. The results here are impressive looking. The animators did an excellent job of bringing a compelling style to the forefront of the production. This is the type of thing action-anime fans are hoping to find. The series has a fantastic and colorful aesthetic, too. This highlights the production enormously well.

The score composed by Arisa Okehazama (The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist In Another World, The God of High School), Hiroaki Tsutsumi (Alice in Borderland, Teasing Master Takagi-san), and Yoshimasa Terui (Jujutsu Kaisen 0) keeps the adrenaline-packed action going. The results are worthwhile. The score is hip and fun – exactly what this type of series needs. A good effort.

Written by Hiroshi Seko (Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga), JuJuTsu Kaisen has a decent story for audiences to explore. Screenwriter Seko did a solid enough job with the production. The dialogue is interesting – this adds to the charm.

Directed by Sung Hoo Park (Garo - Vanishing Line, The God of High School), JuJuTsu Kaisen will appeal to action fans predominately. Fans looking for something visceral and exciting. This is the audience for the series. For those who fit this threshold, the production delivers what fans expect and look for. This may be exactly the right “kick” some are looking to find.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality

Arriving on Blu-ray from VIZ Media, JuJuTsu Kaisen: Season 1 – Part 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series looks remarkable in high definition and the presentation does an exceptional job of showcasing the production. The animation is remarkably crisp and colorful looking. This is a vibrant and bold high definition encode and not a simple upscale (as on some anime productions). The results are quite impressive. The bit-rates are higher than streaming versions and will please fans with a better-looking presentation. A solid effort by VIZ Media.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is excellent sounding. Dialogue sounds crisp and clear on the release. The score is well reproduced and integrated in to the sound mix. Despite the lack of a surround sound presentation, the stereo audio sound imaging is engaging and robust. The track capably handles the action. This helps to make the presentation more immersive. It is a joy to hear with lossless audio – as lossless audio provides a much better audio presentation over lossy audio provided by streaming video services.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras

The collectors edition comes with collectible packaging. The set includes a deluxe chip-board art box and the standard case edition is found within the slipbox. The set includes a CD soundtrack with music from the series. The package also includes a booklet containing a compilation of rough sketches from the production.

The collectors release also provides a well assembled booklet entitled "The Jujutsu High Gazette – The Jujutsu Times – Special Cast Interviews" and this inclusion provides interviews with a lot of the voice actors. The booklet highlights interviews with cast members Junya Enoki (Yuji Itadori), Megumi Fushiguro (Yuma Uchida), Junya Enoki (Yuji Itadori), Nobara Kugisaki (Asami Seto), Junya Enoki (Yuji Itadori), Gojo Satoru (Yuichi Nakamura), Junya Enoki (Yuji Itadori), and Kenjiro Tsuda (Kento Nanami). The collectors set also includes a selection of high-quality card stock art cards.

On disc extras include:

Jujutsu Kaisen Digital Manga Chapter 1 includes 63 manga slides featuring the opening of the manga series. This click-through gallery is a sample showcase for the manga and may help to appetize fans looking to begin collecting and reading the manga.

Clean Openings (HD, 6:05)

Clean Ending (HD, 1:33)

More from VIZ (HD, 1:23)

Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 1 - Part 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation

JuJuTsu Kaisen: Season 1 – Part 1 begins the action-packed fun. The production explores a world of epic adventure. The first collection includes episodes 1-12 of the hit series. Now available from VIZ Media.

Fans of the franchise will be glad to see the series arrive in an impressive collectors edition. The collectors set includes deluxe packaging with a chipboard art-box, booklet (featuring rough sketches), and interview booklet (with voice-actor cast interviews). The set also provides a nice selection of art cards.

The Blu-ray release includes a strong video and audio presentation. The set includes lossless audio encoding. The release is going to appeal to fans of JuJuTsu Kaisen who are looking to own the series with the best video and audio presentation available. Fans of the series might not be able to resist. Recommended.