The shounen genre has always been simple good fun. From underdogs rising to the top to good-hearted people saving their loved ones, shounen always brings in the most simple kind of enjoyability. Sometimes its simpleness can be a detriment, but for Jujutsu Kaisen it actually is its savior.

But first he formalities. Itadori is a normal high schooler that loves horror, but his curiosity brings him to the end of the wrong stick. His horror club gets attacked by curses, so to save everyone he swallows a cursed object, which revives the great demon Sukuna. Luckily, Itadori is able to control it, but he now that he is a husk for the great demon, Itadori gets wrapped up into a Sorcerer school and is tasked to kill curses, all along while other Curses are eyeing on Itadori to fully revive Sukuna. Itadori accepts his situation and thus begins the adventure of the sorcerer Itadori and his friends.

A pretty standard shounen story, but for a story like this, I think it does a good job balancing tension, reveals, comedic parts and character building. It all feels so well paced, with taking enough time to flesh out certain characters but fast enough to keep things going.

The biggest highlight of the anime are the characters, which are SUPER likable.

Itadori might be the most standard, being super strong but still a bit of a loser underneath that just wants people to not die, and Itadori works as a character. He does go with the flow but with a strong idealistic mindset that keeps scenes fresh, not to mention that Itadori has some great comedic moments. Megumi is the cold friend with a good heart that for most of the season feels a bit tame, but with reveals and some really good moments Megumi becomes an intriguing character to follow. Gojo is the obvious highlight of the character cast. Great design, laid-back, fun, anti-authoritarian and the most beautiful eyes Shounen has ever seen.

Nobara is kind of the bitchy female at first but she quickly becomes a fucking badass, which brings me to one of my favorite aspects of the anime: The female characters are actually really good. Often when I am watching shounen anime, the female characters always feel… average. There is not much variety in them and they often feel like the weak link of the main cast. In Jujutsu Kaisen, the female characters are some of the main highlights of the anime. They get so much screentime with great scenes that make them look like badasses. Even if they aren’t badass, like Miwa, they are really funny.

There are more great characters show, like Todou, Panda and aformentioned Miwa, but dwelling on the character cast would lessen the other aspects. I do what to give one critique tho: While the main trio (Itadori, Megumi, Nobara) has great characters seperately, together the trio chemistry feels... eh? I like it is laid-back but it feels so underdeveloped, so I don't fully believe their friendship.

Now let's talk about this anime's comedy. Often, comedy in shounen is like peanut butter on a computer screen: Really annoying. Most jokes fall flat and can't seem to bring in any variety. Jujutsu Kaisen revolutionises the shounen genre by being actually funny. The comedic timing alongside its self-aware ridiculousness really makes the anime funny, although the Jujutus Strolls on the end of each episode can be hit or miss.

Now let's get to the exciting part of the anime: The production values, and holy fuck MAPPA delivered. The character designs don't just look great, they constantly look great and go abstract the right way when it is needed for a joke. There is so much sakuga each episode it sometimes feels overwhelming at times. Each episode contains at least one great looking scene that makes you search the scene on Sakugabooru to fangirl about it. I have to admit, while the sakuga looks really good in motion and is really exciting, not every piece of sakuga is great. Not enough movement, too much movement, animating the wrong parts of the shot, these issues crop up more then I would like, but they aren't dealbreakers for the great animation of this show. I also want to give the music of the show a quick shout out. There are a surprising amount of good tracks that really enhance important scenes in the anime.

In short, Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the best first seasons I have seen in anime in a while. Great characters, great production values, great comedy, a solid story, it has it all for a really good shounen. It doesn't so much revolutionise the shounen genre, but puts its own spin on it to create a quality product. It still has little flaws here and there to stop it for being a perfect watch, not even mentioning we aren't that far into the story yet, but if it continues getting better with each episode, I think we have a classic on our hands.

I fully recommend watching Jujutsu Kaisen, no matter if you are a veteran who dismisses anything with a shounen label or a newcomer who wants to start their journey through the wonderous worlds of anime (which includes Jujutsu Kaisen).