I don't usually write reviews. Actually, this is my first. And, spoilers, it's going to be largely negative.
I'm aware that makes me seem like a pessimistic douchebag. But honestly, that's just because it is largely the negative aspects of the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen that got me so worked up to the point of finally breaking out of my short note comfort zone.

And maybe I am a pessimistic douchebag. Certainly some people who know me wouldn't be so quick to disregard the notion.

Anyway, before getting to the meat on this metaphorical bone, let me exclaim that this review will not be breaking Jujutsu Kaisen apart, aspect by aspect, discussing and grading each separately. I will not be talking about the plot itself, much of the character writing, how this adds to the first season or how it will play into future entries.
Really, I won't be talking much about the actual content of the show at all. The show is popular enough, and I am late enough to the party, that there are enough people that have already done that. People with much greater passion towards the series than I.
Nor would anything along those lines get me worked up to such a degree.
Instead, what I will be talking about here are largely the technical aspects of the show, for better and for worse.

Now with that out of the way, I would like to start off by mentioning a feat so extraordinary that even in this cynical review of mine I couldn't ignore it:

Animation

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this season of JJK is probably the peak the medium has to offer in terms of technical animation prowess.

I couldn't argue it to have the single highest peak, as I think that is a largely subjective concept tied to both taste and emotional attachment.

But I am certain it is at least in contention for the top spot for its consistency in delivering what would be single episode or even single scene sakuga moments anywhere else, legitimately every episode. It is just unreal, and deserving of proper applause.

HOWEVER, I think this is the first time I got the feeling that perhaps every animator wanting (or being instructed) to go their absolute hardest on EVERY scene, on EVERY episode, is maybe a recipe for disaster.

Which leads me to my next point:

Direction, Storyboarding, and Everything Else (Part 1)

Let's start by finishing the previous thought;
Grandiose animation sequences, or sakuga, are typically reserved for the explosive payoff that comes after an emotional buildup spanning somewhere between a couple episodes to the entire season up until that point. This, of course, is a result of budgetary and time constraints, but it just so happens to work out nicely in differentiating that great moment through a distinct improvement in animation quality.
I think this is a natural conclusion our brain makes, and maybe expects. Directors, episode directors, animators not excluded.

Super impressive flashy visuals = Big emotional payoff

But, wait, if every fight scene is worthy of being called sakuga, is every fight scene also expected to carry a big emotional payoff?

Well, typically, no.
I think it's safe to say anyone you ask will answer the same way. Unless fights are few and far between, not all of them can leave an emotional impact on the viewer. That type of thing takes time.

But, what if the answer was yes?
I can't speak with certainty without asking the production staff directly, but I can definitely say that it feels like that is what was in mind here.

But we of course know, according to our own answer, that that shouldn't work.
And indeed it doesn't.

I don't think more than two episodes pass between fights throughout the entire season, if even. And it feels like every one of them is supposed to carry emotional weight behind it.

Keyword: supposed

"Wow, that is a CRAZY fight between those two. Really tilting the scales of good vs evil. Huh? ___ - kun is dying? Noooo!!!!!!.............. wait, what was his name again? And his powers too. And, actually, what was the deal with that villain? Ah, I guess a quick trip to the wiki won't hurt"

..............

Rinse and repeat.

Frankly, if that was the most of the show's issues, I wouldn't be writing this. In fact, that was a last second addition cause I felt it worthwhile.
Really, this next topic is what got me out of bed.

Direction, Storyboarding, and Everything Else (Part 2 - Motion Sickness?)

Despite what are clearly the best efforts of the animators, watching this season, I can't help but wonder if a director was present at all in its making, or if a storyboard had been made for the show at any point in time.

Never before in my life, no matter how bad the anime I was watching, did I get motion sickness from watching it.
And when I say motion sickness, I don't even mean from the animation (you know, the motion), but from a complete lack of coherency in its structure. Not on an episode to episode basis, but a SCENE to SCENE basis.

Attempting to be different is good, but you can't overdo it. You can't have EVERY transition be a jarring jumpcut. You can't have an episode where EVERY new scene jumps back and forth on the timeline. You can't have flashbacks feel like they make up damn near HALF of the entire season. I could go on.

At some point these creative decisions stop making you stand out for the better, and start being nausea inducing. Just like I can't follow what's in front of me when hurling down a 50 story tall rollercoaster, I couldn't follow what was in front of me watching this. So I experienced what felt like a strange case of stationary motion sickness during the worst the show had to offer.

Despite what are clearly the best efforts of the animators, watching this season, I can't help but wonder if a director was present at all in its making, or if a storyboard had been made for the show at any point in time.

I'd like to hone in on this point further in a way that is more tangibly relatable, and might also connect it to the previous point about animation.
Throughout my viewing, it felt as if every individual animator had been instructed to create the finest work their hands would allow, but when it came time to put it all together, there was no one home.
As if the works of all the individual animators had just been glued together in what was seemingly the correct order, without caring for transitioning the show along in a coherent manner.
What we're left with is just over 9 hours of nonstop "Avengers Assemble" moments. Sure, they're individually exciting, but one must first plant the seeds and care for the crops before he can reap what he's sown.

My unwarranted theory is that perhaps, as a result of the known production issues, there was no time left to bring it all together properly. Maybe they didn't proof watch it as a final product. I don't know. I just have a hard time believing talented professionals in the industry could watch this jarring mess and think it's ready to ship. It needed more time to cook.

Conclusion?

I'd like to clear up what I feel are potential misunderstandings before letting you go.

1. I don't think a show with consistently top tier animation must be bad. Hell, that idea sounds amazing when you apply it to your favorite show. I just think it was misused here.

1. I have nothing against esoteric direction and presentation. In fact, it's those exact novelties that I often look for in shows today. But, yet again, I think such creativity was greatly misused here. Not just because the oversaturation of esotericism drowned out its positive potential, but because it actively made for a worse viewing experience.

Now, after all of that negativity, seeing the score below, surely you must think I'm some cynical bastard who thinks he's too good to have a proper look in the mirror. However, I'd like to reiterate that this review was written largely for the purpose of speaking on the bizarre downfalls of the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen. Which is to say, it's not all bad, and you can so very easily find much, much worse anime out there. The unreasonable animation quality alone makes it worthwhile to an extent. But this here is a unique case of such extremities that I had to talk about them.

Peace