Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the most important Anime to me personally. It was what enraptured me in Anime as a whole in December 2023. While I was aware of Anime, I wasn't fully into it.
Then I encountered Jujutsu Kaisen. It was a fantastic show, with interesting characters and a rich world. However, one character stood out to me most: Satoru Gojou. Today, Gojou is my third favorite character ever- and this arc helped cement that. Hidden Inventory is one of the most tightly-written arcs in fiction. So when the compilation movie was announced, I was excited. A while ago, I got to experience Hidden Inventory in theaters- twice, one in Dub, one in Sub.
If you want to read my at-the-moment out of theater thoughts, here it is- but I'll be covering the same material from that post.
Without further ado... here's my full review of Jujutsu Kaisen's Hidden Inventory Arc. _ Characters:
Satoru Gojou- Naturally, this arc had to get Gojou right. It perfectly balanced his cocky nature with his vulnerable side. He's insufferable sometimes when the situation calls for it, but that's to humble him when the time comes, and he's a stronger character because of it. Seeing his origin as a cocky brat who doesn't care about protecting anyone is super compelling- you know he'll become the stellar teacher he is down the line, and it excites you to see what happens that changes his mind... and when you do... you can't help but feel sorry for him.
Suguru Geto's arc is shockingly well-done for a character who had so little to work with based of his JJK 0 counterpart. This is legitimately one of the best 'Fall from grace' arcs I've ever seen. It's practically tied with the one in TFOne, which is high praise coming from me. Seeing a more naive Suguru loose his faith in his beliefs is compelling as all hell, and it's done in an incredible way. With every re-watch of this arc, I notice more times that the clapping hands are in play. The symbolism of the water running sounding like the Star Religious Group's clapping is just brilliant. Despite knowing Geto will become a villain, it's still heartbreaking to see.
Fantastic writing for both Gojou and Geto. It really cements the tragedy of the friendship lost between the only two people who ever really understood each other.
And, of course... Toji Fushiguro is a fitting antagonist for Hidden Inventory. He parallel Gojou in many ways- both being opposite poles of the Jujutsu world, one the strongest and one with no cursed energy. However, besides that... Toji's severed bonds with both the Zen'in Clan and his family run parallel to Gojou's eventual isolation in the world of Jujutsu and with his best friend.
Not just that, but Toji's downfall is tragic in a sense. He lost his family because of his own ego,
Toji is also just... a lot of fun to watch. Something about him commands attention, and I can't help but respect his every move. He's a captivating presence on screen- and when on a movie theater screen?
...My dad going into this movie had no knowlege of JJK. When we left the theater, he told me that Toji was his favorite character.
In short, this movie's main cast of Gojou, Geto, and Toji is one of the most solidly-written parallel character machines I've ever been lucky enough to witness. _ Action:
As a battle Shounen, JJK has some stellar fight sequences. While Hidden Inventory isn't the best JJK S2 has to offer, every fight in the movie still hits hard- especially fights involving Gojou and Toji.
The best fights involve Gojou's technique being utilized creatively. Wether its his fight with Bayer, his fights with Toji, or how he saves Utahime in the beginning, Gojou steals all focus like usual.
Suguru doesn't get enough credits for his fights. Naturally, his fight with Rourei (The Old Man) and Toji flow fantastically. The way Geto gets in his opponent's heads is impressive... until Toji pushes him into a corner. With the exception of the Hollow Purple scene, Geto's curse manipulation strategies being torn apart by Toji might be the most beautifully brutal sequence in the movie.
Another added element to the movie apart from the arc of the show is that both Gojou's and Geto's brutalizations are grey scale. It could be in an effort to censor the gore a bit, but they didn't do it for Toji's death. I believe that it's used as a device to showcase the moments Gojou and Geto's psyche shattered. The grey scale gives off far more of a horror vibe than a shock vibe than the OG scenes did. _ Hollow Purple:
Thankfully, despite some scenes being edited... one remains unchanged.
One of the most memorable scenes from JJK is Gojou's Hollow Purple. While the sequence is the exact same... the weight of the scene in theaters was something else. I cried, in all honesty. Everything about the scene is as perfect as ever- from the colors to the cinematography and shots, to the music and even the organization of the surrounding scenery. Everything is on point, and it does this iconic moment justice.
That being said... being on a larger screen definitely heightened my enjoyment of this scene. It was a lot of fun. _ From TV to the Big Screen:
I rewatched the TV arc before going to see the movie to see if I could spot any potential differences. However, most of the arc remains intact. The movie is an hour and 51 minutes, so it's able to fit all 5 20-minute-episodes (Minus OP and ED) in without much issue. It never felt rushed or slowed, the arc seemed perfectly paced to be a movie.
One important question was on my mind going in: how would they handle the cuts between episodes, and the alternate takes used in the following episodes? Fortunately, the cuts between episodes were noticeable for me, but stitched together pretty well, so if you're not a maniac like me who's seen it 7 times, I'm sure you won't notice. I DID like how it combined the end of Eps 3/4, by which Geto's line started in Ep 3 but finished with the Ep 4 version. There's a lot of small moments like that that actually add to the tension of the scene, like Kuroi's kidnapping. The transition to the movie format was actually pretty clean. _ OSTs:__
The Music in Hidden Inventory / Premature Death is immaculate as always. Most of the OST is beautifully composed by Yoshimasa Terui. He utilizes a lot of funky techno beats to reflect on the 2006 time period the events of the story takes place in. It's very brilliantly composed.
A bunch of the OG OSTs are used- notably, Gojou's power demonstration scene has the same ost and the Hollow Purple Music isn't changed.
This movie DOES do some things differently than the Arc of the show does: the music. Namely, there are new compositions for multiple tracks. First, during Geto's rescue of Riko, normally the track "Hidden Inventory" plays. It was slightly altered in this movie. Another change I noticed was during Gojou vs Toji round 1, where a new remix of "Searching for Riko" plays. It seemed slower, but I liked it about as much as the OG. Also during the scene where Gojou and Geto break up. Normally, the track "Arrogance" plays, and was far quieter this time. The final scene where Gojou awakens from his nap usually has the track "You Better Get Strong," but it's cut entirely in this version. Rather than bittersweet, it ends the movie on a more somber note.
So I'd say for the four OSTs I noticed that changed, I didn't mind the first two and wasn't a fan of the second two. I thought they didn't fit the tone as well.
Also for the OP and ED? Ao no Sukima and Akari remain the same. The OP is creditless, and the ED isn't the normal episodes' credits, instead being on a black screen like most movie credits are. I have a full breakdown of the OP already, link here if you want to know the symbolism behind it (According to me, at least).
However, before the end credits, a final montage plays with a new mix of Ao no Sukima. It's a series of photos of Gojou, Geto, and Shoko's school days back before the arc takes place. It's a kind of heartbreaking sequence- which is heightened by the music, which seems to be a mashup of Tatsuya Kitani's track of "The First Take" version put with a piano cover in the back. While I'm glad the OG Ao no Sukima gets to be included in the movie... I find this version to be more emotional. It fits really well, and adds to the feeling of memories lost to time that the arc is all about.
▶ And also... NEW JUJU STROLL. HELL YEAH. It was a part of the series that I thought was really missing from JJK S2, so I'm glad we got one more. It was a fun interaction between Gojou, Geto, and Shoko at the movies. It was short but sweet, and probably helped characterize the characters for any parents who were going in blind (like my dad).
Overall, the Hidden Inventory movie doesn't slack off like many recap movies do. In its 1 hour 50 minute run time, it fits almost the entire arc in, only cutting the duplicated cliff hanger scenes. It changes some music- both for better and worse, and the additions to the screentime are worthy of being a part of this arc.
Hidden Inventory is my second favorite movie of all time. I'm pretty biased in its favor, so I doubt that title will be taken anytime soon. The characters, world, and story steal my attention no matter how many times I watch it. I highly recommend this arc- and movie- to anyone. It may help to start from Season 1 of JJK... but this is where the story truly finds its footing. This arc is just as incredible in movie form as it is on its own.
It's not Hidden Inventory because it's Peak... it's Peak because it's Hidden Inventory. Bravo Gege.
