by Cain Noble-Davies
Worth: $12.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Aya Endô, Takehito Koyasu, Anna Nagase
Intro:
… revives one of the show’s weaker story arcs to mild effect …
Jujutsu Kaisen. It’s like Naruto, but without the pretence that it has anything to do with ninjas. And, after landing a decent success with a prequel film in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, another feature-length iteration has made its way to cinemas. Unfortunately, we’re not getting the ‘Culling Game’ arc just yet, as Hidden Inventory/Premature Death is an ‘omnibusification’ of the first five episodes of the show’s second season, which originally aired in 2023. Going from an original adaptation to yet another compilation film is, from the offset, a bit disappointing.
Not that this is entirely bad news. It may just be a compilation, but it proves how cinematic the series actually is. Layering in animation is about as old as the medium itself, but studio MAPPA and director Shōta Goshozono do a lot to create dynamics between the animation in the foreground and background. Hyper-realistic backgrounds combined with Yu Yu Hakusho-inspired character designs (that occasionally devolve into Crayon Shin-Chan facsimiles) make for an interesting filmic aesthetic.
The decision to return to the Gojo’s Past Arc specifically for the big screen makes sense, as central character Satoru Gojo and his calculated aloofness is consistently one of the show’s greatest assets. Getting into the origin story of his rivalry with big bad Suguru Geto only adds to that appeal. However, because this story finds them both still in the embryonic stage, the characteristics that make them so compelling are muted. Even when Gojo has his apotheosis moment and becomes the wacky yet cunning figure that makes him so special, it’s less “I’m just putting you off your game before I cram all of infinity in your head” and more “brain gone bye-bye”. It hits an odd note, especially with the serious story.
Aside from Gojo’s position in the narrative, this also serves as Geto’s ‘Revenge of the Sith’ moment, where he turned from a prodigious student of sorcery into a genocidal schemer. Maybe it’s because the last several years of jokes about sand getting everywhere and killing younglings have dampened the dramatic capital of this kind of arc, but it’s difficult to shake the feeling that the tragedy of all this should be more impactful. The story is diluted by obnoxious exposition, between the rationale for Gojo’s powers and the details of what is essentially an escort mission for Gojo and Geto. What makes it worse is that, even on rewatch after seeing it in episode-form in the main show, a lot of it still doesn’t make any sense; the only thing truly infinite here is the palpable confusion. While this would be fine if Gojo and Geto’s friendship and later rivalry was able to bloom out of that cracked foundation, that’s not exactly what we get.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death revives one of the show’s weaker story arcs to mild effect. Studio MAPPA still knows how to cook with Curses, and the exclusive Juju Stroll gag for this theatrical release is a fun addition, but considering the main show’s bread-and-butter is flipping between dour drama and delirious comedy at a pin drop, this just feels like there are ingredients missing. It lacks the drive of Yuji Itadori’s character arc, or the surprisingly touching elements of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, or even the overwhelming himbo joy of Aoi Todo asking everyone about their taste in women. With official word on the Culling Game adaptation not due until the end of August, it’s likely that this release is meant to tide fans over in the meantime (this originally released in Japan at the tail-end of May), but even then, this isn’t exactly putting the show’s best foot forward.
