Where Does ‘Jujutsu Kaisen 0’ Fit in the Canon?

Right now, I’d say the twin tentpoles of modern shounen anime are (arguably) Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. I’ll back that hypothesis up with the fact that both massively popular series released films within a year of each other. And the numbers speak for themselves. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, released in 2020, became the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan. While Jujutsu Kaisen 0 didn’t break the record, it stayed at the top of the box office for ages and crept into Japan’s all-time top 10. And it’s finally getting a theatrical release in the U.S. on March 18th. No word yet on a streaming date, but those of us who are still a little iffy about going to theaters may have to wait until the summer. Either way, the film should be available for everyone to see soon. And fans of the series are wondering, is Jujutsu Kaisen 0 canon? And if so, how does it fit into the world and characters we know and love.

When does ‘Jujutsu Kaisen 0’ take place?

If you’re familiar with Mugen Train, you know the film is essentially Demon Slayer‘s season 2. In other words, it’s canon, but a terrible place to start with the series. For the casual viewer, simply going to see the film might not be as enjoyable without context. So, like Mugen Train, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is also canon. It’s adapted straight from the manga. But unlike Mugen Train, and as its title slyly implies, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a prequel. That means the film is a very viable entry point to the series for the uninitiated. In fact, maybe even preferable—as many of the reviews are explicitly opining. And the deeper reason Jujutsu Kaisen 0 makes for such a compelling entry point is that it takes us back a few years, to 2017. A simpler time.

If you’ve ever opened up Jujutsu Kaisen in the VIZ app after watching the anime, you know what I’m talking about. Like me, you probably expected to be greeted by Itadori. Instead, you found yourself encountering several chapters of something else entirely. This “something else” is Jujutsu Kaisen 0. The chapters initially ran under the title Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School, and they only became known as “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” when they were released as a tankoubon volume. That’s because these chapters were the first story mangaka Gege Akutami ever set in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. In other words, Jujutsu Kaisen is technically a sequel to Jujutsu Kaisen 0.

So, for fans of the anime, don’t walk into Jujutsu Kaisen 0 expecting Itadori, Kugisaki, and Fushigoro to have prominent roles. I don’t think they’re even in it. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be some familiar faces—everyone older than Itadori’s class at the school (such as the Zen’ins, Todo, and Satoru) will be in the film. And of course, Panda, who is on the poster.

Personally, I can’t wait to see it. And now I’ve got to congratulate myself because I’ve made it through the whole article without betraying my immense preference for Jujustsu Kaisen over Demon Slayer, and therefore, throwing loads of shade. Oh, wait…

(featured image: MAPPA)