My Manga Shelf Presents: Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 0

Spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga

CW: mentions of attempted suicide

Will this be a regular series where I review manga? All signs point to “maybe I dunno we’ll see let’s try it lol!”

Before I get started I cannot stress enough how spoilerific this is gonna be if you’re watching the Jujutsu Kaisen anime but not reading the manga. Yuta’s been mentioned a handful of times in the series, and while this manga volume serves as his backstory, there’s MAJOR spoilers pertaining to the series villain and other characters we’ve met thus far.

I also talk about what’s going on in the manga currently.

So if you don’t wanna be spoiled, stick with my anime round-up series.

If you’re caught up with the manga (or don’t care about spoilers) then hi, and hello, let’s commence with discussing this fantastic prequel.

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As a weekly anime watcher, manga reader, and absolute fangirl of all things Jujutsu Kaisen, I’ve been curious about Yuta Okkotsu. Before reading this volume all we knew was that Yuta Okkotsu was amazing, at least, according to his peers. When news of the Goodwill Event started brewing characters wondered (and hoped) that Yuta would show up.

He finally has in the current arc … and is trying to kill Yuji (yikes).

Technically, this volume was released before all of that, so you got introduced to him in one of two ways:

1. Hearing about him from the second years + Megumi, reading this volume, then seeing him in the current arc as he tries to kill Yuji
2. Hearing about him from the second years + Megumi, seeing him in the current arc as he tries to kill Yuji, then going back to read this volume (this is how I ended up doing it, lol)

So who is Yuta Okkotsu, why is he held in such high regard, and why is it extremely ironic that he’s trying to kill Yuji right now?

Synopsis of Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 0

Imagine losing the childhood friend who gave you a Ring Pop engagement ring that you were excited about, only to realize you’re in Jujutsu Kaisen so her death is swift, and gruesome, and now she’s a terrifying supernatural creature that will never leave your side.

That’s the position Yuta Okkotsu finds himself in.

Sure, having a curse that’s triggered anytime someone looks at you the wrong way might sound like the best type of bully repellent, but Rika is a bit… much. This, predictably, leads to Yuta’s scheduled execution. Yuta’s completely fine with this, after all, he’s been trying to kill himself but Rika won’t let him. He’s content with remaining in isolation until the day he’s scheduled to die.

Enter Satoru Gojo.

LOL, sound familiar?

Gojo convinces the higher-ups to let Yuta attend their school and actually learn about this whole world he’s been thrust into instead of, you know, killing him. It’s also a good chance for them to learn about this extremely high-level curse that’s attached to him. Gojo has his work cut out of him, though, since Yuta WANTS to die, so hopefully, his time at the school will give him something to live for.

As Yuta begins to gain a better understanding of this curse, and himself, he’s approached by Suguru Geto, who wants Yuta to join his crusade to kill everyone who isn’t a Jujutsu sorcerer.

Review

I wasn’t expecting the parallels between Yuji and Yuta, which really adds an extra layer to the current arc we’re in right now.

Yuta’s entry into the school similar to Yuji’s, on top of them, both of them are okay with the thought of dying if it gets rid of the devastating curse they’re carrying. Hell, Yuta’s even got his own group of Jujutsu friends who, once upon a time, didn’t think much of him. Those friends are Panda, Maki, and Toge, and it’s really nice seeing that group of characters as first years students who are still learning the ropes. Honestly, there isn’t much difference between how they act in this volume compared to how they are in the series proper. Maki’s still an absolute QUEEN, Toge is Best Boy, and Panda is … Panda.

However, there is this feeling of Maki having a bigger chip on her shoulder about her family’s opinion about her, like the wound’s still fresh so she’s got a lot to prove.

Gojo’s as Gojo as ever, having Yuta train with the other students and sending them off on missions without sticking around to see the results. It’s the same way he deals with the trio of kids we’ve come to know (Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara). Gojo’s entire teaching method seems to be giving advice, reassuring his students with a thumbs up, and leaving them to get a hands-on experience about everything.

Over time, Yuta begins to understand his curse (and, more importantly, find something worth living for). He’s able to summon Rika with the promise ring he still has (it’s not a Ring Pop, btw, I was just being silly). At one point Gojo tells him to channel the cursed energy through the weapons he’s using, and I dunno why I didn’t realize what was being hinted at there.

It’s not Rika’s cursed energy. Rika’s not the one who cursed Yuta, no, it’s Yuta who cursed Rika, desperate to keep her around after her fatal accident. He didn’t realize he did this, but I have a feeling Gojo knew. This is a nice twist, and feels like a sort of gotcha moment, after all, had the higher-ups executed Yuta they never would’ve discovered how much potential he has. It turns out Yuta’s a distant relative of Gojo’s through a sorcerer named Michizane Sugawara, which is why he has such an immense amount of power.

Could Gojo have just said this? Honestly, with Yuta being so scared of the power and willing to be killed because of it, it was probably best that he became more comfortable on his own merits versus being told he was related to Gojo.

Geto being the main adversary, and this being the final moment he has with Gojo (as his actual self), is also something I wasn’t expecting. I knew that Gojo was the one who killed Geto, but this volume gives us the moment that leads up to it. I’d assumed that Gojo and Geto had a final showdown, but in reality, it was Yuta who did the brunt of the fighting, Geto escaping to that alleyway where Gojo finishes him off.

That’s much more tragic to me.

I feel like, had it been an actual battle, there would’ve been a chance for the two to really hash it out. As it stands, they have a conversation in the middle of a crowd, and now… this. This quiet moment where Gojo has to kill his best friend.

The manga doesn’t show the moment, either, and it just really hit me that Satoru Gojo is the strongest mf’er out there, but this is the one fight that is probably the most necessary for some real closure… and he doesn’t get to have it.

How this impacts the overall series 

Reading this volume and knowing that Yuta is going after Yuji SUCKS … in the best way possible. Since their stories are so similar, you’d think Yuta would have a bit of sympathy for Yuji, who’s dealing with a curse that’s out of his control, and who really wants to do right by his friends. The only reason Yuta got a handle on his abilities is because he had time to learn at the school, so you’d think he’d have a little bit of sympathy-

NOPE!

Honestly, I kinda love that about this series. It does have its overall messages of friendship and comradery, but it never hesitates to remind us that the major antagonist (Sukuna) is inside the protagonist’s body, which makes for some very difficult situations.

This prequel volume, in a way, kinda drives home just how dangerous Sukuna really is. The higher-ups were willing to give Yuta a chance and it worked, to the point that he can just tell the higher-ups that he’ll disobey them if he wants to. I imagine Yuta’s standing with the higher-ups is something Gojo referenced when pleading Yuji’s case. However, Sukuna is NOTHING like Rika and is very much in it for himself, not caring who is hurt (or killed) in the process. There may have been a chance that Yuji could, I dunno, get a better handle on Sukuna if he had more time, but being forced to eat so many of his fingers at once has caused some… problems…

I think that Yuta may have had more sympathy had Toge not been hurt by Sukuna’s massive attack earlier in this Shibuya arc, not just because it’s Toge (but mostly because it’s Toge), but because that means Yuji can’t stop Sukuna from hurting his own allies.

The other big thing this volume does is remind us how the whole Geto thing has affected Gojo. It’s a small part, but still significant. He’s never actually fought Geto before, and there’s no telling if he ever could, even if Geto isn’t in control of his own body anymore.

All and all, this volume is worth checking out to get to know Yuta, to see how his story relates to Yuji’s, and to feel the full weight of what’s currently going on in the manga right now.

You can check out the volume over on Viz’s website.

(Image: Viz Media)

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