Summary:
After retreating outside the juvenile detention center, Fushiguro notices the death of the special grade cursed spirit. (HBO Max Summary)
Categories & Grades (English Dub & Japanese Subbed):
1. Opening Scene - Dub Score: 0.75, Sub Score: 0.75
2. Plot & Characters - Dub Score: 0.25, Sub Score: 0.25
3. Dialogue - Dub Score: 0.5, Sub Score: 0.5
4. Animation - Dub Score: 1, Sub Score: 1
5. Sound Effects - Dub Score: 0.75, Sub Score: 1
6. Music - Dub Score: 1, Sub Score: 1
7. Action & Humor - Dub Score: 1, Sub Score: 1
8. Voice Acting - Dub Score: 0.75, Sub Score: 0.75
9. Likability - Dub Score: 0.5, Sub Score: 0.5
10. Wow Factor - Dub Score: 0.75, Sub Score: 0.75
Final Scores
Dub Score/Grade: 7.25/ C-
Sub Score/Grade: 7.5/C
Average Score/Grade: 7.37/ C
Categories & Comments
Opening Scene:
Episode five starts with Fushiguro sensing the special-grade curse spirit's death and then being ambushed by the possessed Itadori, or Sukuna, who tears apart the uniform Gojou got him before ripping out Itadori's heart so that he'll die if he tries to regain control of his body from Sukuna. As far as openers go, it's pretty quick to the point and establishes stakes--Sukuna wants to kill Itadori's friend Fushiguro for fun and he's basically guaranteed his freedom by equating his repeat imprisonment with Itadori's death. I'm still not sure which voice actor I prefer for Sukuna, English and Japanese are both great in their own ways. My only gripe with this opener is something I forgot mention last time for episode-four, which is how Fushiguro and Kugisaki escaped the special-grade's innate domain while the curse spirit was still alive--which really bothered me because if it was that easy to get out than they probably would've done so before encountering the special grade last episode.
Plot & Characters:
The plot is basically the lead-up and aftermath of Itadori dying in order to save Fushiguro, which is strangely trivialized in-story other than a sad exchange between Fushiguro and Kugisaki--the latter of which who brings up the valid point that they barely knew Itadori. But from an audience member's perspective, Itadori's death felt premature and unbelievable because it was too soon in the story, and it already feels like he's the main character of the entire show. I also didn't understand why Gojou would leave his newly assembled team of first year Jujutsu Tech students when he already knew that Jujutsu higher-ups want Itadori dead due to his eating Sukuna's fingers. One, it makes no sense from a moral perspective if he cares about Itadori or the team in general. And two, from an objective point Gojou is the strongest jujutsu sorcerer alive so it makes no sense that he takes orders from people he doesn't agree with or respect. I enjoyed the inclusion of the second year students--Zenin, Panda, and Inumaki. They're not just comedic but a diverse assortment of technical details: a girl skilled at using cursed weapons, an inexplicably walking-talking panda, and a boy whose voice is so dangerous he can only speak in food ingredients. And after that great introduction, the episode includes an apparently evil jujutsu sorcerer who gave the special grade spirit that third Sukuna finger and three curse spirits capable of speech: a short volcanic cyclops with black teeth, a tall one-armed tree demon with branches for eyes, and large squid. The volcanic cyclops explains that humans are not as pure as curse spirits due to their many feelings, while curse spirits are pure because their entire existence emerges from singular negative feelings. These four appear to be the primary villains of the story since the head-stitch sorcerer reveals that the only way to defeat the jujutsu sorcerers is to make Gojou incapable of fighting but also get both Sukuna and Itadori over to their side. I was left very curious of how they will accomplish this and how powerful these characters are compared to everyone else we've seen so far.
Dialogue:
The dialogue was okay this episode. Off the top of my head, I liked how Sukuna told Fushiguro to "put more curse into it" while they were fighting which came off as another version of his "Ganbare, ganbare." It was interesting to learn from Sukuna that Fushiguro's shikigami are created from shadows, which seemed to impress and confuse Sukuna as if Fushiguro isn't using his ability to its full potential. Other than that, not much stood out to me but I liked how the volcanic cyclops pointed out how many feelings humans have and how curse spirits are pure due to them being birthed from singular negative feelings.
Animation:
Sukuna's one-sided domination of Fushiguro was a great watch. While he didn't employ any of the jujutsu he used against the special grade, the pure mismatch of his strength and speed versus Fushiguro's was impressive. Also, Fushiguro summoning Orochi, that giant snake shikigami, to lift Sukuna into the air and bash him against the electrified flying-bird shikigami Nue was both funny and epic. The animation of Orochi being disintegrated by Sukuna's mysterious attack was a bit too obviously CGI but I enjoyed the rest of the fight.
Sound Effects:
As always, all sound effects were much clearer and louder in Japanese. I enjoyed both English and Japanese iterations of its but Japanese did make the action sound much closer and crisper.
Music:
The music during the Sukuna-Fushiguro fight was good and I finally listened to the full ending credits song which is fantastic.
Action & Humor:
There's a lot of action in the first half of the episode. Sukuna effortlessly dodges Fushigo's strikes, swings him around, throws him through a forest, punches and kicks him through entire buildings, and creates shockwaves every time he hit him. I was left a little curious of Fushiguro's ability to survive being blasted through solid concrete but I guess being a jujutsu sorcerer makes a person not just a glass-cannon sorcerer but a bit of physical super-soldier too. The second-year group was funny and I look forward to their continued dynamic, along withe new talking curse-spirit villains who seem both menacing and comedic.
Voice Acting:
Still torn over whether Sukuna sounds better in English or Japanese, but I enjoyed the second-years more in Japanese and the new villains in English more so I'm going to make it a tie between English dub and Japanese sub when it comes to voice acting.
Likability:
I didn't dislike the episode. It just left me with a bunch of questions in the first half that I knew wouldn't be answered, while the last half was much more humorous and interesting due to all the new cool characters.
Wow Factor:
- Fushiguro summoning Orochi was impressive even if Sukuna killed it right away.
- The reveal that Fushiguro wanted to spare Nue from being destroyed showed that there is a possibility of good intentions between humans and non-humans. I'm still confused about the difference between shikigami and curse spirits, since the former just seem like tamed versions of the latter.
- Fushiguro surviving being smashed through several walls of concrete.
- The diverse and comedic dynamic of the second year students Zenin, Panda, and Inumaki.
- And the same thing, with the new villains.