JJK Execution review: Mappa doesn't fix that season 2 fight, but it's still worth watching

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is Mappa’s chance to reframe one of its most controversial fights with feature-level cinematic polish. The film blends key moments from season 2 with two early episodes from the upcoming third season, offering context for how Sukuna’s rampage in Shibuya immediately ties into the next arc, in which Yuji attempts to flee from a murderous Yuta, whom audiences previously met in JuJutsu Kaisen 0. But while some fans hope to see earlier missteps corrected, most are eager for the first real glimpse into season 3’s direction. Unfortunately, that first group of fans may leave disappointed.

Mappa squanders the opportunity to improve one of its most notorious fight sequences, reducing a pivotal Shibuya Incident battle to a brief sequence and leaning heavily on the season 3 preview as the film’s primary draw. And while that look ahead builds plenty of hype with stunning animation and action-packed spectacle, it’s ultimately just an early preview of something we’re getting in a few short weeks

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Mahoraga versus Sukuna

The original Mahoraga and Sukuna battle two years ago was breathtaking and borderline experimental — it also aired incomplete due to time constraints. Mappa received a lot of criticism at the time, despite how impressive it looked. The subsequent Blu-Ray release added some scenes and polish, resulting in significant improvement. Bringing the Shibuya Arc to the big screen offered Mappa a chance to improve that fight even further. Instead, it’s reduced to a single sequence.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution’s first 12 minutes go through several fights in montage fashion, but give Mahoraga versus Sukuna a single uninterrupted sequence introduced in the Blu-Ray instead of a montage for it, still a massive underselling of a full-length fight. There are no additional scenes, and the fight is only slightly edited. This ultimately shortchanges fans who were hoping for an elevated version of this much-hyped battle.

However, for fans who embraced the anime’s evolution from its quirky first season to its stylishly heightened second, the second half of Execution makes one thing clear: Mappa’s cinematic approach to Jujutsu Kaisen is only getting more ambitious in season 3.

A look at Jujutsu Kaisen season 3

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution races through the Shibuya Incident to get to the meat of the film: a preview of the first two episodes of season 3. Together, these episodes cover the Yuji Extermination arc from the manga, in which Yuta is out to kill Yuji, following orders from the council after Shibuya. Yuji’s despair often matches his environment, whether he’s wearily sitting in the dark on some steps in front of stained glass or traversing a destroyed city, obliterated by his own hands.

The first new episode does well to encapsulate Yuji’s woes against his environment and his mission to clear the area of curses. The second episode sees Yuta move operatically, like a Terminator, to stop Yuji. It's shocking how, despite how far Yuji has come, he can’t defend himself against Yuta. If you’re Team Yuta, it’s satisfying. If you’re Team Yuji, it stings a little.

Every scene is moody and atmospheric. Every frame could be its own iPhone wallpaper. It's movie-level quality, and begs the question of whether the anime's next arc after season 3 will just skip television entirely and go straight to the big screen, like Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc. (In that vein, it may be asking too much for Mappa to take time away from a new season to brush up on a previous fight that already got some treatment in the Blu-Ray. But the film could at least show the fight in full in an otherwise elongated recap.)

Although Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution delivers an exciting preview for what’s to come, I wish the Shibuya stuff were more extended, especially the fight between Mahoraga and Sukuna. Other than the first 45 minutes or so, the film is basically a preview of something you’re going to see in a few weeks anyway, just on a bigger screen. Compilation films, especially when they get theatrical releases, should be all about the spectacle, and unfortunately, there’s not enough of that here.