Jujutsu Kaisen is a hit shonen anime series that might be considered part of the new shonen "big three," putting it in the company of series such as Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia. These three franchises can be directly compared in many ways, and now, all three can be compared in terms of movies, too.
For example, My Hero Academia has three movies to its name, while Demon Slayer boasts the ultra-successful Demon Slayer: Mugen Train feature, which dominated the box office in Japan and elsewhere. Now, the Jujutsu Kaisen franchise has caught up with its debut movie, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, starring the new protagonist Yuta Okkotsu.
10 IT'S BETTER: It's Not Redundant With The Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Anime
When an anime movie comes out, the material might be closely interwoven with the anime's existing story, or it might be a total standalone film or something in between. For its part, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 serves as a prequel to the main series, and none of its material appeared in Season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen.
In contrast, the Mugen Train movie is a small story arc that was repeated in the first half of Season 2, so fans ended up seeing it twice before they could move on to the Entertainment District story arc, which might have annoyed some impatient fans. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 avoided that altogether.
9 IT'S NOT BETTER: The Beloved Protagonist, Yuji, Is Absent
This might not have bothered some Jujutsu Kaisen fans, but it might have bothered others. When an anime movie comes out, fans will typically expect the protagonist to take the lead in this bonus adventure, such as in My Hero Academia, Naruto, and Bleach movies. But not this time.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 doesn't involve Yuji Itadori the protagonist at all, and that means the movie missed a chance to develop and explore his character further. Elsewhere, Mugen Train was compelling since it starred not just Kyojuro Rengoku the Flame Hashira, but Tanjiro Kamado himself.
8 IT'S BETTER: Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Explored Geto In Detail
Many anime movie villains are gimmicky, one-off boss battles for the heroes to face in a context that's conveniently outside the main storyline. Mugen Train's own villain, the dream-dealing Enmu, was somewhat more relevant than that, but he was still just a boss battle in the end.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0's own villain, the sorcerer Suguru Geto, is even more compelling than that, since he has a complex worldview and a personal connection to Satoru Gojo himself. He also survived the movie, despite getting technically killed. He'll be back for more soon enough.
7 IT'S NOT BETTER: Mugen Train Has Better Visuals
In general, anime movies have better animation than the series on which they are based, and that is certainly true for Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which has some of the finest visuals of any recent anime movie, including World Heroes' Mission. But not even this movie can top Mugen Train.
By now, studio UFOtable is legendary for its awe-inspiring visuals in the Demon Slayer anime and movie alike, and not even Jujutsu Kaisen's own movie can beat Mugen Train at its own game, try as it might. Mugen Train can still claim to be, somewhat subjectively, the anime industry's best movie visually.
6 IT'S BETTER: Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Did More Worldbuilding
Neither of these anime movies did a lot of worldbuilding, but if they must be compared, then it's easy to say that Jujutsu Kaisen 0 did more worldbuilding, even if some of it was done entirely through dialogue. In comparison, Mugen Train took place entirely aboard the eponymous train.
Meanwhile, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 showed a variety of locations for its action scenes, including a sequence where Yuta Okkotsu and the voice-based Toge Inumaki explored a cursed abandoned mall. Then, Gojo's dialogue alluded to the intriguing existence of an Ainu sorcery school, which greatly expands Jujutsu Kaisen's universe.
5 IT'S NOT BETTER: It Lacks Mugen Train's Emotional Punch
Both of these movies have an impressive emotional impact on viewers, but alas for Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the Mugen Train movie set an incredibly high bar that not even Yuta and his friends can clear. That movie is famous for the heartbreaking but heroic demise of Kyojuro Rengoku at the end.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 can't quite compare to that, even when it features a large cast of emotionally charged characters who have plenty of personal stakes and emotion-based techniques. It may be some time, if ever, before an anime movie can outdo the Kyojuro Rengoku death scene.
4 IT'S BETTER: It Has Bigger Battles
Some anime movies feature a personal fight between the hero and the villain, such as Izuku fighting the villain Flect Turn in World Heroes Mission, or Kyojuro battling the wicked Upper Moon 3, Akaza. Then there's Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which decided to go big. And it paid off.
This movie featured an impressive final battle pitting Satoru Gojo and a handful of his allies against dozens of Geto's minions, including curses and humans. It was exciting to see Jujutsu Kaisen's fine combat system being used on such a scale for the first time.
3 IT'S NOT BETTER: It Introduced Very Few New Characters Of Note
Anime movies are a fine opportunity to introduce exciting new characters, such as Akaza, Enmu, and Kyojuro in Mugen Train, or Flect Turn in World Heroes Mission. However, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 introduced very few new characters worth remembering, which is a shame.
Instead, the movie makes use of familiar characters, which isn't a bad thing in its own right. But this still feels like a waste to not throw in a memorable new villain for the heroes to defeat, which My Hero Academia does all the time.
2 IT'S BETTER: It Introduces A Strange New Curse
The Jujutsu Kaisen anime, and the source manga for that matter, establish curses as monstrous creatures who regularly torment and prey on humans. The vicious Mahito is a good example, along with the cyclopean Jogo and the cursed womb brothers. But what if there was a friendly curse?
That's where Rika comes in, a novelty of a character who helps make the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie stand out from the main series. Rika is the cursed remains of Yuta's childhood friend, and she is powerful but also difficult to control. She is a variant of the "dark inner monster" paradigm that Yuji has with Ryomen Sukuna. And Mugen Train had nothing like that at all.
1 IT'S NOT BETTER: It Doesn't Lead Directly Into Anything
Not all anime movies directly lead into another story arc, nor are they usually expected to. However, Mugen Train helped set a new standard by taking place directly between two major story arcs, and it easily leads to the Entertainment District story arc. More anime movies could stand to follow its example so they can feel relevant to their franchises.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 missed its chance. The movie does take place a year or so before the main series, but it still feels somewhat disconnected from Yuji's story, even if familiar characters are present. This makes it feel somewhat skippable, while the same absolutely cannot be said about Mugen Train.