Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 1 is one of those classic examples of not judging the contents of a book by its cover. At first glance, the cover, which shows the main character Yuji Itadori with a mouth on his hand licking blood, sure looks a lot like Parasyte, the classic manga about a boy whose hand is possessed by an alien. The hand-mouth from the cover, however, shows up very rarely in the actual volume.

There is a possession story in Jujutsu Kaisen, but thus far, it's not an odd-couple body-sharing team-up story like Parasyte. It's noteworthy that when a supervillain from American comics gets referenced, it's not Venom, but Two-Face. The main character Yuji's demon-self emerges after eating the finger of the legendary demon Sukuna.

Sukuna relishes control over Yuji's body when he gets it, but as of this first volume, the two personalities interact with each other rarely. They only have brief conversations on occasions when they're fighting for control over the body as opposed to the constant back-and-forth dynamic of Parasyte's Shinichi and Migi or Eddie Brock and Venom.

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How does Yuji end up with a demon inside him? A combination of coincidence, ideals instilled in him by his dying grandfather and sheer impulsive stupidity. Physically strong but not particularly bright, Yuji's the sort of character that would normally fit the "dumb jock" archetype in your typical high school manga if not for the fact he rejects athletics in favor of slacking off in the Occult Research Club.

While the Occult Research Club seems like a joke at first, it soon becomes clear they're actually dealing with real curses that actual sorcerers are doing battle with. Yuji's big dangerous attempt to save people from Curses attached to one of Sukuna's severed fingers is to eat it, an act which would kill most people but instead just leaves him possessed.

The story recalls a bunch of idiots from shonen hits of the past. There's a cursed object treasure hunt to set up the ongoing arc, like finding the Dragon Balls or the Shikon Jewel shards in Inu-Yasha. The idea of dorky occult nerds unexpectedly encountering real paranormal phenomena can be compared to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya or Mob Psycho 100. Most of all, it joins a long line of Shonen Jump series about teenage boys fighting demons from Yuyu Hakusho to Bleach to the current megahit Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

As of the first volume, Jujutsu Kaisen stands as a solidly good addition to this lineage without really showing off any truly special qualities to make it stand out to older readers who already have experience in this genre. Its greatest strength at the moment is its characters. Yuji, Megumi and Nobara fit the "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura" archetypes of standard shonen heroes (the powerful but clueless lead, the stoic expert,and the girl with an attitude), but are written well with their own individual quirks that make them each stand out. Nobara in particular enlivens the volume with her sense of humor when she joins up with the boys in Chapter 4.

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The art is solid without being exceptional. The most creative design work naturally involves the various Curse creatures, which are all distinctively creepy. Sometimes the artwork is very expressive, while at other points it can be blocky, and the action scenes can occasionally be hard to make out. Perhaps the forthcoming TV anime adaptation will improve upon the fight scenes' visual quality.

In its first volume, Jujutsu Kaisen is clearly a series still figuring itself out. Many Shonen Jump series take some time to achieve their true strength, and further chapters beyond these seven have built up the hype to the point where My Hero Academia's Horikoshi Kouhei has  declared it "the next manga to carry Jump." As Sukuna takes further control over Yuji, the drama should heighten. Those who wish to read ahead can do so on the Shonen Jump website.

Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 1 is in stores now.

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