Episode 12 of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 aired this October 12, and all I can say is that it is indeed the Nanami episode. From the first scene where Nanami is walking up the stairs to the last scene where we see Yuji being held back by Choso, episode 12 really surpasses all previous episodes of Season 2. It’s easily one of the most surprising episodes of the season.

Glimpse of the Past

Let’s just say I was taken aback by the first few seconds of the episode with the sudden transition from a desktop set-up to Nanami’s favorite bread and then to the overpass scene. However, nothing shocked me as much as seeing Nanami looking at Ijichi’s unconscious body and suddenly getting a glimpse of Yu Haibara, a close friend of his during high school. I was not prepared at all for the flashback. But, if you think about it, it makes complete sense because Nanami remembered the feeling of seeing someone you know get badly hurt. In the first cour of the season, we saw Nanami crying over Haibara’s death, even throwing a chair and cursing. We know Nanami as a reserved individual who keeps his emotions separate from work. But, at rare times like this, we know how much he gets affected. It’s evident in his face as he looks at an injured Ijichi.

Later in the episode, we see the reunion of Mei Mei and Pseudo Suguru Geto down the rails of the Fukushotin Line Platform. The former is surprised to see her former ally and junior still alive despite being announced dead. As usual, anything with Mei Mei feels exquisite and expensive, and the animation in that scene is just superb. I absolutely adore all the contrast and vibrance of the colors every time the scenes underground are shown and the combination of the red and blue lights is just a chef’s kiss to me. In this scene, we also see Pseudo-Geto looking more boastful than ever. It adds another depth to his character, especially as a villain. In previous episodes, this fake Geto always seemed to be chill (and most of the time is playing games with the cursed spirits), but with this new side of him and with him using a special grade disease curse (the Smallpox Deity), we can’t help but wonder what his true goals and intentions are. There is something fishy about this guy, but that is what we’ll be finding out in the next seasons because details about him are lacking even in the manga.

In this part we also see a glimpse of our (and MAPPA’s) favorite jujutsu sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, beside Pseudo-Geto. Flashes of what could’ve been them in the present entered my mind with that very short glimpse of them standing side by side, and it reminded me of a scene in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 where they were also standing beside each other and then laughing. Jujutsu Kaisen never fails to hurt us emotionally, but we love it because it proves just how good the general story and the story behind the characters can be.

Nanami and Haruta Fight

Of course, the highlight of this episode is Nanami and Haruta’s fight. That is, if you can even call it one. Again, as we know, Nanami is a rather composed man. This is why many anime-onlys were surprised at the rage he showed in the episode. Even in the manga it’s hard to see that this is how the scene will turn out animated. So I guess we can say that both anime-onlys and those who have read the manga were surprised, so much that it was trending on X (previously Twitter). This scene was so intense compared to what we expected, and honestly, I am very satisfied with how this scene was adapted. You can say that Nanami stans are really winning in this episode (and we hope they keep winning after this, but you know… we don’t really know what the future holds). As for me, I’m just really glad that MAPPA was able to convey so accurately the towering rage Nanami had after seeing the assistants injured and Nobara and Nitta being hurt by Haruta. Furthermore, I absolutely love the part where Nobara looks in awe at Nanami using his power against the curse user. That’s the strength of a grade-1 sorcerer indeed. We are all Nobara in this situation, because WOW, that first use of the ratio technique against Haruta is insane!

Production Comments

The episode was fantastic and thrilling, especially with the new side of Nanami that we saw. The last part where we see Yuji and Choso at the station also adds to the excitement and we can’t help but be thrilled about the next happenings to come. They did a marvelous job of directing this episode and speaking truthfully, I don’t see any issues with the production. I think MAPPA’s been cooking things in the Jujutsu Kaisen series and they’ve been outdoing themselves almost in every episode (except in episode 8 with the grasshopper curse). I love the parts where Mei Mei and Nanami looked like they were runway models. The fact that they both have scenes like this doesn’t feel like a coincidence because if you have read the manga, you’ll see that there is a contrast between these two grade-1 sorcerers. I would love to tell you all about it, but let’s see how it will be shown in the anime in the next episodes.

Anyway, I don’t know about you guys, but I completely loved seeing how they animated the Nanami versus Haruta fight, especially how they made use of all the shadows to make Nanami look more frightening and just downright intimidating. And before I forget, the scene where Toji took control of the grandson was also very fascinating because his sudden step towards the grandma who ordered him to kill all sorcerers was so clean. I was waiting for a sound effect of some sort during that flash step but I think that’s the goal of the no-sound scene — to make it seem sudden because of how fast Toji is.

Last but not least, I think I need to make a comment about this because I am so amazed. Kento Nanami’s voice actor, Kenjiro Tsuda, really had an exceptional performance in this episode. That fit of rage in his voice acting was so impressive that I want to watch episode 12 again and again. His delivery gave justice to the scene and I just can’t imagine how the recording in the studio looked — it must’ve been so cool. All in all the episode production is a whopping 11/10 for me.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 12 Final Thoughts

As an avid watcher of the Jujutsu Kaisen series, I found myself greatly enjoying episode 12, more so than the other episodes. Whether it be in the animation, direction, or storyboarding — all of the staff indeed did a great job at making this episode. Just like I kept on cheering for Nanami at his fight with Haruta, I also want to keep cheering for MAPPA and Gege Akutami to continue doing such a phenomenal adaptation of the Jujutsu Kaisen series.

For this episode’s rating:

It’s another 10 out of 10 for this episode’s rating! The next episode (13) of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 will be released on Thursday, October 19. Crunchyroll is streaming the series and it can now be enjoyed with English subtitles. Tell us what you think of the new episode by letting us know in the comments!

Screenshots via Crunchyroll and Netflix

© Akutami Gege/Shueisha/Jujutsu Kaisen Production Committee