Come and Play. For Ever and Ever and Ever
We love a good bait-and-switch mystery.
SPOILER WARNING AHEAD
Our heroes’ next assignment is to investigate a serial first-grade repeater. The ominous thing is, he looks exactly the same, and every year he and his family disappear just before moving up a grade. Tsurugi and Maru track down the kid, Masaki Takeda, and discover he’s protected by a guardian spirit. After a brief heart-to-heart, Masaki takes them to his house.
Meanwhile, Yuka and Mino, another of their handlers, investigate Masaki’s home address. They find the remains of five bodies buried in the yard. At the same time, Tsurugi also finds a body, but in a completely different location. Somehow, the two teams have been split up, and Masaki Takeda springs his ambush.
Layers Like Onions
This chapter had a very good balance of intrigue, exposition, and emotion. I especially like how well Maru’s innocence and honesty play against the Okkotsu siblings’ jaded and cynical attitude. It creates a nice group dynamic and leaves room for Maru to be the audience surrogate. I would like to see Yuka interact more with him. Their previous conversations were very sweet and full of personality. Though maybe Tsurugi feels more responsible, given what he’s learned about the Simurians.
I also really love how the characters’ unique perspectives directly affected their decision-making. Maru empathizing with Masaki’s loneliness is another chance for him to express his worldview. Too bad that emotional projection is exactly what made Maru such an easy target. Tsurugi fared no better. Assuming Masaki’s situation was similar to his grandfather’s (a really nice callback by the way) made him overlook the possibility of Masaki’s malicious intentions. This layered character work is a step above what Jujutsu Kaisen had to offer.
Next time, we’ll see how Tsurugi and Maru handle this new foe. Catch up on the first three chapters by visiting the official Viz Media manga web page for Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo.
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