First Grade Never Ends
What happens when you cross a serial killer with a senile old man? Something straight out of a slasher horror film, that’s what.
SPOILER WARNING AHEAD!
Masaki Takeda turns out to be a senile old man obsessed with recapturing his rose-tinted memories of first grade. Tsurugi holds his own against the geezer, but the guardian spirit makes things difficult for him. Tsurugi activates his “New Shadow Style Simple Domain: Maculation” technique to drive Masaki into a trap.
A barrier descends around the battleground, and Yuka joins the fight. The Okkotsu siblings’ teamwork is unmatched. Together, they subdue the rogue sorcerer. But they let their guards down, and Masaki, using his shapefighting abilities, gets the drop on them. Just as he’s about to finish them off, Maru’s third eye awakens.
Unrivaled Action
I’ve said it once, and I’ll repeat it; Yuji Iwasaki’s knack for illustrating action and movement is a cut above the rest. Panel layout and posing are vital to selling a good fight scene. It’s a balance between illustrating dynamic eye-catching poses and guiding the readers’ gaze to help them fill in the missing motions. Iwasaki almost treats the process like key frames in animation. You can clearly see how one pose flows into the next and how the characters achieved it. The two-page spread in this chapter is a perfect example.
The story took a back seat to the action in this chapter, but there was still time to explore Masaki’s backstory that didn’t feel forced. As simple as it was, it still managed to convey a heartfelt melancholy. In a way, it emphasized the depths of his depravity. I also love that we got to see the Okkotsu siblings team up. It’s clear their confidence is not unfounded, to the point where they’re able to banter during the fight. Yet we see that confidence ultimately stabs them in the back, literally. It was a good moment that showed off their strengths and weaknesses.
Next week, hopefully, we’ll get to see how Maru’s powers work. It’s clear something is happening beyond our heroes’ control. Catch up on the story by visiting the official Viz Media manga web page for Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo.
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