Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo has shown its true colors. Against a backdrop of supernatural shonen, it sets the scene for a deep dive into the human condition.
SPOILER WARNING AHEAD
New Revelations Unfold
With the serial first-grade repeater subdued, Maru faints from overexertion. Cross disguises himself as Maru to get closer to the Okkotsu siblings. What he didn’t expect was an impromptu visit to the theme park. After helping a lost child, Yuka catches on to Cross’s disguise and invites him somewhere else.
Yuka and Cross visit her doctor, who reveals she has a malignant brain tumor and only six months left to live. Oddly enough, this development makes Cross open up about the Simurians’ struggle for survival. Despite the tense back and forth, Yuka offers her own take on the situation. She wants to break the cycle of hatred once and for all.
Heavy-Handed Dialogue
This chapter was chock full of easter eggs and references. Here are the ones I noticed. Acting Minister Usami is a cursed speech user like Toge Inumaki from the first series. There’s a single panel of a patchwork face that suspiciously resembles Mahito, a special grade cursed spirit. In this chapter, Cross describes “fumi-e,” the act of trampling a depiction of Jesus implemented during the Tokugawa shogunate.
Akutami’s writing steals the show in this chapter. Every conversation was engaging. The characters’ personalities and opinions shone through. I especially love how the sibling dynamics play out. Pairing Yuka with Cross makes for such a poignant contrast to Tsurugi and Maru. It’s impressive how well Akutami wrote so much nuance into the dialogue. Topics like coexistence, survivor’s guilt, life and death, and the cycle of hatred were wonderfully explored. I found myself completely taken in by the conversations. I also couldn’t help but pinpoint some social commentary, too. It made the characters that much more real.
Chapter 7 revealed a lot and very little. It sounds like the next chapter will address who the Simurians are and what happened to them. One last bit of theory-crafting: could Sukuna have been an early iteration of the Simurian race? He has similar face markings. He lacks a third eye but does mark that spot on his forehead. Cross even references a “path laid out for you by a superpower ever since the war.” Food for thought until next week. Catch up on the story by visiting the official Viz Media manga web page for Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo.
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