To Find Our Neighbors
In the wake of tragedy, hope remains for Maru and Cross. To escape the eradication of their people, they take Dura’s ideology beyond the stars, looking for a place to belong.
SPOILER WARNING
Last time, the Deskunte chieftain accused the Rumelian’s sacred animal of killing his daughter. Now, a one-on-one match has been issued to decide the fate of the Rumelians. Dura, the Rumelian’s champion, fights Dabura, the Deskunte champion, and loses. The Deskunte set their sights on the Rumelian land.
Maru, Cross and the rest of the Rumelians ponder what to do to survive. Dabura appears with a startling revelation. During his canal building, Dura collected a precious resource that amplifies their innate powers. If they are no longer welcome on Simuria, then they’ll search for another place to live. Maru takes Dura’s lessons to heart and builds a spaceship to travel the stars.
A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words
In my opinion, Chapter 9 of Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo has been the weakest so far. It’s essential to move the plot forward, but the presentation leaves much to be desired. Given how strong the series started, this week’s chapter was a step down.
Akutami (writer) seems to have a bad habit of cramming as much exposition into the dialogue as possible. What compounds that problem is when every character in the scene delivers the same train of exposition. None of the dialogue feels like it comes from the character’s opinions about the situation. Because of this, conversations feel robotic and uninteresting. In past chapters, Iwasaki’s (artist) dynamic character expressions carried the emotions of the words to break that monotony. Chapter 9 had very few moments where this shone through.
The most significant development I observed was Maru’s decision to utilize Dura’s legacy to create something better for the Rumelians. In past chapters, Cross took a very definite stance on the cycle of violence. He doesn’t believe it can be broken, only warped to be the lesser evil. In Chapter 9, we encounter a counterargument to Dura’s stance on the cycle of improvement. He believes in taking what someone else has built and using it to build something new. It’s a heartfelt message that I think will see use later on in the series.
Something tells me we’re not quite done with this little trip down memory lane. What made Cross so cynical about finding neighbors? Why were the Simurians so menacing at the start of the series? And has their approach to coexistence changed? Catch up on the story by visiting the official Viz Media manga webpage for Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo.
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