Why This Battle Anime Movie Is Actually A Tale Of Lost Innocence And Love

Few anime in recent years have had an impact as cataclysmic as Jujutsu Kaisen. Based on the manga of the same name by Gege Akutami, it first started airing in 2020 and rose to incredible popularity thanks to its intriguing premise, excellently animated fights and sincerely wonderful cast of characters.

Jujutsu Kaisen has also had two movies; the first being Jujutsu Kaisen 0, a prequel to the main story, and Hidden Inventory/Premature Death, a compilation of the first 5 episodes of season 2 that serves as a prequel itself to JJK0. Despite this, it’s my recommendation that you go see the Hidden Inventory/Premature Death movie while it’s in theatres, even if you haven’t seen anything from JJK before.

Though it may sound a little counterintuitive to jump in at the start of season,  Hidden Inventory stands alone as a prequel to the main story of Jujutsu Kaisen, and is one of the most interesting arcs of the entire show. Not only is it a thrilling two hours of action (especially in the cinema) but it has some of the most deft character work of any anime in recent history.

Some context for the world of Jujutsu Kaisen

If you’ve never seen the show before, here’s what to know: in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, supernatural entities called cursed spirits exist and are born from the negative emotions of humans. A select few are born with the ability to harness this energy and become jujutsu sorcerers, protecting the masses from otherworldly threats.

It’s 2006, and there are two young sorcerers who stand heads and shoulders above the rest: Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, teenagers studying at Jujutsu High who are both deemed ‘special-grade’ (the highest a sorcerer can be) because of their powerful cursed techniques; Geto can manipulate the spirits he fights, and Gojo can quite literally wield the concept of infinity to keep himself from harm.

However, when they’re assigned to protect a girl called Riko Amanai, who must be absorbed by the immortal sorcerer Tengen to maintain the foundations of jujutsu society, they can’t possibly know just how much their lives are about to change forever when they come face-to-face with Toji Fushigro the Sorcerer Killer.

What makes the Hidden Inventory arc special

It’s quite a standard setup for an anime, but where this particular arc of Jujutsu Kaisen excels is in its characters. Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto will go on to become important characters in this world, but here they are two young men born with unbelievable powers.

The relationship between Gojo and Geto is one of the most special parts of Hidden Inventory. They’re like yin and yang, with opposing ideologies on the purpose of strength and their overall demeanour. Born into immense power and a prestigious sorcerer clan, Gojo is a bratty delinquent at this age, while Geto was born to non-sorcerer parents and has much more respect for protecting the weak.

I belive it’s also more than safe to say that Gojo and Geto have a… special relationship. Original author Gege Akutami has been open about being inspired by BL (Boys’ Love) and GL (Girls’ Love) manga before they wrote Jujutsu Kaisen, and there are plenty of visuals in both the original work and the anime that support this theory (especially in this movie’s end credits photo montage).

It’s hard to discuss why I think this element of the relationship is all but confirmed without spoiling Hidden Inventory – discussion about the fact it’s so heavily coded as romantic but denied by a good portion of the fandom is beyond the scope of this essay – yet even without seeing Gojo and Geto’s relationship as romantic, it’s clear that the quality of character writing in Hidden Inventory exceeds plenty of anime released in the 2010s and 20s.

How do you live in a cruel society?

The Hidden Inventory arc does this by grappling with the nature and cruelty of its fictional society of sorcerers

. The plot setup reminds of Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, in which Riko must be effectively erased from existence to preserve the foundations of society.

Hidden Inventory eventually reckons with this inherent cruelty in an interesting way. In a world where people are regularly killed by cursed spirits, what does it mean to simply uphold the status quo? Just as crucially to the narrative, what happens to those that don’t meet the standards of a society that expects teenagers to protect the weak?

Enter the film’s antagonist Toji Fushiguro, an outlaw from the Zen’in clan of sorcerers. Through no fault of his own, he was born with what’s called a ‘Heavenly Restriction’ that means he has no cursed energy, but is instead gifted with remarkable physical abilities.

By accepting the job to assassinate Riko and defeat her bodyguards in Gojo and Geto, Toji internalises the cruelty inherent to the society that rejected him. That bitterness is what leads to a profound loss of innocence for all three of the young people, and makes for a fascinating tale about a summer gone by that will change the trajectory of the jujutsu world forever.

Hidden Inventory is a stunning marriage of animation and storytelling

Even outside of its thematic depth, it’s also worth noting that it’s an incredibly fun, visually delightful work with some truly amazing action scenes. Jujutsu Kaisen is animated by MAPPA, a studio who’ve worked on other big-ticket titles like Attack on Titan and Chainsaw Man. The animation is absolutely stunning, with equal amounts of care given to both quiet moments and the huge battles that absolutely delight the eyes.

Indeed, Hidden Inventory has a particularly transcendent fight in its last 30 minutes that’s already become an absolutely quintessential entry in the action anime genre. More than simply a display of immense strength, it’s a visually sumptuous moment that serves as an extremely important moment for one of the main characters. (I’m keeping it vague for spoilers, but you’ll know what I mean when you see it!)

If you’re an anime sceptic or haven’t engaged with the medium all that much recently, I would sincerely recommend you check out the compilation movie of Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death while it’s in theatres. Anime with a focus on big battles often gets a bad wrap, and rightly so in some cases; prioritising action above all else can lead to seriously shallow storytelling.

But I guarantee that Hidden Inventory’s unique mix of excellent character writing, strong themes and excellent animation means that it’s a tale of lost innocence like you’ve never seen before, and it’s a fantastic launchpad into the world of Jujutsu Kaisen that I certainly wish I could’ve experienced in cinemas for the first time.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death – The Movie is playing in theatres now.