Jujutsu Kaisen vol 3 by Gege Akutami

Gojo has a theory that curses and cursed energy are becoming more powerful and more deadly, on both sides of the fight. The higher ups with the Jujutsu Order don’t necessarily want to hear him out, but his case is proven for him with the next bad guy we meet. He can transform the soul of anything he touches, and his current delight is experimenting on humans to see how far he can take them. His latest experiment is witnessed by Junpei, who wasn’t particularly fond of the three boys he saw transformed. Mahito, the cursed spirit, takes Junpei back to his lair and reveals some of his evil plan while bonding with Junpei over the evilness of humans. Itadori and a Grade 1 sorcerer, Kento Nanami, are put on the case to investigate, and this leads to Itadori becoming somewhat of a friend to Junpei. The two bond over their love of movies. Junpei, though, is used by Mahito to get to Itadori, and tragedy strikes close to home, causing Junpei to lash out with murderous intent.

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This is so far the best volume in the series. Akutami builds up a satisfying amount of development for both Mahito and Junpei, and the payoff is that I’m rooting for Junpei to come out of this unscathed despite what he’s driven to at the end of this volume. Itadori kind of takes a back seat in this one, and there isn’t nearly the level of explanation that volume two contained (as I think Akutami was really trying to get the entire system out on paper in one volume). Nanami is also a pretty awesome character, and I laugh at and appreciate his strict adherence to his timecard and hatred for overtime. Now that we've gotten the tiresome world-building out of the way, it seems we are clear to have some great story and character development.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: April 7, 2020​
ISBN: 9781974710041 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Demons, School Life, VIZ Media