Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 23
After a moment of calm descending on the battlefield, Kamo Noritoshi (Satoshi Hino, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut) exchanges words with Yuki Tsukomo (Noriko Hidaka) as he unleashes the next step in his plan that will change Japan forever in the Jujutsu Kaisen season. 2 Episode 23, “Shibuya Incident – Gate Closed”.
The penultimate episode of this season brings a lot of talk and information as Japan recovers from the recent Shibuya crisis. With Noritoshi unleashing an unprecedented amount of courses in the area, it looks like the situation is doomed to get worse before it has a chance to improve.
With little exception, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 23 is an endless stream of information about what is going on and how people will react to the crisis. While everything is important for the viewer to understand as it lays the foundation for the future, it can feel like slush at times. As the news reports and the reactions of government officials merge into one continuous stream, the viewer feels detached from the moment as they wonder what is happening to the characters they care about. The minimalistic visual presentation furthers the sense of detachment from much of this episode. Long shots of government officials sitting around conference tables and civilians learning about the ongoing situation from their television sets do little to draw the viewer in.
The biggest moment for fans in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 23 will probably be the reappearance of Yuta Okkotsu (Megumi Ogata), last seen in Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Seen saving a young girl from one of the countless curses unleashed by Noritoshi, Yuta returns in a single exciting moment that the episode brings. But it seems that his presence in the show may be one of the enemy as it is revealed that he was recruited to hunt down Yuji Itadoi (Junya Enoki) as his death sentence was renewed. This setup for the future of the series has a lot of promise as both Yuji and Yuta have been very popular with the fans and seeing them fight will bring a lot of mixed feelings to the audience.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 23
Along with the reinstatement of Yuji’s death sentence, the episode also features orders regarding some other key characters. The biggest of which is that Satoru Gojo will not be released from his prison. Considering how critical the character was in containing the threat of curses, and how much her power seems even more important now, this statement is bizarre at first glance. Political motivations for this move can be inferred, given that Gojo has always happily bumped into the heads of those running the Jujutsu Society due to his unique abilities. The presence of such political motivations in the immediate aftermath of such a catastrophic event does not bode well for the future.
The final element that Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 23 teases is the upcoming confrontation between Tsukomo and Tengen. The moment when Tsukomo declares that a meeting with the oft-discussed keystone of Jujutsu is needed is one of the most impressive in the episode. The prospect of actually seeing a character who has stood so conspicuously in the shadows of the plot until now is exciting. Combined with how little we know about Tsukomo, the sheer amount of mystery surrounding such an event makes for a compelling concept in itself.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 23 has some issues with the almost relentless bombardment of information. Still, it feels like a necessary evil for the viewer to quickly understand the consequences of the recent confrontation. While it may suffer at the moment, it looks like what it sets up will more than make up for the current hiccup in the driving.