Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution recaps the end of the anime’s second season and teases the start of season three with a visually stunning film that suffers from structure.
“Just save as many people as you can, even if it’s only one.”
Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen has experienced a meteoric rise that’s turned its exaggerated action and Cursed Spirit slaughter into one of the decade’s biggest anime. Jujutsu Kaisen has taken advantage of its intense popularity with cinematic spectacles that either tell original stories or recap the series’ events. 2025 has been an incredibly lucrative year for anime feature films, between the start of Demon Slayer’s Infinity Castle trilogy, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, and now Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution.
Execution chronicles two of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime’s biggest events – season two’s “Shibuya Incident” and the corresponding assassination hit that’s put on Yuji Itadori and turned into Yuta Okkotsu’s responsibility. These are very satisfying events, especially the confrontation between Yuji and Yuta that was teased all the way back in Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Yuta has been left to wait in the wings for years until the Culling Game Arc cathartically connects these dots. Execution gives fans a lot of what they want, but it’s a scrappy patchwork project that doesn’t feel like a proper movie because, in many ways, it’s not.
The Shibuya Incident’s fallout has released ten million Cursed Spirits in Japan and triggered unprecedented chaos for the purpose of bringing back the golden age of Jujutsu sorcery. Execution begins as a sizzle reel of Cursed Spirit-slaying mayhem as Yuji and the rest of the Jujutsu Sorcerers work together, all in service of taking down Kenjaku and Pseudo-Geto in pursuit of freeing Satoru Gojo from the prison realm. The fight between Yuji and Yuta becomes the movie’s real focus and a preview of the mayhem to come as Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season goes beyond the Itadori Execution Arc and actually digs into the manga’s infamous Culling Game Arc.
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the decade’s most popular shonen anime, but it’s still a shonen anime. There’s a real heart to the film’s storytelling and dramatic weight to Yuji and the company’s plight. Nevertheless, Execution is still guilty of occasionally becoming a case of style over substance as flashy visuals complement traditional archetypes. This isn’t a huge problem when these flashy visuals are as gorgeous as they are here, but it’s still true. Where Execution does successfully stand out is with its challenging Cursed Spirit designs. They’re truly terrifying creatures that feel like they’re ripped from some Clive Barker or David Cronenberg story.
These monsters push boundaries with their disturbing Akira-esque body horror that still finds ways to riff on signature action anime power scaling theatrics. Jujutsu Kaisen also showcases equally creative combat styles where everyone utilizes a unique means of curse and martial arts, so that no two fights feel the same. The film impressively finds ways to continually top itself when it comes to its combat before this madness reaches a frightening fever pitch during the film’s finale.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution may be a makeshift amalgamation of the end and beginning of two separate seasons. That being said, this film’s ideas and conflicts reinforce a grander message about the importance of community and how these loved ones are ultimately what separates many humans from Cursed Spirits. It’s a simple yet fundamental principle that’s sporadically in jeopardy throughout the film, which leaves Yuji on the precipice of darkness. Execution reinforces the importance of legacy and how someone is never truly gone if others keep fighting in their name. The act of saving a single life can become the difference between hope and despair.
There’s a real sense of dread that hangs over Execution’s events, where heavy stakes accompany every action. This is a bloody, brutal affair that racks up an intimidating body count, not as a way to manipulate the audience with artificial obstacles, but to help heighten the heroes’ final fight and everything that it represents. This isn’t just some bout to figure out who is the strongest so that they have Jujutsu Sorcerer bragging rights. It’s literally a battle to rewrite the world and society’s future.
There’s such a heightened theatricality to the combat. Yuji and his opponents enter into aerial showdowns with Man of Steel-level fallout. Phenomenal displays of power tear through reality while the visuals shift with a frenetic fluidity that’s oddly reminiscent of Mamoru Hosoda’s early work or some of Masaaki Yuasa’s wilder creations. It’s a chaotic pairing of style and subject matter that adds to the overwhelming, disorienting experience that Jujutsu Kaisen strives for in this action-packed compilation.
A lot of Execution gets lost in elaborate battle sequences where the anime’s visuals and direction kick into overdrive. The action, combat, and swordplay choreography are on a whole other level, all while a dizzying and diverse color palette becomes a surprising highlight. Jujutsu Kaisen is known for being an especially dark anime, which is more than evident here. The rainbow-colored kaleidoscopic bursts of gruesome gore just become another effective example of how Jujutsu Kaisen stands out among its shonen action and horror peers. It reiterates why MAPPA and Jujutsu Kaisen are such a sublime pairing.
The signature visual madness of director Shōta Goshozono (Mob Psycho 100 II, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen’s first two seasons) is fully unleashed. MAPPA continues to elevate what’s already exceptional source material, especially when the film’s inspired musical score by Yoshimasa Terui is also added to the equation. It makes all of Yuji’s dramatic and emotional displays resonate even more strongly.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is a satisfying showcase of some of the anime’s best work. However, this cinematic event doesn’t make for a smooth entry point into this popular anime franchise. Execution isn’t exactly accessible to newcomers, but it also doesn’t try to be. It knows that its audience is made up of the hardcore crowd, both for better and for worse. Execution marks the start of the series’ endgame, so even casual fans will be left clueless if they were to just jump in without familiarizing themselves with most of the characters’ backstory and lore.
The film may not make sense to newcomers on a narrative level. However, its godly animation still gives the audience a dazzling cinematic experience that will leave them largely satisfied and praising anime’s merits, even if the entire movie doesn’t fully make sense. Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution tells a full story that allows a sense of closure by the end. It still feels like a setup for a bigger conflict. That’s perhaps not a surprise for many seasoned Jujutsu Kaisen fans who know what they’re getting with Execution, but others may be left wanting a little more than the tantalizing taste that’s provided here.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is the perfect aperitif for the upcoming third season’s Culling Game extravaganza. However, this is not mandatory viewing for anyone besides the Jujutsu Kaisen fans who can’t wait until January.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is in theaters on December 5, with special fan screenings taking place on December 3. Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 begins January 8, 2026.
The post ‘Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution’ Is A Visual Triumph That Celebrates Big, Brutal Battles [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
