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Manga readers have been anticipating the Shibuya Incident arc to be animated once Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 is announced to be in production. Today, the second season was revealed to air in the Winter 2023 anime season.
Later, MAPPA assured fans that they would be handling the animation for the second season. Now, fans are wondering if season 2 will cover the entirety of the Shibuya Incident arc.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga.
Which arcs, including the Shibuya Arc, are likely to be featured in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2
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Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 covered 63 chapters in 26 episodes, with no fillers at all. It covered the Introduction Arc (5 chapters, 3 episodes), the Cursed Womb Arc (4 chapters, 2 episodes), the Cursed Training Arc (9 chapters, 4 episodes), the Versus Mahito Arc (13 chapters, 5 episodes), the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc (23 chapters, 8 episodes), and the Death Painting Arc (10 chapters, 3 episodes). Chapter 64, “It’s Like That,” was not animated in this season.
The Cursed Child Arc (4 chapters) from the prequel series has been animated in the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie. The movie also features snippets from the next arc in Jujutsu Kaisen manga, Gojo’s Past Arc (14 chapters, 65-78). This arc features two sections: Hidden Inventory (11 parts) and Premature Death (3 Parts).
In the manga, the Shibuya Incident arc starts from Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 79, A Taste of Things to Come. This chapter links the flashback to the present and transitions into the Evening Festival segment (3 parts, 80-82). After Mahito’s fight with Muta Kokichi is over, the Jujutsu Kaisen manga begins the Shibuya Incident segment (53 parts, 83-136).
Chapter distribution
In Jujutsu Kaisen season 1, the chapter distribution in the first few arcs was significantly denser than the last two arcs. The Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc had a ratio of 23 chapters to 9 episodes. While the arc being action-heavy allowed the animators to fit many chapters into one episode, they managed not to let any key details slip.
The Hidden Inventory and the Shibuya Incident segments don’t offer that luxury to Jujutsu Kaisen season 2. Hidden inventory is information-centric, especially with establishing Getou Suguru’s and Toji Fushiguro’s characters.
Toji, especially, will be introduced to the anime-only audience for the first time. Getou’s connection with Gojo and his transformation would also need to be evenly paced to capture all the nuances that mangaka Gege Akutami has put into the character. Hidden Inventory cannot be rushed. However, it can be rearranged to fit in as a flashback scene during Gojo’s capture.
The action in the Shibuya Incident arc is fractured and time-stamped, with the manga continuously jumping between different fights and different time-stamps. It can be assumed that Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will be more linear in the portrayal, likely sticking to one fight scene in an episode and going through the events chronologically. However, that does not leave room for condensing the chapters.
Key events in the Shibuya Incident arc
The main events of the arc consist of the sealing of Gojo Satoru, Toji Fushiguro’s reanimation and subsequent confrontation with Megumi, the Shibuya Massacre by Sukuna, Kento Nanami’s death, Nobara Kugisaki’s fall, and Kenjaku ingesting Mahito via Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
Gojo is sealed in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 91, after which Nanami, Naobito Maki Zen’in, and Megumi Fushiguro fight Dagon. Toji barges in, defeats Dagon, and then takes Megumi with him. The Shibuya Massacre occurs in chapters 118-119, followed by Nanami’s Death in chapter 120 and Nobara’s supposed, but undisclosed, death in chapter 125.
Mahito dies, for all intents and purposes, in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 133. The manga enters the Itadori Execution Arc in chapter 137, marking the return of Yuta Okkotsu. Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will have to cover all of these incidents and the preceding fights, of which there are many.
Additionally, the manga features detailed explanations of the curse techniques of Sukuna and Mahito, the development of Black Flash, the origin of Mahoraga, and the nature of Death Paintings. These details occupy merely one or two text-infested panels in the manga, but Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will have to devote considerable time to do them justice.
In conclusion
It can be safely said that Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will feature the Shibuya Incident arc. However, to cover the entirety of it, season 2 will have to cover 73 chapters, most of which are more information-heavy than those covered in season 1. It will be too long for a 26-episode season unless MAPPA splits it into two 15-episode courses.
In most readers’ opinion, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will end towards the end of the Shibuya Incident arc or in the middle. The Shibuya Massacre, Nanami’s death, Nobara’s fall, or, at the very latest, Mahito’s death seem to be the possible places to end the season.
MAPPA could also choose to end the Season with Choso’s realization of Yuji being a Death Painting or with Todo appearing in the middle of the Yuji vs. Mahito fight. Either way, anime-only fans are in for a treat and likely a lot of heartbreak. Considering the manga chapters, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 holds the promise of being better than season 1 in terms of plot, depth, and action. Hopefully, MAPPA will do as brilliant a job as they did with the first season.
Current status of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2
Since writing this article, the first part of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 has been aired, and the trailer for the Shibuya Incident arc has been released. The anime is set to start the arc on August 31st. The trailer further solidified the aforementioned claims that the season would end in either chapter 120 or 125, leaving about a third of the Shibuya Incident arc to be animated in season 3.
As of episode 18 of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, the first two acts have been adapted, with Nanami's death having occurred in episode 18. Episode 19 will likely only show Noabara's death, implying that only four episodes will be left to adapt the rest of the arc. With such slow pacing, our initial assessment seems to be most feasible, that Mappa will end the season on Mahito's death, which is chapter 133 of the manga.
The final episode of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will be released on December 28, 2023. Episode 22 witnessed the death of Mahito at the hands of Kenjaku, and Choso joined his "brother" Yuji to fend off Kenjaku. The Kyoto Dome students also appear to help retrieve Gojo, who is trapped in the prison realm. Yuki arrives at the end and protects everyone from Uraume's Icefall. The season finale will conclude the Shibuya Incident arc and likely set the stage for season 3.
UPDATE: JJK season 2 has covered until chapter 137 of the manga, adapting the whole Shibuya Incident arc and showing Jujutsu HQ's orders regarding Yuji's execution at Yuta's hands. Season 3 was officially announced in December 2023 but no release date or window has been released yet.
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