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Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12, Dull Knife, premiered on October 12, 2023. Although the episode followed the manga mostly, with several of the major pieces intact, like Nanami's beatdown of Haruta, other key moments and people were removed.
That isn't to say the episode itself is bad, only that it's altered from the corresponding manga chapters and that if the makers don't address the missing scenes, the story is going to get confusing and nonsensical when key moments arise. The episode, however, is still solid, with the animation emphasizing the chaos unfolding, but some things that added to the chaotic feel of the Shibuya Arc are missing.
Disclaimer: The following review is going to contain Jujutsu Kaisen spoilers for important events not depicted in the Shibuya Arc anime adaptation yet. Additionally, this will cover canon typical violence. All opinions expressed here are subjective.
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Did Studio MAPPA alter Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 too much? Explored and explained
Anime adaptations vs. manga
Anime adaptations tend to alter or expand on things that the audience expects. A quick fight scene can be extended. A character that dies in an arc where they're barely given any development can be given a larger role. It's the nature of adaptations, whether they be anime to live-action or anime to video games.
Jujutsu Kaisen is no exception, as several alterations across the anime have been done to help easily translate the manga to screen. That said, there's a point where too much change or alterations can cause strife in the fandom or otherwise harm the final product. Infamous, oft-repeated examples like The Promised Neverland showcase this problem.
There's been some debate over whether or not the changes, however minute or major, to the Shibuya Incident arc have enhanced or are ruining the adaptation. Case in point, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12, titled Dull Knife, focused on Nanami, thus drawing a lot of criticism.
The overfocus on Nanami
Manga readers of Jujutsu Kaisen will know that this is the arc in which many characters die, several of them being featured in this very episode. Nanami is one of them, accused of being overfocused in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12.
Before going any further, readers should know that the focus on Nanami finding Ichiji and racing to get him help while also showing Haruta's swath of bodies, was a good extension. It gave the audience a sense of scope, that Ichiji wasn't the first target. It made the beatdown that Nanami gave Haruta much more satisfying.
The problem is the build-up was too overblown. There were too many glamor shots of Nanami walking into the scene during the fight between Nobara and Haruta. They also extended the beatdown. Despite the catharsis, this is bad due to the removal of Toge Inumaki when Yuji was racing to Shibuya Station, and the effects this has later on.
The removal of Toge Inumaki
In Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 100 - one of the chapters that Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 is adapting - Yuju runs into Toge Inumaki while seeing Transfigured Humans attacking people and noticing that Inumaki has it covered. The anime instead shows Yuji wondering where the crowd of people went prior to Choso's ambush.
Although a small moment, it has a large impact post-Shibuya. During Sukuna's overkill use of the Malevolent Shrine against Mahoraga, he devastates a 140 meter (or roughly 1.7 city blocks) area. This kills hundreds of people and maims Toge, while likewise killing Haruta.
In the aftermath of the Shibuya Incident, as depicted in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 137, Yuta Okkotsu accepts the hit job on Yuji given to him by the jujutsu council. His reason? Because Toge lost an arm during the Shibuya Massacre, Yuta blamed Yuji for it. While it's certainly possible that Toge will still be adapted into the anime in another episode, jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 loses some points for not including him here.
The extended fight between Nobara and Haruta
A good extension and alteration is the fight between Nobara and Haruta. On top of showcasing just how sadistic Haruta is, jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 12 goes the extra mile in this fight. It shows Haruta surviving debris falling on him and X-rays of Nobara getting hit hard in the jaw by Haruta's hand sword and being disoriented from it but still able to fight.
Haruta also stabs Araki Nitta a fair few times in her back and leg, rather than once in her leg after slicing her feet. The extended fight also informs the audience about how Nobara has improved enough to keep up with him even in an addled state, earning her consideration to grade 1 sorcerer. She managed to block his downward slice at her in the anime, when in the manga they were interrupted immediately after she got hit.
Nobara is given much more of a chance to shine, and likewise is Haruta. Haruta's miracle technique is shown off in the anime with Nobara's ceiling attack using up several rather than just being used up fighting Nanami. Since both of these characters likewise die, or at least Nobara was last seen barely alive in this arc, it makes sense to make them give more to their fights.
Fanservice or better storytelling?
Naturally, the problem comes down to whether or not everything is being done for the sake of pleasing fans or for a better story being told. The overdoing with Nanami definitely falls under the former category, but the expansion for Nobara vs. Haruta is a better fight than the manga.
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 has to balance out showing Nobara and Araki's struggle against Haruta, Nanami's beatdown of Haruta, the start of the Smallpox Diety vs. Mei Mei and Ui Ui fight, and Yuji getting ambushed by Choso at the end.
It also raises an excellent question of whether or not this is pandering to fans. Again, given that three of the people focused on in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 die in this arc it's understandable to give them memorable moments. The trouble comes when, again, someone major is excised and it harms future events like it did with Inumaki as it messes up the Shibuya timeline.
Toji's return, beginning of Mei Mei vs. Smallpox Diety, and Yuji racing to Shibuya
Problem of Inumaki's exclusion and overfocus on Nanami aside, there are a couple of other important events that happened in the episode. First, Toji's revival led to Ogami's death and Ino being beaten to within an inch of his life. Thankfully, Megumi and Yuji were able to save Ino when he was flung off the Shibuya C Tower, and the two parted ways to get help and get to Shibuya Station.
Secondly, Mei Mei and Ui Ui gave Mei Mei's motives some reasoning: she's not just motivated by money. Mei Mei is motivated by cost effectiveness of lives. In other words, whatever a person's life is worth to her, something which Ebina wasn't able to answer and eventually died. They both tried to confront Kenjaku but were sidetracked by the Smallpox Deity.
Finally, an important development in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 is Nanami headed to the frontlines and Choso ambushing Yuji. The former is immediately after Nanami beats down Haruta, going to join Team Zenin in Nobara's place as sorcerers of his skill are the minimum needed. The latter is the beginning of Choso's revenge, craved since season 1.
Final Thoughts
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 is a very good episode, but it is also one of the most divergent from the manga in terms of its content. Divergence from source material is not the problem, that is inevitable when adaptations are made. The problem is when the content cut out is vital to the story moving forward, and the content put in its place is fanservice.
There's a time and place to show major glow-ups for characters, as proven by Mechamaru's fight earlier in the arc and Nobara's fight. Focusing too much on one character, as Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 episode 12 does with Nanami, detracts from the overall experience especially when multiple characters are involved.
