Hope you are here after Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode 17. Minor spoilers ahead

And finally, the graph dips. After the explosive “Thunderclap” editions that included Sukuna versus Jogo and Sukuna versus Mahoraga fights, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 18 might not feel as epic, but is a powerful push forward in the series.

Titled “Right and Wrong”, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 18 opens with series lead Yuji Itadori slowly trudging along Shibuya’s alleys, after he takes back control of his body from the dastardly Sukuna. As Yuji struggles to come to terms with the devastation caused by Sukuna, the episode switches attention to Nanami Kento’s fate. The jujutsu sorcerer is brutally battered, half-burnt and on the throes of death, yet he continues to fight cursed spirits in Shibuya. Fans of the series who haven’t been reading the original manga by Gege Akutami might have been led to believe that Nanami was killed due to Gojo’s lethal attack in the past. So, his re-emergence at the end of “Thunderclap Part II” would’ve come as a huge revelation for some fans.

The animation is visibly simpler in this edition, however, there’s a riveting juxtaposition of scenery in the first half, where Nanami imagines an quiet life for himself in the beaches of Malaysia while fighting the grotesque creatures in Shibuya. Nanami’s final stand unfolds like a poetic dance of death – a nostalgic piano piece plays in the background as the blood-soaked exhausted Nanami butchers cursed spirits, and his killing motions are mirrored in an alternate scenario, where an unscathed Nanami is swaying happily against calming blue waters of a beach. The sequence is heart-wrenching.

“I’ll build a house on an empty beach. The books that I have bought but never read have piled up like a mountain. I want to read them slowly, as if I’m retrieving the time lost”

Nanami Kento

The second half of “Right and Wrong” sees Yuji charges against the devilish Mahito, who is on par with the Joker from Batman comics in terms of sadistic villainy. Mahito’s powers don’t make for a great visual spectacle, the animated sequences aren’t the best either, so their battle lacks the firepower of the previous face-offs. But Mahito’s creepy smile, larger than life personality, devious tactics and childish antics make the fight with Yuji Itadori entertaining.

A lot of the animated sequences were drenched in darker tones this time, marking a significant change in the color palette. This complements both the grim nature of the Shibuya arc and the timeline, as it is past 11 pm. Swiftly paced and packed with multiple savage fights, the episode leaves viewers in the midst of not one but two major showdowns. Not only is the Yuji versus Mahito chapter far from over, but nobody seems to have gotten close to the sealed Satoru Gojo, since there’s no update on Mei Mei’s encounter with Pseudo Geto. On the bright side, a whole lot of action, twists, and surprises still await Jujutsu Kaisen fans.

You can stream Jujutsu Kaisen on Netflix or CrunchyRoll.

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