Television series

Jujutsu Kaisen

Name: Jujutsu Kaisen
Genre: Action, Anime, Horror, Supernatural
Released: 2020
Cast: Junya Enoki, Yūma Uchida, Yuichi Nakamura, Asami Seto, Nobunaga Shimazaki

Jujutsu Kaisen follows a teenager who swallows a cursed finger to save his friends and gets recruited into a secret school of sorcerers who fight monsters made of human malice. It's fast, gruesome, and genuinely funny between the carnage, anchored by one of anime's most charismatic teachers in Gojo. Expect gorgeous fight choreography, real stakes, and a story unafraid to hurt you.

TVMaze rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love dark supernatural action with real bite, where flashy battle choreography sits alongside a surprisingly tender sense of friendship and a streak of gleeful gore.

Skip it if you find shonen-style power escalation and a steady drip of grotesque monsters tiring, since the fights are frequent, loud and often built around who can out-shout the next threat.

What it asks of you: Each episode runs about half an hour and the series is long at fifty-nine instalments across three seasons, so it rewards settling in and following its ongoing story week after week.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Demon Slayer2019

The obvious next step: a sibling on a mission, monstrous enemies born of tragedy, and animation so fluid it occasionally stops the plot dead just to show off. Emotionally bigger than you'd expect.

But The pacing between fights can be slow, and the sentimentality is thicker and less ironic than JJK's.

Chainsaw Man2022

Same DNA of curses, gore and dark comedy, but rawer and more nihilistic. Denji's a far messier protagonist than Yuji, and the show revels in that mess.

But Uglier animation style on purpose, and the tone swings between deadpan and horrific without warning.

Hunter x Hunter2011

A power system built with the same rigorous internal logic as cursed energy, plus mentorship, moral grey zones and some of the smartest fight-writing in anime.

But It's long, slow to start, and the animation quality is inconsistent by comparison.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Jujutsu Kaisen

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Devilman Crybaby2018

Same skeleton as JJK — human host, inherited curse, monster-of-the-week structure — but plays it as bleak philosophical horror instead of shonen spectacle.

Takes the exact premise — a kind boy fused with a demon, fighting monsters born of human hatred — and pushes it into tragedy instead of triumph. Ten episodes, unforgettable.

But Explicit sex and violence, and an ending built to devastate rather than satisfy.

Mob Psycho 1002016

A gentler cousin: psychic power as a burden rather than a thrill, with genuinely tender writing about restraint, friendship and what strength is even for.

But Deliberately understated animation and a much quieter emotional register than JJK's spectacle.

Tokyo Ghoul2014

Curses swapped for a hidden society of flesh-eating ghouls, with the same body-horror transformations and a protagonist wrestling with monstrousness inside himself.

But Rougher production values and a bleaker, more melodramatic tone throughout.

My Hero Academia2016

School, power hierarchies, a legendary mentor figure, found-family warmth — if you liked JJK's classroom scenes as much as its battles, this leans harder into that.

But More earnest and less morally ambiguous; the humour is broader and the violence much softer.

Bleach2004

The granddaddy of exorcist-sorcerers-in-school-uniforms anime — soul reapers, hollow curses, and swordfights with the same operatic scale JJK aims for.

But Early-2000s pacing and filler arcs test patience; commit and you're in for a long haul.

Naruto2002

The template for shonen mentor-student bonds and escalating power tournaments that Jujutsu Kaisen is knowingly playing with and against.

But Very long, tonally younger, and the fights take far longer to reach JJK's level of spectacle.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood2009

Different power system, same seriousness about consequence and sacrifice — often cited as the genre's most complete, emotionally devastating story.

But A slower burn with more political plotting than pure fight choreography.

Kwaidan1965

The cursed spirits in JJK descend directly from the onryo and yokai traditions this film renders at their most haunting and formal.

A gorgeous, stage-bound anthology of Japanese ghost stories, all painted skies and dread silence, showing where the curses and vengeful spirits of modern anime actually come from.

But Glacially slow by modern standards, with zero action — pure atmosphere and folklore.

Constantine2005

Same engine — a jaded expert who sees the supernatural others can't, fighting entities born of human sin, under strict metaphysical rules — reworked as gritty Western noir.

A chain-smoking exorcist trades demons for cash and rules, in a live-action world where magic has bureaucracy and consequence — Gojo's cynical Hollywood cousin.

But Dated CGI and a moodier, slower pace than anything JJK ever attempts.