Highlights
- Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 28 provides closure to the Tengen's vessel saga and Toji's life, combining death and awakening in a sublime way.
- Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen is creating its own identity separate from the manga, thanks to the amazing direction of Shōta Goshozono.
- Satoru's use of the Gojo's secret technique, Purple, and his moment of lucidity showcases his heightened state of mind and significance in the Limitless.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 28, "Hidden Inventory 4", now streaming on Crunchyroll.The hangover from Jujutsu Kaisen's episode 27 still hits hard, yet the show moves on at a frantic pace. The fourth part of the Hidden Inventory storyline gives closure to the Tengen's vessel saga, and as such, to Toji's life. This episode combined death and awakening, ending and beginning, in a sublime way with a few added details that weren't there in the manga. The next episode will also be the last covering Gojo's past as the Shibuya Incident Arc will begin with episode 30.
Jujutsu Kaisen keeps delivering, and despite some controversy that could arise around the decision of adding their own interpretation of certain scenes with the anime, so far they all have been on point. Season 1 was already great, but Season 2 is managing to create an entirely separate identity from the manga thanks to the amazing direction of Shōta Goshozono.
Purple
"Throughout Heaven & Earth, I alone am the honored one". This quote by Satoru in his moment of lucidity while acquiring the pose of true awakening was a highly acclaimed moment in the manga for its significance. In the anime version the pose is a little different and is complemented by a god-like golden rays of light surrounding him as the maximum expression of beauty in a literal staging of splitting Heaven and Earth.
Although the meaning of the quote itself or why it was used is up for debate, it's an extract of Lotrus Sutra, one of the most venerated Buddhist texts. Satoru's heightened state of mind lt him to feel liberated in a wonderful world embracing the significance of the Limitless, something only he could do. And it was all thanks to Toji challenging him to the point of a near-death experience.
For the first time, he was able to use the Gojo's secret technique, Purple, by mixing Blue and Red creating one of the most powerful attacks any sorcerer possesses. Before this moment, they were purposely showing a less vivid color in Satoru's eyes before his awakening during this episode. Now, they finally look as they did in Season 1, the eyes that resemble the infinity of the universe, the constant shimmering of the eyes that never stop looking.
If Only
Toji's character, whilst brief, added a ton of relevant background to the story. Hidden Inventory was mainly constructed to aid Satoru's character development, but it also served to get to know Suguru better, understand his feelings and view of the world, but more importantly, the man who set all that in motion was Megumi's father. The feeling of connecting every dot will forever remain a great attraction present on every great series and for the early steps of Jujutsu Kaisen, Toji is by far the best example.
He was supposed to be villain for this story, however, after all the atrocities, Toji just seemed like a gray character. Detached from reality, he was just doing his job, the only job he could do after being rejected by the jujutsu society and his own family. The other family, the one he chose, died leaving behind a kid whose name couldn't even remember until his last minutes.
With his contract completed, he had no reason to fight Satoru, he had no reason to remain detectable being wrapped by his pet curse, but at the bottom of his heart he still wanted to prove himself, he wanted to defeat the strongest and most gifted sorcerer in the world, just so he could reaffirm himself. If only he was accepted by his family, nothing would have happened.
Contrast
Episode 28 included an ominous scene after the ending with clear anticipation for Suguru's change. This scene apart from the perfect cuts, voice acting, background applause, and dark meaning by comparing moments where Satoru holds Riko, serves as a metaphor for the upcoming schism between Suguru and Satoru. The expectation was always high as to why did Suguru chose that path or what led him to abandon everything and pursue a different goal.
Now is the time when Suguru changes just to affirm him as a much nicer and more reasonable person than Satoru. Truth is, Satoru frequently, and especially in this scene, uses Suguru as his much-needed moral compass. The phrase "Suguru, should we kill them all?" carries massive weight not only because shows the trust he had in Suguru and how destructive it was for him in the later's spiral, but also Satoru's true psyche. Suguru Geto plays a major role throughout the whole second season of the anime adaptation and will continue to make the fans think twice about the evil in his actions.