[0:00] Look, I don't know how to start this
[0:01] video. I really don't. I don't know what
[0:03] to think. Jujutsu Kaisen out of
[0:05] absolutely nowhere dropped an entire
[0:07] trailer, a release date, one that's just
[0:09] around the corner, mind you, and an
[0:11] advanced screening announcement all at
[0:13] once, and I'm at a loss for words. Let's
[0:15] just go through everything that just
[0:17] happened. Make sure to subscribe. It
[0:19] seems like the mandatory milk jiu-jitsu
[0:21] kaisen dry phase of this channel is
[0:22] about to start. You don't want to miss
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[0:36] and click the join button. All right, so
[0:38] here's how I'll go about this. I'll talk
[0:39] about a few general things first. I'll
[0:41] then break down the trailer scene by
[0:43] scene. And finally, I'll speculate as to
[0:45] what in the ever loving is going on
[0:46] behind the scenes because what in the
[0:48] ever loving is going on behind the
[0:50] scenes? January? Really, Mr. Ma? Are you
[0:53] sure? Let's get to it. So, Jujutsu
[0:55] Kaisen season 3 is still being led by
[0:57] the same core team by and large,
[0:59] although there has been a couple of
[1:00] significant changes in the staff list.
[1:02] More about them in a second. The show is
[1:04] still being directed by the one and only
[1:06] Mr. Fishai himself, Shota Goshono, one
[1:09] of the most creative minds in the
[1:11] industry. Goshono's direction was one of
[1:13] the best things about Jujutsu Kaisen
[1:15] season 2. And that's saying something
[1:17] because there were a lot of best things
[1:18] about Jiujutsu Kaisen season 2. Of
[1:21] course, if you've seen my many, many
[1:22] videos about the second season, you'd be
[1:24] familiar with the reasons why Goshono is
[1:26] an incredible director. But for those of
[1:28] you who haven't, you can take my word
[1:29] for it. He really is incredible. One of
[1:31] the best probably ever. Goshono is being
[1:34] accompanied by assistant director Yoske
[1:36] Takada this time around instead of
[1:37] season 2's Riyota Ike. An interesting
[1:40] switch. I wonder where I went. I think I
[1:42] know, but I still wonder. The new
[1:44] assistant director Yoske Takada across
[1:46] both seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen has
[1:48] proven himself to be a reliable name.
[1:50] So, this change shouldn't be detrimental
[1:51] to the project. And speaking of staff
[1:54] changes, the biggest one occurred in the
[1:56] character design department with season
[1:57] 2 Saiakoiso, who replaced season 1's
[2:00] Tadashi Hiramatu being replaced by Yoske
[2:02] Yajima and Hiomi Niwa, making this the
[2:05] second character designer change the
[2:06] show has undergone so far. Both Yajima
[2:09] and Nia are incredible artists, and they
[2:11] were heavily involved with season 2. And
[2:13] between that and the way the designs
[2:14] looked in the trailer, I can confidently
[2:16] say that we have absolutely nothing to
[2:18] worry about, at least when it comes to
[2:19] the character designs. And that was a
[2:21] general overview of the staff, the rest
[2:23] of the team is more or less the same.
[2:25] The same art director, the same DP, you
[2:27] get the idea. Let's now break down the
[2:29] trailer scene by scene. First things
[2:31] first, though, let me clarify something.
[2:33] You may have heard talk of the trailer
[2:35] being pre-animated, and that's both true
[2:37] and false. true in the sense that these
[2:40] scenes probably were animated for the
[2:42] trailer and false because that doesn't
[2:43] mean those scenes won't be in the actual
[2:45] anime. They will be basically, and this
[2:47] is based on what I've heard in the past,
[2:49] the JJK team animates certain cuts ahead
[2:52] of time just to use them in the
[2:53] trailers. That doesn't mean those cuts
[2:55] are drawn exclusively for the trailers.
[2:57] It just means those cuts are finished
[2:58] before the episodes they are from. At
[3:01] the end of the day, it's just a
[3:02] promotional choice. It's not a big deal.
[3:04] Anyway, back to the trailer. Let's start
[3:06] with the designs. They don't look all
[3:08] that different, which is a given
[3:09] considering the fact that both Yajima
[3:11] and Nea were involved with the show
[3:12] previously. Plus, the director being the
[3:14] same means that the general approach
[3:16] towards the drawings is still the same.
[3:18] There was a massive shift in drawing
[3:20] philosophies between seasons 1 and two
[3:22] since season 2 saw a complete stylistic
[3:24] overhaul, but that's not the case here.
[3:26] Yes, Yajima's designs, I'm assuming
[3:28] Yajima is the main designer, his designs
[3:31] are a bit sharper, a bit less rounded,
[3:33] the line art is a bit more pronounced,
[3:35] and the line count is a bit higher. But
[3:36] as a whole, the general look is still
[3:38] the same. Also, JJK is known to switch
[3:41] up his design philosophies depending on
[3:43] who's leading the episode, so it doesn't
[3:44] even matter all that much. Another thing
[3:47] I noticed was how bold the trailer was
[3:49] with its color use. Season 2 used strong
[3:52] accents as well, but season 3 seemingly
[3:54] isn't afraid to drown scenes out in
[3:56] color, and it executes that look quite
[3:58] well. This opening shot, for example,
[4:00] besides the gorgeous background with the
[4:02] stunning painted reflection, the red
[4:04] tone feels ominous and uncomfortable in
[4:06] the best possible way. Speaking of
[4:08] background, season 2 at its best
[4:10] featured absurdly highquality art
[4:12] direction, and it looks like season 3
[4:14] won't be any different. This shot
[4:16] features a vast composition with layers
[4:18] upon layers of buildings and a
[4:20] beautifully textured sky, and the
[4:22] framing in this shot is cool and
[4:23] layered. I don't want to keep yapping
[4:25] about the backgrounds throughout this
[4:26] entire section, so let me get this out
[4:28] of my system. The art direction is so
[4:31] good. Art director Junichi Higashi is a
[4:33] master of his craft, and the backgrounds
[4:35] throughout the trailer looked stunning.
[4:37] Be it the picturesque establishing shots
[4:39] or the unorthodox compositions that
[4:41] complemented the action, it's so good.
[4:44] Anyway, some subtle creature and effects
[4:46] animation and a nifty light flare added
[4:47] by the photography team brought us to
[4:49] this shot. Almost certainly animated by
[4:51] Hayat Kurosaki. The high energy smoke
[4:53] animation complete with Kurosaki's
[4:55] easily recognizable style looked
[4:57] amazing. The best thing about Goshono's
[5:00] Chisutsu Kaisen in my opinion is the
[5:02] level of composition/storyboards.
[5:04] At least one of the best things. Even if
[5:06] it's not Goshono himself handling the
[5:08] boards, his sensibilities and
[5:10] philosophies are upheld by the rest of
[5:12] the team. No shot looks boring. There's
[5:14] always something going on. There's
[5:16] always depth. It's never a flat screen.
[5:18] There's complexity and there's purpose
[5:20] behind the complexity. This shot looks
[5:23] absolutely gorgeous and the main reason
[5:25] why is the line art. The outlines pop.
[5:28] They are uneven but confident and the
[5:29] brakes in them add so much character to
[5:31] the shot. The way the black outlines are
[5:34] interrupted by those colored stretches
[5:35] that match the light source. It's so
[5:37] good. This style of introducing colored
[5:40] brakes in the line art is something
[5:41] season 2 did as well, but it looks like
[5:43] they're really leaning into that look
[5:45] this time around. Also love the subtle
[5:47] spot blur bloom effect near the top. It
[5:50] works perfectly with the line art breaks
[5:51] and adds so much depth. The cursors
[5:54] still look the same as expected with
[5:55] thick stylish inky lines and the
[5:57] outlineless liquid effects here look
[5:59] quite satisfying. These two shots are
[6:01] insanely well animated. Not only are the
[6:03] drawings flawless, there are so many of
[6:05] them. The basic actions of Yugji and
[6:07] Megumi slightly moving their heads have
[6:09] so many frames and there's not an ounce
[6:12] of melt. Every single drawing is
[6:14] consistent. Shots like these are
[6:16] incredibly difficult to pull off. So,
[6:17] props to whoever animated and corrected
[6:19] the sequence. A cool composition here
[6:22] with good drawings. Although, I've never
[6:23] liked red outlines. I think they look a
[6:25] bit jarring. Another meticulously drawn
[6:28] acting cut. Just look how amazing the
[6:30] line art looks. It just it looks good.
[6:32] It's just good. Also, it might be
[6:34] subtle, but the animation itself is
[6:36] extremely high level. Notice how Yugji's
[6:38] shirt being tugged is conveyed through
[6:40] the lines. Even in the absence of
[6:41] highlights, the artist managed to convey
[6:44] depth around the areas of the shirts dug
[6:46] between the fingers. Masterful work. The
[6:48] next few shots showcase that top-notch
[6:50] composition sensibilities I was talking
[6:52] about earlier. There's always an added
[6:55] layer, if not multiple layers of depth
[6:57] and complexity. Goshono and his team are
[6:59] allergic to framing shots normally, and
[7:01] I love that each frame has so much
[7:03] character. This shot was insanely well
[7:05] animated. You have the three different
[7:07] layers of animated effects behind Yuji,
[7:09] the complex low-angle perspective, the
[7:11] heavy volutric character animation with
[7:13] a ton of weight behind Yugji's movement,
[7:15] and some subtle forcehortening. And if
[7:17] all of that wasn't complicated enough,
[7:19] the structure to Yugji's left is hand
[7:21] animated frame by frame. This shot looks
[7:24] great, too, with a well-drawn low-angle
[7:26] Eugi and a couple of 3D buildings to
[7:28] convey an accurate sense of speed and
[7:30] space, and the smeary cables for that
[7:32] added bit of weight. Once again,
[7:34] fantastic drawings. Look how well the
[7:36] lines pop out. And look at the subtle
[7:37] but everpresent movement. This exchange
[7:40] looked quite awkward. The first cut was
[7:42] weirdly framed with lowquality drawings
[7:44] that suggest that this shot wasn't meant
[7:46] to be so zoomed in, which in turn
[7:48] suggests that this shot was unfinished.
[7:51] Also, the flow between the next few cuts
[7:53] is practically absent. The action
[7:54] storyboarding feels amateur-ish, if that
[7:57] makes sense. Three different cuts for
[7:59] the same slash. It feels unnatural. I
[8:01] hope the sequence flows better when
[8:02] viewed in its entirety. The next few
[8:05] shots, however, do look quite cool with
[8:07] smooth, flowy movement and strong
[8:08] drawings. This is probably the most
[8:11] impressive sequence from this trailer.
[8:13] The style is about as out there as it
[8:15] gets. The character models completely
[8:17] fall apart. The lines aren't consistent,
[8:19] but that's the point. Style and flow
[8:21] were everything. The energetic action
[8:23] and the wobbly line art complete with
[8:25] these Shinyoh inspired pencil-like lines
[8:27] look insane. This scene was animated
[8:29] either by Rui or by director Koshazono
[8:32] himself. Both have animated similar
[8:33] scenes in the past. Love these shots.
[8:36] Again, ambitious color use. This
[8:38] sequence is pretty much black and white.
[8:40] It almost looks like a negative. It's so
[8:42] cool. And more cool, creative color work
[8:44] follows. You'll love to see it. I'm not
[8:46] sure what the kind of background black
[8:48] magic is going on here, but I like it. I
[8:51] think it's 3D. Wonderful perspective
[8:53] work on Yuji's acrobatics as well. It's
[8:55] too short to say for certain, but I
[8:57] think there are seven different layers
[8:58] of effects here, which is insane. Also,
[9:01] some insanely complex compositions
[9:03] follow. It's really hard to break down
[9:05] these scenes properly since they are
[9:07] obviously heavily trimmed to fit the
[9:08] trailer, but at least the top-notch
[9:10] framing is evident. This final cut looks
[9:12] amazing as well. Large scale dynamic
[9:14] action. You love to see it. I believe
[9:16] the background head is 3D. Fantastic
[9:18] drawing here, wonderful perspective
[9:20] work, and masterful volutric line
[9:22] placement. Probably a Takuya Ninuma
[9:24] drawing or it can be Sotaya Yamazaki as
[9:26] well. Great stuff. So that's that
[9:28] fantastic trailer which is to be
[9:30] expected given the metric ton of
[9:32] highlevel talent involved with this
[9:33] production. Let's now talk about some
[9:36] other less hopeful topics. JuiTutsu
[9:38] Kaisen season 3 is being split into
[9:40] individual cores which I'll be honest is
[9:42] a bit annoying because unlike other two
[9:44] core productions out there, Jujutsu
[9:46] Kaisen is narratively exciting enough to
[9:48] pull off a 24 episode format without
[9:50] boring its audience because it's so good
[9:52] at building. Anyway, the reason why
[9:54] they're splitting this season is
[9:55] obviously because they physically cannot
[9:57] finish the entire thing this quickly. If
[9:59] they could, they would. Now, them taking
[10:01] a break in between is obviously more
[10:03] preferable compared to them putting out
[10:04] a broken product that doesn't do justice
[10:06] to the staff behind it. But at the same
[10:09] time, it's not ideal either. I'll
[10:11] explain. As many of you know, Juutsu
[10:13] Kaisen is produced by the same
[10:14] team/production line as Chainsaw Man.
[10:17] And with that in mind, the 2026 release
[10:19] date sounds a bit ridiculous, doesn't
[10:20] it? The Chainsaw Man movie isn't even
[10:23] out yet. In fact, it recently finished
[10:25] production. How the did they
[10:26] animate an entire season of a different
[10:28] show already? Well, short answer, and
[10:31] this is speculation, they didn't. Here's
[10:33] the long answer. Based on what I can
[10:35] tell, the team didn't wait for Chainsaw
[10:37] Man to finish before starting with JJK.
[10:39] There was some degree of parallel
[10:40] production involved. This is something I
[10:42] suggested in one of my previous videos.
[10:44] Split the production team and work on
[10:46] both shows simultaneously. Of course,
[10:48] that doesn't mean a hard line is being
[10:50] drawn. There still is plenty of staff
[10:52] intermixing. But let me put it this way.
[10:54] I'll be very surprised if I find out and
[10:57] the rest of the JJK team did a lot of
[10:59] work for the CSM movie and vice versa.
[11:02] So, will this season be fine? Will it go
[11:04] by smoothly? Or will it be a repeat of
[11:06] season 2? Well, it's hard to say for
[11:09] certain, but here's what I think.
[11:10] Probably no and no. While I do think
[11:13] season 3 will fare a lot better behind
[11:14] the scenes, and this is further
[11:16] corroborated by credible leaks, I highly
[11:18] doubt it'll be perfect. Let me explain.
[11:21] There are two main reasons why I think
[11:22] season 3 will be healthier behind the
[11:24] scenes. One, the team is handling a TV
[11:26] show and a movie this time around
[11:28] instead of two TV shows back to back.
[11:30] Jiujitsu Kaisen season 2, a TV anime,
[11:33] followed Chainsaw Man season 1, another
[11:35] TV anime, meaning the staff had to
[11:37] effectively produce 35 high-quality
[11:39] episodes back to back. a herculan task,
[11:41] especially given the lack of time.
[11:43] Movies, on the other hand, by their very
[11:45] nature are less staff intensive. Think
[11:47] about it. The Chainsaw Man movie is a
[11:49] 100 minutes long, while the TV show was
[11:51] 280 minutes long, excluding the ops and
[11:54] eds. Plus, since Chainsaw Man season 1,
[11:56] for all intents and purposes, was movie
[11:58] quality. The difference in formats
[12:00] doesn't really matter. Basically,
[12:02] producing those extra 180 minutes
[12:04] requires additional manpower, additional
[12:06] animators, additional directors, etc.,
[12:08] etc. And that's not the case this time
[12:10] around. The new Chainsaw Man project
[12:12] being a movie means that a chunk of the
[12:14] Sichimo line was probably free to start
[12:16] working on Jujutsu Kaisen while Chainsaw
[12:18] Man was still in production, giving them
[12:20] a head start, although I'm not sure what
[12:22] the exact arrangement was. The second
[12:24] reason why I think Jutsu Kaisen season 3
[12:26] will be healthier is the fact that Mapa,
[12:28] an extremely brand conscious studio, got
[12:30] a lot of bad PR from season 2. Now, most
[12:33] studios wouldn't give a about what
[12:35] western fans think of their
[12:36] behind-the-scenes practices, but Mapai
[12:38] is an exception. The studio, especially
[12:40] as of late, has gone above and beyond to
[12:42] establish its own name as an attraction.
[12:45] And as such, I'm sure the higherups
[12:46] would love to avoid any controversy,
[12:48] even if that means they can't push out a
[12:50] project as soon as possible. Now, all of
[12:53] that is well and good, but like I said,
[12:55] I highly doubt this season will be
[12:56] perfect behind the scenes. And the main
[12:58] reason for that is a simple one, that
[13:01] being it still is Mapa, a studio I can't
[13:03] fully trust. There are more substantial
[13:05] hints, of course, but that's the main
[13:07] reason. I've been let down time and time
[13:09] and time again by the studio, so it
[13:11] would take a lot for me to start
[13:12] trusting them again. Besides my
[13:14] one-sided beef with the company, the
[13:16] fact that this season has been split
[13:17] into cores is in and of itself an
[13:19] indication of the behind-the-scenes
[13:21] circumstances. Juditutsuka's production
[13:24] committee is led by Tohjo Animation and
[13:26] they don't give a single solitary
[13:28] about Chainsaw Man. It's not their IP.
[13:30] Why should they care? And as such, they
[13:32] won't account for Chainsaw Man's
[13:34] production cycle, meaning it's entirely
[13:35] up to the studio and its management to
[13:37] juggle between the two projects. And
[13:40] look, there are a lot of things Studio
[13:42] MA is known for, but efficient
[13:43] management isn't one of them. Eh, at the
[13:46] end of the day, it's the final product
[13:47] that will speak the loudest. All of this
[13:49] is speculation. I hope things go well.
[13:52] I'm a huge fan of both Jiujutsu Kaisen
[13:54] the story and the team that makes
[13:55] Jujutsu Kaisen the anime. And as such, I
[13:58] hope all of my worries are unnecessary.
[14:00] January 2026 sounds way too quick, but I
[14:03] hope that's just me being paranoid about
[14:05] nothing. That's about it. A special
[14:07] thanks to Node 03, Pel, and Damir for
[14:09] becoming tier three members. And until
[14:11] next time.