I'M IN SHOCK | Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Trailer Animation Breakdown

[00:00] Look, I don't know how to start this

[00:01] video. I really don't. I don't know what

[00:03] to think. Jujutsu Kaisen out of

[00:05] absolutely nowhere dropped an entire

[00:07] trailer, a release date, one that's just

[00:09] around the corner, mind you, and an

[00:11] advanced screening announcement all at

[00:13] once, and I'm at a loss for words. Let's

[00:15] just go through everything that just

[00:17] happened. Make sure to subscribe. It

[00:19] seems like the mandatory milk jiu-jitsu

[00:21] kaisen dry phase of this channel is

[00:22] about to start. You don't want to miss

[00:24] out on that, do you? Subscribe. You can

[00:26] also become a member of this channel.

[00:28] Members get at least two exclusive

[00:30] videos per month, custom handdrawn

[00:32] badges and emojis, shoutouts, blah blah

[00:34] blah something something. Go down there

[00:36] and click the join button. All right, so

[00:38] here's how I'll go about this. I'll talk

[00:39] about a few general things first. I'll

[00:41] then break down the trailer scene by

[00:43] scene. And finally, I'll speculate as to

[00:45] what in the ever loving is going on

[00:46] behind the scenes because what in the

[00:48] ever loving is going on behind the

[00:50] scenes? January? Really, Mr. Ma? Are you

[00:53] sure? Let's get to it. So, Jujutsu

[00:55] Kaisen season 3 is still being led by

[00:57] the same core team by and large,

[00:59] although there has been a couple of

[01:00] significant changes in the staff list.

[01:02] More about them in a second. The show is

[01:04] still being directed by the one and only

[01:06] Mr. Fishai himself, Shota Goshono, one

[01:09] of the most creative minds in the

[01:11] industry. Goshono's direction was one of

[01:13] the best things about Jujutsu Kaisen

[01:15] season 2. And that's saying something

[01:17] because there were a lot of best things

[01:18] about Jiujutsu Kaisen season 2. Of

[01:21] course, if you've seen my many, many

[01:22] videos about the second season, you'd be

[01:24] familiar with the reasons why Goshono is

[01:26] an incredible director. But for those of

[01:28] you who haven't, you can take my word

[01:29] for it. He really is incredible. One of

[01:31] the best probably ever. Goshono is being

[01:34] accompanied by assistant director Yoske

[01:36] Takada this time around instead of

[01:37] season 2's Riyota Ike. An interesting

[01:40] switch. I wonder where I went. I think I

[01:42] know, but I still wonder. The new

[01:44] assistant director Yoske Takada across

[01:46] both seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen has

[01:48] proven himself to be a reliable name.

[01:50] So, this change shouldn't be detrimental

[01:51] to the project. And speaking of staff

[01:54] changes, the biggest one occurred in the

[01:56] character design department with season

[01:57] 2 Saiakoiso, who replaced season 1's

[02:00] Tadashi Hiramatu being replaced by Yoske

[02:02] Yajima and Hiomi Niwa, making this the

[02:05] second character designer change the

[02:06] show has undergone so far. Both Yajima

[02:09] and Nia are incredible artists, and they

[02:11] were heavily involved with season 2. And

[02:13] between that and the way the designs

[02:14] looked in the trailer, I can confidently

[02:16] say that we have absolutely nothing to

[02:18] worry about, at least when it comes to

[02:19] the character designs. And that was a

[02:21] general overview of the staff, the rest

[02:23] of the team is more or less the same.

[02:25] The same art director, the same DP, you

[02:27] get the idea. Let's now break down the

[02:29] trailer scene by scene. First things

[02:31] first, though, let me clarify something.

[02:33] You may have heard talk of the trailer

[02:35] being pre-animated, and that's both true

[02:37] and false. true in the sense that these

[02:40] scenes probably were animated for the

[02:42] trailer and false because that doesn't

[02:43] mean those scenes won't be in the actual

[02:45] anime. They will be basically, and this

[02:47] is based on what I've heard in the past,

[02:49] the JJK team animates certain cuts ahead

[02:52] of time just to use them in the

[02:53] trailers. That doesn't mean those cuts

[02:55] are drawn exclusively for the trailers.

[02:57] It just means those cuts are finished

[02:58] before the episodes they are from. At

[03:01] the end of the day, it's just a

[03:02] promotional choice. It's not a big deal.

[03:04] Anyway, back to the trailer. Let's start

[03:06] with the designs. They don't look all

[03:08] that different, which is a given

[03:09] considering the fact that both Yajima

[03:11] and Nea were involved with the show

[03:12] previously. Plus, the director being the

[03:14] same means that the general approach

[03:16] towards the drawings is still the same.

[03:18] There was a massive shift in drawing

[03:20] philosophies between seasons 1 and two

[03:22] since season 2 saw a complete stylistic

[03:24] overhaul, but that's not the case here.

[03:26] Yes, Yajima's designs, I'm assuming

[03:28] Yajima is the main designer, his designs

[03:31] are a bit sharper, a bit less rounded,

[03:33] the line art is a bit more pronounced,

[03:35] and the line count is a bit higher. But

[03:36] as a whole, the general look is still

[03:38] the same. Also, JJK is known to switch

[03:41] up his design philosophies depending on

[03:43] who's leading the episode, so it doesn't

[03:44] even matter all that much. Another thing

[03:47] I noticed was how bold the trailer was

[03:49] with its color use. Season 2 used strong

[03:52] accents as well, but season 3 seemingly

[03:54] isn't afraid to drown scenes out in

[03:56] color, and it executes that look quite

[03:58] well. This opening shot, for example,

[04:00] besides the gorgeous background with the

[04:02] stunning painted reflection, the red

[04:04] tone feels ominous and uncomfortable in

[04:06] the best possible way. Speaking of

[04:08] background, season 2 at its best

[04:10] featured absurdly highquality art

[04:12] direction, and it looks like season 3

[04:14] won't be any different. This shot

[04:16] features a vast composition with layers

[04:18] upon layers of buildings and a

[04:20] beautifully textured sky, and the

[04:22] framing in this shot is cool and

[04:23] layered. I don't want to keep yapping

[04:25] about the backgrounds throughout this

[04:26] entire section, so let me get this out

[04:28] of my system. The art direction is so

[04:31] good. Art director Junichi Higashi is a

[04:33] master of his craft, and the backgrounds

[04:35] throughout the trailer looked stunning.

[04:37] Be it the picturesque establishing shots

[04:39] or the unorthodox compositions that

[04:41] complemented the action, it's so good.

[04:44] Anyway, some subtle creature and effects

[04:46] animation and a nifty light flare added

[04:47] by the photography team brought us to

[04:49] this shot. Almost certainly animated by

[04:51] Hayat Kurosaki. The high energy smoke

[04:53] animation complete with Kurosaki's

[04:55] easily recognizable style looked

[04:57] amazing. The best thing about Goshono's

[05:00] Chisutsu Kaisen in my opinion is the

[05:02] level of composition/storyboards.

[05:04] At least one of the best things. Even if

[05:06] it's not Goshono himself handling the

[05:08] boards, his sensibilities and

[05:10] philosophies are upheld by the rest of

[05:12] the team. No shot looks boring. There's

[05:14] always something going on. There's

[05:16] always depth. It's never a flat screen.

[05:18] There's complexity and there's purpose

[05:20] behind the complexity. This shot looks

[05:23] absolutely gorgeous and the main reason

[05:25] why is the line art. The outlines pop.

[05:28] They are uneven but confident and the

[05:29] brakes in them add so much character to

[05:31] the shot. The way the black outlines are

[05:34] interrupted by those colored stretches

[05:35] that match the light source. It's so

[05:37] good. This style of introducing colored

[05:40] brakes in the line art is something

[05:41] season 2 did as well, but it looks like

[05:43] they're really leaning into that look

[05:45] this time around. Also love the subtle

[05:47] spot blur bloom effect near the top. It

[05:50] works perfectly with the line art breaks

[05:51] and adds so much depth. The cursors

[05:54] still look the same as expected with

[05:55] thick stylish inky lines and the

[05:57] outlineless liquid effects here look

[05:59] quite satisfying. These two shots are

[06:01] insanely well animated. Not only are the

[06:03] drawings flawless, there are so many of

[06:05] them. The basic actions of Yugji and

[06:07] Megumi slightly moving their heads have

[06:09] so many frames and there's not an ounce

[06:12] of melt. Every single drawing is

[06:14] consistent. Shots like these are

[06:16] incredibly difficult to pull off. So,

[06:17] props to whoever animated and corrected

[06:19] the sequence. A cool composition here

[06:22] with good drawings. Although, I've never

[06:23] liked red outlines. I think they look a

[06:25] bit jarring. Another meticulously drawn

[06:28] acting cut. Just look how amazing the

[06:30] line art looks. It just it looks good.

[06:32] It's just good. Also, it might be

[06:34] subtle, but the animation itself is

[06:36] extremely high level. Notice how Yugji's

[06:38] shirt being tugged is conveyed through

[06:40] the lines. Even in the absence of

[06:41] highlights, the artist managed to convey

[06:44] depth around the areas of the shirts dug

[06:46] between the fingers. Masterful work. The

[06:48] next few shots showcase that top-notch

[06:50] composition sensibilities I was talking

[06:52] about earlier. There's always an added

[06:55] layer, if not multiple layers of depth

[06:57] and complexity. Goshono and his team are

[06:59] allergic to framing shots normally, and

[07:01] I love that each frame has so much

[07:03] character. This shot was insanely well

[07:05] animated. You have the three different

[07:07] layers of animated effects behind Yuji,

[07:09] the complex low-angle perspective, the

[07:11] heavy volutric character animation with

[07:13] a ton of weight behind Yugji's movement,

[07:15] and some subtle forcehortening. And if

[07:17] all of that wasn't complicated enough,

[07:19] the structure to Yugji's left is hand

[07:21] animated frame by frame. This shot looks

[07:24] great, too, with a well-drawn low-angle

[07:26] Eugi and a couple of 3D buildings to

[07:28] convey an accurate sense of speed and

[07:30] space, and the smeary cables for that

[07:32] added bit of weight. Once again,

[07:34] fantastic drawings. Look how well the

[07:36] lines pop out. And look at the subtle

[07:37] but everpresent movement. This exchange

[07:40] looked quite awkward. The first cut was

[07:42] weirdly framed with lowquality drawings

[07:44] that suggest that this shot wasn't meant

[07:46] to be so zoomed in, which in turn

[07:48] suggests that this shot was unfinished.

[07:51] Also, the flow between the next few cuts

[07:53] is practically absent. The action

[07:54] storyboarding feels amateur-ish, if that

[07:57] makes sense. Three different cuts for

[07:59] the same slash. It feels unnatural. I

[08:01] hope the sequence flows better when

[08:02] viewed in its entirety. The next few

[08:05] shots, however, do look quite cool with

[08:07] smooth, flowy movement and strong

[08:08] drawings. This is probably the most

[08:11] impressive sequence from this trailer.

[08:13] The style is about as out there as it

[08:15] gets. The character models completely

[08:17] fall apart. The lines aren't consistent,

[08:19] but that's the point. Style and flow

[08:21] were everything. The energetic action

[08:23] and the wobbly line art complete with

[08:25] these Shinyoh inspired pencil-like lines

[08:27] look insane. This scene was animated

[08:29] either by Rui or by director Koshazono

[08:32] himself. Both have animated similar

[08:33] scenes in the past. Love these shots.

[08:36] Again, ambitious color use. This

[08:38] sequence is pretty much black and white.

[08:40] It almost looks like a negative. It's so

[08:42] cool. And more cool, creative color work

[08:44] follows. You'll love to see it. I'm not

[08:46] sure what the kind of background black

[08:48] magic is going on here, but I like it. I

[08:51] think it's 3D. Wonderful perspective

[08:53] work on Yuji's acrobatics as well. It's

[08:55] too short to say for certain, but I

[08:57] think there are seven different layers

[08:58] of effects here, which is insane. Also,

[09:01] some insanely complex compositions

[09:03] follow. It's really hard to break down

[09:05] these scenes properly since they are

[09:07] obviously heavily trimmed to fit the

[09:08] trailer, but at least the top-notch

[09:10] framing is evident. This final cut looks

[09:12] amazing as well. Large scale dynamic

[09:14] action. You love to see it. I believe

[09:16] the background head is 3D. Fantastic

[09:18] drawing here, wonderful perspective

[09:20] work, and masterful volutric line

[09:22] placement. Probably a Takuya Ninuma

[09:24] drawing or it can be Sotaya Yamazaki as

[09:26] well. Great stuff. So that's that

[09:28] fantastic trailer which is to be

[09:30] expected given the metric ton of

[09:32] highlevel talent involved with this

[09:33] production. Let's now talk about some

[09:36] other less hopeful topics. JuiTutsu

[09:38] Kaisen season 3 is being split into

[09:40] individual cores which I'll be honest is

[09:42] a bit annoying because unlike other two

[09:44] core productions out there, Jujutsu

[09:46] Kaisen is narratively exciting enough to

[09:48] pull off a 24 episode format without

[09:50] boring its audience because it's so good

[09:52] at building. Anyway, the reason why

[09:54] they're splitting this season is

[09:55] obviously because they physically cannot

[09:57] finish the entire thing this quickly. If

[09:59] 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.