Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Movie’s Plot Was Originally Meant to Kick Off the Anime Series

The start of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime could've been significantly different.

According to a statement from the director that was recently translated by Twitter user @soukatsu_, director Sunghoo Park originally wanted the Jujutsu Kaisen anime to begin with Yuta Okkutsu's story. "When I took on the mantle of director, I originally wanted to start the TV anime series with this magnetic story and its fascinating beginnings in Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Metropolitan Technical College," Park revealed. Instead of beginning with the prequel story, the anime series ended up beginning where the main Jujutsu Kaisen manga also starts, with Yuji Itadori's introduction into the world of sorcerers and Curses. The Jujutsu Kaisen 0 prequel story is now being adapted into a movie, which will premiere in Japan on Dec. 24. "The production team is doing their absolute best to reconstruct this amazing source material into a cinematic movie, and deliver a film that fans of the original work will enjoy," Park stated, adding, "Please come see it in theaters the night it is released!"

Sunghoo Park has worked in the anime industry for almost 20 years. He previously worked as a key animator on Yuri On Ice and directed The God of High School, a 2020 Korean webcomic adaptation that was lauded for its intricate fight choreography and animation. Park directed the first season of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime series, and is now directing the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 prequel movie.

The "Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School" that Park refers to in his statement was a manga created by Gege Akutami in 2017.  The short miniseries was the first story set in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, and introduced many of the characters and concepts that would later be expanded upon in Akutami's main series, which was first released about a year after Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School was completed. Once Jujutsu Kaisen became a hit, Akutami's original miniseries was retroactively renamed Jujutsu Kaisen 0 to reflect its place in the series' timeline.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 tells the story of Yuta Okkutsu, a young man who made a promise with his childhood friend, Rikka Orimoto, that the two would get married someday. Unfortunately, Rikka passes away at a young age, and to make matters even worse, her spirit has transformed into a Curse, a spiritual monster that now haunts Yuta and hurts anyone who gets too close to him. Not wanting to put anyone else in danger, Yuta isolates himself from others. However, the tortured young man's life changes forever when he meets a sorcerer named Satoru Gojo.

The first season of Jujutsu Kaisen is now available for streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation. A release date for the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie outside of Japan has not yet been announced.

Source: Twitter