Every time a Jujutsu Kaisen season debuts, it is received with a lot of hype. However, the popularity and compelling plot of the series sometimes overshadow the failings of MAPPA. While the animation of season 1 was groundbreaking, some fans might be pissed at the fact that some scenes in season 2 could not maintain the same standard.

From the first Sukuna Vs. Gojo battle from season 1 of the series, animators delivered top-notch performance. But what changed during the production of season 2 for the battles to lack the same charm?

The Yuji Vs. Mahito Fight in Season 2 Cannot Compare to Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Battles

Yuji Vs. Mahito in Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen | Credits: MAPPA

While most of the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom is trying hard to cover up MAPPA’s ill-treatment of some Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 battles, the Yuji Vs Mahito’s fight scene cannot be justified. Episode 21 of Season 2 features a battle between Mahito Vs. Yuji and Sukuna. However, the scene was nowhere near as well animated as the ones in season 1.

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Some of the cuts in the sequence have rough background animation. If it is compared to other scenes animated by Keiichiro Watanabe, this action scene will not perform well. Of course, there’s also the issue of the choreography itself, which breaks down a bit. There are minimal keyframes, and the battle looks a bit choppy.

Keiichiro Watanabe animated the Yuji Vs. Mahito battle in Season 2, Ep 21 of Jujutsu Kaisen | Credits: MAPPA

Still, given that it is a work created by Keiichiro Watanabe, it is hard to find mistakes in the animation. It is only the pre-existing scenes of the animator himself, that prove how much better the animation could have been. The prime suspect in this blunder is of course, the studio and the management itself.

Why did the Animation Quality of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Degrade?

Satoru Gojo vs Toji Fushiguro in Jujutsu Kaisen. [Credit: Studio Mappa]

The animation team of Jujutsu Kaisen is as ambitious and well-performing as ever. However, MAPPA had taken over several projects whose schedules overlapped and had intense action scenes. The staff were overworked once again, with very little time to attend to details.

The deadline was very tight, slightly more than 3 days, but thankfuly, thanks to the support of the team, everything went smoothly! Of course, I also thanks all of my friends support, it has been a very eventful past few week! pic.twitter.com/AIkEI5dabL— RocciaNobili (@NobiliRoccia) October 19, 2023

Roccia Nobili, a key animator of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, spoke up about what went wrong. In an X post, the animator explained that the deadline was extremely tight. In another post that has since been removed, Nobili stated:

I am happy so many people are liking it, but I wish the staff was able to finish it. As it stands right now, what is present on screen is 30% of the intended vision.-Roccia Nobili

The animator also expressed how frustrated they were over it as they wished for more time to finish the scenes. They also explained that there were too many errors in the animation, for them to enjoy it. The episode that is being referred to is episode 17 of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.

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Poor management from MAPPA and the tight deadlines have indeed affected the series, and the studio has been under fire several times in the past for its ill-treatment of animators and staff members.

Jujutsu Kaisen manga is available to read on Viz Media, and the anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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