Suguru uses his curse manipulation to make quick work of the Q agent who attempted to kidnap the Star Plasma Vessel, AKA Amanai Riko. When she comes to in Satoru’s arms, she slaps him and leaps out of them, believing him to be another attackers. It’s only when her minder Kuroi Misato comes in riding one of Suguru’s curses that she lets her guard down.
Amanai Riko is voiced by Nagase Anna, who brings the same raw youthful energy and toughness as she did Summertime Render’s Ushio. Riko is also extremely full of herself, not concerned at all about being lost once she assimilates with Tengen-sama. She will be Tengen-sama and Tengen-sama will be her. It’s not an absorbing, but a merging.
While her haughty brattiness irks Satoru, Suguru comes off looking like the more emotionally intelligent of the pair, reassuring Kuroi that she’s Riko’s family and he knows their real mission is to ensure Riko is not only safe, but able to live a happy, normal school life with her friends as long as possible.
Naturally, Fushiguro Touji is hired to ensure that doesn’t happen. But this week Touji is who we all aspire to be: a sweatshirt, sandals, some rustic grub, and a betting form. Dude may look bone idol to his mediator, but he’s set things in motion to make his job easier.
Rather than go after Jujutsu High kids directly, he instead sends out an APB to all the curse user assassins in the area that Riko is wanted dead or alive for 30 million he doesn’t even have. He’s fine with the dead part and with such a high reward because he knows no one will be successful.
He only wants these cursed bounty hunters to wear themselves out for free making Satoru and Suguru exert themselves so they’re as weak as possible when he comes at them. And we see from the force with which a rando slams into him as if he’s made of solid granite, Touji can handle himself. He just prefers the boat races.
The first of his proxies is an older guy who believes his experience will win out over the whippersnapper Suguru. He’s so busy trying to read Suguru’s mind and predict his every move, Suguru does the same with him and counters them, such that the poor geezer’s life flashes before his eyes before Suguru punches and kicks the ever-loving shit out of him.
Suguru may not be breaking a sweat, but he’s still fighting. Satoru, meanwhile, tracks down Riko, who is in the middle of choir practice. I wish we could have heard her sing a bit more, but I love how hers is the last voice we hear as everyone else stops singing, stares at Satoru for a beat, then explodes in middle school euphoria over the arrival of a stone hottie rushing in calling Riko’s name.
I love the exchange that follows, from Satoru’s poses (man this guy is full of himself), the unified screams and squees of the enthralled young ladies, and Riko’s embarrassment over the whole ordeal. But what’s best of all is their teacher coming in to presumably bring and end to all the disgraceful ruckus, only to catch a look at Satoru and hand him her phone number.
Jujutsu Kaisen has long since proven it can deftly balance comedy and goofy hijinks without neutralizing the underlying danger and seriousness of the narrative, and this episode is a prime example of that. Kuroi gets her own awesome-looking fight scene, only she’s nailing her opponent in the gentleman’s vegetables with a mop.
The thing is, this guy isn’t human; not entirely. He’s a curse user, able to multiply himself. But Satoru quickly deduces the dupes aren’t shikigami, but clones, and when he knows what he’s up against, he knows he can handle what’s to come with his unique skillset that makes his battle scenes beautiful.
From making clones collide in midair to smashing through an office window with Riko in tow and almost firing off a reverse curse “Red” but settling for a knockout punch. All the details are right, from the use of the score to the smooth motion of Riko’s hair as she tries to maintain her sanity while Satoru plays around with the laws of physics.
This makes a nice bookend to Suguru’s scene at the very beginning of the episode, when he’s already pacified the Q agent. While Satoru is floating like a demigod in a cloud of shattered glass and cement, Suguru is a picture of tranquillity, quietly making himself a cup of tea while his curse puts the squeeze on the baddie.
I officially don’t miss the main cast in the present-day timeline. I’m sure they’ll be around before the season’s out. But even if they aren’t, I’m deriving vast enjoyment watching Suguru and Satoru wield their powers so effortlessly. The thing is, they haven’t yet clashed with a legitimately worthy opponent; the arrival of Touji should change that.
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