Jujutsu Kaisen – 44 – Brotherly Love

JJK twists the knife one more time to open this outing, showing us a random but beautiful memory of Nobara spilling coffee on Gojou’s $1,700 shirt, then hard-cutting to Juju looking down on Nobara’s lifeless body, a gaping bloody hole where her left eye once was.

Yuuji is, as you’d expect, extremely torn up about this, to the point he loses all will to fight or even dodge Mahito’s blows. Mahito, who has already well outstayed his welcome this season, starts waxing philosophical at the top of his lungs while beating Yuuji to a pulp.

His main point is that this is a war, whoever wants it more wins, neither of them have counted the ones they’ve killed, and eventually Mahito will even forget Yuuji. But before he can deliver a fatal blow with an arm-blade, Mahito hears a “clap” and suddenly Yuuji’s on the other side of the platform. His big brother, Toudou Aoi, has arrived.

Yuuji tells Toudou how not only Nobara, but also Nanami died, and he himself killed countless others as Sukuna; so many that he may never be able to save enough people to even it out. His convitions turned out to be nothing but an excuse.

Toudou, accompanied by first-year Nitta Arata (probably Akari’s brother), tells Yuuji what he needs to hear: the two of them are Jujutsu Sorcerers, not bound by “sin” or “punishment” like ordinary folk. And even should their comrades die, they are never truly defeated as long as they keep fighting.

Buoyed by Toudou’s inspiring words and partially healed by Arata (who also “freezes” Nobara in her current condition, telling him she has a “non-zero” chance of surviving), Yuuji snaps out of his funk and joins the fray, delivering Black Flash body shots to Mahito while Toudou keeps the two of them clean with clap switches.

Whither Miwa, Mai, Kamo, Nishimiya, and Utahime? Mechamaru made sure they were on a mission south of Kyoto on the day of the Shibuya Incident. He tells Miwa this while she and the others are on a train (presumably headed further away from the battle). In the last moments his device is still activated, he essentially tells Miwa he did what he had to do to protect the girl he loved. Now that he’s gone, he wants her to find her happiness anew.

Then we’re back to the beefy Toudou (who naturally shed all clothing above the belt) and a revitalized Yuuji continuing to go at it with Mahito, whom I am now on record as being completely and utterly done with. I’m just so sick of any and all attacks seemingly having no effect on him.

At least we hear his thoughts as he assesses the situation: Toudou’s at full strength, Yuuji’s around 10%, and he’s down to 40%. So even if he doesn’t look it, he’s in pretty bad shape. Of course, that’s when one needs to be most on guard against someone as crafty as Mahito. Toudou rises to the occasion, using a Black Flash for the first time (though it apparently doesn’t affect Mahito’s soul).

He decides to take things up a notch, summoning a whole damn train made out of transfigured humans, eventually forcing the battle to the surface right by the 109 building and coming at Yuuji and Toudou with a many-headed monster. Here’s hoping we can wrap this up soon.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride – S2 22 – Hammertime

Be it a remnant of the grimoire or a piece of her subconscious that won’t let her break free or hold any hope, Philomela is pulled out of the dreamscape and back into her grandmother’s office. Chise, Lucy, and Isaac are also there, but still unconscious. Still driven by that “dark side” of herself, she heads to the site of Lizbeth’s ritual, in hopes she’ll be reunited with her parents and make all of this torment worth it.

Meanwhile, I don’t know if Elias always knew something was not quite right about Alcyone, or only figured it out now, but now he’s decided to do something about it. He takes hold of her and finds that there’s a twisted metal core within her, placed there by Lizbeth to repurpose her. Elias destroys the metal core, revealing a core of blue light. Perhaps this core contains all of the memories of Philomela’s childhood.

As Lizbeth prepares to commence the ritual to resurrect her son, we get a little bit of her backstory, and it’s what you’d expect. As the heir to her family, Lizbeth was tasked with bearing her own heir, but her womb was lacking. At some point she must have found away around that, since Adam was born though his father isn’t revealed.

Lizbeth found herself simultaneously captivated by Adam’s cuteness and repulsed by his weakness, but he eventually grew bigger and stronger; a worthy heir. Then he took his “test subject” and ran away, a betrayal Lizbeth could not have predicted. Just as she was deemed inferior in her youth, she always saw Philomela as inferior to Adam.

While it’s good to get some context into what makes Lizbeth tick, I didn’t gain a single iota of empathy for her. Philomela was totally innocent, and yet Lizbeth treated her as someone who had wronged her; treated her like fuckin’ dirt. Frankly Lizbeth deserves to die screaming for her years of abuse and cruelty. Fingers crossed!

Chise, Lucy, and Isaac come to, and as Chise can still detect the scent of Mela’s soul, she leads the way, knowing the other two aren’t going to turn back now for safety. They rush to Philomela not a moment too soon, as she learns that Lizbeth only raised her as a vessel for the magical power sufficient to bring back her son.

Mela herself is no more than a sacrifice; Lizbeth will take all the magic she amassed and there will be nothing left. At first Lizbeth does as she’s told, but then pulls back and hesitates. At this point, Lizbeth drops all pretense and calls for her guards to force her into the magic circle for the ritual.

Philomela lies there as her magic is drained and her skin begins to crack like porcelain, utterly resigned to her fate because “she has no one.” But she’s proven wrong when a someone—three someones—arrive in the nick of time. Chise, Lucy, and Isaac, flanked by Elias and Ruth, have come to rescue her.

This doesn’t matter to Lizbeth; she says that the ritual that has started cannot be stopped. But that’s only if Philomela herself lets it continue. Chise tells her that if she wishes, she can stop it right here and now. She, Isaac, and Lucy encourage her to finish what was started in the dreamscape, and she does, shouting as loud as we’ve ever heard her to “HELP ME!”

Chise tries to rush the eldritch deity Lizbeth summoned, but Elias holds her back, saying there’s a better way. She employs the tool Isaac brought, changing its form into a weapon suitable for destroying the ritual. A sword or staff isn’t quite right, so Chise conjures a freakin’ warhammer, which she brings down upon the magic circle and smashes it to bits. I might have startled my neighbors cheering this action!

With the ritual cancelled, Chise hurries to Philomela, who gets up and meets her halfway, and drapes a dress cloak over her. Chise takes Philomela’s ruined, blackened hands into her own and holds her tight, communicating without words that everything is going to be alright now.

Philomela, bless her, only now just realize what she’s wanted more than anything is for someone to help her. After a lifetime of failing to ask, Philomela has finally done it, and learned that she does not have to live her life in darkness and hopelessness. She has people who aren’t just using her, who actually care about her, and will help any and every time she asks.

No doubt Lizbeth will launch some kind of counterattack, but I’m not concerned. She’s already lost. Her bitterness and resentment, and years of physical and psychological torture have amounted to nothing. She has no chance against Chise’s love and kindness. Just as I have no chance resisting a Chise x Philomela ship. Look how goddamn adorable these two look in the Postcard Memory that ends the episode!