Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo Announcement!
Everyone, the Jujutsu Sorcerers are back in town.
When the hit Shonen manga Jujutsu Kaisen came to an end last year, fan reactions were mixed. On the one hand, people were happy to see the protagonists come out on top over Sukuna and the corruption of Jujutsu society. On the other hand, the final chapters did little to wrap up the emtional loose ends. That, and people were upset over Satoru Gojo dying. That man was basically Kakashi 2.0, and many likely won’t forgive the mangaka for taking him away from us.
Now, Gege did make an effort to provide the fans with further closure with an epilogue omake, but that can only do so much. And with a world as interesting as the one created by Jujutsu Kaisen, there were more stories to be told. And Gege Akumatai has delivered! Much like its predecessor, Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen has a sequel about the next generation, Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo. And this time, aliens are involved!
Welcome to the Future!
It’s now the year 2086, 68 years since the Culling Game and the defeat of Sukuna. In that time, Jujutsu society has reformed as Gojo wanted, free of the archaic ways of the past and the corruption of the leadership. Yuji, Gojo, and their generation of Sorcerers have gone down as legends, but most of them are now either dead or super-old. The task of protecting people from Curses now falls to the next generation.
Meet Yuka and Tsurugi Okkotsu, the twin grandchildren of Yuta Okkutsu and Maki Zen’in. The two are following in their late grandparents’ footsteps as Jujutsu Sorcerers, but there’s a little tension between them due to the older generation’s beliefs. Then all of a sudden, a group of aliens called the Simurians arrive on Earth asking for refuge, and they can also use Cursed Energy. In order to see if Earth would welcome them, they send one of their own, Marulu Val Vol Yelvori, to observe the Okkotsu siblings. And this is where our story begins.
To be clear, there is only one chapter of Modulo out at the time this was written, and the series will not be that long. At best, Gege intends for it to last around three volumes, meaning about 30 chapters, if we’re lucky. Yet even with the one chapter already out, we’ve already got a pretty good idea of what Jujutsu Society is like in the 2080s.
Gojo, Your Dream Came True
Those who read the original series and watched the anime already know this, but the Jujutsu world was a fairly corrupt one. The higher-ups in charge were explicitly self-serving, archaic, and refused to change with the times. Needless to say, Gojo was right to want them gone, and while he didn’t live to see it, the students he trained would change Jujutsu for the better. These days, Yuji and Gojo are considered legends who people still try to measure up to. Which isn’t exactly a good thing, as Jujutsu Sorcerers are getting weaker.
The downside to the peace that Yuji, Yuta, and the others fought for is that the following generations won’t face threats like Sukuna or Mahito. As a result, Yuta and Tsurugi, while strong, are nowhere near their grandparents level yet. Which makes their job of fighting Curses evil Curse users, and protecting good Curse users harder.
The other big change to the Jujutsu world is the fact that it’s no longer a secret. The Culling Game has made the entire world aware of the existence of Cursed, Cursed Energy, and those who wield them. The upside is that it means Jujutsu is more widely accepted by the public, and Japan is considered the global expert on the paranormal. The bad news? Because Cursed Energy is found almost exclusively in Japan, and it’s a great alternative to fossil fuels, Japanese citizens are a hot commodity. So now, Sorcerers have to protect anyone with a modicum of Cursed Energy who can’t look out for themselves, like kids. It’s dealing with this very problem that serves as the catalyst for Yuka and Tsurugi meeting Maru. But that’s only part of what it looks like the series will be about. The other half seems to be focused on the legacy of Yuji and Yuta’s generation and how it’s affecting Jujutsu Sorcerer’s in the 2080s.
The Next Generation of Sorcerers
By the time Modulo starts, Yuta Okkotsu and Maki Zen’in have passed away, and while there’s a chance that members of their generation, like Yuji and Megumi, might pop up, there’s a good chance that most of the cast of Jujutsu Kaisen is dead. Yet their accomplishments were so incredible that they’re still idolized as heroes. Much like their mentor, Gojo, they came to be considered the peak of Jujutsu Sorcery, one that their descendants are struggling to surpass, with Yuka and Tsurugi being examples of this.
When they were kids, Yuka and Tsurugi were close to a different grandparent. Yuka adored her grandfather, Yuta, and loved spending time with him. The feeling was mutual, as Yuta chose to entrust her with his most prized possession: the engagement ring he got from Rika when they were kids. Now a Cursed Object, Yuta hoped Rika’s Ring would protect her like it did him. However, this sentimentality flew over the rest of the Gojo clan’s collective heads, as after Yuta died, they took the ring and gave it to Tsurugi, who they saw as the stronger of the two. But Tsurugi didn’t see it that way.
Like his grandmother Maki, Tsurugi was born with a Heavenly Restriction, basically giving him great power in exchange for nerfing his cursed energy. He wanted to prove to everyone that he could make it as a Jujutsu Sorcerer like his grandma on his own terms. So when the clan gave him Rika’s Ring, he took it as an insult with them saying he wasn’t strong enough on his own. So while Yuka’s goal is to take the ring back by proving she’s stronger, Tsurugi’s is to prove he doesn’t need it, sparking their sibling rivalry.
Here’s a Bright Idea…
I understand the driving force behind this conflict, and it does sound interesting. Yet, I cannot help but be reminded of the many times in anime and manga where poor communication leads to unnecessary drama. There are probably rules in place, but from my perspective, there’s a simple solution to this problem: Tsurugi just gives his sister the Ring, and if the Clan objects, tell them off. It probably won’t work, but it feels like the best solution possible. Then again, I’m sure that the series will give us further reasons why this won’t work, but for now, I just wanted to make my opinion known.
At any rate, I’m probably going to end up reading Modulo as it progresses over the next several weeks. I was never that big a fan of JJK, but with the third season of the anime coming up, I feel like it’s worth paying attention to. But what do you guys think? Let’s talk in the comments!
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