The Wasteland Reviewer

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution (2025) Written Review

When did anime become such a megahit at the box office? This used to be the type of films and series that nerds would have to stay up super late at night to check out on Toonami and would generally get made fun of for liking. But certain anime properties like Pokemon and Dragon Ball changed things a lot for Japanese anime in the United States. Anime has become so huge in North America that a new anime film release can easily take #1 at the box office for their opening weekends. This is a far cry from the time where it was niche and hidden. You even get consistent releases of anime series episodes edited down into a feature film version that hits theaters. The latest in this new anime trend is for Jujutsu Kaisen and that new film is Execution. 

What do you need to know going into this new Jujutsu Kaisen release? Well…a lot. This is not an easily accessible film as it dives right into the ending of the anime’s second season and dives into the early set up of season three. This is challenging as it feels like you are just dropped into the climax of a story and then shift into the early exposition of another. Shouta Goshozono’s film feels like it as an onslaught of wild action set pieces with minimal story, all pay-off, and some seriously shocking twists that will certainly have lasting effects on the protagonist of the series as well as the series’ overall narrative. But due to this being the end of one season and the beginning of the other, the story deflates so immensely that the back half of the film feels like an anticlimax. There are plenty of exposition elements to set up a large conflict to come in season three, but the film only gets to dabble in the set up before a quick and abrupt finale. The story does little to catch the audience up outside of some high energy and quickly moving montages, so this only clicks for those buried deep in the show lore and the series (be forewarned). 

Does the visual experience and direction help engage even those out of the loop? The animation is quite impressive for Goshozono’s film. The visuals are rich in color and detail with some nice surprises in the visual presentation. When the tension and intensity of the story increase, there is a subtle shift to more sketchy details in the character renderings which gives it a raw and visceral feel to these sequences. The action is unrelenting and visceral in a way that is pulse-pounding and thrilling. This is also definitely not an anime for children, so those fights are filled with endless blood and pulverized flesh in a manner that borders on body horror. The use of fast cuts and montage gives the first half of the film such propulsive energy that is quite thrilling. Unfortunately, the film screeches to a halt in the second half and struggles to engage the audience through all the heavy dialogue sequences. The music is exciting as well and accentuates the intensity of many sequences throughout the film. This is a film that is truly a tale of two parts which leaves Execution being quite an uneven cinematic experience. 

Does the character work and voice performances add to the overall experience of Execution? The series protagonist, Yuji Itadori, is put through the wringer in this film. His trials include plenty of physical damage through some serious and bloody battles. During the Shibuya Incident, he experiences some dark influences that cause him to face some horrific consequences of his perceived actions (which gives the film some interesting complexities from a thematic standpoint). Yuta Okkotsu is quite the dangerous and volatile antagonist who is pitted against Yuji in a violent and brutal confrontation that takes a lot from Yuji (both physically and emotionally). Not every character from the series will make it out of this climactic incident alive and some of those moments are the most shocking and impactful in this compilation film. There are plenty of sorcerer characters in the film with some of them offering some interesting and unique elements to this big conflict. There are cool powers and skills that make some of these characters stand out well in the film. Unfortunately, a lot of these big moments are squandered by the dragging backend of the film. 

Is Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution a worthwhile cinematic experience? For the big fans of the show, you will get the most out of this experience. For fans, you have seen so much of this already but truncated to deliver a bigger and more epic experience. If you are open to being confused and are willing to dive headlong into some wild anime action, this film might scratch that itch. The narrative will not give you enough closure as it is just set up for something bigger later in the show, but it has its elements that will engage and thrill its audience.