Despite the popularity of Gege Akutami’s Shonen manga, fans often struggle to understand the connection between its anime and the Jujutsu Kaisen movie. The animation studio MAPPA has released three anime adaptations so far, including two TV series and a movie. Therefore, many are left wondering how the movie fits into the overall series.
Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen manga series chronicles the journey of Yuji Itadori, a high school student who accidentally consumes the talisman of the most powerful curse, Ryomen Sukuna. As a consequence, Yuji is sentenced to death. However, the arrival of the strongest sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, allows Yuji’s sentence to be delayed.
This article includes spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga.
Where is the Jujutsu Kaisen movie in the timeline?
As previously stated, there are a total of three anime adaptations for Jujutsu Kaisen: two seasons of a television series and a movie titled Jujutsu Kaisen 0.
Despite being released after the first season of the anime series, the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie takes place chronologically before the events of the series. This is due to the movie’s storyline beginning in November 2016 and ending on Christmas Eve of 2017, which is during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. These events occur approximately six months prior to Yuji Itadori’s enrollment at Jujutsu High, marking the start of Jujutsu Kaisen season 1.
The Jujutsu Kaisen timeline presented below is based on the currently available anime episodes.
| Timeline | Story Arc | Anime |
| March 2006 – September 2007 | Hidden Inventory Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 |
| November 2016 – December 2017 | Cursed Child Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen 0 |
| June – August 2018 | Fearsome Womb Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 |
| September 2018 | Vs. Mahito Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 |
| September 2018 | Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 |
| September 2018 | Death Painting Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 |
| September – November 2018 | Shibuya Incident Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 |
| November 2018 | Itadori’s Extermination Arc | Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 |
Is Jujutsu Kaisen Movie a Prequel?
The Jujutsu Kaisen movie serves as a prequel to the main anime series, as its release coincides with the manga series’ debut. Originally titled Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School, the manga was published in Jump GIGA magazine from April to July 2017.
After receiving widespread acclaim, manga artist Gege Akutami released the Jujutsu Kaisen manga in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in March 2018. As a result, the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School manga was renamed Jujutsu Kaisen 0, serving as a prequel. The single volume compilation of this manga was subsequently published in December 2018.
As a result, the Jujutsu Kaisen movie, which covers the prologue story arc, serves as a prequel to the primary Jujutsu Kaisen anime series. This implies that the events depicted in the Jujutsu Kaisen movie occur approximately six months prior to those shown in Jujutsu Kaisen season 1.
It should be noted by fans that the Hidden Inventory Arc (Gojo’s Past Arc) events occur approximately 10 years prior to the Cursed Child Arc, which is the timeline for the Jujutsu Kaisen movie.
Recommended order for watching Jujutsu Kaisen
Some fans may prefer to watch the Jujutsu Kaisen anime in chronological order to avoid any confusion, but release order is generally considered the optimal viewing order.
The following is the order of release:
- Jujutsu Kaisen season 1
- Jujutsu Kaisen movie
- Jujutsu Kaisen season 2
This watch order is easily comprehensible as it includes all the necessary information for understanding the timing of each event. Additionally, it prevents fans from getting lost while trying to determine which episode comes next in the chronological order.
The order of events is as follows:
- Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (episodes 1 – 5)
- Jujutsu Kaisen movie
- Jujutsu Kaisen season 1
- Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (episode 6 – 23)
Despite the availability of a chronological order for fans to follow, they may still need to selectively watch certain flashback events from the anime before the Hidden Inventory Arc of Jujutsu Kaisen in order to fully understand the story. This includes flashbacks featuring Kugisaki Nobara, which are shown in the Shibuya Incident Arc of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.
Therefore, if one is not prepared to put in the necessary effort, they should stick to watching the anime in its original release order.
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