With the much-anticipated Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Part 2 on the horizon, now is the perfect time to refresh your memory on the epic events that unfolded before it. As such, this Jujutsu Kaisen anime recap will serve as an essential guide.
Below, we provide an overview of the key story arcs and the episodes that covered the events prior to Season 2 and the Shibuya Incident arc.
Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen anime!
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What Happened in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1?
Season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen comprises 24 episodes, covering four arcs from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga:
Fearsome Womb Arc: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Episodes 1 – 8
The debut arc of the series introduces a normal high school boy named Yuji Itadori who loves to spend time with his senpai from the Occult Club.
However, things change when he loses his grandfather, and Yuji and his club realize the dark reality of curses.
Now, he must save his friends. To do that, he decides to join forces with a Jujutsu practitioner named Megumi Fushiguro.
The opening episode also introduces the most powerful sorcerer in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe – Satoru Gojo.
Credit: MAPPA
They team up to exorcise curses and recover a cursed object named Ryomen Sukuna.
Meanwhile, after the delay in Yuji’s secret execution, he is taken to Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School.
The principal of the school interviews him in order to test his conviction. He wants to know if Yuji has it in him to become a sorcerer.
In Episode 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, Gojo’s class welcomes its third student named Nobara Kugisaki, who is also known as the Girl of Steel.
Credit: MAPPA
She is unimpressed with Megumi and Yuji until she is given a mission to exorcise curses with her new classmates.
It is in this episode that Yuji exorcises his first cursed spirit. By the end of the episode, Nobara thanks Yuji for saving her life.
Later, Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara are sent to a detention center haunted by a cursed womb. Their mission is to rescue the inmates.
Meanwhile, during the operation, Sukuna ends up taking over Yuji’s body and the sorcerer is unable to reclaim it.
Sukuna decides to take advantage of Yuji’s helpless situation. He announces that he would take the body hostage and take down Megumi.
Elsewhere, four mysterious figures are walking among regular people.
Credit: MAPPA
They eventually get inside a café. Turns out, one of them is a sorcerer and the rest are cursed spirits.
The evil cursed spirits are planning to go to war against the sorcerers, and for that, they need to capture Gojo and make Sukuna their ally.
Meanwhile, Yuji is believed to be dead because of the last encounter with Sukuna.
Megumi and Nobara, who are mourning their friend’s gruesome death, start training for the Goodwill Event.
Credit: MAPPA
In the meantime, Gojo is in trouble when a cursed spirit targets him for assassination.
The cursed spirit is named Jogo and he challenges Gojo for a battle.
Gojo is shocked to see a curse who can talk. Jogo is unique, but he soon finds out that Gojo is way more powerful than him.
Gojo also unveils his crazy Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void and takes out Jogo.
Credit: MAPPA
Later, Geto announces that Gojo’s sealing is set to happen on October 31 in Shibuya.
The last episode of the arc showcases Megumi and Nobara meeting their rivals from their sister school ahead of the Goodwill Event.
Elsewhere, Gojo believes that Principal Gakuganji is behind Yuji’s killing.
The arc ends with the next mission that takes Yuji to Kinema Cinema Movie Theater, where three heavily mutated corpses are discovered.
ALSO READ: Will Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Cover the Shibuya Incident?
Vs. Mahito Arc: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Episodes 9 – 13
The Vs. Mahito arc introduces Kento Nanami, a Grade 1 Jujutsu sorcerer. He teams up with Yuji to investigate the death of three students inside a movie theater.
Credit: MAPPA
Elsewhere, a witness named Junpei Yoshino and the culprit behind the murders, Mahito, become friends.
Junpei and Mahito continue to talk about love and indifference. Mahito then goes on to show how he can change people’s forms using the cursed technique.
In the meantime, Yuji is tasked to get intel from Junpei regarding the murders.
Credit: MAPPA
Elsewhere, Kento enters Mahito’s underground den and a brutal battle between the two ensues.
Later, Mahito and Kento’s deadly clash sees its conclusion while Yuji becomes friends with Junpei as they talk about movies.
Credit: MAPPA
Yuji even meets his mother. Unfortunately, after his mother’s death, Junpei goes down a dark path.
Yuji attempts to reach out to learn if there is any goodness left in Junpei’s heart. He promises to bring him back to the academy to make things right.
However, Mahito has other plans in store. Mahito utilizes Idle Transfiguration on Junpei and mutates him.
Credit: MAPPA
He then forces Junpei to battle against Yuji. Then Kento appears and teams up with Yuji for the final battle against Mahito.
The duo seem to be overpowering Mahito but the latter unleashes his Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection.
Mahito traps Kento inside his Domain Expansion while Yuji is stuck outside the barrier.
Credit: MAPPA
Just when Kento is about to perish, Yuji manages to break the barrier but Mahito is able to touch Sukuna’s soul.
However, Mahito is instantly punished for his act as Sukuna slices him.
Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc: Jujutsu Kaisen Episodes 14 – 21
Following the battles, Mahito is seen recovering with his allies at a hot spring.
Elsewhere, Gojo finds out about Yuji’s last battle. He notes that he wants Yuji to go on more missions but avoid the tough ones.
However, for now, Yuji wants him to take part in the Goodwill Event and reunite with his friends.
Yuji finally heads back to school, but to his shocking surprise, both Nobara and Megumi are horrified to see him.
Credit: MAPPA
The students from the Tokyo school must come together as their rivals from the Kyoto school appear for the Goodwill Event.
Both teams set out for a strategy meeting. The Tokyo team is working on how to make use of Yuji in their plan.
Meanwhile, the Kyoto team is instructed to kill Yuji at any cost.
Credit: MAPPA
As the event begins, Aoi Todo from the Kyoto team goes after Yuji. Nobara and Megumi decide to use Yuji as a distraction against Aoi.
However, little do they know that Yuji will find a new best friend in Aoi.
As the battle progresses, Aoi hopes to help his new best friend, Yuji, scale new heights, no matter what.
During their battle, Aoi teaches Yuji about how cursed energy can be treated as a starting point.
Credit: MAPPA
Elsewhere, Panda and Ultimate Mechamaru are engaged in a deadly duel of cursed corpses.
Later, Panda is compelled to change his cursed energy to Gorilla Mode and he manages to beat Mechamaru.
The Goodwill Event then focuses on Momo Nishimiya and Nobara’s battle.
Momo has the advantage in this battle because she is able to fly using her broom.
Credit: MAPPA
However, Nobara uses her Straw Doll Technique to crash Momo. She is about to execute her final move against Momo but Mai Zenin appears and shoots Nobara’s temple with a rubber bullet.
Suddenly, Mai’s twin sister, Maki, appears. Maki starts attacking Mai and eventually, the sibling rivalry ends on a solemn note.
Elsewhere, Megumi and Noritoshi’s fight is more of a battle of ideologies.
Credit: MAPPA
Megumi is a firm believer in saving everyone despite who they are. He states that he left the Zenin family and now lives alone.
On the other hand, Noritoshi, who belongs to the Kamo family, believes that following the family’s ideals is paramount.
Suddenly, evil forces invade the Goodwill Event, making things complicated for the participants and organizers.
Credit: MAPPA
Hanami, a special grade curse, is able to invade the event. Hanami is part of Mahito’s group and he kickstarts the plot to invade the school.
Eventually, Gojo joins the battle to thwart the invasion of the Goodwill Event.
It is a victory for the sorcerers, but Mahito is lurking around with his sinister plan still on track.
After the curses’ invasion of the event, Geto's strategy for sealing Gojo moves to the next part of planning.
Instead of mourning the sudden end of the event, the students take part in a game of baseball to mark the end of the Goodwill Event.
Death Painting Arc: Jujutsu Kaisen Episodes 22 – 24
Death Painting arc is the final arc to conclude the last three episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1.
Megumi, Nobara, and Yuji are tasked to investigate the unnatural death that has connections to Saitama Urami East Junior High.
Credit: MAPPA
Elsewhere, Geto and Mahito are still planning their next steps and end up incarnating one of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings.
Megumi manages to exorcise the curse of the Yasohachi Bridge, but the threat is far from over.
Credit: MAPPA
In the meantime, Nobara and Yuji fight against the brothers of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings namely, Eso and Kechizu.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 concludes with Yuji and Nobara ending the battle against Eso and Kechizu triumphantly.
Credit: MAPPA
However, this victory might have a cost, which the sorcerers will find out soon.
On the other hand, Geto, Choso, and Mahito are close to finishing their plan to seal Gojo.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Part 1 Recap
The first part of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 covers the Hidden Inventory/Premature Death Arc. It starts in August 2006, when Utahime and Mei Mei vanish during a mission.
Suguru Geto, Satoru Gojo, and Shoko Ieiri, second-years from Tokyo Jujutsu High, rescue them from a time-manipulating haunted mansion.
After coming back to school, Gojo is reprimanded by Masamichi Yaga.
Gojo questions the need to hide jujutsu from non-users, while Geto sees it as protection.
Later, Masamichi assigns them a mission to escort the Star Plasma Vessel to Master Tengen.
Masamichi also warns them that two groups, Q and the Time Vessel Association, are after the Star Plasma Vessel.
At one point, Q attempts to kill the Star Plasma Vessel but Geto rescues her. They finally beat the Q's soldiers.
It is revealed that the vessel is named Riko Amanai. She and her caretaker, Misato Kuroi, are taken to a safe location by Geto and Gojo.
At the same time, the Time Vessel Association plots to eliminate the girl. They enlist renowned Sorcerer Killer Toji Fushiguro for 30 million yen to halt Riko's merger with Master Tengen.
Meanwhile, Toji, aware of Gojo's strength, offers a bounty on Riko, aiming to tire out her protectors as they can't beat Geto or Gojo. It's a strategic move to exhaust the escorts.
Geto, Gojo, and Kuroi rush to school to shield Riko from the bounty hunters. Gojo beats them, explaining his Limitless cursed technique.
In the meantime, Kuroi is abducted, prompting Riko's determination to rescue her for a proper farewell.
Later, Gojo agrees to bring Riko on a mission to rescue Kuroi, who is held captive in Okinawa.
After an ordinary fight, the sorcerers effortlessly secure her release. Freshmen Haibara and Nanami provide reinforcement at the airport.
While Gojo, Geto, and Riko relish Okinawa's attractions, Gojo activates his cursed technique non-stop for two days to safeguard Riko.
Back in Tokyo, they return for Tengen's fusion. Gojo, now weary, deactivates his cursed technique upon entering the Jujutsu High barrier.
At that exact moment, Toji attacks, capitalizing on his pact for immense physical power and near-invisibility to sorcerers and barriers.
Toji ultimately manages to fatally injure Gojo. As Riko and Geto reach Tengen's realm, Geto offers her a choice.
Riko decides to choose life, but just as Geto consents to escort her, Toji arrives, fatally shooting her.
Geto deploys powerful curses, but Toji overpowers him, taking Riko's body to the Star Religious Group. While exiting the building, Toji is confronted by Gojo.
It's revealed that, on the brink of death, Gojo managed to master cursed energy manipulation, using reversed cursed technique to heal himself.
Gojo then launches his Limitless technique called Hollow Purple against Toji, who is almost immediately defeated.
A year passes, and Gojo has now mastered his cursed techniques, undertaking solo missions.
At the same time, Geto grapples with disillusionment as a sorcerer, and he's fixated on humanity's dark side.
An encounter with special-grade sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo leads them to ponder a curse-free world. Geto envisions achieving this by eliminating all non-sorcerers.
Haibara's death during a mission becomes a pivotal moment for Geto's downward spiral. He eventually becomes a curse user after he annihilates an entire village.
Toward the end of the arc, Gojo faces his ex-friend but is unable to fight him, and Geto departs unharmed.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 returns with its second part featuring the iconic Shibuya Incident arc.
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