Small Fry and Reverse Retribution

The ninth episode of "Jujutsu Kaisen" begins better than any episode in the series so far. It shows a boy being bullied by three boys and a girl for allegedly looking at the girl's chest. The boy, Junpei, explains how he wouldn't press a button that would kill everyone he hates, but he would press a button that would kill all the people who hate him. And it's easy to see why: like most of the bullied, he is somebody who would struggle to hurt anyone, and therefore nobody has any good reason to hate him.

Junpei later goes to the movies, but the screening is ruined by the bullies who are also in the theatre. The stitched-up, grey haired cursed spirit, Mahito. Mahito kills the boys in a manner that reminded me of the Clive Barker story, "Jacqueline Ess", ie. Grotesquely warping and deforming their bodies.

I wonder if Barker was an influence on "Jujutsu Kaisen"? Some of the more monstrous looking curses in the anime remind me of creatures out of "Nightbreed", and some of his paintings.

The rest of the episode is spent with Yuji and his new mentor, a blond guy who always wears wingless goggles called Nanami, as the two of them investigate the crime and fight curses. Meanwhile, Mahito seems to take Junpei under his wing.

A good episode, but it didn't end as well as it started.