Jujutsu Kaisen【ch.5】Full-page explanation

Hi everyone, こんにちは!
This is Kyle Scouter.

Welcome to a thrilling journey into the dark and mystic world of Jujutsu Kaisen!

I will break down each panel, offering insightful commentary and analysis to enhance your understanding of the story, characters, and the fascinating world created by Gege Akutami Sensei.

I’ve created visual aids to help illustrate each point on every page, making it easier to follow the details.

This time I will talk about Jujutsu Kaisen Ch.5 “始まり(Start)” and explain in detail in the text what the images alone cannot explain enough.

Let’s dive into the Jujutsu Kaisen world now!

Page 1

① Gojo’s info from extra

There’s Gojo’s info in the extra before Ch.5 starts.

Satoru Gojo (28 Years Old)

・ He’s really tall!! (Probably over 190cm)

・His face was regularly shown in my previous Jump GIGA series, Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School (He’s in all 4 chapters)

・Principal Yaga was his teacher when he was a student.

・He started eating sweets as a way to stimulate his brain, but ended up with a sweet tooth

・He can do anything he tries, so he tries not to get too involved with anything. According to him, this is all for the sake of the next generation.

In addition to this info, Gojo can’t drink alcohol according to the Official Fanbook. This also boosted his sweet tooth I guess. And that’s why he bought Kikufuku Mochi before he came to help Megumi in Ch.2.

② Title of this Chapter

Title of this chapter is “始まり(Hajimari)”, “Start” in English.

This chapter is the real beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen with the three first-year students of Jujutsu High, Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara. The story so far is only the prologue. This title tells us that.

Page 2&3

① BLEACH-like direction

“My Cursed Energy is gonna flow through ‘em”

After Nobara says that, her Cursed Energy flows and the mannequin’s head is broken. This direction reminds me of BLEACH. In BLEACH, this kind of cool line often accompanies defeating an enemy. And Jujutsu Kaisen too.

Gege Sensei officially confirms that he is a big fan of BLEACH. He read BLEACH for the first time when he was in the fourth grade, and it was then that he became conscious of the idea of becoming a manga artist. So Jujutsu Kaisen contains a lot of the essence of BLEACH.

② Nobara bends down to look at the child

This panel also shows Nobara’s kindness. When talking with children, make your eye contact with them so they feel at ease. This is a very basic technique to deal with children, but many high school students don’t know that. And this is not explained in JJK, but perhaps Nobara has no siblings. Nobara had naturally learned how to speak to children. Or maybe she gets used to talking with children because she’s from a small village society.

Anyways, we can see that Nobara is so kind from this panel.

③ 罪な女(Tsumina Onna)

Nobara thought she was too beautiful and sinful to be rejected by a boy. It’s saying “It’s hard being beautiful” in English, but in Japanese, she says “罪な女(Tsumina Onna)”.

The phrase “罪な女(Tsumina Onna)”, “sinful woman” in English, in Japanese culture often conveys the idea that beauty can sometimes be a burden or a cause of trouble. It suggests that the allure of beauty may lead to challenges or difficulties for the person possessing it. The notion implies that beauty, while attractive, can attract jealousy, unfair expectations, or even exploitation by others. It touches upon the idea that being exceptionally beautiful might bring about negative consequences or unfair treatment due to societal perceptions or envy.

Page 4&5

① Horror style direction

Early Jujutsu Kaisen was both a battle manga and a horror manga. So Gege Sensei gives the essence of horror in Jujutsu Kaisen. This is one of them. The sickening nature of this Cursed Spirit is expressed by drawing a black rain-like thing from above with the sound

“ズズズズ(Zuzuzuzu)” .

This sound signifies a slow and steady movement, typically describing something sliding or creeping along the ground quietly. It’s a sound used to depict the subtle, gradual motion of something, almost as if it’s slithering or crawling. Feels creepy, doesn’t it?

② Gege Sensei’s Technique

In manga, a pitch-black background is often used to express a character’s emotional state or to create flashbacks. In this scene, Gege Sensei wanted to make the scene switch to Gojo and Megumi’s conversation. The inclusion of Gojo’s words on a black background helps to transition smoothly from one scene to another.

Page 6&7

① Scale

In English, this scene says “The choice between life and death”.

But in Japanese, it says “命の重さをかけた天秤”(Weighing the scales of life). This is why the scale is drawn in here.

Also in Japan, life is often expressed as a heart. For example, characters say “心臓を捧げよ(Dedicate Your Heart)” means to fight for one’s life. So the hearts are on scale.

By the way, Scale is called 秤(Hakari) in Japanese. Yes, Hakari’s name comes from that.

② 下の下(Ge no Ge)

The Japanese expressions “上(jou)” (upper/high), “中(chu)” (middle), and “下(ge)” (lower/low) are used to denote degrees or levels of something. For instance, “上(jou)” represents a high level or a superior state, “中(chu)” signifies an average or moderate condition, and “下(ge)” denotes a low level or an inferior state.

These terms can be further combined to convey more nuanced rankings.

For instance,

“上の上(jou no jou)”(upper of upper) →The top of top

“上の中(jou no chu)”(upper of middle) →indicates a good but not the highest level.

“中の上(Chu no jou)”(middle of upper) →suggests a generally good but not the absolute best state.

“中の中(chu no chu)”(middle of middle)→ represents an average or moderate state.

“中の下(chu no ge)”(middle of low)→ implies a state that is bad but not the worst.

“下の上(Ge no jou)”(low of upper)→ signifies a state that is bad but not terribly so.

“下の中(ge no chu)”(low of middle)→ represents a state that is not the worst but below average
“下の下(ge no ge)”(low of low) denotes the lowest or worst state.



And Nobara says this Cursed Spirit is “下の下(ge no ge)”, so she sees this as the lowest rank of 3rd Grade.



③ Saori Chan

Saori chan is a neighborhood older sister who had a great influence on Nobara’s childhood. The details about her will be told later in the Shibuya Incident, but this Nobara’s word is kind of foreshadowing. She and Saori split up about 10 years ago, and yet she still remembers her.



Page 8&9

① Yuji pierces the wall with his fist

This is a surprising scene. Gege Sensei brings this panel to the first of the page to create more surprise. In the case of a comic book, this page comes first after turning one page.

Also, in the case of e-books, this comes first.

In comics, Mangaka focuses on how to make the reader want to read the next page. So this is Gege Sensei’s good technique.

② The way how Gege Sensei use panel

Gege Sensei has a good use of panels in this battle scene. Usually, in a comic book, each panel is divided into separate scenes. But these two panels are connected. In doing so, it creates a sense of speed in this battle.

Thank you for reading.
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Jujutsu Kaisen【ch.5】Full-page explanation

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