It’s an excellent time to be a Jujutsu Kaisen fan lately! Between the awesome anime trailer (how many times have you watched it?) and the backlog finally being filled on the Shonen Jump vault, there’s never been a better time to catch up on this world of crazy curses and crazier sorcerers! Of course, we can’t forget the volumes themselves, and we’ve got a crispy one on our plate this time around! Volume 3 ended on quite the juicy cliffhanger, as Yuji and Junpei’s fast friendship looked to be taking a turn for the worse. Don’t worry; I’m sure things will work out for the best in Jujutsu Kaisen volume 4, right?

No Jujutsu Kaisen volume 4 worth reading


How sad!
The title of Jujutsu Kaisen volume 4 (named after one of its standout chapters, chapter 28) Is “I’m Gonna Kill You!”. That should give you a good idea of the vibes we’ve got going in this one. It’s an emotional reunion for the two film buffs at the start. Yuji is desperate to try to understand why his new companion has gone off the deep end. It’s a brutal clash between the pair, but once Junpei reveals the truth, we see Yuji’s compassionate side on display once again. We’ve known the kid’s had a big heart since chapter 1. This time his sympathy might end up being his Achilles heel, as a new challenger approaches. Ol’ Patchwork Mahito is here, and now the game done changed!

Jujutsu Kaisen volume 4 spoilers


I’m gonna take him down!
Mahito and Yuji’s bloody battle begins, and it is outstanding on both a visual and physical level. We knew Itadori was insanely athletic, but it turns out he’s got a ridiculously high pain threshold! But even going all out, Mahito is still a formidable foe. And, in all his fury Yuji ends up leaving himself wide open for a deadly strike. Until Kento ‘the scene-stealer’ Nanami shows up in the nick of time! We saw earlier the Grade 1 Sorcerer was on his way to back up Itadori, and now the dynamic duo are here to take the curse down!

Exocist Jujutsu Kaisen review
The pair work well together, as we see they’re utterly in sync with their attacks. Mahito’s no slouch either, and he pulls some mighty moves of his own, landing Nanami in an incredibly tight spot. In the process, we get to learn a little bit more about the straight-laced Sorcerer’s background. In the form of a touching flashback that revolves around the moment, he decided to course-correct his life for the better. He’s got no regrets, and I’ve got nothing but love for him!


Ultimately, they are able to turn the tide, but a crafty curse always has a trick up their sleeve. And, Mahito lives to fight another day. Both Nanami and Itadori have been through the wringer. Yuji, in particular, is quite shaken by what’s he’s seen and done. It’s rare to see a protagonist go through this amount of strife and struggle this early in the story. So much that it has a dramatic impact on the character themselves, I am both excited and terrified for what Mangaka Akutami will force Itadori through next!



Let’s surprise ’em!
After so much intense fighting and serious emotions, the rest of the volume takes a much-needed respite. With a return to some much appreciated comic relief. Mangaka Akutami has sprinkled some of their delightfully quirky humour throughout Jujutsu Kaisen. It’s in full force as we transition between arcs into the decidedly tournament-like Kyoto Sister School Goodwill Event. Every Shōnen worth its salt needs one, after all! A yearly battle between the different classes of both Jujutsu high schools, where no killing is the only rule (to quote the always hot-headed Maki!).

Introspection Jujutsu Kaisen any good
We’ve been building up this battle little by little with the other Tokyo students in the background. Now it’s finally time for the event to kick-off! And to spice up proceedings, the ever-chaotic Gojo believes that this would be the perfect time to reintroduce the reincarnated Itadori to the gang, to hilariously unintended results!

This sequence may be the funniest moment of the series for me so far. Plus I’m just happy to see all the first years reunited again. It’s clear that Itadori has been through some hardships and grown as a result, and now he’s on firm footing alongside Fushiguro and Kugisaki! Of course, the second years are always happy for some extra firepower against the Kyoto powerhouses too! They’re gonna need it as well, as it looks like the Kyoto School have some sinister ulterior motives in mind for this event.

Mean old Principal Gakuganji isn’t happy with Itadori’s surprise return, not when Sukuna and he are a package deal! He wants Itadori off the playing field, and he instructs his students to do his dirty work for him. There’s a mixed response, but as the battle kicks off there’s one thing for sure: all that powering up Itadori did prior to his return will no doubt come in handy against these upcoming threats. Curses and Sorcerer’s alike!



Is Jujutsu Kaisen volume 4 worth reading?
Panda Jujutsu Kaisen volume 4 review
Of course it is! Those surprised faces over there are shocked you’re not reading it already! Joking aside, Jujutsu Kaisen volume 4 captures everything I’ve grown to adore about this series in one neat little package. You’ve got the intense action, in what is undoubtedly one of the most brutal and thrilling battles we’ve seen yet. You’ve also got the compelling characters, facing harsh truths and growing all the stronger for it. And finally, you’ve got the gut-busting comedy, which seals the deal!

Akutami has put in the work to lay some solid foundations for the core cast, especially Yuji. And as we approach a new arc, a sturdy structure is set to be built, expanding our view of the characters and world of Jujutsu Kaisen. It’s been a wild ride so far, and there’s no sign of it slowing down yet. I’m strapping myself in for more!

You can enrol in Jujutsu Highschool yourself by purchasing this volume physically via the links above. If digital is more your style, and if you’re a member of Shonen Jump, you can also read the series (in its entirety!) through the Jump Vault. Get in on the ground floor before the Jujutsu Kaisen anime drops!

Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 4 is an action-adventure supernatural manga written and illustrated by Gege Akutami and is published by VIZ Media. The series takes place in a world where cursed spirits feed on humans. Luckily there is a mysterious school of Jujutsu Sorcerers whose purpose is to protect the human world from the supernatural threats that plague them every day.

Jujutsu Kaisen follows Yuji Itadori, a gifted track and field high school athlete who prefers to spend his time in the Occult Club. Itadori’s life suddenly changes when he meets Megumi Fushiguro, a Sorcerer and high school student at Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College who is investigating some supernatural activity at Itadori’s school. When the investigation takes a turn for the worse, Itadori jumps into action to help. Now in order to save the world from demons, he may have to become a demon himself.

Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 4 consists of chapters 26 through 34. In this volume, while investigating some mysterious deaths, Itadori meets Junpei, a troubled high schooler who is bullied a lot at school. Unfortunately, Junpei is also befriended by Mahito, a cursed spirit and the culprit behind the bloody bizarre deaths. Now having gained Junpei’s trust, Mahito puts his devious plan to trap Itadori into motion.

Shonen is a genre of manga that is primarily targeted at a young teen male demographic. A signature trope of the genre is that the main character, usually a young boy between the ages of 12-18, discovers or gains power or talent, and then goes on an adventure where they are thrust into danger in order to save the world. That is essentially the case in Jujutsu Kaisen.

When Yuji consumes a fragment of a powerful demon, Ryōmen Sukuna, he gains an immense amount of supernatural power. However, with this power comes great responsibility that puts Yuji’s life in constant danger. But like most Shonen characters, Yuji wants to face the danger head-on and puts the safety of others above his own well-being.

Overall, Yuji is the typical Shonen type and I really enjoy the character. However, what I found to be very refreshing about this series is how the adults in the series, be it teachers or Yuji’s superiors, treat him like child. This isn’t done in a disrespectful or demeaning way, but rather the adults around Yuji recognize that even though he has great power within him, at the end of the day he is still a young teenage boy.

A great example of this is when Yuji meets Keto Nanami, another Sorcerer that works for Itadori’s Jujutsu school. At first, Nanami is a stoic man with a tough exterior and has good morals at his core. Over the years, he’s become a man worn down by the humdrum practices of day to day life that robbed him of his youth and turned him into an adult.

The reason he treats Yuji like a child is not because he doesn’t trust his sense of responsibility or thinks Yuji’s skills as a Sorcerer are lacking. Instead, he treats him like a kid because he doesn’t want to see him lose his youth for the sake of becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer. At the end of the day, Namani doesn’t see Yuji as a soldier or a weapon; Namani still sees Yuji as a kid and he wants to help preserve his youth as long as he can.

The artwork in this manga ranges from dark and creepy to explosive and expressive. Akutami‘s illustrations really captures the intensity in both the action scenes and horror illustrations of supernatural creatures. Some of my favorite panels were the explosive fight scenes between the demons and sorcerers.

What really impressed me most of all was the illustrations of the graphic transformations of human bodies into demons. The transformations feel very similar to what is typical in the body horror genre. Akutami ‘s artwork shows graphic and slightly disturbing violations of the human body when people are transformed into monsters.

Lastly, I found the story in this volume to be very interesting. In this volume, Yuji meets Junpei, a high school boy who’s been getting bullied. I can’t help but notice that Yuji and Junpei are reflections of one another. Both of them lost the only family members they had left. They come into contact with the supernatural world and from that point on their lives are forever changed.

The biggest difference between the two is that Yuji didn’t get consumed by hatred and despair over his situation. Yuji was lucky enough to meet the right people and have a support system around him. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for Junpei. And that is what sets the two of them on separate paths. I also think the interaction Yuji has with Junpei will mark a memorable moment for his journey to becoming a powerful sorcerer.

Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 4 is well worth the read. If you are looking for a new manga that you can jump into relatively easily, then I recommend this one. The series is still just starting off, but the artwork is great and the story is interesting. And while it doesn’t exactly break the mold of the Shonen hero trope, it does give a refreshing take on it.

Thanks to Viz and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

This action packed book builds off of volume 3 as it drops us right into where the prior volume ended. The artwork is good but sometimes the action sequences can be a little hard to follow and there is much which happens off of the page storywise at this point in the series. It will be interesting to see how the story develops from here.