Seems like nobody cares about working conditions when their fave character is hot.
Summary:
- Jujutsu Kaisen causes uproar online every week for different reasons.
- This week we're thirsting over Toji Fushiguro instead of dunking on animators.
- Male fanservice in Jujutsu Kaisen keeps people distracted from questionable animation quality, and that's okay.
With the release of the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen the internet explodes every week, and for different reasons. One half is praising the animators and character designers for the creative liberties they take on portraying characters, making them more undressed, choosing the more alluring angles, or adding moments that were not in the manga but that fit the narrative and make the characters look more attractive. The other half is constantly dunking on the animation department. dissatisfied with the quality, and on MAPPA's management that has trouble with scheduling which results in animators being overworked and delivering inconsistent work.
Whoever at MAPPA Studio wants Toji Fushiguro, we understand you
This week, however, the JJK lovers were united by the portrayal of Toji Fushiguro (and a little bit by the view of bloodied Nanamin). The animation department interpreted some of the scenes of his fight with Dagon in a very intriguing way that left people a little bit hysterical. Some moments were added — like a close-up of Toji sticking out his tongue while panting, or a view of his bare back when he was vaulting using the weapon he swiftly procured from Maki Zenin, and these additions made the scenes significantly more spicy.
We've already talked about how shounen anime relies not only on the teenage boy demographic, but also on fans who enjoy the shows for the amount of hot men in them, and Jujutsu Kaisen's anime adaptation capitalizes on that. We've explored how MAPPA uses the male fanservice and presents the viewers with an overabundance of seductive angles and artfully torn clothes, and this week's episode was another confirmation that MAPPA knows what it's doing and does it on purpose. And we're ready to devour it.
Toji, the man you are!
One tweet says that MAPPA's animation department mastered a new technique of animating with one hand, because the other got too busy under the table — and now makes the viewers learn this one-hand technique, too. The others are pretty jealous of Mama Fushiguro after seeing the close-up of Toji's tongue-action. In contrast to the last week, the animators are praised and wished well: one of the most comforting wishes is "I hope the animator that made this scene sleeps with both sides of their pillow cold tonight". And these are the least obscene reactions to Toji's performance.
And if the fanservice is enough to distract the viewers from animation quality inconsistency caused by the poor management decisions (we'll soon have an article about that, stay tuned!) and not the lack of talent, then so be it. Sadly, it won't change the industry, but at least it will keep the animators away from harm and hate, and instead will send some good vibes their way.