Is ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ season 2 a prequel? The story and timeline, explained

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen anime season 2 and Gojo’s Past manga Arc

Jujutsu Kaisen has risen to the ranks of the most fascinating yet intriguing manga and anime amid the offerings of the current growing trend. At this point, it probably doesn’t need an introduction. Even if you’ve never heard of the series (we bet you have), you still probably recognize the snow white-haired handsome with a blindfold Satoru Gojo, the pink-haired high schooler Yuji Itadori, and the nefarious Curse Sukuna.

The original Jujutsu Kaisen manga has been in publishing since March 2018, and has thus far reached 24 volumes, spanning more than 240 chapters circled within 10 intriguing story arcs. The first season of the anime adaptation officially came out in Oct. 2020, and concluded after a 24-episode run in March 2021. Since then, we’ve got a film, and another season currently on air.

Though it is swiftly catching up to the manga storyline, the order of events happening in the adaptation might be a little confusing for anime-only fans. But we’re here to help!

Jujutsu Kaisen anime adaptation timeline

The release order of the anime adaptation comes off as a little confusing. After the first season, fans got treated to a record-breaking anime film in Dec. 2021: Jujutsu Kaisen 0. The film was based on the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School manga, also called Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which is a prequel to the original JJK manga. Given the success and popularity of the adaptations, a second season of the anime officially hit the Crunchyroll screens on July 6, 2023.

With the manga not written in sequential order and going into flashbacks at points, the JJK anime fans might get confused about the timeline of things. Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 adapted the Fearsome Womb Arc (chapters 1-18), Vs. Mahito Arc (19-31), Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc (32-54), and Death Painting Arc (55-64) of the original manga.

Till this point, the series of events were chronological. But is it the same going forward? And which manga arcs will be brought to life in the anime’s season 2?

How much of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 is a prequel?

If you look at the order of adaptation, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 continues where season 1 left off, following the same order as the manga. However, after the Death Painting Arc, the JJK manga goes back in time to Gojo’s Past Arc, spanning chapters 65-79. This includes the Hidden Inventory and Premature Death arcs, which take the story almost a decade back in time. The focus is shifted from the main character, Yuji, to the fan-favorite character Gojo and his former best friend, Suguru Geto.

The main purpose of the time shift is to show how Geto changes from being close friends to becoming one of the main antagonists in the series and how, before Yuji and friends’ main story, he and Gojo become the bitterest of enemies. It also provides the necessary insight into Geto’s villain origin story.

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 adapts Gojo’s Past Arc in episodes 1-5 and then moves on to the Shibuya Incident Arc (manga chapters 79-136) from episode 6 onward, which travels back to the main timeline. This way, only episodes 1-5 of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 are chronologically a prequel to season 1. It is also a Jujutsu Kaisen 0, if you put it into the timeline.

What happens in Gojo’s Past Arc?

The Gojo’s Past Arc is divided into the Hidden Inventory and Premature Death episodes, which take us back to the year 2006, when Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were second-year students at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Being the two strongest sorcerers, they are given a mission to escort the Star Plasma Vessel, a girl named Riko Amanai to Master Tengen, an immortal Jujutsu Sorcerer worshipped like a deity.

The two are tasked to protect her and escort her safely back to Jujutsu High after her location is leaked and two groups of curse users are after them: Q and the Time Vessel Association. This is when we are introduced to the primary antagonist of the arc, Toji Fushiguro (hint: he’s the father of another Fushiguro). He is a non-curse user famously called the Sorcerer Killer, contracted by the Time Vessel Association to kill Riko Amanai.

Fast forward, he succeeds in defeating Geto and even manages to defeat Gojo once, but he survives using the Reversed Cursed Technique. Toji kills Riko, which ultimately proves to be the cause of Geto’s transformation into a villain. It is only after Gojo unlocks the full potential of his awakened Limitless technique and fuses Blue and Red, the two infinities into forming Purple that he is able to kill Toji Fushiguro. This technique is called the Hollow Purple.

In episode 5, the final episode of Gojo’s Past Arc, one year has passed since Riko Amanai’s death, and we see Geto gradually descending into darkness. He is struck between his feelings of hate for all non-sorcerers, while another part of him wants to reject that and walk the path of a righteous sorcerer.

However, he soon makes his choice about non-sorcerers and murders all 112 villagers who blamed the misdeeds of a Curse on two young sorcerer girls and beat and locked them inside a cage. He also murders his own non-sorcerer parents, marking his full transition into a villain.