Even within the shounen genre, not all anime are built the same. While not the most viciously violent or gory anime out there, Jujutsu Kaisen is nevertheless inadvisable to watch with one’s kids as if it were Sunday’s morning cartoons.
One important fact to establish from the get-go is that age ratings vary from country to country, and even from streaming service to streaming service. Another is that, as many fans would agree, Gege Akutami’s manga is more graphic than studio MAPPA’s adaptation. Also, it is not the best series to watch if you want all your favorite characters to have happy endings or even to survive. That’s what it entails to make a living out of hunting and exorcising malignant cursed spirits: death is often right outside the door.
What is the appropriate minimum age to watch ‘Jujutsu Kaisen?’
Although it is drawn in black and white, the Jujutsu Kaisen manga is more graphic than the anime. As a fan on Reddit wrote: “The anime is 16+ on Netflix, and since the manga is worse it should probably be R-rated […].” By contrast, Funimation and HBO Max rate the anime as TV-14 while the overall rating in the United States is TV-MA.
Most other countries, with very few exceptions, rate Jujutsu Kaisen as being appropriate for 16+ and I’d agree with this sentiment. As IMDB suggests, the most mature parts of the series have to do with violence and horror. The few instances of nudity are never explicit, there are little to no note-worthy instances of the characters consuming substances like alcohol, and when there are, all characters who engage in such behavior are of the appropriate legal age. There is some profanity, although sometimes it may have to do with the chosen translation. Likewise, there are some risqué jokes but nothing that would remotely warrant an increase in age rating.
All things considered, Jujutsu Kaisen is most appropriate for teenagers around 16 years old. But it ultimately all comes down to each individual’s maturity and tolerance for gory scenes and the occasional body horror. The first episode may be a good indicator of whether one can withstand the rest of the show. Even though it isn’t the most violently graphic episode by a long shot, it nevertheless already showcases some of the more mature aspects one can expect from this wild ride.