Jujutsu Kaisen is a modern giant of anime. In and out of its genre, JJK has stood out as a masterpiece of modern story-telling and its award-winning anime series can be seen as the crown jewel of its success. Jujutsu Kaisen is phenomenal for a lot of reasons, but the two biggest are its humor and brutality, and the series blends the two perfectly.

Not many shows can pull off such different emotions well, maintaining an overall serious theme while having genuinely funny, lighthearted moments.

The Elusive Samurai has emerged as a sneaky successor to JJK. It's a series that marries humor with violence very well too, creating a captivating experience only Yuji Itadori and the gang could create. The Elusive Samurai was a hit manga series before getting its anime adaptation, and it looks to pick up directly where Jujutsu Kaisen left off.

Jujutsu Kaisen and The Elusive Samurai Are Hilarious

The Best Jokes Are Always Unexpected

Jujutsu Kaisen and The Elusive Samurai, overall, tell serious stories. Jujutsu Kaisen is centered around Yuji Itadori's battles against Cursed Spirits and Evil sorcerers bent on making the world a worse place. The Elusive Samurai picks up right after main character Tokiyuki Hojo's clan was betrayed and slaughtered, leaving him with nothing but revenge on his mind. In between all this hatred and violence, each series finds ways to create some of the funniest moments in all of anime. One of the funniest moments in Jujutsu Kaisen happens after Yuji, Megumi, and Kugisaki secure one of Sukuna's fingers.

Megumi specifically tells Yuji not to eat it. Yuji already knows that and is thinking to himself that Megumi needs to get off his back when Sukuna takes the opportunity to transform part of Yuji's body into a mouth to consume the finger and regain part of his power. Kugisaki and Megumi get hilariously angry with Yuji, but there was nothing he could have done. The trio's banter with each other takes them and the audience through the hardest moments in the series, allowing them to reflect and enjoy at least a brief moment before the next battle.

The Elusive Samurai uses humor in the same way. Tonally, it's a lighter series in general, but The Elusive Samurai does use humor in very dark areas to lighten the mood. Some of the funniest moments in the series happen during the darkest, like when Tokiyuki loses his will to live, so Yorishige pushes him into a mountain of enemies to test that theory. Tokiyuki bounces through his opponents, regaining his will to live and adding much-needed humor to the show.

The Elusive Samurai and JJK Are Brutal

Neither Series Pulls Any Punches

Jujutsu Kaisen is incredibly unforgiving. There are several moments throughout the series that are built to trick the viewer, lulling them into a false sense of safety. That's when JJK is at its most brutal. There aren't many more moments more memorable for their sheer brutality and dread than season one of Jujutsu Kaisen when Mahito tricks Junpei, turning him into an ex-human monster right in front of Yuji. Junpei believed in Mahito and had spent the previous couple of episodes hanging out with him. When he got to Yuji and Mahito's fight, he thought he could mediate. Instead, he was insulted and turned into a monster unceremoniously.

The Elusive Samurai is no stranger to brutality as well. Like JJK, The Elusive Samurai is good at getting a viewer to lower their guard before subjecting them to pure sadness. The series started out brutal, as the Hojo clan was betrayed by their retainers and summarily annihilated. The first episode shows Takiyuki talking to all of his friends, including his prospective wife and half-brother. They're fun characters that have a lot of potential and could probably add a lot of value to Takiyuki and his story. Unfortunately, the next time either is seen, they're dead.

Takiyuki's potential girlfriend, Kiyoko, is shown violated and brutally slain next to her father who committed suicide, failing to protect his very young daughter. Takiyuki's brother was betrayed by their uncle, who sold the 9-year-old boy out to his enemies for pennies. Both of these deaths happen within the first two episodes, highlighting the overall tone the show is going to have and also showing that the series isn't afraid to shy away from serious topics.

Both Have Incredible Art Styles

Yuji and Tokiyuki Stand out Thanks to Their Art Direction

While both series have their biggest similarities in their humor and their brutality, they also share unique art directions. Whether it's Yuji's glowing black flash, Gojo-sensei fighting multiple Cursed Spirits with a myriad of colors, or Toji coming back from the dead to continue his onslaught, every episode of Jujutsu Kaisen is beautifully animated with bright colors and exciting designs.

The Elusive Samurai also has some exciting scenes through its animation. Tokiyuki is usually adorned in bright outfits, or he's running through fiery battlefields animated with lively reds and oranges. Some of The Elusive Samurai's brightest colors come from Yorishige's headdress, which he also uses as a joke to bring Tokiyuki's spirit up and further sell the fact that he's connected to the gods. Even in between scenes, The Elusive Samurai uses interesting art direction to stand out from other anime in its genre.