Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Episode 18 Recap – Sage

Great Clan Members

Megumi evades Noritoshi’s arrows as they fight inside a castle. These arrows imbued with cursed energy can easily change directions. Megumi’s frog shikigami helps him thwart the attacks.

Noritoshi’s power is blood manipulation which he uses on his arrows. He notes Megumi’s power is one of the Zenin clans‘ ability to summon ten shikigami.

Noritoshi shoots his last arrow as a distraction and comes in for close combat. When he opens his eyes, a streak of blood scars shows itself. Blood manipulation can also enhance the physical attributes of a person, a power up akin to doping.

Kasumi feels powerless after Maki stole her sword. Toge calls her using Mechamaru’s phone and puts her to sleep, but then he notices an ominous presence behind him.

Seeing this, Utahime wants to go and retrieve Kasumi for her safety.

In a flashback, Gakuganji enlists a Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit to help kill Yuji. He gives a whistle that can control the curse to Noritoshi. Mixing the blood vial in the whistle with Yuji’s scent will make him its sole target. Gakuganji knows fighting with Todo will leave Yuji broken, so he hopes the Grade 1 curse can seal the deal.

Intruders

Toge readies his technique as he sees the Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, but its head falls to the ground. Hanami arrives to face him instead. Mahito and the others get ready to attack.

In a flashback, we learn of Noritoshi’s struggles as an illegitimate son of the Kamo clan. He became its heir after the clan couldn’t produce a male successor. His fistfight against Megumi continues with him breaking the latter’s tonfas.

He sympathizes with him as a fellow great clan descendant. Yet he vows to kill Yuji by his own will, as befitting of the Kamo Family.

Megumi denies his clan, owing to his failings in the past. A frog appears to distract Noritoshi. He then summons an elephant to blast him out of the windows and calls in Nue to electrocute him, but Noritoshi isn’t done.

Noritoshi constricts Nue with a blood technique, but their fight gets cut when a large tree juts out of their background. Toge arrives and tells them to run.

The cameras are cut out in the conference room, and all the low-grade curses suspiciously die. They guess the barriers have failed and intruders have arrived. They all mobilize to assess the emergency.

Juzo: a cursed user with an axe creates a veil around the school. Gojo rushes in to stop it, but he’s too late. He gets pushed back when he tries to get in, but only with him. The enemy is highly-skilled and knows of their abilities. Utahime and Gakuganji enter to fight. Inside, they immediately sense the Special Grade’s presence.

Juzo meets them both, but Gakuganji volunteers to take care of him. The old man takes out his guitar and plays a sick riff.

Hanami faces Toge, Megumi, and Noritoshi on the school grounds. The students wonder what’s happening. Megumi recognizes Hanami from Gojo’s description. They try to call the teachers, but Hanami attacks them. A fight ensues with three against one, but Hanami proves to be very durable.

Hanami asks them to stop, saying she only wants to protect this planet. Its oceans and skies are crying, and they can’t coexist with humans. She’s the cursed spirit of the forest who wants to eliminate them.

Our Thoughts

I was really enjoying the semi-tournament arc, but this invasion comes in nowhere. I wanted closure in the fight between Megumi and Kamo, but we didn’t get a satisfying one. Hopefully, guitar grandpa and this new battle makes up for it. I rate this 3.5/5.