You are listening to the After Hours Arc, your
new anime podcast. My name is Antai, and I'll
be your host. In this podcast, join me as I review,
recap, and relive anime, one arc at a time. In
today's episode, we have another Jujutsu Kaisen
Season 3 recap. Today is going to be Episode
9, Tokyo Colony, Number 1, Part 3. And now I
was super excited because, you know, in our last
episode, we ended with Reggie, Fushiguro, and
Remy dealing with their deal. And then we had
Yuji and Higuruma about to throw down. And we
had ended with Kenjaku meeting with some important
people. So I was very excited to see this domain
expansion because, again, It literally happened
and before I could get excited, we were past
it. So this episode was all about Yuji and Higuruma.
There's no other cutting back and forth between
like Fushiguro or Hikari or anybody. And I really
appreciated that because as much as I enjoy it
and I find it very satisfying to watch. I felt
like I was able to focus on Higuruma a little
more. And he is such a focal character. Splitting
him up with Reggie didn't really do it for me.
I really feel that it would have been better
to have gotten an episode like this. But they
gave it to us anyways, so I really can't complain.
Right away, this scene is intense. Because, you
know, Yuji is trying to take him out. And you
can see the domain forming and I really enjoyed
watching it. Yuji is a second too slow because
he goes to punch him and he just like freezes.
Apparently, like acts of violence aren't allowed
in this domain. And like for both of them though.
So, you know, Yuji isn't at a disadvantage per
se. And I will say that that like Shikigami Judge
Man that Higuruma... summons he is creepy as
fuck with like sewn eyelids and even just the
voice it was so creepy and especially when it
started to talk to yuji and it starts saying
to him like what he's being accused of specifically
entering these like parlors like under 18 Of
course, like Yuji is like flashing back. The
judge is right. But, you know, it's Yuji's reaction
that does it for me. He is shaking and his knees
are buckling. But we find out that the judge
knows everything about anybody that is within
this domain. But like Higuruma tries to give
Yuji some like peace of mind. He's telling him
like this info is known by the judge, but it
isn't shared with him. verdict is going to be
decided but like it's by both of their arguments
so he ends up having this envelope and it is
clearly glowing with cursed energy he says that
this evidence is like the exception to that he's
like when did you get that and i was thinking
the same thing he just pulled this out of nowhere
so again this evidence has to do with his judgment
shikigami And apparently it provides this evidence
for any case. And it was really amazing to watch
Higuruma's cursed technique match his life and
personality so well. It was really fun to watch.
And we aren't totally screwed yet because Higuruma
also admits that there's no guarantee that the
evidence is going to confirm what the charges
are. but he also doesn't plan on telling Yuji
like what it says now Yuji has to present his
case in order to like clear his name and to succeed
he needs to get an innocent verdict and Yuji
is starting to really take notice of this whole
court inspired like curse technique he notices
some pin on Higuruma that confirms for Yuji that
this dude was like a defense lawyer But he's
noting that Higuruma is actually acting more
like a prosecutor. Again, it was really cool
to see his whole backstory tied into his curse
technique. I really thoroughly enjoyed that.
And as Yuji is starting to process this whole
situation, we do get a little bit of an explanation
from Tengen, right? So we find out that... domains
i guess used to be a much more like standard
skill for past sorcerers and i guess that is
because they lacked this guaranteed kill element
and i guess you know this is found in a lot of
modern domains so the gist of what like i got
from this is his domain is founded on packs preventing
like Deadly attacks, you know, physical harm.
And like it has to have some explanation of its
rules, I believe, to activate. And like throughout
the whole episode, they kept having this like
spotlight effect. And I really appreciated that.
I found it very enjoyable to watch. But apparently
you will get like one chance to make your statement.
And in keeping it fair, it applies to Higuruma
as well. But like after Yuji makes this statement,
you know, Higuruma will get one chance for a
rebuttal and he can use that envelope of evidence.
and we also get an explanation that the judgment
will say his verdict and it's an accordance to
like six codes though i am not sure what they
are i think they have to do with like their legal
system and their laws so i have no clue what
the six codes are but when yuji asks what happens
if he's found guilty and higuruma is like i have
no obligation to answer that but he does tell
him that he has three options so his first option
would be silence the second option would be a
confession and then his third option is denial
this part was really important to understand
like higuruma's whole mindset and motives because
denial may include like false statements apparently
even yuji is like i can lie like like in court
And we have Higuruma saying that like if everybody
had told the truth, then we wouldn't need trials.
And, you know, the different angles and the lighting
in this whole episode. Oh, my God. It just really
set the scene. So now we have Yuji and he is
having this like self -discussion with himself
about like he did go to that parlor. He played
games and he might have even won some money.
And Yuji's main concern, which it should be,
is that envelope. It was definitely fun to watch
him play out all these different scenarios. And
so he ends up admitting that he entered the parlor.
But he lies. He says it's because he had to poop
and he had to go in and borrow their bathroom.
He is trying to leave like the best impression
and like trying to use, I believe, like extenuating
circumstances to his like benefit. But now it's
like her room is turned and he opens the envelope.
and it's a photo of yuji or maybe it was a disc
i'm not sure but it looked like yuji like a picture
of him and even yuji is just like oh he's like
would you agree that like the build and appearance
of this person matches yuji and what it is is
it's it's footage from a security camera and
it's like about a cash exchange and it really
just shows that yuji's bathroom excuse Really
isn't worth believing. He explains that Yuji's
crime is technically criminal trespassing. And
I guess in Japan, they prohibit gambling? I'm
not entirely sure what that whole law was, but
he is explaining... That, like, all Yuji needed
to say was that he, like, didn't recognize the
parlor and, like, denies the charge. But then
he, like, realizes we haven't even gotten the
verdict yet. So he starts whacking that damn
gavel again. And the judgment says guilty. And
then they're back in the theater. So, like, immediately
Higuruma just goes for Yuji. Like, I was not
expecting him to be so fast. And... His gavel
kept like growing and he was like knocking Yuji
all over the place. He can also make it like
disappear and reappear and it almost at one point
seemed like he could produce so many of them.
You know and Higurama is just like wow like Yuji
is strong because he ends up getting his cursed
energy like blocked with the first judge ruling.
What happened with his guilty verdict is it's
supposed to remove your cursed technique. Well,
since Yuji doesn't have a technique, it removed
his ability to use cursed energy. And Higuruma
is like, wow, Yuji's really strong. And even
Yuji's like, this is the only thing I got going
for me. I love self -awareness in people. About
halfway through the episode now... We get a flashback
to Higuruma and, you know, it is showing like
how hard he works and basically how all these
people are whispering how he's a genius. But
apparently his talent as a sorcerer is what makes
him shine. So his technique, it came with his
domain, like by default. But by analyzing that.
I guess he also learned like the fundamentals
of barriers. And I guess he worked like backwards
from that. And he was able to like, I guess,
intuitively know how to just manipulate cursed
energy. and use it for his own physical enhancement.
And I guess this is under two weeks of being
awoken. He has grown strong enough to be compared
to a grade one sorcerer, I believe they said.
And like, I guess before even entering the colony,
Higuruma had like exercised a lot of cursed spirits
and he took down over 20 players who attacked
him. So this fight has been honestly fantastic.
When he used his gavel, he made it long enough
to like reach Yuji. Again, it was just so amazing
to watch his skill. I wasn't sure how like much
of a fighter Higuruma was going to be, but he
is a fucking beast. But what I love is when Higuruma
realizes this, he cannot understand how Yuji
is able to hold his own against him without cursed
energy. And Yuji's struggling, but he's trying
to figure out with Higuruma what his disadvantage
could be. And he does finally figure it out.
And he says to Higuruma he wants a retrial. And
then back to the trial stands we go. And, like,
I couldn't believe how fast it ended. So, like,
I guess as long as the person that the judge
found guilty was, like, penalized and doesn't
admit their guilt, they can apparently demand
up to two retrials. And I guess the judge man,
Shikigami, like, can't refuse. So then he stands
accused of mass murder because of the Shibuya
incident. And as soon as the judge man started
like dropping this accusation, my heart sank.
This has been such an issue for Yuji. He's been
having such a hard time with this. So I was really
interested to see what his reaction was going
to be. And he just straight up goes, uh, yep,
I did. It's not a lie and I won't deny it. I
was like, ah, dude. And, you know, the guilty
verdict was just as creepy. Those sewn eyes,
they, like, rip open. And the confiscation, the
penalty, this time is death. So, and again, you
know, Yuji is just like, whatever. He has come
to terms that, like, he is this mass murderer.
Even though, you know, we all know it was Sukuna,
but whatever. And we do get another Higuruma
flashback. We're met with some old man. I'm assuming
it's his boss. But like the more and more I watched
the scene, I think it was one of those important
men Kenjaku was like talking to in the last episode.
I am not positive, but like I think it is. And
like in this flashback, they're talking about
how, you know, Higuruma wanted to be a prosecutor
or a defense attorney. This guy asks him to try
and become a judge. The contrast between the
flashback and where we're at now has been absolutely
insane to watch. The way they have done this
animation has been... So satisfying for me. So
getting back to this death penalty, though, this
is apparently the heaviest and most severe sentence
that that judge man can make. Higuruma gets granted
this like glowing executioner's sword, you know,
and Tengen is describing like in the background,
or I think it's Tengen. It sounds like Tengen.
But they're saying that like anybody cut by this
sword apparently and like without exception will
die. And we really start to understand how Higuruma's
brain like actually works. He is comparing like
the weakness of victims and criminals. And he's
like processing how this has been like a revolving
door for him again. This whole episode has been
so tense. And Yuji goes after him. And like during
this, we're seeing his answer of not becoming
a judge. Higuruma's like flashback. And you know,
Yuji, he's so smart. He tricks him. He like takes
off his shirt and like throws it in the air.
So Higuruma is like going for that, thinking
it's Yuji. And then we have Yuji showing up behind
him like midair. And so I guess the evidence
is also shared with Higuruma before he opens
the envelope. And he is so mad at Yuji because
like Yuji admitted guilt. But like the evidence
that the judge provided was all about Sukuna.
He is mad at Yuji because Yuji didn't kill them,
which again, like we all sort of feel that way.
But like right at the impact, the sword disappears
and like Yuji hits him so hard in the gut and
he just goes flying. And Higuruma is explaining
to Yuji that, like, since Sukuna had taken control
of him, he's innocent based on, like, certain
codes. Again, I don't know all six of them, but
it was based off of something like that. And
he is so dumbfounded that, like, Yuji admitted
guilt. But, like, Yuji gets real and says that
even so, he still considers it his fault because
he was too weak. This obviously touches some
part of Higuruma because like when Yuji tells
him this Higuruma is like having some self -discovery
and he's like saying something along the lines
of like returning to his roots. He tells him
to get dressed and to sit and then he'll give
him the hundred points. So they sit face to face
and they do have like this little heart to heart.
Higuruma asks Yuji if he's ever like killed on
purpose. And Yuji says, yes, he has. It was so
intense. There was this like long pause and Higuruma
is just like, I see. And he says it felt absolutely
awful, didn't it? And again, I'm pretty sure
he killed like the judge and somebody in that
like last court scene we had seen when he had
like awoken as a sorcerer. So this dude clearly
has some regrets. going into the colony game
and he's kind of like a similar Yuji in a way
to me. Like I feel like their storylines are
going to work so well together. I am so excited
that they're about to get into like working together
hopefully. It was an insane insane fight. I could
not have been more excited for the way they portrayed
everything and the angles. Oh my god, it was
so good. And again, I am very happy that they
kept this to just Yuji and Higuruma. It was so
nice to get to really focus on him and see him
as a character. I've been getting too many characters
at once to really get a feel for them from a
first impression. I'm very, very happy with how
this episode went. And I'm assuming episode 10
is going to be the Reggie and Fushiguro fight.
I'm assuming they're going to fight. Other than
that, this was a pretty full episode. So I think
I enjoyed it much more than last week. Last week's
episode was probably one of my least favorites
of what has been aired during this current season.
That is my recap for Season 3, Episode 9, Tokyo
Colony No. 1, Part 3. As always, I have recaps
coming out for this series every Friday, the
day after the newest episode. And I am also uploading
on Tuesdays a series, season, deep dive, review,
recap vibe. I'm not super technical. I'm not
diving into every single character. You know,
it's not that serious. I just like to get into
some of the shows I enjoy and talk about why
I enjoy them and like what parts I don't. So
thank you for tuning in. Hopefully you enjoyed
this episode. Until next time, I'll see you then.