The Anime Jujutsu Kaisen is set in a fantasy version of our real, modern world. No wonder there are a few Easter eggs related to reality.
What does Jujutsu Kaisen have to do with Studio Ghibli? In the current episode of Season 3, protagonist Yuji Itadori manages to win Kinji Hakari as an ally. He is supposed to help them in the slaughter games.
Hakari is an eccentric character. At the beginning of the episode, he expresses how sad he feels. He uses a specific comparison: He hasn’t been this sad in a long time since Yakul got an arrow in the rear.
Many of you might know Yakul as the mount of protagonist Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke, a film by Studio Ghibli. In a dramatic scene, the mount gets shot with an arrow in the rear and is injured so badly that it can only limp.
The scene left many fans saddened back then, including Hakari. Because Yakul is a loyal and devoted companion that always follows his master. With this statement, Hakari confirms that the Ghibli films actually exist in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Fans love the subtle reference
What do fans say about it? On Reddit, user Sameul_ is glad that this Easter egg exists. For him, it is one of his favorites in the entire manga realm. Other users also write that they find it great because it is such a niche reference.
In this Easter egg, Princess Mononoke is not even mentioned, yet the mention of Yakul brings a heartwarming joke. For some users, Yakul is even the best character from the Ghibli anime.
This shows another user what a great life Hakari must have led if he has seen Princess Mononoke.
What kind of film is it? Princess Mononoke was released in 1997. The center of the story is the conflict between humans and nature. Humans want to extract resources, and nature wants to defend itself. Various fantasy beings appear in the film, seeming as though they came straight out of a fairy tale.
Princess Mononoke is actually the girl San, who was raised by wolves. She stands on the side of nature and one day meets the young Ashitaka. He tries to mediate between the two parties.
According to IMDb, Princess Mononoke is one of the best Ghibli films of all time. Only two other films rank above the Forest Princess. Which animes those are, you can find out in the following article on MeinMMO: All Ghibli films ranked by IMDb
