The modern Dark Trio in anime is like the spiritual successor to the original shonen Big Three, and that trio is made up of Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Hell's Paradise. All three are excellent shonen action series that got lumped together as dark, bloody, and somewhat subversive anime series with distinct horror elements. All three of them have their respective strengths and found ways to stand out in this trio.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a slick fantasy action anime starring the hero Yuji Itadori, a teenage boy who gained the powers of curses and sorcery one fateful night as Ryomen Sukuna's new vessel. Now he must fight curses and protect humanity with his incredible powers, which launched the anime adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, Yuji and his friends explored fascinating themes and had experiences that no one in Hell's Paradise and Chainsaw Man ever did.
10 Jujutsu Kaisen Has Schools
Other shonen action series like My Hero Academia and Bleach depict their heroes in high school, expertly blending fantasy combat with homeroom and homework. However, in the Dark Trio, only Jujutsu Kaisen uses this storytelling element. Denji hardly even went to school at all, and Gabimaru is a ninja who doesn't need a diploma.
Meanwhile, Jujutsu Kaisen started in an ordinary Japanese high school, only for a monstrous curse to go on a rampage, thus Megumi Fushiguro's arrival on the scene. When Yuji gained his sorcery powers, he transferred to the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, one of several schools for teenage sorcerers.
9 Jujutsu Kaisen Has a Compelling OP Hero
Some anime series have a blatantly overpowered hero, one who's exponentially stronger than everyone else with powers that make every fight a foregone conclusion. When written correctly, characters like these are compelling and exciting rather than predictable, and that's why anime fans love Jujutsu Kaisen.
Even if Yuji Itadori is the protagonist, many anime fans are more interested in the goofy, likable, and massively OP Satoru Gojo, and there's no character quite like that in Chainsaw Man or Hell's Paradise. In fact, it's often a challenge for author Gege Akutami to write suspenseful storylines with such an OP hero around.
8 Jujutsu Kaisen Has a Tournament Arc
Tournament arcs are an anime staple for the likes of Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, and even Naruto and One Piece, though the Dark Trio isn't as keen on them. Chainsaw Man and Hell's Paradise have no tournament arcs so far, but Jujutsu Kaisen had one, albeit brief.
The Tokyo and Kyoto sorcery school students competed to capture curses in an outdoor arena, but they largely ignored the curses and attacked one another, such as Yuji's battle with Aoi Todo and Nobara Kugisaki facing off against Momo Nishimiya. Then, the curse villains attacked, ending the tournament early.
7 Jujutsu Kaisen Has a Substantial Flashback Arc
Some anime series indulge in lengthy flashback arcs to flesh out a certain character's backstory, such as showing how a villain rose to power. Chainsaw Man and Hell's Paradise are light on flashbacks, and neither has a full-blown flashback arc, but Jujutsu Kaisen's second season certainly has such an arc.
The first few episodes of JJK Season 2 focused on a teenage Satoru Gojo and his friend-turned-enemy, Suguru Geto. That fascinating arc also introduced Megumi's villainous father Toji, who personally fought Satoru Gojo and lost to him.
6 Jujutsu Kaisen Has a Prequel Movie
So far, Jujutsu Kaisen is the only Dark Trio anime to get a full-length movie, and that movie takes place entirely in the past. The feature-length Jujutsu Kaisen 0 ignores Yuji's team entirely and instead stars Yuta Okkotsu, who has a curse friend named Rika, and she is fiercely protective of him.
The Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie was an outstanding semi-independent feature that explored the JJK world in exciting and often tragic ways. Fans also got to see much more of the crowd-pleasing Toge Inumaki, who put his voice-based sorcery to good use time and again.
5 Jujutsu Kaisen Has Major Animal Characters
For a brief time, the Chainsaw Man anime also had an "animal" character, the canine Chainsaw Devil Pochita, but Jujutsu Kaisen is the only Dark Trio anime to make the most of this concept. Partway through Season 1, fans met the sorcerer student Panda, who appears to be a real-life talking, combat-ready panda.
Panda wasn't a joke character or a Pikachu-style mascot, however. He is an artificial being with a serious character arc about his origins and self-perception, allowing him to explore the curse world in unique ways. This personal theme of Panda's became even more resonant when he fought Mechamaru in the Tokyo-Kyoto tournament.
4 Jujutsu Kaisen Has Post-Episode Skits
For most anime series, the action is over once the ending credits roll, but the Jujutsu Kaisen anime has another trick up its sleeve. Unlike Hell's Paradise and Chainsaw Man, this anime will treat patient viewers to a fun after-credits skit at the end of most episodes.
These skits don't comment much on Jujutsu Kaisen's most serious theme and character arcs, but they are still a delightful way to get to know these characters better with fluff details. Most of these skits center around Yuji, Nobara, Megumi, and Satoru, but a few also involve the villains, who are always silly rather than serious in these bonus scenes.
3 Jujutsu Kaisen Makes The Combat System Emotional
All three Dark Trio anime series have cool quirks in their combat system, such as the regenerating villains of Hell's Paradise and devil contracts in Chainsaw Man. For its part, Jujutsu Kaisen took the creative step of making human emotions relevant to its combat system.
Plenty of anime heroes get stronger when they're intensely emotional, but Jujutsu Kaisen is the only dark trio anime to make it official. Curses and curse energy are derived from negative human emotions, so naturally, sorcerers can power up if they channel their negative feelings such as anger, guilt, and grief.
2 Jujutsu Kaisen Has a Power Ranking System For Enemies
Each anime in the Dark Trio features supernatural monsters for the heroes to fight, but it's only Jujutsu Kaisen that gives those monsters an official grading system. Early on, this anime provided some simple exposition concerning the curse grading system, with Grade 4 curses being the weakest and Special Grades being the strongest.
So far, Yuji and his friends have mostly fought Special Grade curses, and already, Grade 4, 3, and 2 curses are too weak to properly challenge the heroes. Still, it's a fine idea to make the monster power levels official, so the heroes know what they're in for and get a feeling of dread when a Special Grade curse arrives.
1 Jujutsu Kaisen Takes Place In a Modern Setting
Among the Dark Trio, only Jujutsu Kaisen takes place in the present day. Hell's Paradise is a historical anime where samurai and wooden boats are the norm, and Chainsaw Man takes place in an alternate timeline around 1997, in a world where the Soviet Union is still together and devils roam the earth.
This makes Jujutsu Kaisen the only Dark Trio anime to have a completely familiar setting, complete with shiny new cars and smartphones. That fact doesn't often have much bearing on the plot, but at least that makes Jujutsu Kaisen's world a comfortingly realistic setting—aside from the curses and sorcery mayhem, anyway.
