The Supernatural Fighting Anime Hidden Gem That You Can Watch On HBO Max

The sheer influx of quality anime on streaming services can make it difficult for your eyes to keep up with all the viewing opportunities. In 2021, HBO Max alone has brought you great stuff like "Weathering with You" and "Promare," and it looks like the streamer has no plans to stop giving fans some of the coolest anime works out there. In fact, the service has some pretty great surprises in its genre array. 

It's probably fair to say that most anime fans are familiar with the classics, like "One Piece," and the Studio Ghibli movies. However, there's a real pleasure in finding shows that are just below that level of cultural notoriety — something seriously cool that you might not have been aware is even available on your streaming service. If you share this mindset, you might be thrilled to find out about the supernatural fighting anime hidden gem that you can watch on HBO Max.  

"Jujutsu Kaisen" is on HBO Max, and if you're not familiar with the name yet ... well, you're in for a pretty massive treat. Per CBR, Gege Akutami's manga version of the story fights the super-popular "Demon Slayer" for the top spot on bestseller lists, with close to 24 million books sold between November 23, 2020 and May 23, 2021. To put that number in full context, the well-known "Attack on Titan" managed a little over 4.6 million copies over the same time period.  

The manga has been running since 2018 and the anime series debuted in 2020, so it's still very young, and might very well get to ride the crest of global cultural zeitgeist before long. Now, then, is the perfect time to jump in the "Jujutsu Kaisen" wagon before the world catches up, and HBO Max has made it extremely easy for all. 

As always, it's best to start your "Jujutsu Kaisen" experience without knowing any plot details, but the general plotlines revolve around the concept of cursed energy: A distilled force of negative emotions that leaks out of people and creates demon-like Curses. Sometimes, the assorted manipulations of this power result in unmentionable monsters. Other times, you get one of the coolest pandas (voiced by Tomokazu Seki) in all of fiction. The Jujutsu Sorcerers, including the heroic Yuji Itadori (Junya Enoki), have learned to harness the energy, in order to bring the fight back to the Curses. It's all pretty awesome.

If you're into gorgeous, supernatural anime battles with a generous helping of dark fantasy elements — and who isn't? — "Jujutsu Kaisen" is streaming on HBO Max.