“I am come here again” – Master Salt, “the divine protector” who is eight hundred years old and can “never fall in love” because her job is to drag demonic curses to hell.
If you want to summon “Master Salt” to aid your curse, then you have to hold a ritual at 7:07 p.m. just like the teen girls of the occult club did at Tokyo’s Kamono Girls’ High School.
On 7 October 2022, The Divine Protector – Master Salt Begins has been released in Japan. This movie is going to give you some relevant experience of “Jujutsu Kaisen” with the concept of curses and curse energies but with a unique vibe.
“A selfish mind that keeps seeking what you want even at the cost of other’s happiness; That is a curse”.
There are a few young high school girls at the center of the story: Saya Fukunaga stars as Nanako, along with Kokoro Nishiwaki, Hiraku, and Rino Otaki, her friends. Nanako has been affected by enigmatic occurrences and they require assistance to get rid of demon spirits from their lives.
Purified salt is used to make a pentagon and a circle, and a sealed envelope with a written wish is burned. With a gust of wind, a mysterious woman in a hakama appears out of nowhere.
And here is our Master Salt (Rin Kijima) who is aware of the problem and uses magic to drive the devil away.
If you have watched the movie, then you have asserted that adversary doesn’t come from the outside world but rather the demons that dwell within us as a result of our devastating flaws, selfishness, hypocrisy, and blind sentimentalism that hinder the human virtue of learning to live in peace and love.
The movie is totally based on some religious faith in Buddha which explains our inability to let go of any superficiality or materialism.
Director, Hiroshi Akabane along with production companies Nikkatsu and Tokyo Theatres Co, Inc. has drawn a beautiful sketch of peace through an illustrative teen drama movie. One would learn that the world is full of people who curse other people through several examples.
A businessman who commits domestic violence, a professor at a university who denies the spiritual beliefs of the students, intimidates them by threatening to fail them, and Tendo Group’s son and successor’s scandal; The squad of divine protectors resolves this all out.
What’s wrong with “The Divine Protector”?
Overall the drama is good to teach youth about their belief to keep peace in the world but here are some points that may be unliked by the audience.
It might not be the best idea to explain its philosophy through a funny, campy, and clearly ridiculous action movie.
The initial case of a schoolgirl’s issue makes some sense to be the “Master Salt” and could be considered as a curse on Nanako that made her haunted and faint at school with strangulation marks on her neck. But if we talk about other ordinary people, it seems fake.
A husband beats her wife, a rich young man cheats on many girls, an atheist professor denies spiritual things, and an old lady is fooled by fraudsters, because of having a curse, doesn’t make any sense.
But what’s the cure for these kinds of people? Do calling Master Salt a solution? Or considering science as an excuse for not believing in god; Is okay?
Watch the trailer below:
Official Synopsis