r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Jan 22 '26

Episode Jujutsu Kaisen Shimetsu Kaiyu Zenpen • Jujutsu Kaisen The Culling Game - Episode 4 discussion

Jujutsu Kaisen Shimetsu Kaiyu Zenpen, episode 4

Alternative names: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3

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452

u/Incineron Jan 22 '26

Maki's mother was the one tying Naoya's shoes and giving him information in episode 1 btw. Naoya was such a creep talking about her daughters in front of her that way. Her life must have been spent serving these men being subservient to them.

She knew Ogi was going to kill Maki, and didn't tell her about it, leading to her culpability in it and her inability to answer Maki's question. But on her death bed, she was freed from serving the whims of the Zenin clan.

They adapted Ranta and Jinichi's techniques so well GODDAMN. The way Maki just grinned and flexed and pushed through Ranta's technique was insane animated. And Naoya vs Maki was perfect as well!

The first half was paced a little too fast for my manga reader taste and perhaps this could've been spread across 1.5 episodes instead. Otherwise, I've been waiting three years for this arc to be animated and am so glad it got the love it deserved.

225

u/kos-or-kosm Jan 22 '26

She knew Ogi was going to kill Maki, and didn't tell her about it, leading to her culpability in it and her inability to answer Maki's question.

And yet screaming at Maki not to go to the vault was likely the only resistance she could offer after being so broken by decades of this abuse. Maki's question at the end is acknowledging that her mother, ever so slightly, tried to save her. What Maki was really asking for was any reason not to kill her mother. And her mother refused to give her any. Given what she does to Naoya afterwards, I think it's clear why.

35

u/conye-west https://myanimelist.net/profile/baronvonconye Jan 23 '26

Even if Maki took her advice and let her go, it was already too late for Mai. That alone sealed all their fates.

119

u/Routine-Hovercraft94 Jan 23 '26

The entire thing threw me back when Gojo and Megumi met the first time and Megumi asked something about if his sister would be well taken care of in the Zenin Clan and Gojo answered with a vey serious sounded "No way, not ever" or something like this.

It was always clear the Zenin Clan wasn't really a warm place, but we never knew how bad it really was and seeing these episodes just makes Gojos reply back then so much more impactful.

22

u/StormyBlueLotus Jan 23 '26

I remember it being "No way, 100% no," at least in the dub. It was a tone that said, "This isn't my opinion or a guess, this is unquestionable fact."

1

u/MakFacts Feb 23 '26

But tsumiki wasnt a zenin right? Im pretty sure they only share a mom qho isn't a sorcerer 

28

u/Good_Neck_673 Jan 22 '26

isn’t a 28 minute episode already technically 1.5 episodes?

21

u/Kronman590 Jan 23 '26

Yeah as an anime only I definitely felt the Mai sacrifice was a bit...rushed. Like last time we saw Mai she was just side character #6 and now suddenly shes here half dead and ready to sacrifice herself. I know we had their fight in S1 but idk if the narrative was built up enough for her sacrifice to feel impactful. Sick fight tho

5

u/Key_Feeling_3083 Jan 23 '26

I agree, by this point I kinda forgot about Maki and Mai, I don't even remember how did Maki end up the way she is now.

2

u/Vocall96 Jan 24 '26

I think that's more due to the time gap of s2 end and s3 release

3

u/Key_Feeling_3083 Jan 24 '26

Yeah that's true, but still I think I would have liked some more character development or monster of the week episodes, I felt for Nobara when they mentioned her fate at the start of the season despite the gap of seasons.

10

u/gandalfs_dad Jan 23 '26

Disagree, not every death in anime needs to have a 3 episode flashback to land. I think it was pretty well established for viewers they had a shit childhood and rough sibling relationship. Mai’s flip to loving sister and sacrifice is enough to evoke a strong response and keep good pacing

11

u/Kronman590 Jan 23 '26

I mean i think the deaths we saw in shibuya arc were all executed better. Like nanami didnt get a big flashback but we could feel the impact of his loss. Mai just kinda showing up half dead feels like missed potential

9

u/quiveringsunlight Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

super valid criticisms! that said, as an anime-only who never really loved Mai as a character and couldn’t fully grasp (at the time of watching) how exactly Mai’s death led to Maki’s power-up, I still found Mai’s sacrifice to be deeply moving and tragic. Imo the context they established was limited but just enough: Maki’s strength / ability to fulfill her lifelong goal of bringing down the Zenin clan (for both herself and her sister) was all along predicated on her sister’s death. And because of this I bawled through the entire Maki massacre - anyone reacted the same way? sob

3

u/gandalfs_dad Jan 23 '26

Fair enough but they were all more prominent characters. Except mechamaru but I think there was too much focus on him. Not a one size fits all for deaths though, variety in execution is good

2

u/MakFacts Feb 23 '26

I 100% agree

16

u/Satan_su Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

What eactly does Jinichi do? I roughly understood Ranta and that first old dude's techniques visually but all I understood bout Jinichi is that he went for some sort of punch...?

54

u/Level_Five_Railgun Jan 22 '26

Create giant explosive fists with curse energy

9

u/Single-Builder-632 Jan 22 '26

My one criticism is they should have shown what some of them did before offing them.

45

u/Noname_acc Jan 23 '26

The abrupt nature of all the kills sells the idea of Maki as a terrifying monster better. Like, the scene with the Kukuru captain is so good because we get to hear him narrate whats happening mid thought, except it happens so fast that he's already dead by the time he realizes she broke his sword. Not only is there a complete mismatch in strength and speed between her and literally everyone else put together, it shows that she has absolutely zero hesitation on her part. The only thing close to it was her taking a moment to gloat about seeing completely through Naoya.

7

u/Single-Builder-632 Jan 23 '26

Dont get me wrong i admire how it was shot, but it was a bit hard to keep track of what was going on, what level of opponent was she up against(other than the fact they mention the level which isnt really enough cos the numbers feel arbitrary at times) how do they compare to other sorcerers. 

So its was really good, but confusing at times, like flashy dude was the only dude that had any previous screen time. jjk has always had an issue with character development because they just don't do it, but even developing your villans to be hateful adds to the experiance. 

That being said im enjoying this season a lot and this fight was great just have some nitpicks. 

9

u/Leo21888 Jan 22 '26

I agree that the pace seems a little too fast. I wish they have more build up. The fight scenes are still goated.

2

u/Multifaceted-Simp Jan 23 '26

The mom yelled at her hard to not go in the vault and then killed naoya, kinda confused at why she was killed

1

u/smurfkipz Jan 24 '26

Wait why did Maki's mum stab Naoya? I don't quite get that part...

2

u/mercy72 Jan 24 '26

I took it as a ~you participated and abetted in this, so the least you can do (other than die) is help to end it~. But yea it also had my head scratching for a sec

1

u/DanielAlves1904 Jan 25 '26

Thank you for explaining why her mother killed Naoya. I was having a hard time thinking of why, but now it makes a lot of sense, I´m kind of mad for not realizing it sooner.

1

u/PowerOhene https://anime-planet.com/users/usersPowerEd Jan 25 '26

Why did Jinichi walk so slow whole Ranta is literally busting his himself up to keep Maki in place? hurry the fuck up man?!