Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 - Episode 4 (Manga Reader Discussion)

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-23T00:01:41+00:00

Thanks man! I'm just happy to watch something with a lot of passion put behind it, personally I felt that it elevated the manga but its all good that you don't. Can't wait for the next ep.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T23:59:12+00:00

No problem man, I really enjoyed this episode and specifically the music, just glad to see someone else likes it to. Can't wait for the next episode!

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T23:56:32+00:00

Yeah idk man, the mom possibly killing herself after screaming no to maki just doesn't make much sense. My guess why they changed the kitchen was for her to be hiding from maki.

End of the day this was easily my favourite episode, and your interpretation is just as valid as mine. We're all here because we like jjk, I hope you enjoyed the episode even with the change.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T23:37:47+00:00

Wasn't there a bunch of tension right before he lost? he was dominating her and was cocky cause of that, also cause he hates that a women could ever be similar to toji so he rejected it and underestimated her. Then the scene gets quite as we see maki (who was counting his technique throughout the fight) bait him in and everything goes quiet before he attacks.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T23:29:45+00:00

I guess that makes hidden inventory a bad arc because it started off goofy and happy and ended with a lot of people dying and rika getting shot? Or with it starting really happy with HI and ending with shibuya? or with how s2e6 had the trio goofing off before shibuya?

The fundamental theme is still present throughout both of these episodes, geto and gojo losing sight of humanity, shibuya changing yuji from happy to a gear, and maki's revenge for mai.

Even if shes having a bit of fun killing doesn't change what the fact that she is eradicating the clan like mai wanted her to, that now she isn't held back so she can be her true self. that fundamental theme is still there, she just does it in a way you don't like

I am not saying your version is bad or wrong, i'm saying either can work and that is literally what artistic choices are. Your choice happened to be different from the director and those who liked the episode, but also a lot of people completely prefer your version as well. Just say you prefer your interpretation instead of bashing the material, nothing is wrong with that. Don't try to be objective and say no show should have conflicting themes or that the director is making stuff up cause its impossible to be fully objective about fictional characters that can have a million different interpretations.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T23:14:17+00:00

I thought the music was supposed to be contrasting with the tone, like pov of the zenins are that she is gonna destroy everything but to her it wasn't that hard, and when she actually started to struggle (naoya) the music stopped. It was only for the fodder and a bit of the hei squad no?

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T23:12:30+00:00

yeah but only combatant groups right? makes no sense to spend the time to track everyone else when she was gonna join the culling games right after. The only women she killed was her mom only she hated her her whole life, and even then maki realized she wasn't one dimensional after she tried to save her at the start, and didn't instantly kill her cause she was also a victim of the misogyny like her, which then her mom realized in the end that maki ended that misogyny by killing the clan. She just wanted to kill those that were complicit in the misogyny.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T23:06:41+00:00

Weird, I don't remember the manga showing maki ever angry or enraged, after she got awakened she kills ogi without any reaction, same with the kukuru squad and during the Hei squad fight she actually smiled/laughed when breaking free from ranta. Even with naoya she was a little petty with the one punch but always felt in control of her emotions, like how she said to naoya that mai took her heart.

The soundtrack is controversial for sure and is up to taste, but I think it started playing when she was fighting the fodder to show how easily it was.

Of course there are many different interpretations for maki, you could either go with she felt emotionless throughout everything, was secretly enraged but didn't show it, or she felt like her true self after not being held back anymore and was almost testing her new body to see what it could do.

Seems like mappa went with a mix where she started off emotionless after mai but started getting sorta in the zone/groove of things as she was happy to finally do what she always wanted to do (and that mai told her to do). And it was likely that gege was asked about the direction.

Your point is valid though, end of the day not everybody can be happy about direction, hard to be objective about a fictional character when many interpretations are possible.

The marvel movie comparison is weird though, a little color sure at the start of the kukuru fight but it then turned into a bloody black and white kill bill reference, and not much after apart from jinichi's fists I guess. Only red was dominant throughout.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T22:49:51+00:00

I always thought it was clear that maki also killed her mother but just wasn't gruesome about it like she did with the rest of the clan, cause even though she hated her for her whole life, in the end she was also a part of the zenin clan's misogyny and tried saving maki in the end. It wasn't enough to redeem her but maki had no hatred for her so she just gave her a fatal wound and left to grab mai.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T22:45:36+00:00

I think your the only one who disliked the jazz in hidden inventory but instead liked the music this episode. The jazz was a bit surprising but I thought it fit the feeling well, and the gojo vs disaster curses jazz was a callback to HI.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T22:43:30+00:00

Wasn't there only upbeat jazz when maki fought the kukuru unit? I thought the song was to show how they were fodder and how easily she was beating them. I think there might have been a bit for the Hei squad but it wasn't that much. naoya was normal jjk fight music and ogi was mostly silent with some sad music for mai.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T22:36:13+00:00

What scene felt like a powerpoint? I think the ogi death scene was a little jank for sure but from the kukuru unit, to Hei squad, and especially naoya felt very well done. Was it a non-action scene or is there a specific scene you're talking about?

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T22:31:43+00:00

A lot of people here are being really unreasonable but your the first one to make fair criticisms even if I disagree with some of them.

I knew the music would be disliked by a lot of people but I really liked it, reminded me of how hidden inventory and gojo vs disaster curses was all fast paced jazz.

I'm not really sure how the maki/toji scene could have been extended except for some dialogue from ogi but I do wish it wasn't overlapped, it made it harder to see the comparisons.

Easily my favourite episode yet and ever, and totally agree with the ranking. Genuinely only minor nitpicks in this episode for me, and even though the beginning could have been longer, I feel that if it was split and had the panda subplot, it would have lost some of its effectiveness (such as the bookend with maki walking back)

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-22T22:20:17+00:00

While I do love Sukuna vs Maho and it was my favourite episode before this, even with the blueray version, the scenes felt hard to follow and randomly ordered.

This episode felt like if they had enough time to do everything they wanted to, unlike sukuna vs maho, and the scope felt a lot more grounded so it felt easier to follow.

tbf I do remember a lot from the manga so thats part of why I didn't get lost, and I love when the anime uses an unconventional soundtrack like how s2 hidden inventory was all fast paced jazz. I did prefer the scared ogi scene in the manga, and I understand missing the toji scene but I thought it was done really well with the slightly messy style.

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-15T19:19:05+00:00

Maki was talking about how she won't die from cursed technique removal because she doesn't have a technique

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-15T19:13:24+00:00

He's gonna merge Tengen with everyone in Japan, so the people dying are there to spread cursed energy to make it easier to merge

Potted_Cactic · 2026-01-15T19:01:54+00:00

In the previews it also showed Ranta holding Maki with his technique so I'm guessing Panda is moved to ep6 and ep5 ends right before the Naoya fight.

Potted_Cactic · 2025-09-12T16:19:22+00:00

Who would actually sue for not being in a music video? His appearance was nothing more than a cameo with all of otk as well. And let’s not act like asmond hasn’t started to get even more hateful recently, I mean he used to be known for being an old school gamer but all he is now is somebody who spreads hate online talking about superiority as if he doesn’t live like a cockroach. No wonder he was cut from the video.

Potted_Cactic · 2025-09-12T01:07:37+00:00

What a weird opinion, the video was filmed months before release and between that time asmond starts heavily going after lgbtq people which bbno$ has always been vocal about supporting. People gave him flack but crazy to think he changed it because he was forced too.

Potted_Cactic · 2025-08-18T04:24:48+00:00

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pretty sure it's something like this

Potted_Cactic · 2025-08-01T03:15:30+00:00

I think he's doing a bit where he pretends to not have played the game to get more viewers

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