Is Maki slaughtering the Zen'in clan in Jujutsu Kaisen justified?

Maki and Mai Zen'in during the Zen'in massacre (Image via Shueisha)
Maki and Mai Zen'in during the Zen'in massacre (Image via Shueisha)

Jujutsu Kaisen chapters 149-152 showed a terrible fight within the Zen'in clan. However, in truth, the seeds may have been planted years ago by the members themselves. The Zen'in clan has always perceived women as inferior creatures, and people without a Curse Technique were not even considered humans.

At one point, this treatment not only created tragic incidents but also created the terror, Toji Fushiguro. In truth, the clan could have been annihilated a long time ago by Toji himself, and it seemed to have survived just for his whims, as was stated by a clan member.

However, this finally happened with Maki Zen'in stepping in to fill that role. So, was it justified? Or was it another tragic incident that befell the world of Jujutsu Kaisen? Here are the details about it.


The attempted murder of Maki and Mai

In Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 148, Maki goes back to the Zen'in clan to get the Cursed Tools stored in their warehouse. However, her father, Ogi Zen'in, anticipating her move, not only disposed of them but also tried to kill Maki and Mai, who was already there, for his failures.

After losing the battle, when they were both about to die, Mai, as a last resort, conjured her final weapon and gave it to Maki. In turn, she lost her life and took away the Cursed Energy from Maki.

This reinforced Maki's Heavenly Physical Restriction to almost Toji Fushiguro's level as even the minimal amount of Cursed Energy possessed by an average human was taken away from her.

As monozygotic twins are considered one person in Cursed Energy rules, both Maki and Mai could not use their full potential till that point. However, Mai's death took it away and gave Maki unparalleled physical prowess.

In return, she only asked one thing of her sister: to destroy everything.


Seeds of hatred among Zen'in clan in Jujutsu Kaisen

Although this marked the beginning of the slaughter, the seeds were planted long ago. With the Zen'in clan treating their own members as disposable, some fans seem to think this was bound to happen.

Toji Fushiguro had the Heavenly Physical Restriction as well, which gave him unparalleled physical prowess.

However, he, too, was treated like nothing in his own clan, and as a result, he left it and took on his wife's surname.

Since childhood, Maki and Mai had also been mistreated by not only other clan members but their parents. Their father held the twins responsible for his failure to ascend to power.

With the clan's degrading views as to how women should behave, their mother always seemed disappointed in them. In fact, when Naoya used to bully Maki as a kid, her parents never even thought about intervening.

With a long history of oppression and hatred brewing, it seems that their attempted murder was the last straw for Maki.


Is Maki slaughtering the Zen'in clan justified?

Mass slaughter is something that should always be avoided. However, in Jujutsu Kaisen's power-driven world, where Curses and Sorcerers are always trying to one-up each other, the value of human life somewhere falls short. And if those humans are anything like the members of the Zen'in clan, who would not think once before killing their own offspring.

So, is it justified? It is possibly more of a matter of perspective. In general terms, maybe not, but from the viewpoints of Maki and Mai, who suffered their entire lives at the hands of their clan members, it felt justified.

The question here is whether Maki would have done the same thing if Mai did not ask her to destroy everything? The answer to this seems to be possibly not.

Maki would probably have tried to make the best of their situation if Mai was still alive. The latter's death and last wish were possibly the triggers that snapped Maki into drastic actions. As a result, from her perspective, it is entirely justified as per the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom.

This also seemed to have reawakened the memories of the Uchiha massacre from Naruto for some fans. However, the incident in Jujutsu Kaisen is entirely different as the cause, effect, and even premise are not comparable.

The Uchiha massacre was a tragedy that could have been avoided if not for the Hidden Leaf administrators' submissiveness in front of Danzo Shimura.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, it seems to the fandom that Maki's actions are somewhere justified to end a cycle of bitterness and misdemeanors for not only them but also for future generations.

Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the most popular manga series of recent times. With the Culling Game arc going on, fans are excited to see what more is in store for their favorite characters. Keep yourself updated here with news and features as more chapters come out.

Note: This article reflects the author's views.

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