Jujutsu Kaisen: Maki Zen'in's father belongs on the "Worst Anime Dads" list, not Toji

Jujutsu Kaisen is a series that is often brought up in discussions within the community. When talking about the worst anime dads, Toji Fushiguro’s name is often brought up. It makes sense because Toji was never around for his son Megumi and even decided to sell him to his former family, the Zen’in clan. He knew that the latter had a less-than-spotless record raising kids, especially considering how they abused him for having no Cursed Energy.

However, as bad of a father as Toji was, Jujutsu Kaisen had a much better candidate for the worst anime dads discussion with Ogi Zen’in, Mai and Maki’s father. While Ogi is not shown all that much across the series, his presence and influence are felt quite strongly through his daughters. Thus, there is no surprise that he is up there as one of the worst fathers in the medium.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen series.

Explaining why Jujutsu Kaisen’s Ogi Zen’in deserves to be in the “worst anime dads” discussion ahead of Toji Fushiguro

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Toji Fushiguro didn’t cover himself in glory as a father during his time alive in the Jujutsu Kaisen series. He mostly bails on his son Megumi and does shady jobs as a mercenary instead of being there for his offspring. Such was the decline in their relationship that when Satoru Gojo approached a young Megumi to tell him that his father died, the boy didn’t care. This was quite telling of Toji’s mistakes as a parent.

Be that as it may, that doesn’t surpass the damage that Ogi Zen’in did to his daughters, Mai and Maki, across the series. While most of the man’s horrible actions were not displayed in the manga, it has been confirmed that he was extremely abusive towards them. He was also ultimately responsible for Mai’s death, much to Maki's anger and pain.

Additionally, Ogi’s lifelong ambition was becoming the head of the Zen’in clan, and lost the position to Naobito, who also happened to die in the Shibuya Incident arc. Ogi blamed his daughters for this failure and often took it upon himself to punish them for something that wasn’t their fault. He even went as far as trying to kill Maki, although the latter eventually decided to take matters into his own hands and took his life.

The Zen’in clan’s role in Jujutsu Kaisen

The Zen’in clan didn’t have the best of roles or development across the series and that is probably due to a running criticism towards author Gege Akutami’s writing style. It often involves a lot of interesting ideas but often ignoring them or moving past them with quickness. The role of the clans in the story being diminished is something that plays a huge role in this discussion, especially when it comes to Maki’s character arc.

Maki’s issues with his family were known from the moment she was introduced. However, the events that took place were resolved so quickly and so separate from the main plot that they seemed to lack the relevance that they deserved. This is shown across several plot points in Jujutsu Kaisen, such as the importance of the other clans, the Kyoto class, or even Kenjaku’s visit to the United States. The plot points often feel underdeveloped and swept under the rug.

Furthermore, members of the Zen’in clan such as Naoya and Ogi feel underdeveloped. They seem like caricatures when compared to antagonists of the caliber of Mahito, Suguru Geto, Toji Fushiguro, Kenjaku, or Ryomen Sukuna. That makes this arc of the Zen’in clan feel less exciting since the antagonists are not as charismatic as the ones Akutami tends to create.

Final thoughts

Ogi Zen’in deserves to be ahead of Toji Fushiguro in the “worst anime dads” discussion when it comes to Jujutsu Kaisen characters. While is true that Toji himself isn’t a great father by any stretch of the word, he wasn’t abusive towards his offspring and didn’t blame him for his failures.