#sakurajima colony

[theblackinnkeeper]

Was sakurajima bad for maki? A response to @linkspooky ( revision)

(Note this is a revision of a previous post meant to respond to linkspooky I looked over my previous objections and decided some of them weren’t good so I needed to make a change.). This is something I’ve been meaning to do all day and I’m going to do it now.a user on this platform named @linkspooky who makes meta’s on different forms of media she likes(mostly superhero comics and shonen manga) has answered an ask detailing her issues with the sakurajima colony arc in the culling games and I’m going to see if I can address them as well as offer a different perspective.now I used to be a follower of @linkspooky and I was a big fan of her meta’s but I decided to unfollow due to, A I felt I was bothering her with my asks and, B I felt I needed to start thinking for myself. Now after this my opinions on her meta’s haven’t aged well due to the fact that I feel that linkspooky has a habit of seeing the forest for the trees when it comes to her analyses. Now my perspective on sakurajima mostly comes from lighting446 for those of you who don’t know lightning is a translator for viz media who has done corrections on the original translations as well as translated other material. Now I doubt linkspooky will agree with his interpretation particularly due the fact the it doesn’t exactly match with her chain of analysis but I hope she’ll at least hear this out(rebuttal begins under the cut)

Now I disagree with the mai is mishandled part due to the fact that while there are some interesting things about mai there weren’t enough to get me as engaged with her as much as others and I don’t mind her dying for maki’s development I feel we’ve spent the right amount of time with mai for her death to feel right because i mean better to go out with a purpose than the to stay with no purpose that’s how I feel and it’s one of the biggest points of contention i have with linkspooky because every sibling dynamic has to be starfire and black fire if it isn’t it’s probably mishandled. Like I get it you have a favorite thats great and all but to hold it as this objective Standard that every good sibling vs bad sibling dynamic should be just feels irritating because it just makes you look picky it should be about what they can bring to the table with this one and if it’s good not if it’s exactly like my favorite dynamic cause if everything was like the subversion you hold so high in regard would just end up becoming old and stale but I’m getting off topic. The problem with this is that I don’t think the was any need to yes Mai’s death was tragic but is there any need to mourn since Mai’s final wish and her death were avenged not to mention maki has been changed after this I mean she’s much more stoic than she’s actually been compared to her hothead self previously(keep in mind the zenin clan massacre happens after Yuji and Megumi recruit Hakari)but you want her to be in a tragedy like situation but different people respond to loss in different ways not everything has to be a sob scene I mean Roy mustang character arc didn’t turn into a tragedy when maes huges died don’t get me wrong he was affected but he released All that anger and sorrow onto greed when he finally had him cornered(your probably going to bring up the subversive part of jjk but what you’re treating jjk like is more akin to a deconstruction then a subversion).so why can’t we use the same logic here

I feel the similarities stem from the fact that they are two people with similar powers created faced similar mistreatment and would prove to potentially be the zenin clans undoing (though maki was the one who followed up on that) and the fact that they succeeded in breaking away from the zenin clan.but why suggest maki attack random people in the first place when she has no reason to with toji it made sense for him to do that since he was angry at jujutsu society and was lashing out.but it doesn’t make since for maki since the cause of her trauma is removed she really has no reason for it now as well as the fact that toji’s trauma was allegedly worse.I can’t make a judgement on the trauma part but I’m pretty sure that not all trauma victims have to respond in the same way

Okay okay I’ll address the main issue now with This alternative perspective since I can’t do that without showing it to you

Now this was meant to refute linkspookies claim that this arc served no purpose other than to give maki a power up and I find it more believable than some of the jungian claims linkspooky makes since a lot of things in jujutsu kaisen have Buddhist influences so this being inspired by it sounds a tad more believable than some of spookies other stuff for reason that I feel that lightning is a tad more researched when in comes to the author I’ll also address some other objections. You claim that we are left with the same maki we received pre zenin clan really? I don’t recall maki ever being this stoic all the time I mean people respond to loss in different ways and you make it sound like maki should be bawling her eyes out. Kamo was going through this because his goal of reformation had been foiled add the fact that the only person who made him feel at home was dead and that’s why he acted like he was lost however maki’s goal was to become strong was to spite the zenin clan and unlike Kamo she avenged her sisters and it until she awakens that she overcomes Mai’s death so the sumo wrestling wasn’t for anything (sheesh for someone who frequently calls symbolism Buddhist ones never crossed you mind didn’t it).as far as the tragedy one goes we didn’t need to witness it because we did when i don’t know SHE DIES and as for the unhealthy thing it was for maki to wipe out the zenin clan we get this comment from her

Why keep complaining that nobody calls maki out for the massacre when maki herself admits that she could have handled it differently confirming what you been trying to say! And why do you say it was weird for mai to congratulate maki for killing naoya and the zenin clan when your sweet innocent angel mai who was simply the victim of a bad sister and a bad family who could do not wrong WAS THE ONE WHO SUGGESTED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Okay @linkspooky I’ll admit I’m not going to be as friendly as I was in the original but this feels hypocritical because you question why people are saying that gojo’s death didn’t make since when you are practically doing similar things with mai death despite that looking back there were a few giveaways this feels like it was a hastily made rant that overlooks a few factors and details like you want maki to face punishment for what she did to the Zenin clan but when naoya arrives again the fact that this may be the stories way of saying that was bad idea seems to slip you head this seems to be because you want maki to be a violent psycho (because let me guess that’s more interesting). And you wish maki to mourn in an arc that’s about overcoming Mai’s death and you don’t seem to think that this signals the end of maki’s arc in the story and I’m just so frustrated because well I’ll use this quote to illustrate

You're the smartest person I ever met. But you're too stupid to see

That’s how I feel I I used to agree with almost everything you said but now I’m annoyed because so many things seem to go over your head I can’t take it anymore you want to disagree fine but please try and think things through before you criticize and I mean take into account other factors before you do this cause right now when i comes to your meta’s it feels like you’re so hung up on a certain detail not to mention (I’m going to brutally honest here) when it came to mai you put way too many eggs in the basket and acted upset when they broke I’m probably not going to be able to change you mind I’m probably just an idiot heck when I get this out you’re just going to brush me off as an idiot and ignore this but please just try to think about this more I mean you understand why Gojo died because the plot needed to move but with other characters it feels like they don’t get the same consideration just please hear me out.

[lokescurse]

Hope: Naoya is animated well and given a good voice actor.

Fear: The resurgence of people in his tag exclusively posting negativity and discourse, and sending anon hate to people who like him again. My blocklist doubles once more.

Hope: The anime adds extra content for him like it has for other characters in order to make him feel more fleshed out. Perhaps even some fun Jujustrolls of him or something.

Fear: They will double down and make him Extra Worse™️, and I will cringe into a ball and die while screaming.

[honeyhop]

how have kashimo, meimei, kusakabe, and naoya gotten volume covers before maki. like???

[unikittythings]

Jujutsu kaisen chapters 192 to 194:

Are they talking about the cursed womb incident?

Oh fuck, that misogynistic asshole turned into a curse simply because Maki doesn't possess cursed energy?! FUCK

Her WHAT?! A little more information please?

What? He's going to turn into a butterfly or what now?

??? 😰

Great, he can still use his cursed technique

I have no idea what's going on, but ok

This seems familiar. Damn, Maki

It's surprises me every time how differently they can use their cursed techniques for different things

It's pretty sad how willing they are all to die

You were supposed to not die, Noritoshi!

Who the fuck are these guys?

[cursedvibes]

I know you like tenken, takaken and sukume but what are some other relationships or dynamics do you like in jjk and why? Could be romantic, platonic, familial, antagonistic or just plain toxic and fucked up, anything.

Thanks for the interesting ask! These are my favourites at the moment.

Mahito & Yuuji

I think it's the best antagonistic relationship Yuuji has in the entire manga. I like them both as a ship and platonically for what we get in canon. Although considering the scene in the anime where Mahito tries to murder kiss Yuuji, you could say it's one-sidedly canon.

I miss Mahito a lot lately and come to only appreciate him more and more with time. He was very good at building up a sense of dread and he has a viciousness to him that's lacking in the current Shinjuku fight for me.

He mirrors Yuuji without literally being related to him (so far, who knows what else Gege will reveal to be in Yuuji's gene cocktail). Yuuji learns something from him, reflects upon himself, his actions, who he wants to be and why he fights. They are both still figuring each other and themselves out. Both of them grow during their fights and become more dangerous, desperate and feral any time they meet. I love how Mahito is not only able to break Yuuji, but also to break him. Yuuji's hatred for Sukuna is smouldering, while for Mahito it is a raging fire. Yuuji has nothing to learn from Sukuna and no interest to engage with him anymore, while for Mahito it was raw and personal and resulted in Yuuji embracing the disgusting and ruthless side of himself that makes him so cold against Sukuna.

It's been great to see how even now Mahito still influences Yuuji. He was the first one who really taught him about the soul and what it can be capable of. Any time the soul is brought up, Yuuji's first thought is how Mahito was able to manipulate and contort it. He is able to hurt Sukuna so much because of what he learned from Mahito. As much as I miss Mahito and his personality, it wouldn't make sense to bring him back now, so I'm glad to see his continued impact on Yuuji this way. Overall, what I like about the two is how "juvenile" their conflict is. Cruelty of a child and innocence of a child clashing and both of them improving, growing and maturing through it. I also think it's very fitting that Yuuji never got to exorcise Mahito because the message is that Mahito represents a different side of him and he shouldn't ignore or destroy that side, he has to embrace it to be able to stomach what lies ahead.

Maki & Mai

If done right, I'm always a sucker for twin relationships, especially the codependency in it. I wouldn't say Maki & Mai are my favourite example of them or the best written one, but I still like them for what they are, particularly everything in Perfect Preparation and the Sakurajima colony. It could've been better and more consistently set up, but the payoff is still emotional and impactful and that's what I like them for.

Both of them need each other, wanted to help each other in their own way, but they never saw eye-to-eye or managed to communicate properly until after Mai's death. They were holding each other back through more than just the jujutsu consequences of being born a twin. Mai wanted Maki to give up and live with her at the bottom and Maki thought she had to shoulder all responsibility and could only go on and pave a way for them alone. Even after the have "become one" in a jujutsu sense and Maki unlocked her Heavenly Restriction, they don't immediately work together and have to learn how to communicate with each other and lift each other up, make up for what the other can't do. And through understanding Mai better and learning to hold her and fight together with her, she also begins to understand herself better.

I wish we got a more in-depth look at them, their past and relationship while both were alive before the Perfect Preparation arc. I hope Maki's arc will have a satisfying end and she will find something meaningful to do with her life.

Hakari & Uraume

Every time the leaks come out, I'm hoping for at least a glimpse at these two. There's been setup for some really interesting exploration of the themes of humanity and strength here. They are also just such a funny duo and it gets more and more hilarious the more chapters pass by and we don't see them. While Sukuna plays whac-a-mole with the main group, Hakari and Uraume have been "fighting" for 20 chapters now without seemingly getting anywhere except gossiping about what happens over at the main source of action. Wouldn't be surprised if we skip back to them to see them eating ice cream while watching the others get beaten up.

On a more serious note, I really hope the little speech Uraume gave in ch 245 gets picked up again and explored upon because it was the most interesting commentary we got so far on the source of sorcerers power, what it means to be human when you are so strong and also Uraume's background. Uraume's view of humanity and strength seems to slightly differ from Sukuna's and they also seem to reflect upon it more. They say forming relationships and fear of losing said relationships is what makes you weak and yet they have no problem following Sukuna and worrying about him. They are even open to forming bonds with others like Kenjaku or even Hakari. Hakari is actually the person we have seen them be most relaxed and friendly with so far. With Sukuna there is always a remaining formality and Kenjaku annoys them, but with Hakari they chat like a normal person. They make fun of him, but it's very colloquial. It seems like they actually came to see him as a true equal. There is no binding vow or old history binding them together, they simply want to keep Hakari from interfering with the fight and through that they got to engage with him without any pretence.

I just wish we actually got to see how their relationship developed over that now pretty significant amount of time and to see more of Uraume's worldview and maybe Hakari's too. He broke away from Jujutsu Tech and was left to build up his own independent existence together with Kirara. Very similar to Uraume and Sukuna. Now if we could only explore that connection between them more. On page. Not off-screen. I would've taken that any time over the pointless intervention from Geto's cult members or Kusakabe sacrificing himself.

Kusakabe & Yaga

I think this is Kusakabe's most interesting relationship and what actually gives him some depth beyond Exposition Guy. It's also where we see Yaga's more overtly caring side beyond his interactions with Panda. Unfortunately, it gets overlooked a lot, in part because Gege doesn't linger much on it beyond one or two chapters and Kusakabe's last words before getting cut down. There is literally nothing about this ship in fandom spaces. Probably because for some reason people think Yaga isn't hot enough (he's the literal definition of a dilf what more do you want?)...

Chapter 147 is interesting because it shows us the closest relationships and most hidden secrets both Kusakabe and Yaga have. We learn that Yaga not only makes autonomous puppets, but he actually has a whole Hundred Acre Wood-type of retreat full of the souls of dead people, children in particular. They aren't weapons like Panda, they don't fight, they are just allowed to live there. Protected by Tengen interestingly enough. She probably just doesn't care what he does or thinks it mildly interesting/quirky. This is also where we find out that Kusakabe has a sister (Usami?), who has been severely traumatized to the point of being catatonic and lost her son, Kusakabe's nephew. Despite the taboo, both Kusakabe and Yaga are willing to raise the dead not only to help her, but also to give Kusakabe something of his family back. It's the most vulnerable moment we've gotten of him and it speaks of their deep bond that Yaga was willing to do this. Doubt he would do this for just any jujutsu teacher (who doesn't even work for him). Creating that kind of cursed corpse isn't easy after all. But nothing strengthens a bond like necromancy. Kusakabe's last words about Yaga in ch 254 are also interesting. He fights for Yaga, knowing he wouldn't force him to do this, but reflecting on how they used to be able to fight together. They must have known each other for a long time. Kusakabe tells himself multiple times to not linger on the dead, but any time he does, it's because of Yaga.

A very interesting relationship with much potential that goes underexplored. I would've much preferred for his relationship with Yaga to be highlighted more in his fight against Sukuna than that out of place "interview" where people who barely know Kusakabe explain his character to us. If they could bring Gojo and Nanami back from the dead, they could've shown Yaga too. If you really want me to believe that Kusakabe is a kind person, show me more of how he acts around the people he actually cares about, i.e. Yaga and Miwa. He's a very different person around them, particularly Yaga and that's when he allows himself to be vulnerable.

So yeah, I think they explored each other's bodies to help each other through their grief.

[jasonblaze72]

Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 196 Release Date Revealed

[tempenensis]

can you briefly explain the last 5 chapters. i understand nothing.

Okay, since we have a lot things going, here's a numbered list for you

November 14th: Maki finally beat Naoya in the Sakurajima colony.

On the same day, in Tokyo No. 1 colony, Fushiguro wakes up and reunited with Itadori, accompanied by Hana Kurusu and Takaba. They talk a bit in the hotel, the Angel is revealed to be in the same situation as Sukuna and Itadori. And the Angel agrees to the deal offered; removing the seal of a Prison Realm in exchange of killing the Fallen. Sukuna revealed himself to be "the Fallen". And this is why Yuuji said that he must die.

Direct Talks chapters are flashback. Way back in February, even before the event of Itadori swallowed Sukuna's first finger and incarnated him in July, before Kenjaku came back to Japan and made cooperation with Mahito and co., he went on a world tour to make deal with influential world leaders; USA, China, and the Middle East. He's offering cooperation "to harvest" new energy form in the shape of Japanese citizens who all will be turned into curse spirits and then merged with Tengen to be a completely new life form with high potential of curse energy. So he already plans waaaayyy back for this scheme.

When Reggie fought Fushiguro, he gave a bit of information that Kenjaku will have a bomb ready to elevate the chaos. Just like he used Sukuna as a bomb in Shibuya, he used the military of other countries as one in the current arc. Larger plan needs a larger bomb after all. Now the foreign military started to enter the colonies in Japan.

November 16th: Yuki is discussing about the case of Star Plasma vessel with Tengen, while Choso is guarding the barrier outside. In the middle of their discussion, Kenjaku comes to find Tengen. But first, like any other villain mastermind, he has to discuss his grand plan with someone - and that someone happened to be Choso.

And considering the Shibuya incident and the current arc, I have to say that Kenjaku is a master at controlling chaos to his advantage.

[marielism]

sakurajima colony scribbles

[redsnerdden]

Jujutsu Kaisen, Berserk, and Invincible Battle In May's NY Best Sellers List

Jujutsu Kaisen, Berserk, and Invincible Battle In May's NY Best Sellers List #呪術廻戦 #JujutsuKaisen #SpyxFamily #manga #Invincible #Berserk

After another lengthy hiatus due to art commissions, we’re looking at the newest New York Times Best Sellers List for Graphic Novels and Manga for May. Image Credit: Viz Media A mysterious cursed spirit with a grudge against Maki flies into Sakurajima Colony. It evolves with incredible speed from cursed womb to adult form and threatens to overwhelm Maki and Noritoshi. Just then, two more…

[abcdosaka]

i have such a love hate relationship with how gege writes women like he’s tackling the oppression of women and yet the women aren’t the important part of that conversation like he keeps killing them off 💀 it’s like how the walking dead would introduce a black character and immediately kill the previous main cast member black character

☝️ thing i can’t fault him for is that every female char is incredibly likeable. except maybe hana but tbh i still like her bc i could forgive women for anything she just got done dirty by the narrative. same with remi but honestly, instead of disliking her she made me dislike fushiguro a bit. (it’s not that i thought he’s at fault for anything i just disliked the set up for that arc) personally i think those two were the only major fumble writing wise. oh and tsumiki although i guess there wasn’t much more for her to do i was hoping she’d be more than a plot device (she was likeable anyway she made me like fushiguro more lmao)

omg i just realized what they all have in common is that they’re all related to fushiguro somehow.

another thing he does well is giving them their MOMENTS which to me is kinda more important than their depth in a battle shonen. like almost all the female combatants get a super raw moment. even hana shining that light on meguna was soo beautiful like idk that sticks out in my mind (until she fucked it up ofc)

nobara i think was actually rly well done. i still think there’s hope she’ll come back tbh. even though i said otherwise that’s just me pretending idc. yuki had a really good fight and she was so charismatic that i can forgive her death being related to choso so much (also bc i like choso). i just really wish we could have seen more of her earlier and know more abt her, esp her being a star plasma vessel, ik she was a supporting character but i was so hyped to see her in action. she’s one of my favs. tengen is also low key a fav even tho she didn’t rly do anything she’s well established and idk i just like her. uro is another fav who i need to see more of i hope she isn’t done for i feel like she got spared for a reason. yorozu was pure comedy i liked her and i kinda miss her i wish she stuck around longer. i stanned mai from her first appearance. maki is obviously my queen no words needed. i also thought momo was super cute and i still wanna know wtf that miwa panel was in the cg arc i think that was a genuine he forgot moment. mei mei and momjaku are freaks but i like them both they really help set the tone

ig the only issues are that 1) they keep dying and 2) their most important moments are related to a man somehow. i guess it makes sense bc it is aimed at a male audience but like if you’re writing abt women’s issues then you have to acknowledge the women in question as…people? that’s not rly what i mean to say but idk how else to phrase it. it feels like he wants to do a good job tackling these issues but he doesn’t rly get the core of the issue.

anyway it sounds like i’m shitting on him but the fact that he’s clearly making an attempt at expanding on the female characters instead of being like “here bitch damn” (and it’s a girl who gets one chapter of depth and is written out immediately after) is what actually touches my heart. altho ig he kinda did that with everyone but maki like i remember being surprised he went so far in the perfect prep arc for maki like i didn’t think she’d get a power up like that. and then in the sakurajima colony arc i didn’t know she’d continue to be relevant and then jumping sukuna with yuji like okayyy

the nice part of never getting fed is that crumbs are so delicious and nutritious for me. anyway i believe in kenjaku (old woman) x tengen heian era old woman yuri

[allyouneediskilly]

Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami

Chapter 194 - sakurajima colony, part 4

[psychewritesbs]

Chapter 198: Sakurajima Colony—JJK is about enlightened Buddhist Monks?; no JJK is about sexy shirtless men; Unpopular opinion: two wrongs don’t make a right; So is she going to kick Naoya’s ass after all?

Happy JJK-Sunday!

Am I the only one who had lost track of the chapter number?

Anyways... the art in this chapter was beautiful! My favorite panels below the cut.

JJK is about enlightened Buddhist Monks?

I’m really curious about the hand mudra Naoya is doing. I’m curious about its meaning... especially given the text in the panel:

Naoya’s persistence finally blooms

The actual name of his domain expansion sounds so symbolic too.

Also love the pupil behind Naoya. I’m not sure it means anything in the grander scheme of things, but, not only does it look artistically appealing, I also love the idea that there’s an all-seeing-eye in Naoya’s domain. There’s something so creepy and sinister about it.

Gege knows his cosmic horror!

Which kind of reminds me that when I first read this chapter the first thing that came to mind is that jjk feels like a story/metaphor about Buddhist Monks using their psychic powers to exorcise curses, and some of them achieve “enlightenment”--they transcend their ego minds.

Considering Heian saw the rise of two esoteric branches of Buddhism--Shingon and Tendai, I have to wonder which clans belonged to which school. I can’t help but wonder about the implications of men in positions of power utilizing their psychic abilities to control the masses.

No, JJK is about sexy shirtless men

Bahaha. 

Anyways. 

Beautiful panel! It was one of my favorites in the chapter. I love that Gege wants to drive home that Naoya is/was good-looking despite his rotten core. I also love that he morphed from that ugly cursed spirit shape into his human self at will. 

It goes back to the idea that he bloomed like a pretty little flower.

Which reminds me... is it possible to consider a problematic character to be interesting AND to know that he is, indeed, problematic?

Is it?

Ah, I hate the word problematic. It’s so short-sighted and it throws the baby out with the bathwater.

I’ll figure a better word to use next time.

Unpopular opinion: two wrongs don’t make a right

I get it.

I really do.

Mai and Maki had a fucked up upbringing. They were seen as nothing more than slaves.

Not to mention that the Zenin clan was the epitome of fucked-up-family-and-interpersonal-dynamics.com because of #the patriarchy.

But... unpopular opinion af: Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Maki destroying and murdering everyone in the Zenin clan was not a victory, it was a tragedy. 

I get the whole idea behind bringing down the patriarchy and it certainly makes a lot of sense but...

To me, the whole thing looks like it is a power up girl-boss moment, but in reality I have to wonder if it was more about Mai dragging Maki and the whole Zenin clan down with her.

Can I just say that the way I personally interpret the panel above is that Mai looked “evil” (for lack of a better word)?

That smug look on her face is so... self-affirming? Like she got exactly what she wanted from Maki.

And in order to understand why this panel felt “wrong” to me, I took a little trip down memory lane. More specifically chapters 42 and 149.

As per usual, Gege is able to deliver just the right amount of details to bring a character to life.

In Mai’s case, we learn that she’s weak-minded and has always resented Maki’s strength (more specifically her mental strength).

But I think the most important detail about Mai is that she is the kind of person who drags others down with her.

Since she is weak-minded, instead of seeking to grow to better herself (growth mindset), she seeks to bring others down to her level to feel better about herself.

Mai is truly the definition of a mean girl.

And I have to admit that I love Maki’s answer to Mai: 

In chapter 149 Mai tells Best Dad of the Year contender, Ougi (I think that’s her dad’s name), about her virtuous nature just as he is about to throw his daughters into a pit full of cursed spirits.

So yeah, this girl clearly isn’t interested in anyone’s well-being but her own.

Considering Maki’s personality is such a stark contrast to Mai’s, I wonder if this is part of the curse of being born a twin in the jjk-scheme of things. 

And that’s how we end up in that pit full of cursed spirits...

And how Mai, fully aware of the curse that it is to be born a twin, sacrifices herself “for Maki’s sake”. 

But is it really for Maki’s sake?

Or because she knows that the only way to drag everyone down with her is by having Maki avenge her since she’s weak and Maki is strong?

The problem is that in asking Maki to destroy everything, she’s also inadvertently dragging Maki down with her. 

Maki who only wanted to create a safe space for Mai in the Zenin clan went and destroyed everything because Mai left her with these last words--a curse?

And Maki obliges...

I know I am in the minority interpreting the events in this way, but this doesn’t make me happy for Maki and I have to wonder whether she feels the weight of the burden of what she did--she basically killed innocent women and children for Mai’s sake. 

EDIT: OK, after re-reading the appropriate panel, I am not sure that I can say with confidence that she killed “innocent” women and children. What I can say is that she killed upwards of 36 people that day. Gender and age are unconfirmed.

I know she wanted to create a safe space for Mai, but was this really the best way to go about it?

And all because Mai was a mean girl who couldn’t stand the thought of being left behind. Mai wanted nothing but to drag everyone down with her into the hell of her own creation.

Which is interesting given the innuendo about Naoya and Mai doing adult things together... like... you know... their taxes. 

I think it’s safe to assume that she was abused and that she was at a disadvantage in the dynamic with Naoya for multiple reasons, one of them being her gender and another her age. But Mai is such a toxic character that I would not be surprised to learn that she found some sort of twisted satisfaction in a toxic dynamic with a man like Naoya.

The parallels to Toji are also very interesting because even though Toji too was heartbroken and was abused by the Zenin, Toji chose not to destroy the clan even though he could have done it.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Two wrongs don’t make a right is an interesting trope that is actually present as a theme in a lot of anime and manga. From Gundam to Attack on Titan, the trope usually finds a resolution somewhere in the middle, so I am curious to see how Gege will unravel this storyline.

So is she going to kick Naoya’s ass after all?

Another panel I loved!

Also, I know her hair is short because it was burned but... right now she has the same hairstyle as Mai. Symbolic much?

Ah! Anyways...

Credit where it’s due: @justafrenchlondoner​ is the one who’s been feeding me ideas about Maki’s tragedy. She’s also my voice of reason when I want to get annoyed because it feels predictable that Maki is going to defeat Naoya again. 

If anyone read this, thank you for reading and happy JJK-Sunday!

[blog-of-hubris]

Ok sir. I need your timeline genius.

How many days do we have between end of Shibuya and meeting with Tengen, AND, between meeting with Tengen and meeting with Hakari, et al?

Of course!!

Here is the timeline I have so far. This excludes Kenjaku going to America etc:

Jujutsu Kaisen Post-Shibuya Timeline:

* October 31st: Shibuya/Kenjaku speech

* November 1st, 6:02 A.M: Colonies are formed. Kenjaku walks Yuji’s friend out of Sendai Colony.

* November 2nd, time unknown: Hagane & Rokujishi join the Culling game.

* November 3rd, 11:05 P.M: Noritoshi find Kenjaku has taken over the Kamo clan.

* November 9th, 9 A.M: Meeting with Tengen

* November 10th, 5 P.M: Yuji & Megumi enter Hakari’s Fight Club Parking Deck.

* November 11th, Early Morning: Hakari & Kirara fight Yuji Panda and Megumi + join the team.

* November 12th, Time Unknown: Mai’s death + Maki destroys the Ze’nin Clan.

* November 12th, 11:28 A.M: Yuta begins fighting/kills Dhruv.

* November 12th, Noon: Hakari, Panda, Yuji & Megumi enter the Culling Game.

* November 12th, 12:11 P.M: Hakari and Charles clash.

* November 12th, Time unknown: Hakari saves Panda/Fights Kashimo.

* November 14th, 3:05 PM: Maki & Noritoshi in Sakurajima Colony fighting curses.

* November 14th, Time Unknown: Megumi wakes up in the room with Angel/Hana, Yuji, and Takaba.

* November 14th, Dead of Night: American Soldiers invade the Culling Game.

* November 16th, 12 am: Kenjaku invades the Tomb of The Star + takes Tengen.

* November 16th, Noon: The colonies start to activate. Team Gojo links to get Tsumiki and use points (aside from Yuta).

* November 16th, 3 pm: Tsumiki/Yozoru joins the Game and adds rule + Sukuna takes over Megumi.

HOPE THIS HELPED!!

[11queensupreme11]

people are actually mad about maki not being on the cover of a volume she doesn’t even show up in 💀💀 pls why would she be on the cover

guys... volume 21 is the tokyo colony 2 arc. NOT the sakurajima arc (you know, the one arc she actually appears in???) she’s most likely to be on the cover of vol 22

also, yes yes its upsetting that naoya got that one volume cover instead of her, but that should’ve been a pretty obvious sign that gege has more plans for her in another arc

on a more positive note, omggg??? KASHIMO HAS TEAL HAIR??? i always thought he was either a blonde or had white hair cuz of the lack of shading used in his manga art 😂

[cursedvibes]

the implication that todo was present and helped yuta kill kenjaku by quickly swapping him (the sound effect when yuta draws his sword matches todo's vibroslap, todo and yuta apparently training in the same area the baka survivor arc happened in, and gege saying in an author's note that todo used boogie woogie three times before unwrapping the instrument) feels really weird. why didnt he help yuta exorcise the curses then.

Oh right, it is the same sound as the vibraslap when Yuuta switches to avoid Gravity. Certainly doesn't sound like a sword-drawing sfx, unless it's supposed to be the sound of Gravity and it being similar is just a coincidence. Usually, Gravity sounds like ズウウン though.

So they used Ui Ui to get Yuuta there (because he wasn't in the colony when Kenjaku was talking to Hazenoki and at the beginning of the fight with Takaba) and then they used Todo to swap him around again? This does honestly bring up more questions than it solves...

Like for example, why did Todo train with Yuuta at Lake Gosho and why does it matter? They couldn't have known that Kenjaku would be there or stay there after Gojo's death. Nobody knew when said death would happen, certainly not a month in advance, and there weren't any crows around to watch Kenjaku, so them being at that location was merely a coincidence. If Gojo had died ten minutes later or earlier, Kenjaku would've been somewhere else. The location didn't matter in this fight anyway. Takaba and Kenjaku could've met in Sakurajima or Sendai and it wouldn't have made a difference. Also Ui Ui must've transported both Yuuta and Todo there. Separately, I assume? And like you said, why didn't Todo help with the curses? It's not like he was needed in Shinjuku, unlike Yuuta, so he could've handled that with his new insane power-up, especially if someone else is helping him. This also makes the justification for why Yuuta specifically had to be there mute. Hakari for example could've done the same thing together with Todo. Maki would be a bit difficult because I assume Boogie-Woogie doesn't recognize her (she probably held onto Miwa when Sukuna dropped his bomb), but there were a number of other characters who could've done this job. Todo would've probably been able to do it alone even. Also shouldn't Yuuta have thought of Todo when beating himself up over being too late in Shinjuku? His reasoning is that only him and Rika could destroy the curses that fast, but with Todo in the picture that's not true. He can swap up to 50 times per second, that's faster than anything Yuuta or Rika can do (especially if he was the one to switch Yuuta behind Kenjaku).

This all makes it seem like Todo trained with Yuuta at Lake Gosho, a very specific location far away from Tokyo, in the hopes of Kenjaku being there at just the right time(?) only to be teleported there, switch Yuuta around once and then fuck off again to wait for his big entrance when Sukuna unleashes his ultimate move. That's so ridiculous, but those clues you mentioned do give the impression that's what happened. I don't know why Gege would mention Yuuta and Todo trained at Lake Gosho otherwise. If that's just a coincidence that's very specific.

However, I interpreted Gege's comment this week more as lampshading that it's a bit weird (aka a mistake) that Todo's hand is wrapped up when meeting Yuuji, despite apparently just having swapped a handful of people out of Sukuna's attack range. Meaning he unwrapped the vibraslap to swap everyone away (because it still has to vibrate to work, the binding vow just limits the amount of swaps to widen the range and targets), wrapped it up again only to dramatically unwrap it once more a minute later. But could be a hint to his involvement in Kenjaku's death too, it's too vague to say.

[your-lovely-rose]

☞ List of Culling Game Players:

– Tokyo No. 1 Colony:

- Chizuru Hari (There’s nothing here for now)

- Fumihiko Takaba (There’s nothing here for now)

- Haba (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hana Kurusu (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hanyu (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hiromi Higuruma (There’s nothing here for now)

- Iori Hazenoki (There’s nothing here for now)

- Megumi Fushiguro (There’s nothing here for now)

- Reggie Star (There’s nothing here for now)

- Remi (There’s nothing here for now)

- Rin Amai (There’s nothing here for now)

- Yuji Itadori (There’s nothing here for now)

– Tokyo No. 2 Colony:

- Charles Bernard (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hajime Kashimo (There’s nothing here for now)

- Kinji Hakari (There’s nothing here for now)

- Momo Nishimiya (There’s nothing here for now)

- Panda (There’s nothing here for now)

– Sendai Colony:

- Kasumi Miwa (There’s nothing here for now)

- Ryu Ishigori (There’s nothing here for now)

- Sukuna (There’s nothing here for now)

- Takako Uro (There’s nothing here for now)

- Yorozu (There’s nothing here for now)

- Yuta Okkotsu (There’s nothing here for now)

– Sakurajima Colony:

- Dhruv Lakdawalla (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hagane Daido (There’s nothing here for now)

- Maki Zenin (There’s nothing here for now)

- Naoya Zenin (There’s nothing here for now)

- Noritoshi Kamo (There’s nothing here for now)

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☞ About Culling Game:

× LOCATION: 10 Colonies across Japan

× KANJI: 死滅回遊

× HIRAGANA: しめつかいゆう

× RŌMAJI: Shimetsu Kaiyū

× Original Rules:

#1. After awakening a cursed technique, players must declare their participants in the culling game at a barrier of their choice within 19 days.

#2. Any player who breaks the previous rule shall be subject to cursed technique removal.

#3. Non-players who enter a colony become players the moment they enter and will be considered declared players.

#4. Players score points by killing other players.

#5. Points are determined by the game master and indicate the value of a player’s life. As a general rule, sorcerers are worth 5 points, and non-sorcerers are worth 1 point.

#6. Excluding the point value of a player’s own life, players must expend 100 points to negotiate with the game master to add one new rule to the culling game.

#7. In accordance with the previous rule, the game master must accept any proposed new rule unless it has a marked and long-lasting effect on the Culling Game.

#8. If a player’s score remains the same for 19 days, that player shall be subject to cursed technique removal.

× Player Additions:

#9. Players gain access to information on other players, such as their name, amount of points, number of rules added, and their current colony.

This rule was added by Hajime Kashimo.

#10. Players may transfer any number of points between one another.

This rule was added by Hiromi Higuruma.

#11. Players can leave the game by expending 100 points to invite a substitute into their colony.

This rule was added by Megumi Fushiguro.

#12. Players can enter and exit across all colony borders.

This rule was added by Yorozu.

#13. As of 9:09 PM on November 18, 2018, no new players can join the Culling Game.

This rule was added by Kenjaku.

#14. The Culling Game will end upon the deaths of all players except Suguru Geto and Megumi Fushiguro.

This rule was added by Kenjaku.

【 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: “The Culling Game Explained” (by Harsh S), “Culling Game Barriers/Colonies/"Other Side"/Danger Explained” (by Jmoney2131, Reddit), “About the Culling Game, what it achieves, merging and basic goals” (by ara-ara-duch, Reddit), “Culling Game Arc” & “Culling Game” (Jujutsu Kaisen Wikifandom) 】

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