Jujutsu Kaisen’s Sequel Elevates Season 3’s Best Episode

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Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo—the official sequel to Gege Akutami’s landmark manga, illustrated by Yuji Iwasaki—is currently exhibiting an uncanny narrative alignment with the events of the Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 anime. Whether this synchronicity is a calculated move or a happy coincidence, it provides a profound new lens through which to view the current season. This is particularly true for Maki Zenin, as Modulo explores how the passage of time has fundamentally altered her perspective on her own legacy.

[Editor’s Note: The following contains significant plot spoilers for both the Jujutsu Kaisen anime and the Modulo manga sequel.]

In the 21st chapter of Modulo, an older, battle-hardened Maki reflects on her late sister, Mai. She grapples with the existential weight of her ascent to power, questioning if the strength she gained was worth the price of her sister’s life. “It was because of Mai that I reached these heights. Yet, I catch myself wondering… was this power truly necessary?” Maki confides to her grandson, Tsurugi. She warns him against the hollow pursuit of strength that requires discarding what is precious—a direct callback to the tragedy of the Zenin twins, where Mai sacrificed herself to unlock Maki’s full potential via their shared Heavenly Restriction.

While that sacrifice granted Maki the devastating power required to dismantle the Zenin clan, Modulo reveals the deep-seated regret that haunts her years later. Speaking with Tsurugi, Maki indulges in the “idealistic reverie” that perhaps someone else could have stepped up, allowing Mai to survive. “It’s a fragile fantasy I only dare voice now,” she admits. “But not a single day passes where I don’t envision a reality where Mai is still by my side.” It’s a heartbreaking echo of their final moments, where Mai suggested they could have embraced their status as “failures” just to remain together and safe.

Image: MAPPA

This introspection serves as a poignant companion to the high-stakes Maki episodes in Season 3. Modulo provides a nuanced psychological depth that the original series often bypassed in favor of action. We now see that the Zenin massacre was more than a quest for vengeance—it was a tragedy that left lasting emotional scars. The sequel also recently reintroduced Yuji Itadori, showcasing a radical transformation in the protagonist’s worldview.

In his youth, Yuji famously viewed himself as a mere “cog” in the machinery of the jujutsu world—a role explored in Season 3, Episode 6, titled “Cog.” Chapter 20 of Modulo illustrates the bleak outcome of that philosophy. The older Yuji is emotionally distant, refusing to intervene in the conflicts of modern sorcerers. He adopts a weary, stoic detachment, referencing the idea that “soldiers never die, they just fade away.”

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He now views his purpose as cleaning up the aftermath rather than preventing the storm, leaving the new generation to fight their own battles. It is a somber evolution: the boy who once found pride in being a sorcerer has become a solitary figure, cursed by his own survival and relegated to being a functional tool of a society that has moved past him. This starkly contrasts with the idealistic, determined version of Yuji currently appearing in Season 3.