Although she is already one of the most powerful fighters in Jujutsu Kaisen, Maki has just received a major upgrade that brings her closer to Toji’s level.
Contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 197 Jujutsu Kaisen manga already has an incredibly strong cast of fighters, but one of its strongest characters just got a big upgrade. Gege Akutami’s series features a flexible power system that grants its users broken abilities. Ironically, one of the strongest fighters in the manga doesn’t actually use this power system as a source of strength.
Maki Zenin is the daughter of a powerful clan of wizards who was born without the ability to use cursed energy. In exchange for this, her physical abilities are far beyond that of an average human, allowing her to become a powerful Jujutsu witch in her own right. In doing so, she follows in the footsteps of Toji Fushiguro, another incredibly powerful fighter who was strong enough to even nearly kill Satoru Gojo without using cursed energy. After the Shibuya Incident, her family attempted to kill her and her twin sister, causing her sister to sacrifice herself to make Maki even more powerful. This extra power allowed her to wipe out her clan in an all-out battle, but she still lacks the skills to put her on the same level as Toji. That is, until now.
In Chapter 197, Maki has an epiphany after training with a sumo-obsessed wizard in his hyperbolic expansion of the Temporal Chamber domain. She realizes that even though the atmosphere of a given place may seem empty, differences in temperature and density create various surfaces that she can grasp and manipulate. This gives him greatly increased maneuverability in a fight, even allowing him to dodge Naoya’s incredibly fast attacks. It also brings her closer to being on the level of Toji, the ultimate ideal she tries to achieve.
Maki’s new speed puts her almost level with Toji
Becoming more like Toji was actually the inspiration for her epiphany, realizing that if only she was more like him, she could have adequately protected herself and her allies from Naoya’s initial attacks. And clearly, she succeeded, as Naoya remembers Toji when he sees her fighting against him using her new technique. While Maki was already strong, she lacked the skills to use her incredible power, which is a big part of what made Toji so powerful. Her new technique now greatly increases the skill with which she can use her already impressive abilities.
Jujutsu Kaisen already has a stacked roster of incredibly powerful characters, so upgrading Maki might not seem that impressive. But since Maki is the only character in Jujutsu Kaisen who can break the rules of the Culling Game, she is especially important and is likely a priority target for the enemy to eliminate. Now that she has enhanced her powers, Maki has become even more of an asset to the protagonists of Jujutsu Kaisen and will likely play an even bigger role in the battles to come.
Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 197 is available to read on Viz Media.