The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, Episode 5, which is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Last week’s action-packed, emotional episode of Jujutsu Kaisen set Maki Zen’in on a brand new path. It was exciting and tragic, so I found myself looking forward to the introduction of suspended third-year Jujutsu High student, Kinji Hakari. He’s the gambling man, full of passion, and he’s running a fight club. It’ll be a less serious episode, right? Right…? Wrong.
A part of me was dreading Episode 52, “Passion.” I read the manga. I knew that in order to find Panda, we would need to witness Panda’s ultimate heartbreak. And it was going to break my heart, too. Because Panda might be big and powerful, but he’s still baby. See, the one thing about the Shibuya Incident arc is that it leaves us feeling numb enough to falsely believe we won’t feel pain next time. But that’s a lie. Episode 52 begins with a soul-crushing confrontation that promises neither we, nor Panda, will ever be the same again.
Yoshinobu Gakugangi Has the Brownest Nose in Jujutsu Kaisen
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First, I’d like to say that a living human should not hate a fictional character as much as I loathe Kyoto principal Yoshinobu Gakugangi. From the moment his character is introduced, it is apparent that he does whatever the higher-ups tell him to do. Kill Yuji Itadori. Yes, sirs. Kill Masamichi Yaga. Yes, sirs! He’s a yes man, and no one likes a yes man, especially in a situation that already feels oppressive.
The way the higher-ups have been handling student sorcerers for years is unconscionable. That alone lands people like Satoru Gojo and Masamichi Yaga in their cross hairs because they tend to oppose the higher-ups. One of the things about Yaga is that for years the higher-ups have feared him capable of building his own army of cursed corpses. They ask him numerous times over the years to tell them how he does it, but he always refuses.
Cursed corpse creation is something Yaga uses for good. He helps Kusakabe’s sister heal by creating a cursed corpse using her son Takeru’s soul information. We see he has an entire forest full of cursed corpses, all of which adore him and look forward to his every visit. And then there’s Panda. I already said Panda is baby, but not just any baby. Yaga sees Panda as his son. He even calls him that in this episode.
The Lonely Life of a Jujutsu Sorcerer
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One of the saddest things about Jujutsu Kaisen isn’t that it lacks families. It’s that the families aren’t warm, fuzzy units who welcome and embrace and really love each other. In fact, the only sorcerer families fans get any real insight into are the Zen’in and the Kamo. Gojo rarely mentions his family, beyond being the head of the clan. Akutami sensei confirms in the Official Character Guide that Gojo’s parents are still alive, but little else. We’ve also seen how his training as the Six Eyes user was their clan’s priority, and Gojo basically spent most of his childhood doing everything but enjoying his childhood.
Being a jujutsu sorcerer doesn’t leave much room for anything else in life. Many of them, like Gojo, live on campus because they are always at the ready to take on missions. So, interpersonal and social relationships aren’t a priority, and that means most of them are living very lonely lives. The Character Guide also tells us that Yaga is divorced, and while we may not have the details, we can guess things didn’t work out because of the danger he faces and his dedication to the work.
The first time we meet Yaga in Season 1, he’s surrounded by cursed corpses because he’s obviously filling the void of his own loneliness. But Panda was his pride and joy, and he raised him like a son. He cared very deeply for him, and we see this when Panda is injured during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. Yaga repairs and covers the damage with an armband that says “I Love Panda.” Because he does, just like he would his own son.
Gakuganji Killing Yaga in Jujutsu Kaisen Hurts My Heart
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Given everything we’ve come to know about Principal Yaga, even though we don’t get to see him often, he is obviously a very caring person. He’s the kind of principal who deserves the respect and friendship of his students. He’s the polar opposite of Gakuganji, and he has to be to maintain the balance of power before it all goes to hell.
When Panda comes running, it’s already too late. It looks like he’s about to attack Gakuganji, but he soars right past him and takes his dying father into his arms. When Gakuganji asks him why he doesn’t fight; he should hate him. Panda’s answer is enough to make anyone have an emotional breakdown.
“Pandas aren’t bound by things like that. Besides, you were never on bad terms with Masamichi. To me, you’re just the knife that fell upon him. Just make sure you remember this… Even pandas cry.”
The First Rule of Jujutsu Kaisen Fight Club: Don’t Talk About Fight Club
With Megumi and Yuji approaching the fight club where third-year student Kinji Hakari has been roosting, they know they’re on precarious ground. If Kinji suspects for even a second that they’ve come on behalf of Jujutsu High, he won’t even let them get to the point. The best way to get his attention, is to join the fight club, but first they’ll need to get past the goons standing outside.
Megumi announcing that they’re there because they need money and want to join the Fight Club gets an appropriate nod to the iconic 1999 Brad Pitt and Edward Norton movie of the same name. Technically, they shouldn’t even know about Fight Club because the first rule of Fight Club is that you don’t talk about Fight Club. So who told them about it? Megumi continues his bluff, claiming he didn’t know the guy’s name. Only that he killed him about a month ago.
As the goons are trying to figure it if it was Kondo, maybe, their phone rings. The boss wants Yuji to fight. When he reaches the pits, his first opponent is none other than Panda. While fake-fighting in the most dramatic display imaginable, the two of them catch up. Driving the crowd wild, Panda energetically throws the fight and Yuji is named the victor. The most hilarious parts of this whole fight happens later. Panda is catching up with Megumi outside, and he complains about Yuji being a bad actor.
Yuji’s Luck Runs Out Against Kinji Hakari
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Fighting through the pits, Yuji finally earns an audience with Kinji Hakari. Kirara escorts him to the rooftops, where he finds a lounging Kinji. As the two start talking about luck and passion, Kinji mentions Gojo. They’re supposed to be playing on the downlow to keep from alerting him that they’re Jujutsu High students, so Yuji lies. Who’s Gojo?
It isn’t long before Kinji’s phone starts ringing. Instead of answering it, he gets them both a drink, then asks him if he was sent by Jujutsu High. Realizing that Yuji withheld the truth, seriously everyone knows who Satoru Gojo is, Kinji tells him Kirara only calls if something’s wrong. He and Yuji are about to face off, and for just a brief second, I swear I caught a flashing glimpse of Kinji’s domain expansion. I didn’t… not really. It was just my excited imagination.
All we need to know right now is Idle Death Gamble is a game of chance. And since Kinji Hakari is the luckiest guy alive, that means Yuji Itadori’s luck may have just run out.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, Episode 5 On a Scale of 1 to 10
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First, let me just say that I am a sucker for Panda. Any episode I get to see him being his ridiculous Panda self, I’m all in. Secondly, I really appreciated the Fight Club reference more than I thought possible. Despite the heartrending beginning of this episode, Megumi, Yuji and Panda at Fight Club was a bit of a breather after the intensity of the Zen’in Clan massacre.
Right now, the objectives for Megumi and Yuji are clear. Recruit Kinji to their cause. Find Tsumiki Fushiguro before she is required to enter the Culling Game. Kinji Hakari is such a great character, and his official introduction, along with his girlfriend Kirara, in this episode sets us up for a fun ride. I’m super excited to see his domain expansion animated. It’s going to be glorious.
Another solid 10/10 for me. I haven’t found very much worth complaining about this season, so far. I hope it keeps up the momentum!
VOID RATING: 10/10
