Jujutsu Kaisen: Can Maki become like Toji? Her "almost-Toji" status, explored

One of the most engaging and intriguing characters in creator, author, and illustrator Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen manga series is none other than Maki Zen’in. Despite being introduced as a Grade 4 Sorcerer, it quickly becomes apparent that her strength and upper limits are much higher than that of a typical Grade 4 Sorcerer. However, the biggest question about her comes as: Can Maki become like Toji?

This is eventually revealed to be due to her having a Heavenly Restriction in place, which is further elaborated on with the introduction of Toji Fushiguro, also known as Toji Zen’in. The pair’s Heavenly Restrictions function very similarly to one another in Jujutsu Kaisen, seeing each relinquish all of their Cursed Energy in exchange for immense physical prowess.

However, Jujutsu Kaisen eventually reveals that Maki’s Heavenly Restriction is incomplete, giving her a means to fully complete the process, thanks to the sacrifice of her sister, Mai. This also gave Maki a Cursed Tool equivalent to the one Toji was well-known for. However, this weapon proves that no matter what she does, she’ll always be “almost-Toji” in the eyes of some fans.

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Jujutsu Kaisen’s Maki being “almost-Toji” isn’t a shot at her, but is nevertheless accurate

One of the biggest reasons why some Jujutsu Kaisen fans will always view Maki as an “almost-Toji” rather than Toji 2.0 stems from the authenticity of her Split Soul Katana. Whereas Toji’s was the original Cursed Tool itself, Maki’s is one that was created for her by her sister Mai upon the latter’s death, which also fulfilled the conditions for Maki’s full Heavenly Restriction.

While the weapons function the same as each other, it’s a Ship of Theseus-like conundrum when it comes to the authenticity of Maki’s version of the blade. Likewise, although modeled in the form of the original, it’s still not the original Split Soul Katana, which was seemingly lost in Toji’s inventory curse upon his own death. This authenticity issue also remains despite the two blades functioning the same as one another.

However, Maki being “almost-Toji” is not meant to insult her character or even comment on her position, which is similar to Toji's. This is especially true considering several comparisons between the duo, which have been made by many different characters in Jujutsu Kaisen, one of the most notable being Maki’s own father, Ogi.

Rather, it’s meant to emphasize that she is a different and unique person, even if her powers and abilities come from the same place as Toji’s. The same logic discussed above applies to their respective Cursed Tools as people. Despite their powers being the same in all respects, they are nevertheless two different entities rather than clones of one another.

In essence, Maki and Toji are like two students of the same discipline, each sporting similar movesets and drawing from their power in the same way while remaining two separate entities. Again, it’s not that Maki is inferior to Toji, but that she is merely a different person and her own person at that.

While she’ll always be “almost-Toji” to some as a result, this in and of itself is not an insult but rather a realistically appropriate way of differentiating between the two.

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