YutaMaki

"I want to be like you. Strong and resilient. I want to be like that."

- Yuta to Maki in Volume 0 (Chapter 0.3)

YutaMaki is the het ship between Yuta Okkotsu and Maki Zenin from the Jujutsu Kaisen series.

Canon
Yuta and Maki are both Jujutsu High second-years, they meet in Chapter 1 of Volume 0. Maki's first impression of Yuta isn’t the best, as she believes that he is a "punk" and that she has no reason to be nice to that kind of guy. Maki, along with other students, is shocked to see a curse following Yuta around, and even considers getting rid of it, but Yuta stops her. In the same chapter, Satoru Gojo puts the students in pairs for their afternoon practice class, making Maki and Yuta work together in a pair. Maki's first reply to this is dismissive "Gah", but Yuta responds politely with, "I'm looking forward to working with you". Maki then teases him, wondering if he had been mistreated back in his middle school, and adds that she would bully him, too, for the way he acts. During this interaction, Maki says to Yuta that Jujutsu High isn't that easy, making herself seem a bit harsh and blunt.

Three months after Yuta joined Jujutsu High and started training, as Maki and Yuta spar together, Gojo, Panda, and Inumaki stand aside and watch them. Gojo notices how Yuta became more positive, and Panda adds that Maki looks much happier since Yuta joined them. Later Gojo informs Maki and Yuta that he will be taking them to an elementary school to exorcise a curse and rescue the kids. Since this is Yuta's first mission and he is quite inexperienced, Maki has to show him how to defeat the curses, giving him a couple of tips along the way. During this mission, Maki gets injured in the leg, and looses consciousness, so Yuta has to take the reigns and save them himself. After summoning Rika and getting rid of the curses, Yuta carries Maki on his back out of the building.

After Suguru Geto declares war on Jujutsu High, Maki and Yuta accidentally meet in one of the empty classrooms, and Maki tells him about her not having any cursed energy and not being able to see the curses. She admits that she wants to become a sorcerer in order to prove her family wrong and show her strength and resilience in the face of their prejudice. Yuta responds with an expression of admiration, saying that he wants to be like her, and even promising to help her take down the Zenin family patriarch she despises so much. To that Maki calls him stupid, as it's her mission as a Zenin family member, and she must do it by herself.

In chapter 0.3, Geto praises Yuta, but later calls Maki "the Zenin family failure" for her lack of cursed energy. This angers Yuta, and he slaps Geto's hand away from his shoulder. He then tells him that he won't help someone who looks down on his friends. Maki later explains to him why she is considered a "failure". After having this conversation, Yuta praises Maki for being strong and resilient.

In chapter 144 of the manga, Yuta and Maki finally reunite after the Shibuya incident. Yuta is very excited to see Maki again. Since Maki isn't in the best condition, Yuta comes running towards her, and asks if it's okay for her to be moving around. Yuki explains to them how sometimes burn scars cannot be healed, even with the help of the Reverse Cursed Technique. When the details about the Culling Game are revealed, both decide to participate in it. When Yuta mentions how Kinji Hakari, the suspended third-year, can be stronger than him when he's worked up, Maki chimes in to note that it's not true.

Behind The Scenes
"Maybe it was Okkotsu who affirmed Maki for the first time after she believed only in herself."

- Mikako Komatsu, Maki's Voice Actor on Yuta and Maki. "That's proof that she [Maki] cares."

- Mikako Komatsu on Maki caring about Yuta. "[Okkotsu] will be honest with her [Maki] and have a feeling of admiration and respect."

- Mikako Komatsu on Yuta and Maki. "I feel a strong bond between the two."

- MENSNONNO on Yuta and Maki.

Quotes
"I want to be like you. Strong and resilient. I want to be like that."

- Yuta to Maki.

"No fair... no fair! Thinking only of you! Thinking only of you!"

- Rika to an unconscious Maki about Yuta.

"Don't think you got recognized or something..."

- Maki to herself thinking of Yuta while blushing.

"Treat her better than butterflies, more than flowers. You must treat (her) respectfully."

- Yuta to Rika about about Maki in the official Korean translation of Volume 0.

"I want to be like you. Like Maki, I want to live strong and upright."

- Yuta to Maki in the official Korean translation of Volume 0.

Fanon
The ship is considered a rare pair, with most of the fandom preferring NobaMaki and InuOkko. However along with this, the ship is well-known among manga readers, specifically those who have read Volume 0. In 2020, YutaMaki was placed 27th on the list of JJK ships on Pixiv. As of the end of 2021, YutaMaki is on the list of the TOP 40 of the most popular ships in Jujutsu Kaisen's Japanese fandom, scoring 33th place, while being Yuta's 4th most popular ship and the most popular out of three ships with Maki on the list.

On AO3, YutaMaki is Yuta's second most written ship besides InuOkko, and Maki's second most written ship behind NobaMaki.

At the beginning of chapter 0.2, when Maki and Yuta train together, the fans can see that Maki is strict with him, but she also helps Yuta to become stronger. Many fans of the pairing saw the beginning of possible romantic feelings for each other in manga, and they hope that since Maki and Yuta are reunited again and are working on the same goal, those impulses might grow into something bigger. Fans of YutaMaki believe that Yuta appreciates Maki's new makeover (like humorously depicted here).

Although it is not stated, some fans believe that Yuta could healed Maki when she was injured from the burns and scars, seeing that he didn’t have a reaction upon taking a look at her during their reunion. Some also speculate that Yuta and Maki could have seen each other after the evnts of Shibuya and before their reunion with Yuji and Megumi. Some fans like to think that Yuta visited Maki when she was being healed.

After chapter 149, many JJK fans saw a distinctive parallel between Maki and Yuta ー both lost people closest to them (Yuta lost Rika, the girl he loved; Maki lost her twin sister Mai). After this and due to their deaths they attained unmeasurable power and a special weapon (Yuta had a katana containing Rika's power, and Maki wields a sword forged by Mai through her technique). Some fan works are dedicated to this similarity (like this art).

Fandom
FANFICTION

PIXIV
 * ゆたまき tag on Pixiv
 * ゆたまき tag on Pixiv

TUMBLR

TWITTER
 * notable twitter pages:
 * @_neimana's art page
 * notable twitter pages:
 * @_neimana's art page
 * notable twitter pages:
 * @_neimana's art page

Spotify YutaMaki Playlist on Spotify

Moments

 * During a mission with Inumaki, Yuta remembered Maki's words, "Curses only team up if they're weak."
 * In order to "scare off" Suguru Geto away from Jujutsu High, they use Yuta (since he's a special grade) to scare him away by calling him "Mr. Yuta!" as if he's the principal. Maki also plays along and says, "Get out before Mr. Yuta kicks ya' out!"
 * Rika once yelled at an unconscious Maki out of jealousy, saying about Yuta: “No fair... no fair! Thinking only of you! Thinking only of you!"
 * In chapter 3 of Volume 0, Maki blushes and walks away thinking: 'Don't think you got recognized or something...' after Yuta says to her: “I want to be like you, strong and resilient. I want to be like that."
 * Panda had officially stated in Chapter 10 of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga that Maki is softer when Yuta is around.
 * In the final chapter when Rika transforms back into her child self, and Yuta is ready to join her in the afterlife, Maki puts her hand on Yuta's collar holding him back.

Trivia

 * Panda asks Yuta if he prefers women with large or small chests, and Yuta replies with "Medium-sized". Panda then begins teasing Maki by saying that they have a chance on getting together.
 * In Jujutsu stroll for episode 15, when asked "What's your type?", Maki says "At least someone stronger than me." Yuta, who's a Special Grade Sorcerer, easily fits that description.
 * In an interview for the Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook, mangaka Gege Akutami was asked if there was ever another girl Yuta had fallen in love with after Rika was gone. Gege's answer being, "I'm sure there will be one from now on."
 * Maki’s view on Yuta changed from an “irritating beansprout” to an “amazing beansprout”. This was also said in the interview translation by WAYA about Gege as he described Maki's view on Yuta "a beansprout that annoyed her to an awesome beansprout." "beansprout" is a term of endearment derived from "bean."
 * In the original translation of the scene where Yuta tells Rika to treat Maki as if she were a butterfly or a flower, he uses the kanji «花» (hana) which asides from flower means blossom. Presumably a cherry blossom as in China they represent love, the female mystique of strength, and beauty.
 * Panda is often seen making remarks and teasing Maki about Yuta and her getting together.
 * Yuta and Maki are both relatives of very strong jujutsu users. Maki being a relative of Toji, and Yuta being a relative of Gojo.
 * Maki’s Seiyuu, Komatsu Mikako, uses the “Let’s crush the Zenin Family,” for Maki, a phrase that came from Yuta in the prequel.