YutaMaki

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

Canon
Yuta and Maki are currently second-years at Jujutsu High. They met in Chapter 1 of Volume 0 (a prequel to the main Jujutsu Kaisen story). Maki's first impression of Yuta isn’t great; she believes that he is a "punk" and that she has no reason to be nice to that kind of guy. Maki, along with Panda and Toge, are shocked to see a curse behind Yuta as he walks into the classroom to introduce himself. Before Yuta can get a word out, Maki and the others go up to him, with Maki throwing her weapon at the board behind him. Rika gets furious that they're harming him and attacks them, but Yuta stops her. In the same chapter, Satoru Gojo puts the students in pairs for their afternoon practice class, with Maki and Yuta together. Maki's first reply to this is a dismissive "Gah", but Yuta responds politely with, "I'm looking forward to working with you". Maki then teases him, wondering if he was bullied back in middle school, and adds that she would've bullied him too for the way he acts. During this interaction, Maki says to Yuta that Jujutsu High isn't that easy, making herself seem harsh and blunt.

When Suguru Geto is declaring war on Jujutsu High, he 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.

After Suguru Geto leaves 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. Maki is left speechless, having never been told something like that in her life. Still, Maki calls him stupid, as it's her mission as a Zenin family member, and she must do it by herself. Feeling flustered by Yuta’s words, she leaves the room and tells herself to not go feeling like she’s been recognised, while blushing.

After fighting Suguru Geto, Maki is left severely injured. Yuta heals her immediately, but Rika gets extremely upset about this, becoming jealous of Maki and mad that she's always on Yuta's mind. Yuta then tells Rika that Maki is a friend who’s saved his life and aggressively demands Rika to handle Maki delicately as if she were a butterfly or a flower. Rika backs down and understands. After Yuta returned to Japan, the two finally reunite after the Shibuya incident. After fulfilling his binding vow of killing Yuji, Yuta brings him back to life and goes back to Jujutsu High to meet the others. There, Yuta sees Maki. 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. The group goes to the Tombs of the Star to meet Tengen and learn about the Culling Game. After 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.

Maki tells everyone she is going back to the Zenin clan's homestay to gather tools to use. She asks Yuta what he's going to do and he says he's going off to a colony to gather information to help Megumi's sister and earn points.

The next time Yuta and Maki see each other is when the Jujutsu High sorcerers regroup to free Gojo from the prison realm using Angel's technique.



Moments

 * During a mission with Inumaki, Yuta remembered Maki's words: "Curses only team up if they're weak."
 * After Yuta heals his friends with RCT, Rika grabs an unconscious Maki and yells at her, “No fair... no fair! Thinking only of you! Thinking only of you!” in regard to Yuta's thoughts.
 * In a heartfelt moment before Geto arrives at campus in chapter 3 of Volume 0, Yuta compliments Maki saying, "I want to be like you, strong and resilient. I want to be like that." Maki then leaves, blushing outside the door and says to herself, “Don't think you got recognized or something..."
 * In the final chapter of Volume 0 where Rika transforms back into her human self and Yuta is ready to join her in the afterlife, Maki grabs Yuta's collar to hold him back.
 * During their training session in chapter 2 of Volume 0, Panda asks Yuta if he prefers large or small chests (the conversation is labelled “sexy talk” in the movie) and Yuta replies he likes them "medium-sized" (“on the big side” in the movie subs). Panda then teases Maki by saying she has a chance. Maki responds by yelling at Panda and attacking him.
 * Panda stated in Chapter 10 of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga that Maki is softer when Yuta is around.
 * In the Jujutsu Stroll for S1EP15, the cast is asked "What's your type?" and Maki says, "At least someone stronger than me." Yuta, who's a Special Grade Sorcerer, fits that description.

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

- Yuta to Maki

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

- Maki to herself about Yuta's sweet words

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

- Rika to an unconscious Maki about Yuta

"What are you doing, Rika? I owe her my life. Handle her gently, as if she were a butterfly or a flower!"

- Yuta to Rika after the vengeful spirit roughly grabs an unconscious Maki

JJK 0: The Movie
"I wish... I could be like you. I wish I could be so strong and unyielding."

- Yuta to Maki (Dub Version) "Maki...?"

- Yuta seeing Maki injured by Geto "What are you doing, Rika? That woman saved me. Handle her with more care than a butterfly or a flower!"

- Yuta to Rika about Maki "Am I an idiot? Don't start thinking this means you've been accepted!"

- Maki to herself about Yuta's words

Light Novel
"She's like a shining sun in the winter sky..."

- Yuta about Maki

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. "In this movie, the scene where Maki tells her story to Okkotsu in the classroom left a particularly deep impression on me. Although I thought she had already overcome difficulties and was psychologically prepared, Okkotsu's affirmation and admiration, saying, "I want to be a person like Maki-san," seemed to be a first-time experience for Maki. It feels like Okkotsu is also someone who gives hope to Maki."

- Mikako Komatsu. "That's proof that she (Maki) cares."

- Mikako Komatsu on Maki caring about Yuta. "The conversation with Yuta in VOL 0 leads to current Maki."

- Mikako Komatsu affirming the impact Yuta's words had on Maki. "It appears in the scene where the main character Yuta Okkotsu appears for the first time in the movie. Maki is a girl from the Zenin family, a famous family in the world of magic, but she is not born with magic power. Therefore, I (Maki) think that I grew up with hard feelings in the family, believed only in myself, did not show weakness, and always lived while inspiring myself with a strong heart. Okkotsu Yuta suddenly appears there (and) continues to show weakness in a sense that scary things are scary, and not understanding things. Maki, who saw the strength of being able to honestly express his feelings without being weak, felt a sense of frustration in him and hit him hard. There is also in the notice video, to Okkotsu "Why did you come to Jujutsu High?" The scene in which Maki asks, "What is this?" is also the core of the story, in which Maki's true heart, which he bumped into, brings about a change in his mind."

- Rough translation of Mikako Komatsu talking about Maki and Yuta. "There are some scenes where Maki says "even I would bully you" to Okkotsu, but that is proof that she cares. Although she has friends such as Inumaki and Panda, for her, who has lived on her own until now, Okkotsu, who is likely to have a feeling of longing and respect, may be the person who affirmed her for the first time."

- Mikako Komatsu.

Fanon
The ship used to be considered a rare-pair due to a lack of content. NobaMaki was the dominant ship with Maki among many fans due to their early appearance in the manga. The prequel that was published in Jump Giga in 2017 was compiled into Volume 0, which was released in December 2018 in Japan after 3 volumes of the main series had been released. After the volume's release, Yuta and Maki grew in popularity as a couple and as individual characters. However, Yuta hadn’t been introduced in the anime, so anime-only fans didn't see their interactions in the volume. The movie version of Volume 0 was released in 2022, which resulted in another surge of YutaMaki fans; the ship's fandom has grown exponentially since and is now a popular ship among Jujutsu Kaisen fans, even with casual watchers. It is often shipped alongside other popular ships, like ItaFushi, GojoHime and SatoSugu. YutaMaki is both Yuta and Maki's most popular ship. The second popular ship with Yuta is InuOkko and Maki's second popular ship is NobaMaki.

Many are drawn to the ship due to their mutual respect, admiration of each other’s abilities, and places in the Jujutsu world. Their dynamic among fans often revolves around Maki being the colder, assertive and aggressive one and Yuta being the shier, loving, and optimistic one. The word ‘malewife’ is often used by fans to describe Yuta when referencing this dynamic. Fans believe in the possibility of them fighting together against Kenjaku as Maki has no cursed energy and Yuta has an almost-infinite amount, making for a deadly combination. Along with that, Yuta uses Rika as a storage for cursed tools, which is something Maki could make use of, as depicted in this artwork here.

Although it is not shown in the manga, some fans believe that Yuta helped heal Maki after she was set ablaze by Jogo in Shibuya. Some also speculate that Yuta and Maki could've seen each other after the events of Shibuya and before Yuta sets out to kill Yuji.

Many JJK fans see 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, the only person she loved in the Zenin family). After their deaths, Yuta and Maki 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).

In 2023, YutaMaki ranked 27th (out of 30) on the list of most popular JJK ships on Pixiv, an image-sharing site where the majority of Japanese fans post fanart and short manga. YutaMaki was the 4th M/F ship on the list (out of 6).

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Yutamaki pictures on Pinterest

Trivia

 * 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. It was theorized by fans that Yuta meant a cherry blossom. In China, they represent love, the female mystique of strength, sexuality and beauty.
 * In an interview for the Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook, Gege Akutami was asked if Yuta has ever loved or will ever fall in love again with another girl after Rika was released. Akutami answered has been translated as "I'm sure he probably will, sometime in the future" and "I'm sure there will be one from now on."
 * Maki’s view on Yuta changed from an “irritating beansprout” to an “amazing beansprout” according to Gege Akutami in the official Jujutsu Kaisen fanbook. This answer has also been translated as, "from an annoying beansprout to an incredible beansprout." The word "beansprout" is a term of endearment derived from "bean."
 * Akutami was asked about Maki's first love in the Jujutsu Kaisen 0.5 Fanbook (about the movie) and responded with, "I don't know." He proceeded to put an illustration for the answer the part of the manga where Panda teases Maki about having a chance with Yuta.
 * Megumi Ogata (Yuta's JP VA) said she liked Maki's thighs.
 * Mikako Komatsu (Maki's JP VA) said that the conversation Maki had with Yuta is what lead to current Maki in JJK (Yuta's words had a deep effect on Maki). Komatsu also said that she liked the back view of Yuta from the JJK 0 Movie Poster.