Move Over, Mahito: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Crowns a New Apex of Evil
Jujutsu Kaisen has never lacked nightmare fuel—from Mahito’s twisted experiments to Sukuna’s ruthless reign—but with Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution and Season 3 turning the spotlight on Naoya Zenin, the hierarchy of evil is about to be rewritten.
If you think Jujutsu Kaisen already maxed out on nightmare fuel with Mahito and Sukuna, Season 3 is about to prove you wrong. The spotlight is shifting to Naoya Zenin - not a curse born from collective fear, but a human who was mean, cruel, and petty long before death ever got involved. With Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution and the next season pushing him forward, Naoya is poised to reshape the series villain lineup in a very ugly way.
The rot at the core of the Zenin family
Naoya grows up as the presumed heir to the Zenin clan, one of the series' Big Three sorcerer families. The clan puts power and cursed techniques on a pedestal, and Naoya absorbs every bit of that hierarchy. He decides early that strength equals worth, and that anyone weaker than him is beneath him. It is not just about power, either. The Zenin tradition bakes in misogyny, and Naoya runs with it. He believes women are inherently weaker and should fall in line behind men. That warped logic fuels his harassment and belittling of women across the board, especially Maki. The moment she surpasses him, he cannot handle it.
Pride over blood - how far Naoya goes
Naoya is not the type to hide behind family duty. After the Zenin clan head dies, he moves to eliminate rivals purely to protect his ego. He tries to kill Megumi and even plans to murder Maki and Mai. None of it is about safeguarding the clan. It is all about safeguarding his pride. That is the guy we are dealing with heading into Season 3.
Where Naoya fits among JJK's villains
Mahito is evil because he is literally a manifestation of human fear. Kenjaku and Sukuna chase massive, world-bending goals. Naoya is something else entirely: a human who makes conscious choices to be cruel, with motives that are small, personal, and vindictive. He is driven by insecurity and his fixation on Toji Fushiguro. As a kid, Naoya worshipped Toji's strength. As an adult, he clings to the same elitist Zenin dogma that got Toji ostracized. That contradiction says it all. Naoya wants to feel powerful so badly that he becomes unpredictable, and that is why he may land harder as a villain than someone like Jogo or even Mahito. He knows exactly what he is doing - and does it anyway.
- Heir apparent of the Zenin clan - and the perfect product of its worst traditions
- Openly misogynistic, especially toward Maki, whom he cannot stand seeing surpass him
- Targets family members like Megumi, Maki, and Mai after the clan leader dies, out of pure ego
- Motives are personal and petty, not grand or ideological
- Obsessed with Toji Fushiguro, while embodying the beliefs that rejected Toji
- Dies, then comes back as a cursed spirit with even more hatred and a laser focus on revenge
Death only makes him worse
In one of the series' nastier turns, Naoya's death does not change him. It intensifies him. He is reborn as a cursed spirit fueled by spite, and his vendetta against Maki becomes the engine of his new form. Expect Season 3 to put that transformation front and center - the ugly culmination of everything rotten about the Zenin legacy distilled into one antagonist.
The bottom line
Jujutsu Kaisen has never been short on terrifying enemies, but Naoya is a different flavor of menace. He is not a supernatural accident. He is a choice. And Season 3 looks ready to show just how dangerous that kind of villain can be.
Jujutsu Kaisen is streaming on Crunchyroll.