[Spoiler Review] Anime 'Jujutsu Kaisen' Season 3 Episode 52 (Season 3 Episode 5) "Heat"

Aired January 30, 2026. This episode was a masterfully structured ride that first plunges viewers into the depths of despair, then burns it all away with the fierce "heat" of a powerful new character, Hakari Kinji.

Overall Impression: Inherited Curses and Mismatched "Heat"

This episode carried two completely different atmospheres between its first and second halves.

The first half depicted Principal Yaga's final moments with a weight that left me speechless, while the second half's contact with Hakari was charged with tension that foreshadowed the intensifying battles ahead. In particular, how Yuji would face an unconventional talent like Hakari was compelling. The word "heat," with its connotations of clinging to life and the thrill of gambling, felt like a symbol for the entire Culling Game arc to come. Not a single moment could be looked away from.

Episode 52

At the beginning, we witness the depths of the jujutsu world's darkness and the figure of one "father" who resisted it to the end. Principal Masamichi Yaga, sentenced to death as a scapegoat for the Shibuya Incident. The assassin sent after him, and the arrival of Principal Gakuganji, his former colleague acting on the higher-ups' orders, underscored the cruelty of an inescapable fate.

The "parent-child bond" between Yaga and Panda depicted here was heartbreaking. For Yaga, Panda was never just a "self-sustaining cursed corpse" or a creation. He was a son with whom he shared his very soul. Pushing away Panda who tried to come save him and heading alone to his place of death, Yaga's retreating figure was filled with unconditional love: the wish to spare his son the brand of "a criminal's child," the hope that his son would keep living even after losing him.

In his dying moments, Yaga reveals to Gakuganji "how to create a fully autonomous cursed corpse." This was the forbidden knowledge the higher-ups desperately wanted, which Yaga had kept secret all along. Why reveal it at the very end? It was neither revenge against Gakuganji nor a plea for his life. "This is my curse upon you, Principal Gakuganji." The pure feelings from the moment he created his beloved son, transformed into an impossibly heavy, love-filled "father's curse" meant to prevent that knowledge from being exploited as a tool of war. Panda arriving to find his father's changed form, the tears he shed, will be etched in memory as one of this season's most tragic scenes.

Yet there is no time to dwell in sorrow as the story shifts to Yuji and Megumi's mission: recruiting third-year student Hakari Kinji, currently suspended. The setting is the underground fight club "Gachinko Fight Club" run by Hakari. The tension of Yuji and the others infiltrating while hiding their identities brought a refreshing "underworld" atmosphere unlike anything we'd seen in Jujutsu Kaisen before.

And then the long-awaited face-off between Yuji and Hakari. Beyond the pretense of negotiating fight rules, it was a scene testing the "soul compatibility" of the two. Hakari peers into Yuji's eyes, trying to determine if there is "heat" within them. But after so many farewells, how did Yuji's eyes appear to Hakari?

Hakari's single line of rejection to Yuji's attempt at persuasion: "Nah. You've gone cold." The power of that cliffhanger ending made me shout. The "heat" that Hakari seeks versus the "sense of duty" that Yuji carries. This fundamental disconnect will undoubtedly make the next episode's collision all the more explosive. The voice performance perfectly capturing Hakari's charisma, combined with the distinctive neon-lit color design of the fight club, made for an impossibly cool episode.

Next Episode Prediction: The True Worth of the Gambler Hakari Kinji

As for predictions, the next episode should mark the start of a proper "dialogue through fists" between Hakari and Yuji. This time, Hakari called Yuji "cold," but how will Yuji demonstrate the "heat" that Hakari would acknowledge? Also intriguing are the movements of Megumi and Panda facing off against Kirara outside. Knowing that Panda just lost his father, imagining what state of mind he brings to battle, I'll be watching with more prayer than anticipation.

Above all, we should start to see glimpses of why Hakari was labeled a "problem child" and distanced himself from Jujutsu High, along with hints of his true power. Can they recruit this "too hot" senior as an ally to survive the Culling Game death game? I'll be waiting at the edge of my seat next week!