Maki kills her mom in Jujutsu Kaisen as part of the same vengeful break from the Zenin clan that begins after Mai’s death: her mother is both complicit in years of abuse and a final “test” of whether there is anything in that family worth sparing.

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

  • After Mai sacrifices herself, Maki promises to “destroy everything” connected to the Zenin clan that crushed them.
  • During her massacre of the clan, she confronts her mother, who had long enabled or participated in their mistreatment, and delivers a fatal blow.
  • Her mother later kills Naoya on her deathbed, but the implication is that Maki had already mortally injured her before that point.

Why Did Maki Kill Her Mom?

Fans and analyses usually point to a mix of motives rather than one simple reason:

  • Long-term abuse and complicity
    • Maki’s mother verbally abused her, expressed regret for having her, and went along with the clan’s cruel hierarchy instead of protecting her daughters.
* In that sense, she is seen as another cog in the abusive Zenin system, not an innocent bystander.
  • Failure to protect Mai
    • When Maki returned to the estate, her mother emotionally tried to stop her from entering the warehouse, supposedly because “women are forbidden,” but she already knew Ogi was inside with an injured Mai.
* Later, Maki asks: “Why did you tell me to come back?” Fans read this as Maki giving her mother one last chance to show genuine care or remorse; when she doesn’t, Maki concludes she chose the clan over her daughters.
  • Fulfilling Mai’s last request / curse
    • Mai dies after giving Maki everything she has, with Maki essentially promising to wipe out the Zenin clan in exchange.
* Some readers interpret this as a kind of “curse” or binding promise: Maki follows through so completely that no member of that household, including her mother, is exempt.

Is Maki a “Bad Guy” for It?

The fandom is divided, and that’s part of why “why did Maki kill her mom” keeps trending in discussions and forum threads.

  • View 1: Justified but tragic anti-hero
    • Supporters argue Maki is an abused survivor striking back at a toxic clan that systematically harmed her and Mai, including a mother who stood by and let it happen.
* In this reading, the act is morally dark but framed as a tragic step in dismantling a cruel system rather than senseless evil.
  • View 2: Crossed a moral line
    • Others feel that killing her mom, who is physically powerless and later shows some agency against Naoya, pushes Maki into morally villainous or at least deeply compromised territory.
* These readers say the story does not fully “punish” or interrogate that choice, so they see it as part of a character derailment or “character assassination.”
  • View 3: Intentional moral ambiguity by the author
    • Many fans think Gege Akutami deliberately leaves Maki’s inner feelings murky here: she is consumed by rage and grief, and the story invites readers to debate whether she is freeing herself or becoming another monster shaped by the clan.

Mini Forum-Style Take

“Was it to free her or because she saw her as just another piece in the abuse she suffered?” – A common question in JJK forums, with replies usually landing on “both, plus Mai’s last request.”

“Her mum was abusive too… she’s complicit in the way she and Mai were treated all the same.” – Typical top-level response summarizing the pro-Maki side of the argument.

Context in 2024–2026 Discussions

  • Ever since the Zenin massacre arc was fully out, threads like “Why did Maki kill her mom? Is she a bad guy?” keep resurfacing as new anime viewers catch up and manga readers revisit the arc.
  • With the franchise still active in 2025–2026, character-analysis videos and long forum debates on “Maki as an anti-hero” and “forgotten crimes of Maki” continue to trend in the JJK community.

TL;DR: Maki kills her mom because she sees her as part of the same abusive Zenin system that killed Mai and ruined their lives, and she is carrying out a promise to “destroy everything”—but the story leaves enough emotional ambiguity that fans still argue over whether that makes her a tragic anti-hero or someone who crossed an unforgivable line.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.