LONGEST JJK EPISODE YET! We Relive the Uchiha Clan Massacre After 20 Years! What to Expect for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 4

On Janaury 20, 2026, we got more information on the upcoming Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 episode.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 4 is titled, “Perfect Preparation”.

Episode Length

The most notable thing about this episode is that it will be the single-longest episode in Jujutsu Kaisen, being 28 minutes long instead of the usual 23.

This is quite unprecedented in recent times as it is uncommon for any anime to go beyond even 24 minutes in their episodes, outside of cases like Demon Slayer, Re:Zero, Fate having hour-long premieres and final episodes in a given season.

This shows how much control Shota Goshozono has over the fate of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 over any part of the series, that he would insist on this exact length being maintained.

Many shows could have benefitted from a director or a studio with such a solid relationship with the industry, such as Attack on Titan, especially in its Final Season with Episode 3: “The Door of Hope”, where a large amount of crucial content was skipped over for the sake of pacing.

Chapters Adapted

As predicted in our Episode 3 preview, this episode will adapt the entire Zenin Clan Massacre from Chapter 148: “Perfect Preparation” to Chapter 152: “Perfect Preparation Epilogue”, which is the shortest chapter in the series at 9 pages, for a total of 47 pages, skipping Chapter 147: “Even Pandas”.

The two main trailers of Season 3 have shown many glimpses into the episode, including Maki destroying the Hei in a rather unique setting different from the manga and the outdoor fight between her and Naoya.

Staff

Storyboard: Shouta Goshozono

Episode Director: Shouta Goshozono, Risa Suzuki, Yuusuke Sunouchi

Chief Animation Director: Yousuke Yajima, Hiromi Niwa, Takako Shimizu, Souta Yamazaki

Animation Directors: Shinya Itou, Yuuko Ebara, Nozomi Nagatomo, Xuanjing Wang

Assistant Animation Directors: Reimi Eda, Masayuki Tachibana, Mentarou

Key Animators: Tadashi Hiramatsu, Itsuki Tsuchigami, Shoutarou Ban, mokmok, Shouta Goshozono, Risa Suzuki, Hiromi Sakamoto, Mari Oda, Aya Suzuki, Eekee, Takako Shimizu, Fuyuko Iwata, Yoshikazu Tomita, Hayato Kurosaki, Reina Igawa, Isuta, Kouhei Hirota, saucelot, Julian Bentley, Proro, Obrian Bennie, Souta Shigetsugu, Yuuto Kajino, Shinsaku Kouzuma, Sou Miyazaki (studio chromato), Mise (studio chromato), Nakaya Onsen, Hakuyu Go, Sijin Xu, Daniel Kim, Mitsuko Baba, China

This is quite the lineup of animators and staff for the episode, a testament to how this episode is a priority for Season 3.

Shota Goshozono returns to storyobard his 4th episode, solidifying our point that he will likely storyboard all of Cour 1 of Season 3.

This is also his third episode directed, another sign of his hard work and need to execute his vision for the episode well.

Gosso will also be a key animator and he is famous for animating Sukuna’s awakening

In Anime Expo 2024, Shota Goshozono mentioned how he looked forward to animating Maki the most on Season 3 and this seems to be his personal favorite and chosen episode.

Alongside him are Risa Suzuki, who has mostly been an animation director but has directed Episode 51 of Re:Zero, among others, and Yuusuke Sunouchi

Key Animator Lineup is STACKED!

Thanks to user @Aizenu_00 for the credits for the key animators.

Most of them have been involved in Season 2, the Shibuya Incident’s biggest highlights.

Among the many names on the list of key animators is Hakuyu Go, who brought in Vincent Chansard and worked together with him to animate Season 2 Episode 17: “Thunderclap Part 2”, which featured the incredibly detailed and highly-acclaimed fight between Sukuna and Mahoraga.

Notably, Go was responsible for portions of Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine activation and Divine Flame destroying Mahoraga.

Itsuki Tsuchigami was responsible for the PV cut of Maki taking down the Hei, as well as Sukuna’s activation of Divine Flame against Jogo in Season 2 Episode 16: “Thunderclap”

Nakaya Onsen took part in animating Season 1’s first opening, Kaikan Kitai, notably the cuts of Gojo using Red, Nanami Kento fighting a giant Cursed Spirit and the lineup of Disaster Curses leading up to Mahito, as well as the fight between Toji and Megumi in Season 2 Episode 16.

Sou Miyazaki took part in the first bit of Jogo vs Sukuna in Season 2 Episode 16 when Jogo slammed Sukuna through two images in a homage to Pain vs Naruto, particularly from Shippuden Episode 167.

Honehone (Souta Shigetsugu) is also an acclaimed name for multiple cuts in One Piece, such as Kaido vs Oden in Episode 972, and the first part of Sukuna vs Mahoraga in Season 2 Episode 17 that has Mahoraga throw a train at Sukuna and they go through multiple buildings in a rush.

Daniel kim is responsible for Hanami vs Gojo in Season 2 Episode 9: “The Shibuya Incident – Gate Open”

Julian Bentley is an incredible animator known for the voluminous detail of his drawings, as shown in the final battle between Denji vs Reze in the Chainsaw Man movie and in Mahoraga vs Sukuna in Season 2 Episode 17.

Kohei Hirota is responsible for the My Hero Academia-esque scene of Todo punching Mahito with a Black Flash that did zero damage in Season 2 Episode 20: “Right and Wrong, Part 3”, which makes sense since Hirota has been an animator for My Hero Academia since Season 6.

Isuta Meister is responsible for the scene where Gojo crushes Hanami to death with his Cursed Energy in Season 2 Episode 9

Hayato Kurosaki handled the fight between Yuji and Megumi against Jiro Awasaka in Season 2 Episode 11: “Summon”.

Shoutarou Ban was an animator for One Piece, handling the fight between Luffy and the Seraphim S-Hawk, who used a copy of the Supa Supa no Mi (Dice-Dice Fruit) and Mr. 1’s (Daz Bonez) moves in Episode 1109.

Shinsaku Kozuma was the animator responsible for Suguru Geto’s Maximum: Uzumaki in the Jujutsu Kaisen: 0 film.

Fuyuko Iwata animated a segment of Sanji’s flashback in One Piece Episode 1162, where we see the Germa Kingdom’s atrocities against other lands, from Germa clones shooting civilians to bombing a town.

China is an animator for Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia.

Saucelot is primarily known for his animation in the Castlevania series and that style carries into his anime works, such as Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Episode 6, animating the early parts of Yamamato’s Bankai clash against Yhwach.

The same extends to his work in the Chainsaw Man movie where Reze and Denji fought inside a building and most of all in Season 2 Episode 17 of Jujutsu Kaisen, where he, along with Tanuki Sunakohara, Hironori Tanaka, and Vincent Chansard, animated Mahoraga’s adaptation of Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine.

Lastly, Yuuto Kajino worked on Chainsaw Man Episode 11, doing the Future Devil’s dance.

Next Episode

Season 3 Episode 5 is titled, “Fever” and will conclude the Perfect Preparation Arc, adapting Chapter 147: “Even Pandas”, Chapter 153: “Underground Fight Club” to Chapter 155: “Fever”, where the episode gets its name.

Notably, this will also adapt Chapter 147: “Even Pandas”, which means this episode will start with Yaga’s death and Panda mourning his loss, which leads into his participation in Hakari’s Underground Fight Club.

We may see some additions for the Panda story, given the timing of the episode.

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