"Pacifier Panda" is so cute it's breaking the internet! Fans are "literally sobbing" over the hellish turn of events in Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 52

Episode 52 of the anime "Jujutsu Kaisen," part of the "The Culling Game Part 1" (Season 3), aired late on the night of January 29th. The episode opened with a wholesome flashback of Panda (CV: Tomokazu Seki) as a baby, warming viewers' hearts. However, it was immediately followed by a hellish development that left Panda in tears, sending fans into an emotional spiral with comments like "I'm literally sobbing" and "My emotions are a total wreck only 5 minutes in."

Panda is a Mutant Cursed Corpse created by Masamichi Yaga (CV: Takaya Kuroda), the principal of Tokyo Jujutsu High. Raised by Yaga since he was a baby, the two shared a bond much like a father and son.

The beginning of Episode 52, titled "Fever," featured a flashback scene from Yaga’s perspective. It introduced a baby version of Panda wrapped in a swaddle and sucking on a pacifier. This "Pacifier Panda" was so incredibly precious that fans online couldn't hide their excitement, posting things like "SOOOOO CUUUUTE lol," "That paw-print pacifier is everything! <3," and "I want to raise a Panda-shaped Cursed Corpse too! lol."

However, the scene then shifted back to the present day. Following the events of the Shibuya Incident, Yaga has been sentenced to death. Assassins and Yoshinobu Gakuganji (CV: Mugihito), the principal of Kyoto Jujutsu High, appear before him. By the time Panda rushes to the scene, everything is already over... When Gakuganji asks, "Why won't you fight? Do you not hate me?", Panda calmly responds, "A panda doesn't get hung up on stuff like that." But he follows it up with a heartbreaking cry that echoed through the air: "But remember this one thing—even pandas cry."

The sheer whiplash from the heartwarming past to this devastating reality left many viewers devastated. Comments like "I cried my eyes out," "Seeing all these different sides of Panda is making me an emotional wreck," and "I’m a mess and it’s only been 5 minutes" flooded social media as hearts were squeezed by the tragedy.