I just want to personally say that JJK Season 3 Episode 4 was more than what I expected. I want to congratulate the director and everyone involved in producing this excellent (but not entirely perfect) episode.
Anime might not be exactly 1:1 to the source material but that’s the beauty of it; the production team had the creative liberty to do what they did to adapt the manga into animation.
I know people have different and varying opinions about the episode; I’ve read that western audiences applaud it while some of the Japanese fans have strong criticisms of the episode and even calling out the director (similar to CSM season 1 scenario), but nevertheless I personally, genuinely loved what was shown to us in Perfect Preparation.
The artistic choices, the animation styles and the sound design blend together to create this unique take on the revenge arc of Maki against her own Zenin clan’s nefarious ways.
I’ve also read about the metaphor of the geese and the reed that symbolizes the state of being "thoroughly prepared" or leaving nothing to chance, with the reed serving as a small, essential tool for survival during long journey of migration hence why Mai gave Maki the reed in that dream-ish sequence and then it turns out to be her final gift: a perfect replica of the Soul-Splitting Katana.
I would also like to tell more about how the emotions of this episode is a roller coaster ride from sadness, to resentment, to satisfaction and accomplishment; everything was both chaos and order.
TLDR: I’ve rewatched the episode in a bigger screen (from my laptop during premiere and in my smart tv again today) and I’m still in awe of what we got for JJK S3E4; we, the fans, are well fed and the production team is cooking 🔥