Highlights
- “Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season, covering the Culling Game arc, holds the potential to be the best yet.”
- “The Culling Game introduces new characters with powerful abilities, adding depth to the series’ already strong roster.”
- “Beloved characters from previous arcs make a comeback in this arc, undergoing growth and transformation.”
Jujutsu Kaisen is a series that has taken the whole world by storm with its mix of amazing characters, cool fights, intricate power systems, and a deeply layered story. There are very few modern anime series that have reached the same level of success and it clearly shows, with millions of fans tuning in weekly for the latest episode to drop or waiting for the manga chapters to release to keep up with where the story currently is.
The first two seasons proved that the animators at MAPPA Studios greatly respected and loved the series as they brought it to life for fans to enjoy on their screens, with faithful renditions of the many arcs covered in season 1 and the recent closure of the Shibuya Incident in season 2. However, the third season of Jujutsu Kaisen is set to cover the Culling Game arc and holds the potential to be the best season yet, so let’s see why it’s worth the wait.
A Quick Recap of Events
The story of Jujutsu Kaisen mainly follows Yuji Itadori, a lively and charismatic high schooler who, through misfortune, comes across a Cursed Object called ‘Sukuna’s Finger’. This object houses within it the spirit of the most powerful Cursed Spirit of all time, Ryomen Sukuna, and after being forced to eat the finger, Yuji’s body becomes a vessel for him. It is here that Yuji is recruited by Satoru Gojo to become a part of Jujutsu High.
Season 1 of the series mostly follows this story, with Yuji undergoing strict training under Gojo and being taken on many missions to further bolster his strength and Cursed Technique. In his batch, he meets Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki as well as a few other characters. This first season also reveals the main enemies of the series; Sukuna, Pseudo-Geto and the Disaster Curses, who are all working together but, in actuality, want to achieve their own goals.
Season 2 begins with the Hidden Inventory arc, a short arc that covers the youth of Gojo and the real Geto, but one that also sets the pieces for all the events to happen later on in the series. After this, the infamous Shibuya Incident is shown in the rest of season 2, where many beloved characters die and the survivors (mostly Yuji) are left extremely traumatized. As the season closes off with Pseudo-Geto making his escape with a still imprisoned Gojo, the groundwork for the Culling Game is set.
The Culling Game Begins
The close of Season 2 gives somewhat of an inkling as to what Kenjaku’s ultimate plan is. By finally absorbing Mahito and getting access to his Idle Transfiguration ability with Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Kenjaku opens a seal that awakens around 1000 sorcerers that either have new abilities unlocked or are sorcerers that have been awoken into new vessels.
The latter was made possible due to 1000 years of planning by Kenjaku, where he made deals with many sorcerers over the years to have their spirit awoken in a brand-new body, similar to what happened with Sukuna and Yuji. This awakening then leads to a massive battle royale with the goal of accumulating the most points by the time the Culling Game ends, which is done when sorcerers kill other participants.
His ultimate goal is to optimize cursed energy by making all these sorcerers fight and, in doing so, leak a lot of energy to form a single, all-powerful curse that envelopes everything. The Culling Game introduces tons of new characters who all have incredible and intricate techniques that are often incredibly powerful and sometimes are just very goofy and fun.
The heroes, on the other hand, are still in the process of finding a way to free Gojo from the Prison Realm and they undertake any challenge that they can in the hope of doing so. Because of this, different teams of heroes are split up and cover many areas of Japan with their own smaller objectives that will ultimately help to realize this larger goal to help in the final battle against the villains.
Season 3 would start with the very short ‘Itadori’s Extermination’ arc, which follows fan-favorite character Yuta Okkotsu on a journey to kill Yuji due to being assigned the mission to do so by the higher-ups of Jujutsu society. Yuta eventually tricks them by saving Yuji and the story then begins the subsequent arc, where the main characters of the story all seem to come and work together to free Gojo. The end of this arc is marked by Gojo’s eventual freedom from the Prison Realm and the Shinjuku Showdown begins.
The Best Fights in the Series
Since various new and interesting characters are introduced in the Culling Game, they bring with them insane abilities and powers that are some of the most intricate, confusing and fun in the entire anime/manga industry. These techniques are incredibly versatile and engaging, due to which the fights in the Culling Game arc are absolutely incredible, with many moments that make fans jump up from their seats in excitement.
Even when it comes to characters whose fighting style and abilities have been shown before, this arc brings them into unique combat situations that force them to adapt their technique to suit the opponents that they are currently facing. This ends up giving existing abilities a new spin, making them even more relevant and exciting than ever before. The best example of this is Megumi’s fight against many new Curse Users, where he has to tailor and use his Ten Shadows Technique very specifically.
The best fights in all of Jujutsu Kaisen are a part of the Culling Game arc, none more so than Hakari versus Kashimo. Both of these characters are introduced within the series as absolute powerhouses that are some of the most powerful sorcerers in history, and their showdown in this arc is a perfect example of why these two are put near the top of the list of strongest characters in the series.
This fight goes all over the place, with each fighter gaining the upper hand at different stages of the showdown. Kashimo uses his electrical powers to devastating effect while Hakari’s mastery over his luck, Cursed Technique
and Domain Expansion seems to give him an infinite supply of cursed energy, allowing him to fight at maximum efficiency at all times. This showdown is the perfect example of why Jujutsu Kaisen is so hyped up, as it perfectly delivers everything that the fans expect from the series.
New and Interesting Characters Steal the Show
The Culling Game introduces amazing and captivating new characters into the story, whether they are heroes or villains. Due to this, the already strong roster of the series is made even stronger as new characters with unique abilities and ideals come to the forefront, with some shooting up the heights of popularity to become fan favorites, such as Hakari and Takaba.
Jujutsu Kaisen is a series that has some of the best and most memorable villains in all of anime, so it is only fitting that the Culling Game arc takes this trope and strengthens it even more. Since the heroes of the series get stronger, so do the villains, as they are also seen with some extremely overpowered abilities and fighting styles that can only be matched by the strongest heroes, such as the Special Grade Sorcerers. It also shows Gege Akutami’s skills as a writer as he continues to deliver by introducing new characters that are very captivating.
Shining Character Moments
Just because new and interesting characters are introduced does not mean that the already existing ones that the fans have grown to love have been left in the dust. Most of the beloved characters from the series’ past have made a comeback in this arc and, in doing so, undergo a lot of growth and transformation. Since the characters are arguably the biggest strength of Jujutsu Kaisen, fans will be left happy and excited about what’s to come.
The best example of such a character is Maki Zenin, who is already a fan favorite. After being seemingly killed in the Shibuya Incident arc, Maki makes a much-awaited comeback to the story and in doing so, becomes stronger than she has ever been before. This is done when she eventually gives up whatever remains of her cursed energy and in doing so, fully realizes her Heavenly Restriction.
By doing this, she essentially becomes exactly like her cousin Toji, a physical beast that is essentially invisible to all sorcerers and has feats that can rival those of the strongest characters in the series. Her newfound physical prowess is far above that of almost every other character in the entire series. However, she is not the only one who undergoes such tremendous growth as almost every other hero has a similar journey.
Implications for the Future of the Series
The Culling Game’s end is marked with the freedom of Gojo from the Prison Realm and a teaser for his eventual clash against the King of Curses. Earlier on in the arc, Sukuna was able to take over the body of Megumi, due to which he was able to take control of his Cursed Technique as well, so the eventual showdown with Gojo is far more personal than what was possible before.
Just as Gojo is freed, he comes face to face with Sukuna and Kenjaku, and in doing so, sets the date for the eventual clash between the strongest of the modern era against the strongest in history. As the showdown ends, the pieces for the Shinjuku Showdown are put in place.
Jujutsu Kaisen can be streamed on Amazon Prime and Netflix.
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