Shonen anime and tournaments have gone hand in hand for as long as one can recall. Whether that’s Dragon Ball’s World Martial Arts Tournament, Naruto’s Chunin Exams, or My Hero Academia’s sports festival.
For viewers who didn’t understand the Culling Game after watching episode 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, the series just broke it down in an easy way.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game Reinvents the Shonen Tournament Arc
Jujutsu Kaisen’s anime has wrapped up Season 3 and with it half of its newest arc, the Culling Game Arc. Already, the new season has introduced a whole host of new faces, enemies and allies alike, all while delivering some of the finest action sequences in shonen anime at present.
Given all the very detailed, intricate rules of the Culling Game and its point-based system, and its general focus on various matchups and fights, the Culling Game is most certainly a tournament arc. But, not fully in the traditional sense. What the Culling Game lacks and what sets it apart is its structure, which is a blend of a death game and a tournament.
Sure, shonen tournament arcs are rarely straightforward and uneventful, but Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game is chaotic to its core. New players are immediately transferred to a random colony upon entry and multiple fights and events take place simultaneously across various colonies.
Interestingly, Gege Akutami, the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, has previously admitted to regretting not making the Culling Game a traditional tournament-style arc as this might have given the series more room to expand on all the new, powerful, and interesting sorcerers taking the stage.
I now regret not making the Culling Game into a tournament-style battle. When introducing new characters, I wanted to create excitement by telling side stories for each character in advance, like “When will they appear? What will happen if they fight?” and “Oh, this character appears at this timing?” If the Culling Game had adopted a tournament-style format, I think the story would have been much clearer, and characters like Tsumiki and Kurusu could have been more prominently featured.
– Gege Akutami in an interview at the Jujutsu Kaisen Exhibition 2024
Undoubtedly, the arc is frankly all over the place and the only thing keeping the plot on track is the vague goal of collecting points to save Tsumiki and trying to find Angel. Beyond that, the Culling Game Arc, much like the characters themselves, is simply winging it.
And, while this has resulted in some redundant sub-plots such as the infamously bizarre military plot, Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game as a whole oddly works, even though it technically shouldn’t. It’s fast-paced, exciting, and the anime only amplifies these strengths.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Anime Elevates the Culling Game Even Further
As exciting as Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game is to read in the manga, there’s no denying that the anime has taken the arc to a whole new level. The Culling Game Arc is very action heavy and studio MAPPA has left nothing to be desired in terms of the visuals and action choreography.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s anime has also made sure to keep a tight pace throughout Season 3, adapting over forty chapters across its 12 episodes. As such, despite being the longest story arc of the series, the Culling Game Arc has seemingly been breezing by with the anime eliminating any instances where it felt like the arc might have dragged on or lingered too long in the manga.
Cursed Energy Assessment · Grade Evaluation Jujutsu Kaisen Trivia Challenge “Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one.”
Eight questions spanning the world of Jujutsu Kaisen — from cursed spirits and sorcerers to Domain Expansions and the King of Curses. Every wrong answer is a plausible decoy. Do you have Special Grade knowledge?
Cursed Archives Editorial 8 questions · 3 min read
👻CursesKing of Curses ✨SorcerersSpecial Grade 🌈DomainsExpand! ⚡TechniquesInfinity… 📘LoreGolden Age
01 The series begins when Yuji Itadori swallows a cursed object — the finger of a legendary curse known as the King of Curses, the most powerful cursed spirit in history. Who is this ancient being?
✓ Correct! Ryomen Sukuna is the King of Curses — an ancient, immensely powerful sorcerer from over a thousand years ago whose cursed essence was split into twenty indestructible fingers. When Yuji swallows one, Sukuna is reborn inside him, setting the entire story in motion.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Ryomen Sukuna. Mahito is a cursed spirit who manipulates souls, Jogo is a volcano-type curse, and Rika is the Queen of Curses from Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Only Sukuna holds the title of King of Curses.
02 The strongest jujutsu sorcerer alive is a blindfolded teacher at Tokyo Jujutsu High who possesses the legendary Six Eyes and the Limitless cursed technique. His birth alone shifted the balance of the jujutsu world. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Satoru Gojo is the strongest sorcerer in the modern era, wielding the Six Eyes and Limitless technique that grants him Infinity — an ability that makes him virtually untouchable. His confident declaration “Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one” became iconic.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Satoru Gojo. Suguru Geto is his former best friend turned enemy, Yuta Okkotsu is a Special Grade sorcerer from JJK 0, and Kento Nanami is a Grade 1 sorcerer and former salaryman. Only Gojo holds the title of the strongest.
03 The pinnacle of jujutsu sorcery is a technique that creates a separate space with a guaranteed hit against anyone trapped inside. This ultimate ability is declared by name before activation. What is it called?
✓ Correct! Domain Expansion is the supreme technique in jujutsu — a sorcerer manifests their innate domain as a physical space where their attacks cannot miss. Gojo’s Unlimited Void, Sukuna’s Malevolent Shrine, and Mahito’s Self-Embodiment of Perfection are among the most devastating.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Domain Expansion. A Binding Vow is a contract that trades conditions for power, Reverse Cursed Technique converts cursed energy into healing, and Black Flash is a critical hit that applies cursed energy within 0.000001 seconds of a physical hit.
04 Early in the series, Yuji Itadori develops an unintentional fighting style where his cursed energy arrives a moment after his physical punch, creating a devastating double impact. What is this technique called?
✓ Correct! Divergent Fist occurs because Yuji’s cursed energy is delayed behind his physical blow, creating two impacts in quick succession. While initially seen as a unique technique, it’s actually a sign of Yuji’s inexperience with cursed energy flow — he eventually learns to unify them properly.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Divergent Fist. Black Flash is a separate technique where cursed energy is applied within a fraction of a second of impact, creating a spatial distortion. Divergent Fist is Yuji’s signature early-series move caused by his lagging cursed energy.
05 A second-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High possesses a hereditary cursed speech technique that imbues his words with cursed energy, forcing anyone who hears them to obey. To avoid accidentally cursing people, he only speaks using rice ball ingredients. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Toge Inumaki is the Inumaki clan descendant who wields Cursed Speech — his words become commands that others are forced to obey. He limits his vocabulary to onigiri ingredients like “salmon,” “tuna mayo,” and “kelp” to prevent accidentally harming people with his power.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Toge Inumaki. Maki Zenin has incredible physical prowess but limited cursed energy, Panda is a cursed corpse created by Principal Yaga, and Noritoshi Kamo uses Blood Manipulation. Only Inumaki speaks in rice ball ingredients to control his Cursed Speech.
06 Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara are first-year students at a school that trains jujutsu sorcerers to fight cursed spirits. This institution, where Gojo serves as a teacher, is located in Tokyo. What is it called?
✓ Correct! Tokyo Jujutsu High (Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College) is where sorcerers train to exorcise cursed spirits. It’s one of two jujutsu schools in Japan — the other being Kyoto Jujutsu High, led by Principal Gakuganji. Their annual Exchange Event is a major arc in the series.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Tokyo Jujutsu High. The Zenin clan is one of the three great sorcerer families but not a school. Tokyo Jujutsu High is the institution hidden behind a barrier where Gojo, Nanami, and other sorcerers guide the next generation.
07 Sukuna’s Domain Expansion is unique — instead of creating an enclosed barrier, it manifests as an open shrine with a guaranteed hit range of up to 200 meters. This makes it one of the most powerful domains ever seen. What is it called?
✓ Correct! Malevolent Shrine is Sukuna’s Domain Expansion — a Buddhist shrine adorned with skulls that delivers relentless slashing attacks. Unlike other domains, it has no barrier, which is considered a Binding Vow that massively increases its effective range and power.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Malevolent Shrine. Unlimited Void is Gojo’s domain that overwhelms targets with infinite information, Chimera Shadow Garden is Megumi’s domain, and Coffin of the Iron Mountain is Jogo’s volcanic domain. Sukuna’s barrierless Malevolent Shrine is considered the pinnacle.
08 Jujutsu Kaisen became one of the best-selling manga series in history and a massive anime hit animated by Studio MAPPA. The manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Who is the mangaka (creator) behind Jujutsu Kaisen?
✓ Correct! Gege Akutami is the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, which began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2018. Akutami’s dark, complex storytelling and intricate power system have made JJK one of the defining manga and anime of its generation.
✗ Cursed failure! The answer is Gege Akutami. Tatsuki Fujimoto created Chainsaw Man, Koyoharu Gotouge created Demon Slayer, and Yuji Kaku created Hell’s Paradise. Only Gege Akutami is the mind behind the world of cursed energy, Sukuna, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
Assessment Complete Your Sorcerer Grade
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Are you Special Grade — or just a cursed spirit waiting to be exorcised?
As things stand, it looks like Season 4 of Jujutsu Kaisen will wrap up the Culling Game Arc and set the stage for Jujutsu Kaisen’s final arc as well, and there’s no doubt MAPPA will be pulling out all the stops yet again.
