Jujustu Kaisen: The Culling Game explained

MAPPA has recently announced its involvement in animating Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game arc. Here’s a spoiler-free preview of what you can expect.

As the incredible second season of Jujutsu Kaisen and the Shibuya Incident arc comes to an end, the team at MAPPA announced that they were already working on Season 3 with a special teaser video.

Filled with incredible fight scenes and some more major character deaths, fans will be in for a treat when the next season of the anime finally airs.

So, here’s everything you need to know about Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game arc, including a look at the ancient sorcerer and master manipulator at the heart of it all.

Contents

• What is the Culling Game?
• How are players selected?
• What are the Culling Game rules?
• What is Kenjaku planning?
• What is the end result of the game?

What is the Culling Game?

Orchestrated by the evil sorcerer Kenjaku, who we’ll get to later, the Culling Game is essentially a massive Battle Royale that pits a total of 1000 sorcerers and curse users against each other.

Beginning right after the end of the Shibuya Incident arc, the Culling Game is the most unprecedented act of Jujustu terrorism ever seen.

The game is structured into 10 colonies that are connected with boundary-binding barriers and form a line down Japan. Its players must adhere to strict rules while fighting to the death – or else they risk being eliminated, and losing their lives as a result.

How are players selected?

Crunchyroll

There are two days that players are selected for the Culling Games. The first, being those who ingested cursed objects like Hajime Kashimo. And the second being those whose cursed technique awakened, like Hiromi Higuruma.

The former are mainly sorcerers who made a deal with Kenjaku many years ago. These sorcerers would go into a deep sleep tied to cursed objects, which would be fed to an innocent or unsuspecting vessel (a little like how Yuji Itadori became Sukuna’s vessel), so that the sorcerer could then control the vessel’s body.

The latter are everyday people who are able to use cursed energy, such as Megumi’s younger sister Tsumiki Fushiguro. As the Culling Games ensue, they release more and more cursed energy, forming a blanket of cursed energy that will force the entirety of humanity to ‘evolve’. This means he will unlock the limits of human and cursed energy potential.

What are the Culling Game rules?

Jujustu Kaisen

When the Culling Game started, Kenjaku made eight unbreakable rules for all participants. This ensures that the game has no master; therefore, Kenjaku’s plan to harvest cursed energy would continue even if he died.

The rules are as follows:

1. As soon as a player has awakened their cursed technique, they must participate in the Culling Game at a colony of their choice within 19 days
2. Any player who breaks the first rule will be subject to cursed technique removal, resulting in their death
3. Non-players who enter a colony will become players. But civilians trapped inside a barrier at the beginning of the game, will be allowed to exit safely
4. Players score points by killing other players
5. The game master awards points based on the value of the player’s life. Sorcerers are worth five points and non-sorcerers are worth one point
6. Participants can use 100 points in exchange for adding a new rule to the Culling Game
7. The game master must accept any new rule, with the exception that it doesn’t have a lasting effect on the game
8. If a participant’s score remains the same for 19 days, their cursed technique will be removed and they will die.

There is one more rule. However, it was only revealed to the players once the game had started. The rule is that since the barriers span Japan, every player is transported to a random location within the barrier upon entering it.

What is Kenjaku planning?

Your next question, most likely, what exactly is Kenjaku’s goal?

We currently don’t know a whole lot about Kenjaku. Besides that, he’s extremely old and has been planning the Culling Game for over 1000 years. Because of this, he could make a pact with all other powerful and ancient sorcerers like Hajime Kashimo that they would awaken within a vessel to participate in the game.

So, what is his ultimate goal? Well, fans online have likened Kenjaku to a mad scientist because his prime motivation seems to be curiosity.

The Culling Game is a means for Kenjaku to force humanity to evolve into a new form, with the ultimate goal of merging the entire species with Master Tengen to make one singular cursed entity.

According to Master Tengen, the Culling Game uses the players’ cursed energy and the barriers for a ritual that prepares humanity for a merger. Once the ritual is completed, Master Tengen can be forced to merge with the affected humans to force them to evolve to another form.

However, this is just a big experiment for him, as he doesn’t know the end result.

What’s the end result of the game?

Studio MAPPA

Because Kenjaku is not the game master, the game will not end when he’s dead. So, what will end the game?

Unfortunately for Yuji and Megumi, due to Kenjaku’s specific binding vows, the game will continue until all the players are dead and nothing can stop it.

We’re not going to spoil the ending here, but you can check out the manga to find out exactly what happens in the arc.

Make sure to watch Jujutsu Kaisen’s first two seasons and film on Crunchyroll, covering the Cursed Child Arc, Fearsome Womb Arc, Gojo’s Past Arc, and the Shibuya Incident Arc.

How to watch Crunchyroll from outside your location in 2023

Crunchyroll is the world’s best hub for streaming anime, whether it’s One Piece, Attack on Titan, or Jujutsu Kaisen. And thanks to ExpressVPN, you can access the platform’s full library even if you’re outside the US.

If you’re abroad, here’s what you need to do to access Crunchyroll’s full selection – and it really is this simple:

1. Sign up for ExpressVPN, which has ultra-fast servers and offers a secure, private connection wherever you are in the world
2.  Connect to a location anywhere in the US. Express VPN allows you to choose from 24 different spots, from New Jersey to Santa Monica
3.  Visit Crunchyroll online and start streaming all of your favorite animes – and perhaps some you’ve never watched

Accessing Crunchyroll’s US roster makes a difference. For example, Hong Kong users only have access to less than 100 titles, while the US has nearly 1,000 movies and TV shows.

You can also stream anime on Crunchyroll for free with an ad-supported plan. Or you can pay for a subscription. There’s even a 14-day free trial if you can’t quite make up your mind.

See our other JJK coverage below, and you can check out our other anime coverage here.

• Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 ending explained: Does Yuta want to kill Yuji?
• Jujutsu Kaisen: How did Toge Inumaki lose his arm?
• Jujutsu Kaisen: Why does Choso keep calling Yuji his brother?
• Jujutsu Kaisen: How does Yuta still have Rika?

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