JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3: The Culling Game Part 1

Volluble Essential

呪術廻戦 死滅回游 前編

Anime2026Finished

Overview

JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3: The Culling Game Part 1 matters as a focused continuation of the anime’s increasingly severe supernatural conflict. Its death-game framework brings together competing motives, newly awakened sorcerers, and returning figures in a setting shaped by grief, danger, and uneasy alliances.

The experience is fast, violent, and ensemble-driven, balancing elaborate battles with questions of responsibility, sacrifice, and what power does to the people forced to use it. Its urban fantasy setting, martial-arts energy, and tragic stakes make it a strong choice for viewers who enjoy action anime with darker ideas beneath the spectacle.

Viewers already comfortable with the earlier anime will find its returning characters and escalating tension approachable, while the clear battle-focused structure offers a natural entry point for fans of supernatural shounen series. The finished 12-episode season is also available with an English dub.

Synopsis

After the Shibuya Incident, a deadly jujutsu battle called the Culling Game spreads across ten colonies in Japan. Yuji Itadori, burdened by guilt over the mass killings, joins Choso to confront the cursed spirits unleashed by Noritoshi Kamo while remaining wary of Sukuna’s interest in Megumi Fushiguro.

Jujutsu Headquarters reinstates Yuji’s suspended death sentence and appoints special-grade sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu as his executioner. As modern sorcerers and resurrected figures from the past enter the Culling Game with competing motives, Yuji and his allies are drawn into a violent conflict that threatens to reshape the world of jujutsu.

Trailer

Should You Watch It?

Watch it if you enjoy

  • Watch if you enjoy fast supernatural battles shaped by death-game rules, competing motives, and uneasy alliances.
  • Best approached after the earlier Jujutsu Kaisen seasons, especially Season 2, since it continues directly from their events.

It may not suit you if

  • May not suit viewers seeking a light adventure, as the story emphasizes grief, guilt, sacrifice, tragedy, and violent conflict.
  • The ensemble cast and Part 1 structure may feel demanding if you prefer a self-contained season with a simple setup.
Volluble Test Drive Try 2 episodes About 48 minutes

This automatic starting point balances the series length, pacing, time commitment, and available Volluble research data. Editors can override it when firsthand knowledge suggests a better entry point.

Why It Connects With Audiences

Why people love it

  • Fans may appreciate the balance of martial-arts energy, elaborate powers, and darker questions about responsibility and sacrifice.
  • The urban-fantasy setting, returning characters, and newly introduced sorcerers support a tense ensemble-driven continuation.

Common criticisms

  • Some viewers may find the large cast and competing motives make the narrative feel crowded or less character-focused.
  • Its gore, death-game premise, and severe emotional stakes can overshadow the philosophical ideas for viewers seeking a lighter tone.

Volluble DNA

A quick profile of the title’s dominant storytelling ingredients.

Action
92
Comedy
18
Emotion
84
Mystery
68
Romance
8
Horror
62
Philosophy
70
Anime/Manga Convention Intensity
86
Characters and Voice Actors25 characters

Yuuji Itadori

Main character
  • Japanese: Junya Enoki
  • English: Adam McArthur

Megumi Fushiguro

Main character
  • Japanese: Yuuma Uchida
  • English: Robbie Daymond

Yuuta Okkotsu

Main character
  • Japanese: Megumi Ogata
  • English: Kayleigh McKee

Chousou

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Daisuke Namikawa
  • English: Ray Chase

Yuki Tsukumo

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Noriko Hidaka
  • English: Anjali Kunapaneni

Maki Zenin

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Mikako Komatsu
  • English: Allegra Clark

Naoya Zenin

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Kouji Yusa
  • English: Alan Lee
  • Japanese: Minami Hinata

Ogi Zenin

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Keiichi Sonobe
  • English: Jamie Simone

Jinichi Zenin

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Hiroshi Shirokuma
  • English: Kayleigh McKee

Mai Zenin

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Marina Inoue
  • English: Laura Post

Kenjaku

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Takahiro Sakurai

Tengen

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Yoshiko Sakakibara
  • English: Laura Post

Satoru Gojou

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Yuuichi Nakamura
  • English: Kaiji Tang

Sukuna

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Junichi Suwabe

Panda

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Tomokazu Seki
  • English: Matthew David Rudd

Aoi Toudou

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Subaru Kimura
  • English: Xander Mobus

Yoshinobu Gakuganji

Supporting character
  • English: Kyle Hebert
  • Japanese: Mugihito

Momo Nishimiya

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Rie Kugimiya

Shouko Ieiri

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Aya Endou
  • English: Ryan Bartley

Masamichi Yaga

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Takaya Kuroda
  • English: Keith Silverstein

Kinji Hakari

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Kazuya Nakai
  • English: Yuri Lowenthal

Setsuko Sasaki

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Mariya Ise

Takeshi Iguchi

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Takahiro Sumi

Atsuya Kusakabe

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Shinichirou Miki
  • English: Kirk Thornton

Rika Orimoto

Supporting character
  • Japanese: Kana Hanazawa
  • English: Anairis Quiñones
Production and Staff26 credits
Animation StudioMAPPA
Original CreatorGege Akutami
DirectorShouta Goshozono
Series CompositionHiroshi Seko
Character DesignHiromi Niwa
Character DesignYousuke Yajima
Title Logo DesignTatsuo Ishino
Art DirectorJunichi Higashi
Color DesignEiko Matsushima
Director of PhotographyTeppei Itou
CG ProducerYuusuke Tannawa
CG DirectorKentarou Shiga
View all 14 additional credits
Sound DirectorYasunori Ebina
Sound EffectsKatsuhiro Nakano
MusicYoshimasa Terui
Music ProducerYoshiki Kobayashi
Animation ProducerKeisuke Seshimo
Animation ProducerRiku Nihonyanagi
Production DeskYuki Sanjou
Planning AssistanceSukeyuki Honda
Planning AssistanceKouhei Oonishi
Planning AssistanceYuu Saitou
Assistant DirectorYousuke Takata
Assistant DirectorTakeru Satou
EditingKeisuke Yanagi
CG Production AssistantShin Takahashi

Production Background

JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3: The Culling Game Part 1 adapts the Culling Game storyline from Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen manga. The television adaptation was originally announced in November 2019, and a sequel covering the Culling Game was later confirmed as the anime’s third season.

Titled The Culling Game: Part 1, the season premiered on January 9, 2026, with a one-hour broadcast containing its first two episodes. Shōta Goshozono returned to direct, while Hiroshi Seko and Yoshimasa Terui returned for series composition and music, respectively. The finished season contains 12 episodes.

Franchise Context

JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3: The Culling Game Part 1 is a continuation of the main JUJUTSU KAISEN anime television series, not a spin-off, remake, or alternate version. It follows the conclusion of the second season and serves as the third season’s first portion, carrying the television adaptation into the Culling Game storyline.

This entry adapts material from Gege Akutami’s JUJUTSU KAISEN manga and remains part of the central anime continuity. Its “Part 1” designation identifies it as a segmented continuation rather than a separate beginning or a stand-alone production. The season expands the established story into the Culling Game arc while retaining the main series framework and characters. As an individual entry, it covers this twelve-episode installment only, while the wider franchise also includes the preceding anime seasons and other related works.

Where This Fits in Jujutsu Kaisen

A spoiler-light guide to where this exact work fits within the broader Jujutsu Kaisen franchise.

Exact position: This is Season 3 and main anime entry 3 of 4. It follows JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 2.

  1. Step 1
    If you are new to the anime, begin with the earlier television seasons of JUJUTSU KAISEN.
  2. Step 2
    Watch Season 2 before this installment, since this season follows the conclusion of that season and begins the Culling Game storyline.
  3. Step 3
    Watch JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3: The Culling Game Part 1 as the next main anime continuation, not as a remake or optional side story.
  4. Step 4
    No later connected anime is supplied in this record, so this installment is the stopping point for the available viewing order.

Franchise Path

  1. JUJUTSU KAISEN
  2. JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 2
  3. JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3: The Culling Game Part 1 (current)
  4. Jujutsu Kaisen: Shimetsu Kaiyuu - Kouhen

After You Finish

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Sources3 sources
  1. jujutsukaisen.jp
  2. AniList - JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 3: The Culling Game Part 1
  3. Wikipedia: Jujutsu Kaisen season 3

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