Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game is the most major arc after the Shibuya incident. Gege Akutami basically arranged a massive battle royale in which all Jujutsu sorcerers would have to participate and fight each other as well as curses.
It is often called the most unprecedented act of jujutsu terrorism ever, and the events were orchestrated by Kenjaku. The game had strict rules to abide by and the cursed energy generated by players would be utilized for a merger of humans.
Gege Akutami Discusses His Regrets for the Culling Game Arc of Jujutsu Kaisen
The Culling Game arc is loved by fans due to how action-packed it is. Gege Akutami also introduced a ton of new characters who were fleshed out as much as possible in the short amount of time that was available. The arc constituted some major battles and even made the power status of the central characters clear. However, it seems like Akutami had some regrets regarding the arc.
Gege Akutami rarely has any regrets, as proved by his crash killing of central characters. But in an interview, he admitted that he could have done more in the Culling Game arc as some aspects went underutilized.
In hindsight, I regret not integrating the rule additions more into the battles during the Culling Game Arc. We had discussed using accumulated points to add rules during battles, potentially shifting the situation in one’s favor. However, in the end, none of those ideas were utilized at all.
-Gege Akutami
In the Culling Game arc, players were divided into multiple arenas where they would basically have to battle to the death. The objective is to accumulate the most points by killing other players. Points indicate the value of a player’s life, and anyone who has accumulated 100 points (excluding the value of their life) can add their own rule to the game.
Gege Akutami created a whole set of rules for the arc, but the point system especially went underutilized. The players could have made rules to make their life easier, but at the end of the day, it was extremely difficult to gain points. Higuruma did accumulate the required points but ended up using them to add a rule for Yuji.
Jujutsu Kaisen Anime Could Potentially Improvise the Culling Game Arc
Gege Akutami’s regrets for the Culling Game arc could be lifted by MAPPA. The Culling Game arc is likely to debut in the third season of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime. A concrete release date for the season hasn’t been announced yet, but it might be out by late 2025 or early 2026 since MAPPA also has numerous other projects lined up.
If Akutami really wants to improve the arc, he could have a discussion with MAPPA and write anime original scenes in which the point system could be utilized more. This will have two positive effects: firstly, Akutami will be able to do away with his mistakes and secondly, anime original scenes will attract manga-only readers. If season 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen fleshes out the arc better, it would be a win-win situation for all.
Gege Akutami could participate in the whole process and ask for some major changes. The chances of it happening are small but never zero. Will Akutami come through and create an even more fantastic season 3 for fans to enjoy, or will he give up, just like he did with a certain blue-eyed character? It all depends on Mr. Cruel himself.
Jujutsu Kaisen manga is available to read on Viz Media, and the anime is currently airing on Crunchyroll.
