After the Shibuya Incident emotionally destroyed me, Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 is set to raise the stakes even further with the Culling Game

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After the Shibuya Incident emotionally destroyed me, Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 is set to raise the stakes even further with the Culling Game Features By David Opie published 15 January 2026

Opinion | Our writer argues that Jujutsu Kaisen fans have another thing coming if they think the Shibuya Incident is as painful as the show can get

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Jujutsu Kaisen has never been what you'd call a feel-good show. The entire story revolves around a kid forced to battle evil curses after he swallowed a mummified finger and became the vessel for a powerful demon named Ryomen Sukuna. Season 2 upped the ante, however, when the manga's infamous Shibuya Incident began. Let's just hope the two-year gap between seasons was enough to recover from this trauma, because Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 is about to wreck you even more.

To refresh your memory, the cursed monstrosities that Yuji Itadori and his friends fought in season 1 paled in comparison to the threat that awaited them in Tokyo's busiest ward when an ancient curse user named Kenjaku (in Geto's body) attacked Shibuya. In doing so, he was able to imprison Satoru Gojo, the world's most powerful jujutsu sorcerer, and turn the tide in evil's favour.

Looking back, it seems Jujutsu Kaisen creator Gege Akutami was out to terrorize his characters and us alike in the carnage that ensued. With everyone thrown off balance, the Shibuya Incident resulted in a monumental loss of life, including key characters such as Kento Nanami. But, even with stronger, smarter villains stepping up their game, it was Yuji himself who caused the most damage. Well, Sukuna in Yuji's body, which he used to kill thousands of civilians while destroying huge swathes of Tokyo in the process.

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Raising the stakes

(Image credit: Gege Akutami/Shueisha/JUJUTSU KAISEN Project)

More a disaster of world-shattering proportions than just a mere "incident", the events that took place in Shibuya changed everything for Jujutsu Kaisen. With Gojo gone and Kenjaku's plan in full swing, our heroes lost the upper hand by the end of season 2, setting the stage for an even greater war that will dictate humanity's future.

This has already begun to a degree following the first two episodes, where we find Yuji still recovering and wracked with guilt over the destruction Sukuna wrought using his body. Gojo remains sealed away, and the Jujutsu council has ordered Yuji's execution following his perceived culpability in Shibuya.

But even with the arrival of sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu and his plan to kill Yuji, it turns out these first two episodes are just a mere prelude to the real focus of season 3: full-scale war where the future of humanity is at stake.

Kenjaku – or Pseudo-Geto, as he's often known – ended the Shibuya Incident by awakening new sorcerers across Japan, setting up a tournament of sorts called the Culling Game. Although contests of this nature are nothing new for the Shōnen genre, this is so much more than just a standard battle royale.

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Wicked game

(Image credit: Gege Akutami/Shueisha, JUJUTSU KAISEN Project)

In the Culling Game, hundreds of sorcerers and newly awakened humans must fight for their own survival and, in doing so, they'll fall right into Kenjaku's hands. His goal in orchestrating the Culling Game is to generate huge amounts of cursed energy that he can then use to merge humanity with an immortal sorcerer named Tengen. This would decimate the entire population of Japan, transforming every non-sorcerer into a freaky, cursed life form against their will. As horrendous as the Shibuya Incident was for everyone involved (including us), the Culling Game is still so much worse.

In fact, the only thing more stressful than the game itself is the rules that each competitor must follow. Glimpsed for half a second or so at the end of episode 2, these absurdly convoluted guidelines essentially involve death for the participant, whichever way you look at it. Point values assigned by the game represent the worth of a player’s life, and extra points are accrued by killing other players.

All Kenjaku cares about, though, is harvesting cursed energy, and he's put events in motion that will continue this plan even in the event of his death. The result is chaos personified as sorcerers, old and new, battle under strict rules where every move matters. With the entirety of Japan at stake, not to mention the lives of everyone competing, the Culling Game will end up being more intense than the Shibuya Incident ever was, pitting countless characters against each other in unpredictable matchups that push them to the verge of annihilation.

It's the kind of game-changer that can only be pulled off when a story is in the end stretch, and that's actually where we're at now, pretty much. With only one final arc to go after season 3, all bets are off leading into the Shinjuku Showdown. Start saving up for more therapy now, because Jujutsu Kaisen is only going to get more traumatic from here on out.

Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 is airing weekly on Crunchyroll. Make sure you never miss an episode with our Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 release schedule, and then check out our guide to the other best new anime on the way in 2026.

David OpieContributor

With ten years of online journalism experience, David has written about TV, film, and music for a wide range of publications including Indiewire, Paste, Empire, Digital Spy, Radio Times, Teen Vogue and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created Digital Spy's Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates queer talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads. Passions include animation, horror, comics, and LGBTQ+ storytelling, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race.

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