Jujutsu Kaisen's “Culling Game” is famous for being one of the most thrilling — yet brutal — battle royales in all of manga. However, JJK author Gege Akutami recently admitted that a different approach would have better served the arc's plot and characters.
The revelation came to light during the Jujutsu Kaisen Shibuya exhibition — an ongoing behind-the-scenes showcase featuring thousands of background illustrations, storyboards, and character sketches from the hit anime series JJK. While attending the exhibition, creator Gege Akutami sat down to answer questions about Jujutsu Kaisen's lore, characters, and plot. An X (formerly Twitter) user named Myth shared Akutami's insightful responses, crediting the translation to another X user @z9eIYzeCPxP4d34, in which Akutami revealed that he wished he had gone for “tournament-style battles.”
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Jujutsu Kaisen Creator Believes Culling Games Should Be Tournament-Style Battles
Set after the events of the “Perfect Preparation” arc, the “Culling Game” arc revolves around Kenjaku’s attempt to lead the evolution of humanity by forcing Jujutsu magicians to fight each other in a frenzied battle royal. In order to rescue Tsumiki, Megumi’s younger sister, Yuji Itadori and his allies enter the Culling Games to confront Kenjaku. Regarding the Culling Games, Akutami was asked what he thought would have changed if he had chosen to use a tournament-style setting. In response, Akutami explained that he believed a tournament-style battle would have greatly benefited the story by allowing him to highlight certain characters more.
“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 time?…’ I thought the story would be much clearer, and characters like Tsumiki and Kurusu could be introduced more prominently. Also, it could allow for the incorporation of Gojo [Satoru] as well as the recovery arc,” Akutami said.
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Akutami further revealed his views on character development as the interview continued. When asked about the Zenin Clan and its villainous heir, Naoya Zenin, Akutami denied that he intentionally created the clan's self-exiled enemy Maki Zenin to be a “contrasting” force to Naoya. “… It was widely decided that Maki would purge the Zenin Clan, which has a negative reputation, but that doesn't mean I created the characters in a contrasting way for that reason. Interactions between characters are important and necessary in manga, but focusing too much on specific character roles can make future developments predictable and risk losing readers' interest,” Akutami explained.
Jujutsu Kaisen's Culling Game storyline is one of the most controversial
While Akutami regrets the “Culling Game” arc, its controversial yet compelling storyline has earned it respect and praise from the Jujutsu Kaisen fanbase. MAPPA, the studio behind the hit Jujutsu Kaisen anime series, is currently working on a sequel that will feature the “Culling Game” arc in all its grisly twists and turns. While MAPPA dropped the season’s first official trailer in December 2023, the anime’s production team has yet to reveal an official release date or time frame. Meanwhile, Jujutsu Kaisen episodes continue to fly off the shelves – including in the U.S. According to official sales data from Circana, JJK sales spiked after Season 2 ended, suggesting that fans simply didn’t want to wait until Season 3 to experience more of Yuji’s story.
Jujutsu Kaisen
A boy swallows a cursed talisman – the finger of a demon – and is cursed himself. The boy enters wizard school so he can locate the demon's other body parts and thus exorcise himself.
Author Gege Akutami
Artist Gege Akutami
Release date March 5, 2018 Category Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural
Chapter 221
Book 22
Suitability Jujutsu Kaisen
Publishing company Shueisha, Viz Media
Extend
Source: X (formerly Twitter)