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Last updated: 1 November 2026

Quick Answer

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 is Season 3 of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime by MAPPA. Its 12 episodes aired from January to March 2026 and adapt the first half of Gege Akutami's Culling Game arc, as Yuji and his friends enter Kenjaku's deadly colony tournament to find a way to free the sealed Satoru Gojo. The story continues in Part 2, which has been announced but has no release date yet.

About Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 is the first half of the anime's third season, made by MAPPA. Its 12 episodes aired from January to March 2026, taking the overall series to 59 episodes. After the Shibuya Incident, Yuji Itadori is a wanted man: his death sentence is back, and special grade sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu has been sent to carry it out. Behind the chaos stands Kenjaku, the ancient sorcerer wearing Suguru Geto's body, who has forced thousands of people into the Culling Game, a battle royale fought inside barriers across Japan, where players kill for points under strict, changing rules. With Satoru Gojo still sealed away, Yuji, Megumi, Maki, Panda and Yuta enter the colonies to find a way to bend the rules, free Gojo and stop Kenjaku's plan. Part 1 is wall-to-wall battles with brains behind them: a gambler whose technique runs on pure luck, a lawyer who puts sorcerers on trial, and an ancient warrior hunting Sukuna himself. It ends mid-game, with Part 2 still to come.

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 is a TV anime from 2026, first released in Winter 2026. It belongs to the Action and Supernatural genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.

Official Trailer

Story & Plot

The Culling Game is a ritual disguised as a tournament. Ten barriers, called colonies, have risen across Japan. Anyone who enters becomes a player, and players who refuse to fight slowly die as the game strips away their cursed techniques. Points are earned by killing (five for a sorcerer, one for an ordinary person) and enough points let a player add new rules to the game itself.

Yuji and his friends enter with a rescue plan: find the player called Angel, whose technique can break seals, and free Gojo from the Prison Realm. To do that they first need rules that let players share points and leave safely, which means recruiting the suspended third-year Kinji Hakari and tracking down the game's top scorers, the lawyer Hiromi Higuruma in Tokyo's first colony and the lightning-wielding Hajime Kashimo, an ancient sorcerer who only joined the game for a chance to fight Sukuna.

Every colony becomes its own battlefield of clashing techniques and clashing ideas about what a life is worth, and Part 1 stops with the game still raging and its biggest fights still ahead.

Story Arcs & Episode Guide

The Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.

ArcEpisodesYearsAbout
Extermination and Perfect PreparationEpisodes 48–51 (Season 3 episodes 1–4)2026Yuta is sent to execute Yuji, Maki faces the Zenin clan alone, and the survivors plan their entry into the game.
Recruiting HakariEpisodes 52–54 (Season 3 episodes 5–7)2026Yuji and Megumi infiltrate Kinji Hakari's fight club to win over the suspended third-year and his partner Kirara.
The Tokyo ColoniesEpisodes 55–59 (Season 3 episodes 8–12)2026Inside the barriers, Kashimo hunts for points and a shot at Sukuna, while Yuji is put on trial by the lawyer Higuruma.

Why Watch Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1

  • The Culling Game's rule-based battles: every fight is a puzzle of points, rules and techniques.
  • Three major manga favourites debut: gambler Kinji Hakari, lawyer Hiromi Higuruma and lightning warrior Hajime Kashimo.
  • Yuta Okkotsu returns from Jujutsu Kaisen 0 as Yuji's appointed executioner.
  • MAPPA's fight animation peaks in the colony battles, directed by Shota Goshozono.
  • King Gnu's opening "AIZO" and jo0ji's ending continue the series' signature sound.

Who Is It For?

Rated TV-MA in the US for gore and horror imagery, so it is aimed at older teens and adults who enjoy dark action. New viewers should not start here. This is a mid-story season that rewards watching from Season 1.

Main Characters

View all characters →

Voice Actors

The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1.

  • Satoru GojoMain character: Jujutsu High teacher, the strongest modern sorcerer
    Japanese voiceYuichi Nakamura
  • Megumi FushiguroMain character: first-year who summons shikigami from shadows
    Japanese voiceYuma Uchida
  • Yuji ItadoriMain character: Sukuna's vessel and Jujutsu High first-year
    Japanese voiceJunya Enoki
  • Nobara KugisakiMain character: first-year who fights with nails, a hammer and straw dolls
    Japanese voiceAsami Seto
  • Kento NanamiSupporting character: a grade 1 sorcerer and former office worker
    Japanese voiceKenjiro Tsuda
  • Maki ZeninSupporting character: second-year who fights with cursed tools
    Japanese voiceMikako Komatsu
  • Toge InumakiSupporting character: second-year whose words carry cursed power
    Japanese voiceKoki Uchiyama
  • PandaSupporting character: a talking panda cursed corpse and second-year student
    Japanese voiceTomokazu Seki
  • Yuta OkkotsuMain character of Jujutsu Kaisen 0: a special grade sorcerer
    Japanese voiceMegumi Ogata
  • Aoi TodoSupporting character: Kyoto third-year with a love of tall idols
    Japanese voiceSubaru Kimura
  • Ryomen SukunaThe King of Curses, living inside Yuji
    Japanese voiceJunichi Suwabe
  • Suguru GetoGojo's former classmate who became a curse user
    Japanese voiceTakahiro Sakurai
  • MahitoA special grade curse born from human hatred
    Japanese voiceNobunaga Shimazaki
  • ChosoThe eldest of the Death Painting brothers
    Japanese voiceDaisuke Namikawa
  • Toji FushiguroThe Sorcerer Killer: an assassin with no cursed energy
    Japanese voiceTakehito Koyasu
  • Kinji HakariSuspended third-year who runs a fight club; his jackpot technique makes him nearly unkillable
    Japanese voiceKazuya Nakai
  • Hiromi HigurumaA defence lawyer who became a sorcerer inside the game; judges opponents in his domain
    Japanese voiceTomokazu Sugita
  • Hajime KashimoAn ancient sorcerer reborn for the game, hunting Sukuna with lightning-fast strikes
    Japanese voiceRyohei Kimura

Staff & Production

Original Creator
Gege Akutami
Animation Studio
MAPPA
Director
Sunghoo Park (Season 1); Shota Goshozono (Seasons 2–3)
Series Composition
Hiroshi Seko
Music
Yoshimasa Terui (with Hiroaki Tsutsumi and Arisa Okehazama on Season 1)

Manga & Source Material

Jujutsu Kaisen began as a manga by Gege Akutami. It was preceded by a short 2017 prequel series that was later collected as Volume 0 and adapted into the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie.

  • Written and illustrated by Gege Akutami.
  • Serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from March 5, 2018 to September 30, 2024.
  • 271 chapters collected into 30 volumes, plus the prequel Volume 0.
  • The manga is complete; the final volumes 29 and 30 were released together in December 2024.
  • Passed 100 million copies in circulation by September 2024.

Music

King Gnu are the franchise's signature music act: they performed the movie Jujutsu Kaisen 0's theme "Ichizu", the Shibuya Incident opening "SPECIALZ" and the Culling Game opening "AIZO". The score is by Yoshimasa Terui, with Hiroaki Tsutsumi and Arisa Okehazama joining him on Season 1.

Opening Themes

  • “Kaikai Kitan”by EveSeason 1 opening.
  • “Vivid Vice”by Who-ya ExtendedSeason 1, second cour opening.
  • “Where Our Blue Is”by Tatsuya KitaniSeason 2 opening for Gojo's Past.
  • “SPECIALZ”by King GnuSeason 2 opening for the Shibuya Incident.
  • “AIZO”by King GnuCurrentSeason 3 (The Culling Game Part 1) opening.

Ending Themes

  • “Lost in Paradise”by ALI featuring AKLOSeason 1 ending.
  • “Give It Back”by Co Shu NieSeason 1, second cour ending.
  • “Akari”by Soushi SakiyamaSeason 2 ending for Gojo's Past.
  • “More Than Words”by HitsujibungakuSeason 2 ending for the Shibuya Incident.
  • “Yoake no Uta”by jo0jiCurrentSeason 3 (The Culling Game Part 1) ending.

Series Timeline

  1. 2017

    Gege Akutami's prequel story, later called Jujutsu Kaisen 0, is published.

  2. 2018

    The main manga begins in Weekly Shonen Jump on March 5.

  3. 2020

    The anime premieres on October 3, produced by MAPPA.

  4. 2021

    The prequel movie Jujutsu Kaisen 0 opens in Japan on December 24 and becomes the year's top-grossing film there.

  5. 2023

    Season 2 covers Gojo's Past and the Shibuya Incident, from July to December.

  6. 2024

    The manga ends on September 30 with chapter 271.

  7. 2026

    Season 3, The Culling Game Part 1, airs from January to March; a Season 4 covering Part 2 is announced, with no date yet.

Quick Answers

Is Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 finished?

Yes. Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 has finished airing, so you can watch the complete story from start to end without waiting for new episodes.

What genre is Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1?

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 is a Action and Supernatural anime. You can browse more titles like it on our Action anime page.

When did Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 release?

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 first released in Winter 2026. It is a TV series.

Do I need to watch earlier seasons before The Culling Game Part 1?

Yes. Part 1 continues directly from the Shibuya Incident in Season 2, and it assumes you know Gojo, Geto and the main cast. Watch Season 1, the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie and Season 2 first. Our watch order on this page lists them in sequence.

How many episodes does The Culling Game Part 1 have?

Part 1 has 12 episodes, which are episodes 48–59 of the anime overall. It premiered with a one-hour special covering the first two episodes on 8 January 2026 and finished on 26 March 2026.

When is The Culling Game Part 2 coming out?

Part 2 was announced as the anime's fourth season right after Part 1 ended, and a teaser followed in June 2026. As of November 2026 no premiere date has been announced, so be wary of rumoured dates.

Is the Culling Game the final arc of Jujutsu Kaisen?

Not quite. The Culling Game is the biggest arc of the manga's final stretch, but the story continues past it into the Shinjuku Showdown, the manga's last arc. Part 1 of the anime covers roughly the first half of the Culling Game itself.

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