With the return of the hit anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, the series’s third installment—Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Games Pt. 1—has fans torn by the shift toward hype fight scenes in place of other, more complex plot devices.
The unique power system of curse users has captivated fans for an entire manga serialization and subsequent anime adaptation. Since curses originate from human fear, Gege Akutami—the author of the franchise—incorporates commentary on real life concerns into his fantasy series. The special abilities of every curse user has created a variety of character interactions that each feel special.
Many fans have grown attached to certain groups of characters. “I have always found the dynamic of Geto, Gojo and Shoko really interesting, but specifically in how they almost perfectly parallel Yuji, Megumi and Nobara. I think it really pushes the idea of how history repeats itself and the corruption in the JJK universe hasn’t changed and that something has to be done,” said PV senior and avid JJK watcher Eva Vargas.
While the show has managed to balance well animated fight sequences with plot progression, concerns regarding the balance between the two arose at the end of the second season. “I got really bored when a fight would go on for multiple episodes during the Shibuya Arc. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good fight scene in anime, especially when you have as incredible animation as JJK. However, there is honestly only so much that you can do in a fight,” said Vargas.
With the new season continuing the descent into action-heavy episodes, fans are split on whether the tonal shift is a positive or negative change.
“Perfect Preparation”, the fourth episode of the new season, follows Maki Zenin, a side character, as she brutally slaughters her entire clan all in an act of revenge. Filled with fluid movements and hundreds of well drawn punches, the episode is currently the highest rated episode of the entire show on IMDB with a rating of 9.8/10.
In contrast, the preceding episode, composed solely of character dialogue, “About the Culling Game”, is the only episode rated below an 8/10 of the currently aired episodes.
While the ratings reflect global perspectives on the show, certain fans—particularly from the Japanese fanbase—are now at odds with those who embrace episodes depicting total carnage. Combined with the growing popularity of Japanese media in the West, old fans are scared that the westernized palette for violence is corrupting the character driven storylines of their favorite franchise.
However, manga readers, who have waited eagerly for the return of weekly JJK episodes, still hold onto hope that the next story arcs are going to be well adapted. Gabriel Maldonado, a PV senior and fan of the original manga, is among one of the fandom’s hopefuls. “Without giving too much away, one thing I am really excited for this season are the high stakes of each fight. These characters will be introduced soon, but I am anticipating the fight between Hakari and Kashimo as well as Yuji’s trial against Hiromi Higurama,” said Maldonado.
Anime-exclusive fans are more hesitant about the future of the show. “I am predicting that season three is just not going to be as good as the first two seasons. The Culling Games seem like they are going to be mostly fighting without moving the plot forward,” Vargas added.
The mass appeal of JJK lies in its seamless blend of character development and visually stunning fight choreography. The new shift toward combat could be an experimental period of the show, or it could be a permanent redirect. The complete release of the third season will confirm one of these two suspicions.
