The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, Episode 3, which is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
There was no way we were going to get tossed in the Jujutsu Kaisen Culling Game arc without a detailed explanation. With the current group of sorcerers finally coming face-to-(?)face(?) with Tengen, the Star breaks everything down in linear fashion. With the rules and Kenjaku’s objective both made plain, there’s no place to go but out into the den of violence formerly known as Japan.
Each of the sorcerers has their own goals right now, which means they’ll be going separate routes. At least for a while, anyway. Their overall objectives, however, will bring them back together. Hopefully, just in time to pull Gojo sensei out of the prison realm. You know, so he can put a stop to this madness.
Kenjaku is Finally Named In Jujutsu Kaisen
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The jujutsu sorcerer’s talking to Tengen brought a lot of information to light. It’s the first time any of them hear the name Kenjaku, for one thing. A powerful ancient sorcerer of the Heian Era, Kenjuku was alive at the same time as Ryomen Sukuna. He also links to more than just Noritoshi Kamo. We’ve already seen his parasitic brain transplanted into Yuji’s dead mother, Kaori, for starters.
Breaking down the Culling Game’s rules one by one, it’s a lot of talking in Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 50. That’s not a bad thing, as it does set us up for what we can expect in the episodes to come. I’m not going to recap it all because that would just be tedious for all of us. Instead, I am going to take a look at some of the interesting things I did pick up during this episode.
Tengen, was unable to assimilate after Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, was killed by Sorcerer Killer, Toji Fushiguro. With the aging process sped up, Tengen lost touch with their identity as an individual and became “the world” as a whole. Unfortunately, this all plays right into Kenjaku’s plans to make all of Japan assimilate with Tengen to become jujutsu sorcerers. Tengen wouldn’t have been previously able to do this before. Riko’s death and rapid aging changed the terms of assimilation, making it possible for Tengen to assimilate with anyone.
Jujutsu Kaisen Connects Tengen, the Star Plasma Vessel, and the Six Eyes
Fate connects all three of these people, with Tengen noting that twice in the past, the Six Eyes stopped Kenjaku’s plans. Toji’s Heavenly Pact placed him outside of fate, so when he got involved during the events of Gojo’s Past Arc, the fate connection was severed between Tengen, Riko, and Gojo. At the same time as all this was going on, there was also a sorcerer with Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Suguru Geto.
This put all the pieces into play for Kenjaku to manipulate events to his advantage. Killing the Six Eyes hadn’t worked in his favor previously. Sealing him in the Prison Realm was the only option. All he needed to do was locate the Prison Realm.
Tengen then explains how they can get Gojo out of the Prison Realm, but it’s not going to be easy. That means it’s not going to happen anytime soon. As I’ve said before, we need to curb our expectations on seeing Gojo. It’s going to take some time. First, they need to hunt down an ancient curse user revived by Kenjaku named Angel. She’ll be out there participating in the game, so she may not be easy to find. And once they do, they have to convince her to help them. Given the ongoing Culling Game, that’ll be a chore unto itself.
As the five sorcerers devise their plans, Choso and Yuki opt to stay back and guard Tengen. Yuta and Megumi will enroll in the game at opposite ends and search for Megumi’s sister, Tsumiki. Maki needs to go to the Zen’in and wrap up some loose ends, but she also plans to search for Panda. That leaves Yuji on the hunt for expelled Jujutsu High third year, Kinji Hakari, because they need powerful allies.
Choso Watch 2026: Big Brother’s Got His Eye On You
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I am going to try to make sure I pay homage every week to the gloriousness that is Choso. A lot of us already had soft spots for Choso, but he really starts coming into his own during The Culling Game arc. Big bro has easily become one of the best parts of Season 3, and it’s only been three episodes, so far.
Every week, his reactions go over-the-top as he gets excited by Yuji’s gradual acceptance of their brotherly bond. This week, after deciding to stay behind and protect Tengen with Yuki, Choso watched in silence as Yuji and the others left. Just as he reaches the exit, Yuji looks back, as if he’s remembering something. Calling out to Choso and thanking him for his help, the smile that lights up big bro’s face is absolutely priceless.
Calling after him, “Don’t die out there,” the smile never fades until Yuji is completely out of sight. At this point, Choso covers his eyes with a hand and visibly breaks down into tears. The way he shushes Yuki when she asks him if he’s crying is positively adorable. He truly is the big brother a boy like Yuji deserves, and I can’t wait to see more of his brotherly antics as Season 3 unfolds.
Hooray for Takaba!
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A new player entering the Culling Game made his first appearance (outside the intro,) in the final moments of Episode 3. Fumihiko Takaba, a 35-year-old failed comedian who refuses to give up on his dream of making people laugh is an outstanding character. Takaba has one of the most overpowered cursed techniques in all of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Since we haven’t seen firsthand in the anime what he’s capable of just yet, I’ll withhold that spoiler. It’s the kind of technique you have to see to believe. I will say that it is incredibly important, though, so let’s all make sure we keep an eye on Takaba. Because stuff’s about to get real!
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, Episode 3 On a Scale of 1 to 10
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Despite the necessity of this episode to get everything moving for the Culling Game, I want more. It’s been two years since we had new anime content. While the breakdown of the Culling Game Rules is definitely important, I’m itching to get things rolling. I wanna see ancient and modern sorcerers beating each other to a pulp for the sake of points.
I really liked the way their time in Tengen’s Tombs of the Star was animated. It’s very bare, everything is white. Even though the characters are tangible, their outlines occasionally blur with their movement to draw attention to the ethereal nature of Tengen’s space. They’re deliberately red, which makes everything look so much crisper.
Overall, it was a solid episode, despite feeling like filler with all that explanation. We came into JJK Season 3 with so much action and chaos, that cooling it down so swiftly feels a bit jarring. Takaba’s appearance at the end made it all worthwhile, earning Episode 3, “About the Culling Game,” eight out of 10 stars this week.
