So, I came at Jujutsu Kaisen backwards. I had quickly binge-watched most of Seasons 1 and 2 before seeing Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution. The film worked. It made sense, told a complete story, and left me wanting more. Naturally, I assumed I could jump straight into Season 3 since I did my binge and watched the Execution movie only four months ago.
That assumption was wrong.
When I fired up Season 3, I felt disoriented. I recognized the characters, but the story did not connect me back to the experience I had in the theater. I was not just missing details. I was missing the emotional weight behind what I was seeing with the characters in Season 3. There was no way I could honestly review Season 3 without having all of the characters and their storylines baked into my head. So, I went back and rewatched Seasons 1 and 2. What became clear was that Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution works well as a standalone experience, but if you use it as your entry point into Season 3 or if you only did a quick binge months ago before watching that film, The Culling Game Part 1 story is likely to leave you behind.
Clearly, the whole point of Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution was to catch up current fans who have been waiting over two years for Season 3, as well as to bring in a flood of new fans with a theatrical release. However, new fans are likely to feel a bit lost if they haven’t made the time to fully watch the first two seasons. So, yes, my opinion of the theatrical release of Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution has changed a bit.
You can read the review below or watch it on YouTube:
Why Execution Works… and Why It Doesn’t
Let me step back here for just a second and look at what Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution actually did as a film to understand how that experience impacts the new season that it introduced. As I mentioned in my review of the film, it functions as a hybrid recap and launch point for Season 3 by compressing the Shibuya Incident into a series of highlights that get folded into the opening episode of Season 3. For longtime fans, that structure works because it refreshes your memory, reconnects you to the world, and sets the stage for what comes next. However, it does not replace the story that came before. The core of Jujutsu Kaisen is long-form storytelling, built across two incredibly complex and thoughtful seasons before it ever reaches the Culling Game in Season 3. The Execution film acts like a bridge, but it is not a replacement that will carry you across the gap. For returning fans, that gap might not exist. For new viewers, you fall off the story cliff.
So, I went back and rewatched Seasons 1 and 2 and really focused on the stories and characters. Like magic, everything in Season 3 that had previously felt confusing clicked into place. This is important because it highlights a central issue with the way this story is delivered. The problem is not the story itself. The problem is the entry point, and viewers largely choose how they connect with that story.
How The Culling Game Changes the Series
Season 3 also marks a significant shift in the structure and tone of the series. Before the Shibuya Incident, the characters were still growing together. We watched them learn, build relationships, and develop as a team. There was a sense of forward momentum tied to their growth as young men and women, but Shibuya changed everything.
From Yuji Itadori to Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, and even Maki Zenin, Yuta Okkotsu, and the others, they all crossed a line they can’t return from, and that shift defines everything that follows in the Culling Game. They lost allies, mentors, and any sense of safety. With Satoru Gojo sealed and Japan destabilized, training is over. They are all now fighting on the front lines, making that shift both structural and emotional.
Yuji, Higuruma, and the Weight of Guilt
This is most evident in Yuji, who carries the burden of Sukuna’s destruction, knowing that while it was not his choice, it was still his body that killed so many people. This isn’t guilt that is just going to pass quickly. It’s something he internalizes and carries forward with him.
That internal conflict reaches a turning point during his encounter with Hiromi Higuruma. Inside Higuruma’s courtroom domain, Yuji doesn’t fight the accusation, nor does he try to justify his actions. He admits guilt and accepts responsibility for something that, strictly speaking, he didn’t do. That is such an important moment for both Yuji and Hiromi because it reframes the episode’s entire arc.
It transforms Higuruma, a character who had lost faith in justice and humanity, by forcing him to confront someone who still believes in accountability. It also defines Yuji as someone who is no longer just reacting to events. He is choosing how to carry his responsibility for them. This is where Season 3 becomes something deeper than just a cool series of battles with incredible animated action scenes.
Like with Yuji, the others go through similar transformations that feel a bit like an epic coming of age story for so many different people who take irreversible steps forward into becoming the next phase of who they are as people, not just as sorcerers.
The Complexity of The Culling Game
At the same time, the Culling Game introduces a level of structural complexity that can be difficult to follow, especially for new viewers. There are multiple colonies, evolving rules, and a growing cast of characters, each with their own abilities and motivations. Forget the theatrical release of Execution. If you are not familiar with the previous seasons, it can feel like you are being asked to track too many moving parts at once that don’t cleanly fit together.
But, if you have really gotten into the Jujutsu Kaisen series, it’s this complexity that delivers some of its most memorable and meaningful moments.
Takaba, Yuta, and the Season’s Standout Moments
One of the most unexpected is the introduction of Fumihiko Takaba, the comedian sorcerer. His presence completely disrupts the tone of the scene he enters as Megumi faces down two major sorcerers by himself. Fumihiko’s sudden appearance in his wildly absurd costume, which is a combination of his birthday suit and a set of superhero tights, is hilarious. Plus, this costumed comedian behaves as though he has wandered in from an entirely different genre. Megumi’s reaction is priceless, but it’s the shared reactions of the other two sorcerers that make it genuinely funny because Fumihiko has no idea how the others are even reacting to him.
What’s brilliant about Fumihiko is the disparity between his comic persona compared to his immense power. He has no idea what he’s actually capable of doing, which creates this sense of pity in us over his unrealized potential because this guy may never see himself as anything more than a joke instead of one of the most dangerous sorcerers in Tokyo. This also reinforces the idea that power is not always expressed in predictable ways.
Another standout is Yuta Okkotsu, who steals the show. His presence reinforces just how wide the power spectrum is among sorcerers. When he enters a fight, the dynamic shifts immediately because he isn’t just stronger. He operates at a whole different scale than most sorcerers. There is a level of control and adaptability in his abilities that suggests a deeper understanding of the system itself. Even without going into detail, he represents a different tier of threat entirely.
At the same time, the series continues to ground itself through smaller, more personal moments. Yuji’s connection with Choso introduces a sense of family that contrasts sharply with the isolation he has experienced since his grandfather died. The idea that he might not be alone carries real emotional weight. Similarly, moments tied to Megumi’s past, including his connection to his father, serve to close emotional loops that have been building since earlier seasons. These are not just callbacks. They are moments of resolution that allow the characters to move forward even as they hit the limits of their strength.
Humanity, Survival, and What Season 3 Is Really About
What ties all of this together is a central question: how much of your humanity can you hold onto when survival requires you to lose some part of it?
The longer the characters remain in the Culling Game, the more they are forced to fight, to kill, and to make decisions that challenge their sense of self. Yet, what we see is not a descent into nihilism, but a struggle to preserve things like love, hope, and friendship. The Jujutsu High sorcerers are not just trying to survive; they’re also trying to preserve what makes them human while finding a way to unseal Gojo.
What Works — and What Doesn’t
Where Season 3 excels is in its animation, choreography, and thematic ambition. The action remains visually striking and dynamic, and the character arcs are incredibly emotional and touching. However, the season does face challenges because its structure is more fragmented due to so many different characters doing so many different things across different locations. These episodes with fragmented action scenes that keep everyone separated are combined with a shorter episode count that makes it feel like each character is almost operating in their own bubble rather than together, and it’s the ensemble energy from the previous seasons that is missing from some of these fights. You begin to feel the distribution of the story, with its arcs unfolding in parallel rather than in sequence.
While this doesn’t break the story, it does change how it feels, and at the end of the season you are left feeling unfulfilled like Hajime Kashimo … it really felt like we didn’t get any dessert with Season 3. There is also a sense that the season ends just as it is starting to settle into its own arc. The Culling Game is clearly larger than what we see in these 12 episodes, and while that creates anticipation for what comes next, it also leaves Season 3 feeling incomplete.
Recommendation: Final Thoughts
Ultimately, whether Season 3 works for you depends on how you enter the story. For returning viewers, it is a continuation that builds on everything that came before. For new viewers entering through Execution, it’s going to feel overwhelming and disconnected.
My recommendation is simple. If you enjoyed Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution and want to continue with the series, start from Season 1. It is a longer journey, but it is also a far more rewarding one. What you gain is not just context, but connection with the characters and the story. When you reach Season 3 with that foundation in place, you will be fully inside of the story.
So, what did you think of Jujutsu Kaisen: Season 3, The Culling Game, Part 1? Are you a longtime fan or a new one? Let me know if you have a favorite scene or battle in this season. Some of them were spectacular. Let me know if these 12 episodes measured up for a full season for you in the comments and let’s talk!
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