Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Finale Is Here, But The Culling Games Are Far From Over
The biggest twists are yet to reveal themselves
The twelfth episode of Gege Akutami’s dark fantasy series Jujutsu Kaisen is out, and with that, season three comes to a close at half the number of episodes from its predecessors. Season three picked up in the aftermath of the Shibuya Incident that saw thousands killed in the fight between Sukuna and Mahoraga. As the first step in actualising his ambitions, Kenjaku starts the Culling Game, setting up barrier colonies across Japan, where sorcerers and reincarnated curse users are forced into a nationwide battle royale designed to generate cursed energy for a larger ritual.
Yuji, Megumi, Maki, and the rest of the surviving Tokyo Jujitsu students split into different colonies with three goals: gather weapons and get stronger Tokyo Jujutsu students to join the game, accumulate enough points to add new rules to it, and rescue Megumi’s comatose sister Tsumiki, who had been turned into a player against her will. This season followed battles across three colonies: Tokyo Colony No. 1, Tokyo Colony No. 2, and Sendai.
In Colony No. 1, Yuji took on the lawyer Hiromi Higuruma to gain the first 100 points to make the first rule change: allow players to transfer points between each other. Meanwhile, in Colony No. 2, Megumi takes on the reincarnated sorcerer Reggie Star and his group. All this led to the extended finale in Sendai, where Yuta Okkotsu faced off against Dhruv Lakdawalla, Takako Uro, and Ryu Ishigori, ending the stalemate in one of the deadliest zones in the game.
But now that these fights are done, there’s still a lot left. Gojo is still locked in the prison realm, and Megumi’s sister is yet to be rescued, all of which will be taken up in season 4.
What We’ll See In Jujutsu Kaisen Season 4?
Season three stops at the midpoint of the Culling Games arc. Season four is expected to resume directly from here, covering the second half of the arc and the fallout from the battles in Tokyo and Sendai, some of which were teased in the finale’s extended moments.
One of the biggest teases in the finale is the setup for Hakari Kinji’s full-scale battle in Tokyo Colony No. 2. Expelled from Jujutsu High for his technique, Hakari's powers can make him more powerful than Gojo, making his fight with Kashimo one of the most awaited chapters of the upcoming season. The students of Kyoto Jujutsu High will also join the fray, and Takaba, played off for comedic relief in season three, will have a major role to play.
Besides, several lingering questions are deliberately left unanswered by the finale. The motives of Angel, the mysterious sorcerer who has taken control of Hana Kurusu, remain unclear, particularly her decision to assist Megumi. Similarly, the plan to free Satoru Gojo from the Prison Realm is still in motion but far from complete, and it is this objective that continues to unify the otherwise scattered protagonists.
When Jujutsu Kaisen Season 4 Could Arrive?
As for when viewers can expect the rest of the culling games animated, there is still no confirmed release window for season four, although MAPPA has confirmed in its anniversary event that work on the next season is underway. Additionally, there are rumours that the director of the current season Shota Goshozono might be leaving the show after season 3, following criticisms over the third season’s animation style.
The upcoming arcs contain some of the most complex fight choreography in the series, which increases the time required for storyboarding, key animation, and compositing. While the franchise remains one of Studio MAPPA’s flagship properties, the studio is also balancing multiple large-scale projects like Chainsaw Man and Oblivion Battery, which makes a longer gap between seasons likely.
The only certainty for now is that there is still substantial source material left to adapt. With the manga concluding at 271 chapters, the anime has more than enough story remaining to sustain at least two full seasons and possibly additional projects beyond that. Until official announcements are made, the season three finale is a cliffhanger, closing out the first phase of the Culling Game while setting up one of the largest plot twists that non-readers are yet to discover.