Gege Reveals His Biggest Regret With Culling Game Arc 

This article contains spoilers from Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game Arc.

Summary

• The Culling Game Arc in Jujutsu Kaisen had stunning fights involving ancient sorcerers.
• Gege admits to regretting not making the Culling Game a tournament-style battle.
• The arc’s potential was not fully realized, with neglected characters and complex rules.

The Culling Game Arc is quite easily one of the most exciting phases in the Jujutsu Kaisen series. In fact, in terms of potential, this arc might just have had the most, given that it saw many ancient sorcerers being brought back, and at the same time, pit them against the modern sorcerers. At the same time, the excitement surrounding Gojo retrieval was also tied very well into this arc, and overall, fans thoroughly loved what this battle had to offer.

However, the Culling Game Arc certainly did have its weaknesses, and even the author himself admits to that. In fact, the author has stated quite a few regrets of his in regards to the Culling Game Arc of JJK.

Gege Wrote Stunning Fights In The Culling Game Arc

• The Culling Game Kicked Off Massive Battles in JJK
• Kenjaku Was The Mastermind Behind It All

The Culling Game Arc was one of the most anticipated arcs in Jujutsu Kaisen and it was set up at the very end of the Shibuya Incident Arc. Fans knew after Shibuya that this Arc was going to be just as exciting, if not more, especially because of the way Gege went about teasing it. When it was made clear that ancient sorcerers were awakened once again and reincarnated into special bodies, fans knew that this arc would have the potential to reach the very top in Jujutsu Kaisen. In fact, fans, who, by this point, had already fallen in love with the Shibuya Incident Arc, were fully certain that the Culling Game could reach an even higher level and would potentially go on to be the best arc in the entire series. This was further amplified by the fact that the idea behind this arc was a survival-style battle royale.

Undoubtedly, the Culling Game served up some of the most incredible fights to the fans. From ancient sorcerers, such as Ryu Ishigori and Takako Uro to the likes of Dhruv and others, fans got an incredible cast of characters in this particular Arc and the battles surrounding them were absolutely incredible, to say the least. Furthermore, this arc gave Gege the opportunity to introduce a bunch of incredibly powerful cursed techniques, and show fans new abilities, which certainly elevated the arc to a whole new level.

Characters such as Yuji Itadori and Megumi continued to fight here, and their growth as sorcerers was splendid to see, fighting one powerful enemy after another. Fans also got to see other powerful individuals who had previously been hyped up, such as Yuta Okkotsu, and that is part of what made this Arc so special. Furthermore, fans also saw Hakari, yet another powerful sorcerer, going all out, and once again, this only elevated this arc in the eyes of the fans even more.

But, while the battles and this article certainly were phenomenal, the plot they were driving forward didn’t live up to the expectations of the fans. In fact, many characters in the Culling Game arc who fans should have been invested in, such as Tsumiki, were not focused on properly and were entirely killed off, much to the surprise of the readers. Even more than that, many other plot points in the Culling Game were completely ignored or overshadowed, and the arc certainly couldn’t reach the same heights as the Shibuya Incident overall. Even the author of the series, Gege Akutami, has previously commented on the fact that the way he went about the Culling Game wasn’t perfect and that he regrets not taking a different approach.

Gege’s Big Culling Game Arc Regret

Gege Believes Culling Game Should’ve Been A Tournament-Style Arc

The Culling Game Arc was most definitely not easy to write for Gege. It has to be said that this arc saw many powerful sorcerers get involved, which meant that JJK had to juggle multiple characters with new abilities, and intriguing plotlines surrounding those characters. It certainly was a difficult job and, for what it’s worth, the arc served up a decent story.

But, Gege admits himself that a lot was left to be desired here, and that he wished he took a different approach. In particular, he laments not going with a tournament style approach for the Culling Game, and in his opinion, this would have helped the arc work much better. Here’s what Gege Akutami had to say about the Culling Game arc.

Q: If the Culling Game arc had hypothetically adopted a tournament-style battle, what do you think would have changed?

A: I now regret not making the Culling Game into a tournament-style battle. When introducing new characters, I wanted to create excitement by telling side stories for each character in advance, like “When will they appear? What will happen if they fight?” and “Oh, this character appears at this timing?” If the Culling Game had adopted a tournament-style format, I think the story would have been much clearer, and characters like Tsumiki and Kurusu could have been more prominently featured. Additionally, it might have allowed for the incorporation of the Gojo retrieval arc as well…

Could The Culling Game Arc Have Ended Better?

The Culling Game Couldn’t Live Up To Fans’ Expectations

Undoubtedly, the Culling Game Arc had tremendous potential that was eventually not fulfilled and the story could have been infinitely better. As Gege mentioned himself, characters such as Tsumiki and Kurusu did not receive as much focus as they should have. They were central to the plot, but ended up, in many ways, being neglected, which was one of the fans’ biggest gripes with this particular story arc. At the same time, a tournament style approach would have worked much better here and would have kept the excitement of the fans at the very peak throughout. It would also have been much easier to follow, and the many complicated rules that Gege wrote for this arc would’ve been reduced dramatically, which would certainly have worked out for the best.

Above all, writing deep character arcs for the likes of Tsumiki, Kurusu, and even the main characters, would have certainly elevated this arc to the next level, and that is something that Gege himself agrees with as well.

That said, the Culling Game Arc is certainly not a train wreck. It was a decent arc, for what it’s worth, and while it might not have been the best in JJK, it certainly offered some of the most memorable moments, and peaks that are going to be remembered for years to come among JJK fans. In fact, the fights served up in this section of the story are some of the very best in the entire series, and fans will always be grateful to Gege for delivering such incredible quality.

At the end of the day, the Culling Game might not be perfect, but it is one arc worth reliving, and with the anime adaptation now almost here, fans will absolutely love seeing it all come to life, with a brilliant team working on things and elevating it to a whole new level.

Jujutsu Kaisen’s last chapter, JJK 271, was finally released on September 29, 2024. Fans can read the series on the Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps.