Ever since season three premiered, it seems to be all fans can talk about. It started off with a double release on Jan. 8, 2026, and new episodes come out every Thursday following. The anime begins adapting the manga from chapter 138, in the middle of volume 16. It has especially high ratings among western audiences, but faces backlash and heavy criticism in Japan. Episode four got the worst of it, Japanese fans complaining that the pacing was too fast, didn’t adapt manga panels correctly, and had poor music choice. Despite this, the anime is praised globally, and continues to receive high ratings.
The anime is especially hyped because of how long fans have had to wait, with there approximately being a two-year gap between when the Shibuya Incident Arc finished in December 2023, while the Culling Game Arc came out in January 2026. Within the show, it begins almost immediately where season two left off, right after the Shibuya incident. Gojo was sealed, and Kenjaku, in Geto’s body, absorbs Mahito to use Idle Transfiguration to activate the cursed techniques in people he’d marked.
In total, he marked 1,000 non-sorcerers, including Megumi’s sister, Tsumiki, to prepare them for the upcoming Culling Games. These were people who had cursed techniques, but lacked the brain structure to use them, as seen in Junpei Yoshino. Kenjaku’s end goal is to force humanity to evolve, merging all non-sorcerers with Master Tengen. By creating the Culling Game, a high-stake battle royale that takes place across ten sealed colonies in Japan, he plans to generate a large amount of cursed energy.
There’s lots to look forward to in the newest season, one thing being long-awaited characters finally making an appearance in the anime. One character that fans have been especially excited for is Kinji Hakari. It’s safe to say that fans have been awaiting Hakari’s domain, Idle Death Gamble, finally animated, resembling a digital slot machine. If a jackpot is hit, Hakari is untouchable for exactly four minutes and 11 seconds, due to his Reversed Cursed Technique. Next is Hiromi Higuruma, a defense attorney and new jujutsu sorcerer. His domain, Deadly Sentencing, is actually quite nonlethal, despite its name. His opponents are put on trial by “Judgeman”, Hiromi’s shikigami, summonable familiars resembling cursed spirits. If guilty, they receive one of several different punishments, the most common being the confiscation of their technique. As of yet all the characters have met or exceeded expectations. With the complexity of the characters and their abilities, it makes MAPPA bringing the manga to life all the more exciting.
The season started off with Yuji and Choso’s alliance, killing the cursed spirits released around Tokyo by Kenjaku’s Idle Transfiguration Technique, following the Shibuya incident. Since the Jujutsu headquarters reinstatement of Yuji’s death sentence, Yuta Okkotsu is tasked with killing him, while Naoya Zen’in wants to kill Megumi to secure his spot as head of the Zen’in clan. Yuji and Choso split, the latter staying to deal with Naoya. Once everyone regroups, they meet with Master Tengen, who explains the rules of the Culling Games, orchestrated by Kenjaku.
They come up with a plan on how to save Megumi’s sister, Tsumiki, and free Satoru Gojo. In episode four, the focus shifts to Maki Zen’in, who returns to the Zen’in compound to find cursed tools. When betrayed by her father, Mai’s sacrifice awakens Maki’s Heavenly Restriction. Released on January 29, episode five covers Masamichi Yaga’s backstory, and follows Yuji and Megumi’s time at Hakari’s fight club. Megumi and Panda split up from Yuji to fight Kirara, and Yuji continues fighting Hakari to prove he has passion. Megumi figures out Kirara’s cursed technique, Love Rendezvous, which uses the Southern Cross Constellation.
After their fight and an explanation of what happened in Shibuya, Hakari accepts and teams up with Yuji and the others, as long as Megumi, as head of the Zen’in clan, helps him legalize his fight club. Hajime Kashimo, a 400 year old reincarnated sorcerer, adds another rule to the Culling Games: That all players should be identified by their full name, how many points they have, how many rules they’ve added, and the colony they’re currently in. WIth Kashimo’s new rule, Yuji and the others agree to find a player with 100 points.
They split up, with Panda and Hakari going to Tokyo 2, Yuji and Megumi going to Tokyo 1, and Kirara staying outside of the colonies to keep watch. When Yuji and Megumi enter the colony, they are immediately separated, and are on their own to find Hiromi. Yuji eventually finds Higuruma, and fails to convince him to add another rule. The newest episode is left on a cliffhanger, where Yuji is put on trial for his past actions in Higuruma’s domain expansion.
Overall, fans have mixed feelings about the newest season. Whether praised for its intensity or criticized for its execution, Jujutsu Kaisen has solidified its place as one of the best new generation anime out there. It was recognized by the Guinness World Records in 2023 and 2024 as the most in-demand animated TV show, taking the title from Attack on Titan, which set the standard since its final season’s release in 2020. If you haven’t already, Jujutsu Kaisen is definitely worth the watch.
