Jujutsu Kaisen’s Dark New Chapter Fixes Disappointing Culling Game Reveal

Warning: spoilers ahead for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 174!

The disappointing scene that awaited Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro upon their arrival in the Culling Game is now ancient history, as Jujutsu Kaisen finally displays the true horror of the epic deathmatch as it was surely intended.

The rules and purpose of Kenjaku’s Culling excited readers immediately upon their unveiling many chapters ago, especially for those who read Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi’s seinen manga Battle Royale. Essentially, Kenjaku was setting weak and new jujutsu sorcerers against stronger and more experienced warriors, ostensibly in an attempt to expedite humanity’s evolution, according to Tengen. With such a description, readers expected civilians trapped inside to experience the same terror and uncertainty as the everyday students who were pitted against each other in Battle Royale. But that wasn’t the case… until chapter 174 of Jujutsu Kaisen by mangaka Gege Akutami.

In the chapter, jujutsu sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu is leading a group of participants who are obviously inexperienced and either not used to or unwilling to fight. The group mostly consists of mothers, children and elders who are easily startled and terrified by anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, a horrified victim not in Yuta’s party can be seen running away from a swarm of killer insects. Yuta tries to save him, but the insects devour the man’s flesh, leaving behind nothing but a bloody carcass. This type of dynamic has been conspicuously absent ever since Yuji and Megumi first entered the Culling. There, the majority of opponents that awaited them were presented as ridiculous and foolish, reducing the awesome deathmatch to nothing more than annoying filler.

That’s not to say the Culling Game has been totally without merit. Early on, Yuji fought against an intriguing jujutsu sorcerer named Hiromi Higuruma, whose cursed power revolved around his occupation as a lawyer. Even Megumi’s battle against the absurd Reggie Star featured a few standout moments, especially as Megumi summoned and used his Domain Expansion in an absurd (albeit creative) way. But these instances alone weren’t enough to completely save the Culling. It didn’t help things that Jujutsu Kaisen‘s massive battle during the epic Shibuya arc featured a great deal of terrified civilians getting attacked and brutalized by the cursed spirit Mahito’s human experiments, as the combination of Shibuya and the obvious nod to Battle Royale made it impossible for readers not to develop expectations for the Culling Game as a genuinely horrifying event – a promise on which chapter 174 delivers.

While Jujutsu Kaisen fans may not have gotten what they wanted from the Culling Game’s original appearance, this new batch of ‘contestants’ finally turns it into a genuinely dark affair, and one which promises more intense moments in the near future. The only downside is that Jujutsu Kaisen is taking a break next week, so fans will have to wait a little longer than usual to enjoy the next chapter.

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