Image Credit: © Gege Akutami/Shueisha
Jujutsu Kaisen Culling Game Episode 3: The Culling Game is one of the most important so far. This episode focuses not on fight scenes but on explaining the world’s deadliest new survival system in a clear way, so fans and new viewers can understand what the Culling Game really is, how it works, the rules, and what every major player wants to do next.
What Is the Culling Game and Why Does It Exist
The Culling Game isn’t simply a tournament; it is a vast cursed survival system created by the villain Kenjaku. Japan is divided into giant cursed zones called colonies, where players must fight to survive and earn points.
Instead of a typical battle arc, the goal of this game is part of Kenjaku’s larger idea: he wants to force humanity into a new era by merging everyone with Master Tengen’s essence, crafting a world with huge cursed energy potential. Kenjaku has set up strict rules so that even if he dies, the Culling Game will continue.
Simple Breakdown of All Culling Game Rules

Here are all the key rules explained in easy words so you can clearly understand the Culling Game:
1. You Enter Only After Awakening Cursed Energy
A person must first awaken a cursed technique. After that, they have 19 days to officially declare they are part of the game by entering a colony barrier. If they fail, their cursed technique can be forcibly removed, resulting in instant elimination.
2. Anyone Who Breaks Participation Rule Gets Eliminated
If a player doesn’t obey the first rule, they are subject to cursed technique removal. Losing their cursed technique can lead to death.
3. Enter a Colony, and You’re a Player
If a person who is not yet a player enters any colony boundary, they instantly become a player. There’s no escape once you step inside.
4. Points Are Earned by Killing Players
The main way to survive and grow in power in the game is by defeating other players. Every eliminated player gives you points.
5. Different Players Have Different Point Values
Every player’s life is assigned a point value decided by the game system. Usually, sorcerers are worth 5 points, while non-sorcerers are worth 1 point. More powerful players sometimes get more points as well.
6. Reach 100 Points, and You Can Change a Rule
Once a player earns 100 points, they earn a special right: they can propose a new rule to improve conditions. These new rules must be approved as long as they don’t dramatically change the game’s nature.
7. Rules Added Must Not Break the Game
The Culling Game system only accepts the new rules if they keep the game’s structure. This keeps the contest fair but allows strategy.
8. No Points for 19 Days Means Elimination
This rule forces continuous action. If a player’s score doesn’t change within 19 days, they are eliminated because their cursed energy is removed. Simply hiding or waiting will get you killed.
9. Players Can Share Points Among Each Other
After players added certain rules in-world, participants can transfer points to each other. This lets strong characters help weaker allies.
These rules make the Culling Game feel like a mix of battle, strategy, scoring, and survival. It’s not only about fighting, but it’s also about planning, alliances, and sacrifice.
Tengen’s Role and Important Background

In Episode 3, the group finally meets Master Tengen, a long-lived sorcerer who knows the deepest purpose of the Culling Game. He explains that the game isn’t about Kenjaku controlling every fight. Instead, it works like a self-governing system with fixed laws that cannot be easily changed. This is why defeating Kenjaku alone might not stop the game.
This revelation is crucial for fans and new viewers because it shows how high the stakes are: the heroes must think beyond simple battles. Winning means understanding both the ritual and rules inside out.
Core Missions of Major Players After Episode 3
The story now shifts toward big strategic goals. Here’s how different characters are acting:
Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro
Yuji and Megumi are not entering to become champions. Their main mission is to:
- Search for Angel, a unique person who can extinguish cursed techniques (this could help free Gojo).
- Win 100 points to add rules that save allies and stop forced killing.
- Rescue Tsumiki, Megumi’s sister, who has been trapped in the game.
Yuta Okkotsu
Yuta, one of the strongest sorcerers in the world, goes on his own mission to gather information and better understand how the game works so he can support others later.
Alliances and New Fighters
Yuji and Megumi also plan to recruit new allies, such as Kinji Hakari and others, whose power can help them change the game’s future.
Two Main Characters and Comedy Relief
Even though this arc is serious and tense, Jujutsu Kaisen keeps moments of personality and humor:
1. Who is Angel Hana Kurusu — The Key to Curing Curses

Angel Hana Kurusu is a unique and powerful character in the Culling Game arc. She is actually a sorceress from the Heian Era whose spirit now inhabits Hana Kurusu’s body. Unlike many reincarnated players who lose their original selves, Angel coexists peacefully with Hana.
What makes Angel extremely important is her cursed ability: she can cancel or extinguish other cursed techniques. This power makes her one of the best hopes for weakening dangerous enemies or even freeing Gojo Satoru from the Prison Realm later in the story. For the main heroes like Yuji and Megumi, finding Angel becomes a major mission because her power can affect the outcome of the Culling Game.
2. Who is Fumihiko Takaba — The Comedian Turned Sorcerer

Fumihiko Takaba is a character with a very unusual entry into the Culling Game. Before the arc began, Kenjaku activated the cursed ritual that pulls ordinary people into the game. Takaba was one such person: he was a failing comedian with dreams of making people laugh.
Now a sorcerer player in the Culling Game, Takaba fights using powers he never expected to have. His appearance and behavior bring humor and chaos to an otherwise tense arc. His costume and technique reflect his comedic past, and his presence offers light, strange scenes that fans often talk about for their humor.
3. Who is Kinji Hakari — The Strong and Wild Sorcerer

Kinji Hakari is one of the most exciting new fighters introduced in the Culling Game. He is a third-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High who was suspended before the arc began because of his rebellious nature. Before Season 3, he ran a private fight club called the Gachinko Fight Club, where sorcerers battled each other outside standard rules.
Hakari doesn’t respect rules much, but he has enormous potential and raw power. Satoru Gojo and Yuta Okkotsu both see him as one of the strongest students who could one day rival them.
In the game, Hakari initially challenges Yuji and the others but eventually agrees to help them if they help him with his own goals. His presence adds depth to the story by bringing strength, personality, unpredictability, and his own strategy to the battles ahead.
Summary — Why These Characters Matter
Kinji Hakari brings power, skill, and a wild edge, changing how battles unfold and influencing the team’s strategy.
Angel might be the most important character in the entire Culling Game because her abilities directly affect cursed techniques and future battles.
Fumihiko Takaba adds humor and unpredictability, reminding viewers that not all players are trained sorcerers — some are ordinary people pulled into chaos.
Why Episode 3 Matters for All Fans
This episode helps viewers fully understand what the Culling Game is and why it is now the toughest arc in Jujutsu Kaisen. It breaks down:
- Full rules that every player must follow
- What the game really wants players to do
- How points work and why they matter
- The mission of heroes and how they plan to change the game
- Why strategy now matters more than raw power
What is the Prison Realm and the Back of Prison Realm? (Simple Words)
The Prison Realm is a powerful, cursed object that can trap someone completely, preventing them from escaping. It was used in the Shibuya Incident to seal away Satoru Gojo, the strongest sorcerer, which is why he has been missing from the story, and the other characters now have to deal with the Culling Game without him. Inside the Prison Realm, time does not pass the same way as outside, and a person cannot normally get out once sealed there unless the seal is broken.
In Episode 3, the heroes learn about the back of the Prison Realm, which is like the unlocking side of the seal. Gojo was sealed by the “front” of the Prison Realm, and only the person with the front could normally open it. But now, the front is lost, and the only way to release Gojo using the back door is through a special cursed technique that cancels other cursed powers. This is where Angel’s ability becomes important; her power could extinguish Gojo’s seal and free him using the back of the Prison Realm.
So, in simple words, Gojo is stuck inside a very strong cursed seal, and the heroes need someone like Angel, who can cancel cursed techniques, to open the back of that seal and bring him back.
Now that the setup is clear, future episodes will focus on big battles, strategic rule changes, alliances, and emotional stakes.
FAQs
Q. What is the Culling Game, and why was it started?
A. The Culling Game is a deadly survival contest where sorcerers and others must fight to earn points and stay alive. It was created by the villain Kenjaku to build massive cursed energy and force humanity into a new stage of evolution. The game’s strict rules keep it running even if Kenjaku is defeated.
Q. How do the rules of the Culling Game work?
A. In the Culling Game, players become part of the battle when they enter a colony. Once inside, they cannot leave normally and must defeat others to earn points. Stronger fighters give more points, and if a player gets enough points, they can change a rule to help themselves or allies. Staying inactive and scoring no points for a long time can get a player eliminated.
Q. What does Episode 3 focus on?
A. Episode 3 doesn’t have big fights. It explains the Culling Game’s true meaning and rules so sorcerers know what they are facing. Master Tengen reveals more about Kenjaku’s plan, and the heroes start thinking about how to survive and change the game.
Q. Who are the new important characters introduced around this episode?
A. In this part of the story we meet Angel (Hana Kurusu), whose special power can cancel cursed techniques and may help free Gojo. Fumihiko Takaba is a comedian-turned-sorcerer who adds humor and unpredictability. Kinji Hakari is a very strong sorcerer whose wild strength makes him a key ally in the Culling Game.