Season 3 of the anime Jujutsu Kaisen is adapting “The Culling Games” manga storyline, an arc that had very mixed reviews from fans.
In the beginning, the main character, Yuji Itadori, is on the run and avoiding his friends because of guilt over his role in the Shibuya incident from last season. However, he is dragged into a deathly national battle royale orchestrated by the main antagonist, Kenjaku.
One of the most popular criticisms of anime is that they have too many filler episodes. However, this season of Jujutsu Kaisen is an exception in that it needs more filler or at least a few lighter episodes.
Every episode is theme-heavy and enhances the plot, so no episode is worth skipping. Unfortunately, the hyper focus on the plot gives the audience little time to connect to most of the characters and their dynamics.
Of course, episode four is an outlier here. This specific episode is packed with brilliant action and animation, but it also wonderfully explores the relationship between the sisters Maki and Mai. It also addresses themes of hierarchy and sexism in a way that is rare in shonen anime.
Both the anime and the manga touch upon political topics, and this season makes those themes explicit. These themes have driven a wall between fans, especially between international fans and Japanese fans.
The biggest subject of disagreement has been the character Naoya Zenin, who is open about his hatred of women. He ranked high in Japanese popularity polls; however, international fans feel that his misogyny should deter people from supporting him completely.
Another new character who has elicited discussion is Kirara Hoshi, who is implied to be a transgender woman. Of course, that comes with its own politically charged discourse.
So far, season three of Jujutsu Kaisen is full of interesting fights that are further enhanced by the brilliant animation. While the character development may not live up to prior seasons, it makes up for that with the interesting plot developments and new storylines.
The anime is currently streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
