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While details about the second part haven’t been unveiled, the anime is all set to commence the deathly battle between many sorcerers right after the Perfect Preparation Arc is fully adapted in Episode 4 of Season 3. However, while the Culling Game is an incredibly shocking event in the series that plunged the Jujutsu world further into chaos, preparation for it was underway for as long as six years. In fact, the anime’s first-ever opening sequence already gave a major hint about the Culling Game, even before the arc officially began in the manga.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s First Opening Hints At The Culling Game
The Culling Game Arc officially kicks off in Chapter 159, which was released in September 2021. Around a year before that, the anime made its debut in October 2020, and the opening sequence featured Yuji sitting inside a train filled with water and a fish swimming near him. According to @lightningclare on X, a famous JJK account and the official translator of Chapter 236, the Culling Game in Japanese refers to Annihilation Migration, while the players are called swimmers. The Annihilation Migration is a phenomenon where fish are forced into dangerous environments by currents and often die as a result. The Culling Game was orchestrated by Kenjaku alone, and no one was willing to participate, but they had to keep fighting and killing each other in order to survive.
The game didn’t only serve as Kenjaku’s amusement, but also helped him reach one step closer to his goal. Additionally, the fish in the opening is an emperor angelfish, which often eats jellyfish, a creature associated with Junpei Yoshino. This isn’t a coincidence either, since Junpei’s powers weren’t awakened on his own, but because Mahito altered his brain. Junpei shares a lot in common with the other Culling Game players, as many of them were forcefully awakened by Kenjaku.
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