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Jujutsu Kaisen's Culling Game, on paper, should be a home run. After all, battle royale with sorcerers in Japan, complete with plenty of peril and powerful foes, is a killer premise.
But those who watched Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution or Jujutsu Kaisen season 3's first two episodes may have had their brains scrambled by the wall of text that suddenly cropped up to explain the Culling Game's rules.
On top of that, a further entry – featuring Tengen breaking down the Culling Game rule by rule in a manner that felt akin to reading terms and conditions on a phone contract – was mocked by fans for its use of flowcharts.
Even the animators got in on the act, producing a cutesy three-minute chibi video recapping the main rules and regulations of the Culling Game (in short, a ploy to create cursed energy and powerful sorcerers, with an arbitrary points system that encourages killing, lest users want to lose their cursed techniques).
But what of the actors in the thick of it? Yuji's English actor Adam McArthur says it's completely fine if, even as we near the end of the first part of the Culling Game arc, you haven't got a handle on what's going on just yet.
"I read the manga, so I feel like I had a firm grasp on the rules… I think it was episode two where they actually showed [the rules on-screen] where I was like, 'Okay, that was fast!'" McArthur tells GamesRadar+.
McArthur continues, "But what I'm telling everybody who said this to me is be okay with not fully grasping them at the forefront. Things will be re-explained as we go. You'll understand what's happening. They're already using the characters not understanding things to re-explain the rules as we go along.
"Yeah, it's confusing… it was hilarious, especially in the movie theater, people were gasping at how quickly they flashed on screen."
Kayleigh McKee, who voices Yuta in the show, adds, "It certainly does feel like a lot of information at once. But you know what? I think they just wanted to get it on screen briefly for a second, so that when they bring it up later, you know that it's not coming out of nowhere…. I think the intent was just for you to briefly get an anchor and then actually understand it as we go."
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. For more, check out the other new anime to watch this season, as well as the best anime you need to add to your watchlist today.
