Jujutsu Kaisen: Gege Akutami Reveals One Arc He Couldn’t Include In The Series

Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen concluded in 2024 with a truly impressive final arc. The story culminated in a huge, all-out attack on Ryomen Sukuna, involving every major sorcerer. This was set in motion by the intense battle between Gojo Satoru and the King of Curses, with the protagonist, Yuji Itadori, playing a central role in the conflict.

The intense battles in Jujutsu Kaisen, especially the raid led by Yuji Itadori, remain popular with fans. However, many feel the story didn’t fully reach its potential. Even the author, Gege Akutami, has admitted this, mentioning ideas for arcs and story elements he would have liked to explore or change if he could.

Gege Akutami Wanted To Draw A Rescue Gojo Arc After Shibuya

A Special Arc Dedicated To Gojo Satoru

Jujutsu Kaisen quickly became a hit in Weekly Shonen Jump, and the anime adaptation made it even more popular. Many fans agree that the Shibuya Incident arc was the highlight of the series. The following Culling Game arc, however, is something the author, Gege Akutami, now has mixed feelings about, both in terms of the story and the characters. Akutami has stated that a storyline focused on rescuing Gojo was a major priority, and the one arc he really wanted to create. Unfortunately, due to time limitations and other challenges, he wasn’t able to make that happen.

Gege created the Culling Game by combining several concepts, and also included a plotline to rescue Gojo. Sorcerers managed to save Gojo from the Prison Realm in an unusual way: they already had access to the Prison Realm’s back end and simply needed to locate Angel and use her cursed technique to release him.

Gege Akutami originally planned for a storyline where characters would rescue Gojo after the events of Shibuya, and many fans believe it would have been amazing. Rescue arcs are a classic element in action-packed stories, often leading to incredible battles. The Marineford arc from One Piece is a perfect example – even though the rescue attempt failed, it’s widely considered one of the greatest arcs in anime and manga. Akutami has expressed regret that they weren’t able to create a similar, high-stakes rescue story for Gojo Satoru.

Gege Ended Up Doing Culling Game Arc Instead

As we’ve seen, Gege chose to move forward with the Culling Game arc, which offered a unique direction for the story. Kenjaku, the one responsible for the Culling Game, had previously made agreements with powerful, ancient sorcerers. These sorcerers were then reborn in new bodies. His ultimate plan was to gather a massive amount of cursed energy in one location, hoping to cause a merge of worlds.

While Kenjaku’s plan had potential, the Culling Game arc is generally considered the weakest part of Jujutsu Kaisen by fans. Despite featuring powerful characters, the arc suffers from uninteresting ancient sorcerers and an overly complicated point system created by the author, Gege Akutami. Akutami has even expressed regret over how the arc turned out.

Gege Akutami Has Many Regrets About The Culling Game Arc

Many Jujutsu Kaisen manga readers consider the Culling Game arc to be the weakest part of the series, and it’s where the story began to lose some of its audience. Interest picked up again when Gojo Satoru returned and the Shinjuku Showdown arc began, as the story became more enjoyable. The Culling Game suffered from several problems, which the author, Gege, has acknowledged and regrets.

Simple Tournament Style Arc

When Gege Akutami first planned the Culling Game arc for Jujutsu Kaisen, he initially considered a traditional tournament format – a popular choice in action-packed manga like the Chunin Exams in Naruto or the Hunter Exam in Hunter x Hunter. While he liked that idea, he ultimately decided to create a more intricate and complex version of a tournament arc with the Culling Game.

Gege Akutami later expressed some dissatisfaction with how the Culling Game arc turned out. He wondered if he should have instead created a more traditional tournament arc with individual battles, allowing for greater development of many different characters. A tournament arc, designed by Akutami, likely would have been more enjoyable and could have significantly improved the Culling Game.

I wish I had structured the Culling Game as a traditional tournament. I originally planned to build anticipation for new characters with individual side stories, focusing on when and how they’d appear and fight. A tournament format would have made the story easier to follow and allowed characters like Tsumiki and Kurusu to play bigger roles. It also might have made it possible to integrate the Gojo Retrieval arc more smoothly. — Gege Akutami

Tsumiki’s Character Handling

Gege Akutami, the creator of the series, has expressed regret over how certain key characters were handled during the Culling Game arc. Specifically, he feels he failed Tsumiki, Megumi’s step-sister, by not developing her character enough. Tsumiki was marked by Kenjaku and needed to be rescued, which drove Megumi to participate in the Culling Game. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, Megumi couldn’t save her, and Akutami believes this negatively impacted Megumi’s own story arc as a result.

Besides Tsumiki, the author, Gege, also feels he didn’t develop Hana Kurusu’s character enough. She primarily existed to facilitate Gojo Satoru’s return, and her unique abilities were often used by other characters in crucial moments. Ultimately, she felt underdeveloped, and that’s a regret Gege has expressed.

If the Culling Game had been structured like a tournament, the characters involved could have been developed much more fully and received the depth they deserved. Sadly, that didn’t happen, and the weaknesses of the Culling Game arc carried over into the story’s conclusion. Despite these flaws, fans still cherish Jujutsu Kaisen for the enjoyable experience it provided during its brief but hugely popular run, and that positive impact remains.

2026-02-21 01:35