Jujutsu Kaisen's manga concluded in 2024 after a final arc that generated more divided opinion than almost any shonen finale in recent memory. Gege Akutami's decision-making in the endgame — including deaths that came without traditional manga catharsis, an ending that prioritised thematic consistency over fan satisfaction, and pacing choices that sacrificed clarity for tone — split the readership in ways that are still being argued about. The anime still has most of the Culling Game arc and the entire finale to adapt. What happens next matters.
Where the Anime Currently Is
MAPPA's adaptation is working through the Shibuya Incident arc and its immediate aftermath. This is where the manga's reputation was at its absolute peak — the Shibuya material is structurally brilliant, emotionally devastating, and visually spectacular in ways that play to MAPPA's specific strengths. The anime's handling of it has been generally strong.
The Culling Game Arc — What to Expect
The Culling Game is the largest and most structurally complex arc in Jujutsu Kaisen. It introduces a significant number of new characters, splits the protagonists across multiple game zones with independent rules, and begins the philosophical confrontation with Kenjaku that the series has been building since its earliest chapters. It is also the arc where some readers felt the pacing lost its footing.
The anime adaptation has an opportunity the manga did not — it can pace the Culling Game material with more deliberate attention to character clarity. MAPPA has shown before that they are willing to make structural adjustments when adapting manga. The question is whether they apply that here.
The Ending and What It Means for Anime-Only Viewers
For people following the anime only, the ending's reception among manga readers should not necessarily colour expectations. Stories that read as abrupt in weekly serialisation sometimes cohere better in a single sustained viewing experience. The themes Akutami was working with — curse as inherited suffering, the impossibility of clean victory, the cost of a world that demands sacrifice from its heroes — are sound. The execution in manga form was polarising. The anime may tell the same story more clearly.
Is Jujutsu Kaisen Worth Starting Now?
For anyone who has been waiting for the manga to finish before committing to the anime: now is a legitimate time. The full story is known. The anime has a roadmap. MAPPA's production, despite some well-publicised reports about working conditions during the Shibuya arc, produced some of the most visually striking anime fight sequences of the past decade. Start with season 1, which requires no pre-knowledge and delivers a strong contained story before the escalation begins.
