Anime

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 lands on Netflix — four months after Japanese broadcast

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 lands on Netflix — four months after Japanese broadcast
Image credit: Google Veo 3

One of the fastest theatrical-to-sofa turnarounds in recent anime memory just happened quietly. Jujutsu Kaisen's third season has arrived on Netflix — and the next season is already deep in the works.

The drop

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 hit Netflix on 23 July 2026. The season only finished its Japanese broadcast in March 2026, making this a roughly four-month gap — a direct payoff of Netflix's ongoing partnership with studio MAPPA. It follows the season's arrival on Hulu on 10 July, so both major platforms now carry it within a fortnight of each other.

What you're getting

  • Episodes — 12, which aired in Japan from 9 January to March 2026.
  • The story — picking up after Shibuya: Satoru Gojo is sealed away, the higher-ups have ordered Yuji Itadori's execution, and Kenjaku kicks off the Culling Game — a brutal, Japan-wide battle royale between sorcerers.
  • The cast — Junya Enoki, Yuma Uchida, Yuichi Nakamura, Junichi Suwabe, and Mikako Komatsu all return.
  • The reception — season 3 delivered some of the most technically impressive animation the series has seen, and ended on one of its most brutal cliffhangers yet.

What about Part 2?

Already in production. Season 4 — The Culling Game Part 2 — got its first teaser at MAPPA's 15th anniversary presentation on 19 June 2026, along with a notable staffing change: Takeru Sato, assistant director on season 3, steps up as series director, while season 2 director Shota Goshozono moves into a chief director role. No release date yet. MAPPA's official line, as reported by Tech Times in June 2026, was simply that the season is:

"diligently in production"

Which, for a studio famous for its punishing schedules, counts as reassurance.

For the record: Guinness World Records certified Jujutsu Kaisen as the world's most in-demand animated TV show based on 2023 data — and it held the title the following year, with Parrot Analytics measuring global demand at more than 64 times the average TV series. The Culling Game has an audience waiting.

One of the fastest theatrical-to-sofa turnarounds in recent anime memory just happened quietly. Jujutsu Kaisen's third season has arrived on Netflix — and the next season is already deep in the works.

The drop

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 hit Netflix on 23 July 2026. The season only finished its Japanese broadcast in March 2026, making this a roughly four-month gap — a direct payoff of Netflix's ongoing partnership with studio MAPPA. It follows the season's arrival on Hulu on 10 July, so both major platforms now carry it within a fortnight of each other.

What you're getting

  • Episodes — 12, which aired in Japan from 9 January to March 2026.
  • The story — picking up after Shibuya: Satoru Gojo is sealed away, the higher-ups have ordered Yuji Itadori's execution, and Kenjaku kicks off the Culling Game — a brutal, Japan-wide battle royale between sorcerers.
  • The cast — Junya Enoki, Yuma Uchida, Yuichi Nakamura, Junichi Suwabe, and Mikako Komatsu all return.
  • The reception — season 3 delivered some of the most technically impressive animation the series has seen, and ended on one of its most brutal cliffhangers yet.

What about Part 2?

Already in production. Season 4 — The Culling Game Part 2 — got its first teaser at MAPPA's 15th anniversary presentation on 19 June 2026, along with a notable staffing change: Takeru Sato, assistant director on season 3, steps up as series director, while season 2 director Shota Goshozono moves into a chief director role. No release date yet. MAPPA's official line, as reported by Tech Times in June 2026, was simply that the season is:

"diligently in production"

Which, for a studio famous for its punishing schedules, counts as reassurance.

For the record: Guinness World Records certified Jujutsu Kaisen as the world's most in-demand animated TV show based on 2023 data — and it held the title the following year, with Parrot Analytics measuring global demand at more than 64 times the average TV series. The Culling Game has an audience waiting.