Introduction
Culling Games is such a bloody game that it hits you in the heart, but it’s not that complicated to understand. If I explain it to you now, you’ll understand everything. You don’t need a 160+ IQ; even if you have an 80 IQ, you’ll get it all clear.
I will crush them one by one, but before we understand Culling Games, we need to know who started these games, how they started, and what the purpose behind them is.
The Mastermind Behind the Culling Games: Kenjaku
You must have an idea that the mastermind behind Culling Games is Kenjaku. Kenjaku’s goal is to evolve all of humanity so that they understand cursed energy. In a way, we can say he’s trying to optimize cursed energy.
Basically, he wants to recreate the golden age of Jujutsu, just like the Heian Era. To do this, he has been conducting bizarre experiments for centuries, like cursed womb death paintings.
Kenjaku’s Experiments and Realization
After conducting these experiments, Kenjaku realized that anything he creates can never be more powerful than him. this is a problem, which is why he changed his plan a bit. First, he stopped the merger of Lord Tengen so that he could evolve. Then he had Gojo sealed in the prison realm because he knew that if Gojo were free, he would ruin all his plans.
Then he took over Geto’s body, which has the power of cursed spirit manipulation. Later, he also took over Mahito to acquire the power of idle transfiguration. Using idle transfiguration, he activated two types of non-sorcerers.
Awakening the Participants: Cursed Objects and Techniques
First are those who have consumed some kind of cursed object, for example, Yuji Itadori. Kenjaku has been creating binding vows for centuries, like in the Heian Era, where he would tell sorcerers that he would reincarnate them in the future in exchange for participating in the Culling Games. With the help of cursed objects, he reincarnated ancient sorcerers into new bodies.
Of course, he must have done something similar by feeding cursed objects to targets that were sealed at the time. The effect wasn’t visible then, but when the seals were lifted using idle transfiguration, all the ancient sorcerers reincarnated into new bodies. For example, who entered Megumi’s sister’s body? Yorozu.
The second type is those who have a non-sorcerer mind, but their cursed technique has been activated, basically, they have acquired a cursed technique. Remember what happened with Junpei? Something similar happened to Higuruma, the one who gives the death sentence with that awesome domain expansion. Go read that blog. So after doing all this, Kenjaku’s plan is to merge humanity with Master Tengen.
By doing this, he can create beings that are even above sorcerers because Master Tengen is the world. He is the reason barriers exist, right? Later in the manga, he even captured Master Tengen. But for this ritual, he needs a lot of cursed energy. Where will that come from? From the Culling Games, because when sorcerers fight each other in the Culling Games, and many sorcerers do so, the output of cursed energy from different colonies can be used in this ritual.
The Purpose of the Culling Games
This way, the ritual will be completed, and after the ritual, Master Tengen will merge with the people of Japan. After that, who knows how it will spread throughout the world, and what will happen next . But whatever happens, Kenjaku’s plan will be successful, right? Great planning.
So now you understand who started the Culling Games, what the purpose behind it is, and how it began. If you’re still confused, let me know in the comments, and I’ll make a dedicated blog on Kenjaku, explaining everything. I’m pretty sure that with all the information I’ve given you, you’ll understand the rules of the Culling Games that I’ll explain next, without any difficulty.
Keep in mind that we’re not covering the fights in the Culling Games here; there are many fights, and the blog would be very llong. We’ll cover the fights separately in different blogs.
Kenjaku’s Clever Binding Vows
Kenjaku did a lot of binding vows to start the ritual, out of which the most important one is that Kenjaku himself is not the Game Master. So, even if Kenjaku is killed, the culling game won’t end, meaning the ritual won’t be over either.
Basically, he has planned it in such a way that the ritual will be completed no matter what. To start the game, 10 colonies were established throughout Japan. As usual, this happened on the 31st of October in Jujutsu Kaisen
“To survive in the Culling Game, you must be willing to face the darkness within yourself and wield it as your weapon.”
– Yuta Okkotsu
The Rules of the Culling Games
Now let’s move on to the rules. Listen to all the rules carefully.
Rule 1: Mandatory Participation
According to the first rule, anyone whose cursed technique has awakened, like I told you, the two types of people Kenjaku has awakened, they must participate in the Culling Games within 19 days. They can do this by entering any colony.
Rule 2: Consequences of Non-Participation
The second rule is that if any player breaks the first rule, their cursed technique will be removed. In the process of removing the cursed technique, your brain gets so damaged that you can’t survive, so in short, we can say that the player will die. And if you have no cursed energy, then maybe you can survive.
Rule 3: Automatic Enrollment for Non-Players
The third rule is that if a non-player enters any colony after the Culling Games have started, their participation will be considered automaticly. In this case, any civilian trapped inside the colony barrier will have a chance to leave the colony. But if they leave and re-enter, then they must participate.
Rule 4: Point Accumulation through Killing
The fourth rule is that players will increase their points by killing each other.
Rule 5: Points Allocation by the Game Master
The fifth rule is that the game master will decide how many points are awarded for killing someone. But there’s a general rule of thumb: if you kill a sorcerer, you get five points; if you kill a non-sorcerer, you get one point. If you kill a cursed spirit, you also get five points.
Rule 6: Adding New Rules
The sixth rule is that if a player accumulates 100 points, they can add a new rule by negotiating with the game master. Remember, you can’t subtract any old rules, and your new rule can’t directly contradict an old one. The game master never appears in person, so the negotiation is done through a shikigami named Kogane, which you can summon. You need to collect 100 points, which means you have to kill either 20 sorcerers, 100 civilians, or a mix of both.
Rule 7: Approval of New Rules
Now, the seventh rule is an extension of the sixth rule. Any new rule added will only apply if the game master approves it. If the game master denies it, the rule won’t apply.
Rule 8: Mandatory Point Change
The eighth and final rule is that if a player’s points don’t change within 19 days, their cursed technique will be removed, which means you have to kill someone within 19 days to change your points. It’s written that points must change, not necessarily by killing. You’ll understand why I’m saying this later.
Additional Rules Added by Players
So, friends, these were the eight main rules of the Culling Games. After that, six more rules were added. How were they added? By collecting 100-100 points. So, I’ll tell you those six as well.
Rule 9: Player Information
The ninth rule was added by Haji in Kashima, according to which any player can know all the information about another player, for example, their name, how many points they have, which colony they’re in, and how many rules they’ve added. You can talk to Kogane to get your desired info, like asking for a list of all the players with more than 100 points, and Kogane will do that.
Rule 10: Points Exchange
The tenth rule was added by Higuruma, which allows players to exchange points with each other. Basically, players can exchange points. This is a loophole in the eighth rule, not a direct contradiction, but a loophole nonetheless. Remember, according to the eighth rule, you must change your points within 19 days, so you can change them by transferring points without having to kill anyone, provided someone is willing to give you points.
Rule 11: Leaving the Game
The eleventh rule was added by Megumi, which allows any player to leave the game by giving 100 points, but they have to bring in a substitute. The reason for bringing in a substitute is that you can’t leave the Culling Games directly, as it would contradict the rules. Again, a small loophole here: collect 100 points, bring in a substitute, and leave.
Rule 12: Inter-Colony Movement
The twelfth rule was added by Yorozu, which allows players to enter and exit between different colonies.
Rule 13: No New Entrants
The thirteenth rule was added by Kenjaku himself, which states that after 9:09 PM on November 18th, no new player can join the Culling Games.
Rule 14: Until Two Players Remain
And the final fourteenth rule was also added by Kenjaku, which states that the Culling Games will continue until only two players remain alive, and those two are Geto and Megumi. Geto, because Kenjaku is inside him, and Megumi, because Sukuna is inside him now. Basically, the Culling Games will continue until everyone dies except Kenjaku and Sukuna.
“In this game, every breath is a choice, every step a decision between life and death. I won’t let fear dictate my fate.”
– Yuji Itadori
Conclusion
So, with this, I have explained all the rules of the Culling Games, and now you should understand why there’s so much fighting going on in the Culling Games, with old sorcerers coming back and new sorcerers clashing with each other. Are you getting it? How did the old sorcerers come back, from where, and why are people fighting each other?
The fights here are very interesting, and they can’t all be covered in one blog, but I will bring all the interesting fights to you in separate blogs.. I’m telling you, I’ve brought three blogs on JJK in a row, and more will keep coming. Please, I have to ask, think of it as begging a little. I’ll see you guys in the next one. Sayonara….
