Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 finally brought the Culling Game, which was one of the most awaited arcs, to life, and MAPPA, as usual, did an amazing job. The animation quality shot through the roof, and the fights hit harder than anything MAPPA has shown before. Overall, fans who read the manga have been eating well.
Jujutsu Kaisen is easily one of the best anime on Crunchyroll right now, and Season 3 is a big reason why. But the anime is not a one-to-one copy of the source material; that would be boring. MAPPA made some deliberate changes along the way – some small, some surprisingly meaningful. Here is a breakdown of every major change from the manga that you need to know about.
1. Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Pacing and Scene Order Rearranged From the Manga
If you read the Culling Game arc in the manga, you know the first thing it throws at you is a wall of rules. Manga basically dumps an entire rulebook on the characters and readers, and the reader has to sit through all of it before any proper action happens. However, understanding all the rules from the get-go was never important, as the story slowly clears everything up in a much better way.
The anime fixed this. Even though there was a big wall of text for like 2 seconds, MAPPA reordered several of the early scenes and spread the rule explanations across episodes instead of dumping them only one time. Even when Tengen was explaining the rules, we got an amazing series of visuals that helped with understanding.
Some backstories also got cut short. Nothing that changes the plot in any major way, but side characters like Hakari had their screen time slightly cut for the sake of keeping the overall pacing tight. Though we can hope Hakari is a primary focus at the start of Season 4.
On the bright side, Maki’s brutality in the Perfect Preparation was much better in the anime, and if you want to understand the deeper symbolism behind why Maki killing Naoya hits so differently, Gege’s intentions make it even better.
2. The One Anime-Only Scene That Changes How We See Higuruma
Episode 9 of Jujutsu Kaisen has a short flashback showing Hiromi Higuruma’s life before he ever became a lawyer. In the manga, this kind of deep background for him does not exist, as all of his flashbacks are limited to him being a lawyer already.
The scene shows a young Higuruma sitting at his desk, completely locked in on studying law as the narrator explains that he is a pure genius with a good heart. It is a small moment, but it completely reframes who he is before Yuji and Higuruma finally start talking heart to heart.
What makes it even cooler is that the scene is a clear nod to Look Back, which is one of many masterpieces of Tatsuki Fujimoto. In Look Back, the main character Fujino is shown from behind at her desk in a lot of scenes. MAPPA framed Higuruma’s flashback in the exact same way – same angle, same lonely energy.
Higuruma is even wearing a green shirt, which mirrors the color of Fujino’s iconic hoodie. That cannot be a coincidence.
3. The Art Style Changed, and Even Gege Akutami Noticed
If Season 3 feels slightly different visually compared to Shibuya Incident, that is because it genuinely is. Previously, the anime was trying to stick a lot to Gege’s art style; however, this time, MAPPA enhanced upon it. The colors feel richer, the linework has a different texture to it, and the overall look is more cinematic than before.
The wildest part? Gege Akutami himself went out of his way to comment on it. In a note shared through Viz Media’s Mangaka Musings section, the JJK creator praised the visual direction of the anime (as per VIZ Blog). When the person who made the source material is hyping your adaptation, that says a lot. It also reinforces why JJK has earned its place among the modern shonen that can genuinely rival the Big 3.
| TITLE | Jujutsu Kaisen |
| MAL RATING (as of June 29, 2026) | 8.18 / 10 |
| ORIGINAL CREATOR | Gege Akutami |
| PUBLISHING DATE | Mar 5, 2018 to Sep 30, 2024 |
| WHERE TO READ | Viz Media, MANGA Plus |
Which moment in the anime is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments.
Jujutsu Kaisen is streaming on Crunchyroll
