The Culling Game arc is one of the most exciting beats in Jujutsu Kaisen‘s story.
The culmination of Kenjaku’s centuries-spanning machinations, the Culling Game sees ten areas of Japan transformed into “Colonies,” urban battle arenas where jujutsu sorcerers are forced to fight each other to the death.
Kenjaku pulls out all the stops to ensure that as many sorcerers are pulled into the Culling Games as possible, and it doesn’t take long for bodies to start piling up. The Culling Game will likely be the central focus of Jujutsu Kaisen‘s third season, so keep reading if you want to know who doesn’t walk away from this brutal battle royal alive.
Major and Minor Jujutsu Kaisen Deaths: Who Dies in The Culling Game?
The Culling Game arc is, in many ways, the successor of the Shibuya Incident, which saw many of Jujutsu Kaisen‘s key heroes and villains shuffle off the mortal coil. Unfortunately for many Jujutsu Kaisen fans, who had hoped things would improve for the jujutsu sorcerer community, the Culling Game makes the Shibuya Incident look like a low-cost victory. As the Culling Game has raged on, an upsetting number of beloved characters have been killed off, and there’s no end of the carnage in sight as of writing.
Here is a complete list of all the characters who die during Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Culling Game.
Dhruv Lakdawalla
To ensure that the ten Colonies are filled with skillful “players,” Kenjaku forcibly insert the spirits of deceased jujutsu sorcerers into the bodies of unsuspecting human hosts. One of these reincarnated sorcerers is Dhruv Lakdawalla, who is claimed to have started the Civil War of Wa, the first war in Japanese history. Unfortunately, Dhruv is quickly taken down by Yuta Okkutsuku before he can show off how powerful he is.
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Kurourushi
A Cursed Spirit presumably born from humanity’s fear of cockroaches, Kurourushi is a brutal and resilient predator who gives the mutant cockroaches from Terra Formars a run for their money. Able to summon swarms of ravenous cockroaches and armed with a wicked blade known as the Festering Life Sword, Kurourushi manages to put up a good fight against Yuta but is eventually killed by the sorcerer after he receives unexpected assistance from the murderous reincarnated sorceress Takako Uro.
Chizuru Hari
A reincarnated sorcerer with a penchant for hand-to-hand combat, Chizuru Hari is one of several Culling Game participants who join a team led by the reincarnated sorcerer Reggie Star. Chizuru is one of several members of Reggie’s team who attempts to assassinate Megumi Fushigoro after his attempt to negotiate with his boss fails. Despite his confidence in his abilities, however, Chizuri is quickly dispatched by Megumi’s owl-like shinigami Nue before he gets a chance to use his Cursed Technique.
Ryu Ishigori
Ryu Ishigori is yet another reincarnated sorcerer who joined Reggie Star’s team. A battle-hungry combatant who loves to pepper his lexicon with food-based metaphors and can fire concentrated beams of Cursed Energy like a Dragon Ball character, Ryu’s only goal in his second life is to find an opponent strong enough to give him a good fight, and he finds his ideal adversary in Yuta. Ryu goes all out during his battle against Yuta but still loses to the young man. Still, he goes out smiling, happy to have met his end fighting a worthy opponent.
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Reggie Star
Reggie Star is the leader of a team of reincarnated sorcerers who quickly become the most dangerous players in the Culling Game’s Shinjuku Colony. An intelligent and manipulative sorcerer whose Cursed Technique allows him to summon objects from books, coupons, and receipts, Reggie meets his match in the equally shrewd Megumi, who manages to stay one step ahead of the flamboyant sorcerer long enough to pierce his defenses and deal a killing blow.
Yuki Tsukumo
One of the more surprising and tragic deaths that unfolds during the Culling Game arc is that of Yuki Tsukumo, Aoi Tdo’s mentor and the one who accidentally sent Suguro Geto down the path of evil. Eager to make amends for her mistake, Yuki volunteers to protect Master Tengen from Kenjaku, and she gives her all to stop the ancient villain from reaching his “old friend.” Unfortunately, her best isn’t enough, but she still manages to go out swinging and gives Tengen enough time to escape her former comrade.
Naoya Zenin (Again)
Easily one of the most hatable characters in Jujutsu Kaisen, the sadistic and elitist Naoya Zenin met an incredibly satisfying end during the Perfect Preparation arc at the hands of his cousin Maki. Unfortunately, Naoya’s rage over his defeat is so great that he reincarnates as a Cursed Spirit and embarks on an obsessive crusade to kill his cousin. Despite being far more powerful than he was when he was a human, Naoya is once again put down by Maki, bringing his life and the dark legacy of the Zenin Family to a definitive end.
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Tsumiki Fushiguro
While the Culling Game arc makes it brutally clear that Kenjaku’s sick experiment claims countless lives, none of these deaths are more painful than that of Megumi’s step-sister Tsumiki Fushigoro. A compassionate soul who raised Megumi after her step-father Toji’s departure, Tsumiki’s death at the hands of a Sukuna-possessed Megumi is made all the more tragic by the fact that saving her was one of Yuji Itadori and his friend’s primary goals through the Culling Game arc, and Sukuna wastes no time rubbing salt in our heroes’ wounds by using her death to strengthen his hold over Megumi.
Hajime Kashimo
The self-proclaimed “God of Lightning,” Hajime Kashimo, is a reincarnated sorcerer who, at first, happily takes part in the Culling Game, massacring countless civilians as he strives to accumulate a high score. However, Hajime switches his allegiance after he learns that Sukuna, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of his era, is alive and on the loose. Unfortunately, Hajime barely has time to unleash his semi-divine might on the King of Curses before Sukuna utterly annihilates him.
Iori Hazenoki
Yet another reincarnated sorcerer who ends up renouncing the Culling Game, Iori Hazenoki is a member of Reggie Star’s team until the failing entertainer-turned-jujutsu sorcerer Fumihiko Taakaba convinces (or more accurately, posters) him into banding the Cullign Game. Incensed that he was only revived to serve as a pawn in a grander scheme, Iori tracked down Kenjaku during Gojo’s battle with Sukuna and tried to assassinate him. Sadly, it doesn’t go well, and Kenjkau returns Iori to the grave with a wave of Cursed Spirits.
Satoru Gojo
The Culling Game has claimed more than its fair share of lives, but no one, and I mean no one, expected Satoru Gojo to be one of them. Yuji’s jovial and laid-back mentor has emitted an aura of invincibility from the moment he stepped onto the scene, and his god-like Six Eyes abilities gave him a seemingly impossible edge over even the deadliest of Cursed Spirits. Unfortunately, even the ability to bend space itself couldn’t save Gojo from Sukuna, and his death sent his students, his friends, and the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom into a tailspin of grief and fury.
