Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 5 Review: The fifth episode of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 is here, and something very tragic happens. Let us find out how the episode really went.
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Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Director
Shōta Goshozono
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Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 5 Release Date
29th Jan, 2026
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AKA
Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 or Jujutsu Kaisen: Shimetsu Kaiyuu – Zenpen (呪術廻戦 「死滅回游 前編」)
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 4 Recap
The episode opens with Maki’s long-awaited return to the Zenin clan, driven by a clear resolve to claim the cursed tools that rightfully belong to her. However, nearly the entire clan stands in her way, with Naoya emerging as her biggest obstacle. He refuses to acknowledge her worth, and when Maki asserts her claim to the cursed tools. She is backed by Megumi, the clan’s current head, and the tension only escalates.
It soon becomes clear that Naoya had anticipated this confrontation. Alongside Jinichi, Toji’s brother, he had already set a plan in motion to eliminate Maki, Mai, and Megumi by branding them as traitors conspiring to free Satoru Gojo. The ambush was carefully calculated from the start, knowing Maki would eventually return for the cursed tools. Instead of finding what she came for, Maki is led into a deadly confrontation with her own father, who is willing to execute his daughters out of resentment. This moment marks the beginning of the Zenin clan’s downfall.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Episode 5 Review
Today’s episode begins with the memory of Panda’s birth. We also see how Yaga got captured on false grounds. After this, we see Kusakabe helping Panda get out of his captivity. The reason Kusakabe is helping Panda and Yaga is that a long time back, Yaga helped him out in a very distinct way. Back in the present, it becomes clear that Yaga can escape his death sentence if he reveals the method for creating an autonomous artificial cursed corpse.
This is a very powerful method which can easily be utilised in a bad way, even by good people, which is why Yaga was against sharing this secret. Ultimately, he does reveal the secret, but the situation surrounding it was absolutely insane. The story is definitely heading towards much darker areas, and honestly, I am absolutely loving it.
Now, the best thing that Yuji and Megumi can do as the next step to prepare for the Culling Games is to get Hakari on their side. Hakari is technically their upperclassman, who is said to be even more powerful than Yuta. Both Yuji and Megumi decide to execute the plan in their own different ways, where both of them would act independently but for the same cause.
To get to Hakari, Yuji must fight in an underground and illegal sorcerer fight, where non-sorcerers place bets on who will win. As there are also matches where the result gets fixed from the very beginning, Yuji must grab as much attention as possible to meet Hakari. But the person with whom Yuji will have to fight turns out to be the most unexpected participant ever. The fight that follows from here on makes this episode a really entertaining watch.
Verdict
I absolutely loved today’s episode because of how dark and engaging everything is becoming story-wise. Not one episode has missed the mark till now, and it is apparent that Jujutsu Kaisen is turning out to be one of the best shonen in recent years. The animation is also brilliant, and MAPPA has not dropped the quality even once since the beginning.
Must Read: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Reviews