Netflix’s Squid Game set an unprecedented standard with its premise, featuring a death game that pitted humans into a secluded area and forced them to fight for survival with a reward at the end. However, one currently airing anime, also available on Netflix, takes this foundation a step further and emerges as even deadlier than Squid Game’s brutal competition. The game in the popular TV series was built on the wealthy exploiting the poor, forcing financially desperate participants into deadly challenges. Despite how lethal the games were, there was still a tangible reward waiting at the end.
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While the foundation of the death game in this currently airing dark anime is similar to Squid Game, what elevates it is how it blends supernatural elements into the concept, with the entire event orchestrated over a thousand years in the making. This anime is none other than the modern dark shonen hit Jujutsu Kaisen, which is currently depicting the Culling Game arc in its third season. The Culling Game is essentially a death game where sorcerers are pooled into a confined arena, where the strong dominate, and those who never even had a chance to refuse are forced into an unfair fight for survival.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game Is Even Deadlier Than Netflix’s Squid Game
Though Netflix’s Squid Game had an ironic twist of adults playing children’s games that led to death, there was still a choice to enter the game, even if it was deceiving. There were also frequent votes to potentially end the game midway. However, the Culling Game is far more unfair, as it doesn’t even allow sorcerers to leave the colonies if they were already present when the barriers were formed. Civilians had only a one-time chance to leave, but once inside, the game continues indefinitely, with no players ever allowed to exit, as the rules themselves prevent the game from ending.
The rules also required sorcerers to kill at least one person every 19 days. Another deadly aspect of the game is how it incorporates ancient sorcerers who made pacts with Kenjaku to reemerge by using vessels, each with their own plans. With ancient sorcerers being far stronger, low-grade sorcerers, especially those who never had a choice to enter the game, are forced to kill others, leading weaker participants to resort to mind games and manipulation just to survive.
Lastly, the entire purpose of the Culling Game is to accumulate massive amounts of Cursed Energy for Kenjaku’s own plans, meaning there was never any reward for the players. They are forced into endless killing while Cursed Spirits run rampant across the colonies. With these elements, Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Game is not only a deadlier death game than Netflix’s Squid Game, but also the new greatest battle tournament in the anime industry.
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Image Courtesy of Netflix
