JJK is over in the manga — and I'm still waiting for MAPPA to animate Higuruma vs Sukuna

Jujutsu Kaisen ended in the manga in September 2024 with chapter 271. I’ve been reading along since the days Gojo was still teaching at Tokyo Jujutsu High, through the Shibuya Incident, into the legendary Gojo vs Sukuna fight — and finally into the most fanbase-splitting ending the series has ever delivered.

Two years later, the anime has only animated through the end of Shibuya. The Culling Game has been announced, but the Shinjuku Showdown arc — where Gojo, then Higuruma, then Yuji each face off against Sukuna — is still a long way out.

This post is the rambling of a manga reader who’s been waiting two years, written for anime fans about to experience the fight I think is the real peak of the series — not Gojo vs Sukuna, but Higuruma + Yuji vs Sukuna.

Why Gojo vs Sukuna is already overhyped

I won’t spoil — anyone following anime/manga knows Gojo vs Sukuna is 15 straight manga chapters of fighting, from chapter 221 to 236. Akutami built up to this fight for five years — Six Eyes, Limitless, Hollow Purple, Domain Expansion Unlimited Void, four-stage Black Flash chains. Every panel is loaded with meta and reference.

When MAPPA animates this (probably late 2026 or 2027), it’ll be one of the most expensive anime fights ever produced. Every sakuga animator will want their name in the credits. The hype isn’t wrong.

But I’ve read to the end — and I’ll say it: Gojo vs Sukuna is not the emotional peak of the arc. It’s spectacle. It’s a technical fight. It’s 15 chapters of cursed-technique showcasing.

The real emotional fight, the one that made me put my phone down and stare at the ceiling for 5 minutes — is Higuruma + Yuji vs Sukuna right after.

Who’s Higuruma? — TL;DR for anime fans

Higuruma Hiromi shows up in the Culling Game arc. Before becoming a sorcerer, he was a lawyer in Tokyo — a career built on justice and integrity, until the Japanese justice system itself broke him.

His cursed technique: Deadly Sentencing — he can “judge” his opponent and execute a death penalty using the Executioner’s Sword. But the technique only works if:

1. The opponent is genuinely guilty (it can’t be faked).
2. Higuruma’s mental fortitude can overcome the opponent’s resistance.

In the Culling Game, he beat many players without killing — Deadly Sentencing only “confiscates” their cursed technique, leaving them alive. He’s the antithesis of Sukuna — a being who kills for joy.

When the sorcerers regroup after Gojo falls, Higuruma is the key. The plan: use Yuji as the distraction, have Higuruma try Sukuna for the genocide of Shibuya, confiscate his cursed technique, then keep fighting.

Why this is the real peak

Three reasons.

1. Philosophical contrast, not technique contrast

Gojo vs Sukuna is strongest vs strongest. Two of the most powerful Domain Expansion users in history fighting to see who dies first. Compelling, but it was setup from chapter 1 — Gojo as “the strongest of the modern era,” Sukuna as “the strongest in history.” The result wasn’t surprising in the quality of the fight, only in the outcome.

Higuruma vs Sukuna is different. Higuruma has two months of sorcerer experience. His cursed energy is a hundred times below Sukuna. But he represents what Sukuna lacks: justice. This fight isn’t about strength — it’s about whether a value can defeat an entity.

2. Yuji gets the spotlight back

After Shibuya, Yuji got marginalized in the narrative. Maki, Yuta, Hakari — they all got bigger moments. Yuji was pushed into “support character” status throughout the Culling Game.

The Sukuna fight is Yuji’s arc closer. He has to face “the curse inside him,” chain Black Flashes, inherit Sukuna’s reverse cursed technique — and most importantly, work through his feelings about the man who killed Junpei, Nanami, Nobara, Choso. This is Yuji’s arc in the truest sense.

3. Akutami’s choreography is sharper than the Gojo fight

I might get flamed for this, but hear me out: the Gojo fight is 15 chapters and has a lot of info-dumping (explaining Hollow Purple, explaining Domain dynamics, explaining Black Flash chains). The Higuruma fight is shorter but denser in choreography — there’s no downtime for exposition, every action carries weight.

A panel of Yuji’s arm being chopped off and regrowing — using Sukuna’s technique. A panel of Higuruma standing up for the third time when he’s already half-dead. A final panel — I won’t spoil — but it hits harder than Gojo’s last moment, by a wide margin.

The adaptation worry: can MAPPA actually deliver?

This is the anxious part. MAPPA killed it on season 1, did even better with season 2 (Shibuya Incident) — but the production schedule burned out animators. Reports surfaced of Shibuya animators working 100-hour weeks. MAPPA caught widespread criticism for its work culture.

After season 2 wrapped, MAPPA announced the Culling Game arc would come as a film trilogy instead of a TV season — and that decision is a giant question mark:

• Pro: films get bigger budgets, animators get more lead time, frame quality stays consistent.
• Con: narrative compression. Character depth (especially Higuruma) needs a long arc to land, not a 2-hour film.

I’m worried Higuruma’s fight will be cut into a 5-minute montage in the film — instead of stretched across 3 anime episodes with the breath-stopping pacing it had in the manga.

The waiting game for manga readers

The position I (and a lot of manga readers) sit in is bipolar:

• Hyped: I want anime fans to feel what I felt. I want to hear Higuruma get a voice that matches his character. I want to hear the OST when Yuji loses an arm and regrows it.
• Anxious: I’m afraid the adaptation gets compressed, animators burn out, the direction misses the spirit of the source.

Especially given the JJK ending was so divisive (chapter 271 split the fanbase to the point Akutami had to post a Jump+ comment explaining himself) — the adaptation might be the last chance for the final arc to be re-examined. MAPPA could “fix” things the manga was criticized for (rushed pacing at the end, dense exposition) through directorial choices.

Or it could make it worse. We’ll see.

A note for anime fans about to watch

If you’re an anime fan, haven’t read the manga, and are waiting for Culling Game / Shinjuku Showdown:

Don’t bail mid-Culling Game. The arc is long, has many side characters, and feels meandering — that was the shared feeling among manga readers at the time too. But from chapter 220 onward, the setups pay off. And from chapter 240 onward, especially the Higuruma plan, you won’t believe this is the same series that once had Sister Complex Big Brother.

And if you’re waiting alongside me for MAPPA to animate Higuruma’s last stand — I wish you more patience than I have. I’ve been waiting two years already. Could be two more.

But when it lands — we’ll cry together.