Thursdays have become the day that Jujutsu Kaisen fans get to experience a new episode from the legendary anime series. That has been truer than ever this year as audiences have watched the likes of Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and more compete the infamous Culling Game in the hopes of freeing the beloved Satoru Gojo from his prison. And, honestly, fair play to them because we all need to see more Gojo in the not-too-distant future.
It's officially that time of week again, as fans all over the world will be hoping to tune into Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 for the next adventure. Unfortunately, that won't be the case this time around (or for the foreseeable) as the show is on a hiatus. Many fans expected this but a surprise announcement from TOHO animation last week caught everyone off-guard as it turns out that this particularly hiatus isn't the one that fans expected.
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 part 2 isn't happening as JJK plans have changed
Let's start with the immediate answer: No, Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 episode 13 won't be airing this week as the show had always planned to go on a mid-season hiatus after last week's finale. However, it turns out that this hiatus will probably be much longer than anticipated, and it all has to do with the show's changing plans.
It was revealed last week that Jujutsu Kaisen had been officially renewed for a fourth season. While that's obviously fantastic news for fans of the show, it has left some of them feeling a little indifferent as season 4 will now replace the initially planned season 3 part 2. And that means that a longer wait will probably ensue for what are essentially going to be the same episodes.
Season 4 will officially adapt The Culling Game, Part 2 instead of the initially planned season 3 part 2, so even though there would have been a thirteenth episode if those original plans had remained intact, season 3 is officially over now - ending with the game-changing twelfth episode last week. It was initially believed that episode 12 would simply serve as the conclusion to the first cour, with episode 13 eventually kicking off the second cour - potentially this summer of early fall.
Now, reports suggest that the earliest we can expect Jujutsu Kaisen season 4 to premiere would be January 2027. Since it doesn't have to adhere to the typical cour format now that it's a brand new season, that could very well be the case.
So, yes, that could mean we have seen the last JJK episode of 2026 without even realizing that would be the case. Naturally, fans are upset about that, but there are plenty of silver linings. For starters, Jujutsu Kaisen will be back; the show is far from over and it will be adapting the rest of the Sendai Colony and Culling Game Arcs when it returns to screens. The longer wait would also give MAPPA a longer timeframe to ensure that the episodes are as high quality as possible - which, knowing this studio, they absolutely will be.
So, even if Jujutsu Kiasen won't be airing tonight, next week, or even this year, we can hold onto the fact that the anime's best days are likely still to come. Is it 2027, yet?!
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