Jujutsu Kaisen’s beloved Satoru Gojo dies in the battle of the strongest – however, his death remains underwhelming even to this day.
Jujutsu Kaisen is currently one of the most popular new-gen Shonen anime and manga series. With a complex power system and incredible character design, the series instantly became popular among fans.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Satoru Gojo contributes a lot to the series’ global popularity. After all, he has every quality that Shonen fans adore: he’s a teacher, is unparalleled in battle, has an eccentric personality, and is kind enough to help anyone in need. He may come off as arrogant at first, but he only shows off his superiority in front of his enemies – which isn’t necessarily bad.
Additionally, the manga has ended the battle of the strongest in the most tragic way possible. Chapter 235 seemed to confirm Gojo’s victory. However, before fans can celebrate for long, Gege Akutami drops a huge bomb in the next chapter. Here’s how the mangaka gives the most underwhelming death to a fan-favorite character.
How does Gojo die in Jujutsu Kaisen?
Satoru Gojo dies in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 236.
Chapter 236 begins with Gojo talking with the spirits of his friends, Geto, Nanami, and Haibara. He also meets Riko and Kuroi and bids them farewell before the scene changes to his lifeless body lying on the ground.
Sukuna explains how Mahoraga’s adaptability works. It depends on the amount of time passed after the Shikigami receive a hit. He wanted the Shikigami to be a “role model” that passes through Gojo’s Infinity. Instead of directly attacking Gojo, Mahoraga targeted the space around him.
Therefore, Gojo’s Infinity doesn’t matter as long as he is present in that space where Mahoraga can literally cut off anything. As a result, Gojo gets cut in half along with that space. We find out in chapter 238 that Sukuna’s technique, “Dismantle,” landed the final blow. Hence, the crown of victory is immediately passed on to Sukuna.
Gojo declared his victory even before the battle
Gojo’s arrogance and confidence stem from his unparalleled strength. In Chapter 3, Yuji asks Gojo if he can win against Sukuna. Gojo says that if the King of Curses had the power of all 20 fingers, the fight would be challenging, but he would win in the end. Even moments before the battle, Gojo declared his victory.
This shows how much Gojo believed in his own strength. What’s odd about it is that Sukuna only had the power of 19 fingers, whereas Gojo’s abilities were amplified to 120% thanks to Utahime’s cursed technique. However, during his conversation with Geto, Gojo claims that Sukuna is too strong and doesn’t need Megumi’s powers to defeat him.
The strongest sorcerer alive even feels sorry for the King of Curses, who didn’t have a chance to display his true strength – meaning Sukuna held back while Gojo was going all out. But in the entire fight, Sukuna mostly relied on Mahoraga’s abilities, and that’s how he managed to get the upper hand.
In chapter 237, Sukuna reincarnates into his original form. He is now stronger than ever. However, that still doesn’t change the fact that Sukuna needed Mahoraga’s ability to pass through Gojo’s barrier.
Why is Gojo’s death in Jujutsu Kaisen so underwhelming?
Considering Gojo’s influence, his death could be executed in a much better. First off, he literally dies off-screen. We don’t even see how and when the attack hit him. Seeing the end result was shocking, but at the same time, it didn’t make sense at all. It was difficult to process what transpired in the battle, which resulted in our beloved character ending up in such a horrible state.
We don’t even get to see Gojo saying his final words to his students. Furthermore, the fight between the two wasn’t some personal vendetta, but the future of the Jujutsu society rests on the outcome. Therefore, Gojo’s death fails to meet the level of impact it should’ve created. As one of the most popular characters, he didn’t manage to accomplish any of his goals.
Not only that, but we don’t see reactions from his students and the other sorcerers. The fight is being broadcast to everyone thanks to Mei Mei’s cursed technique. We only see Yuji’s heartbroken expression and Yuta drawing out his sword while Maki tries to calm him. But what about the others? The lack of reaction fails to create the emotional impact needed to follow up with the tragedy of Gojo’s death in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Despite that, the entire fight had a perfect pace until chapter 235, but the ending seemed rushed. The only good thing was that Gojo didn’t regret dying at the hands of someone stronger. Even until chapter 251, the series has yet to show any reaction from Gojo’s students.
Jujutsu Kaisen had already set the stage for Gojo’s death
Nonetheless, Gojo’s death wasn’t suddenly incorporated into Jujutsu Kaisen. The series had proven Sukuna was stronger than Gojo in the Shibuya Incident arc. Since Kenjaku fooled everyone into believing Gojo was restricting the Prison Realm’s movement, the former said he would stay in the same place.
The plan to seal Satoru Gojo was a risky move, and if the villains had made the slightest mistake, they would never get a second chance, which is why Kenjaku had a backup plan ready. The ancient curse user says that Sukuna is a “contingency plan” if Prison Realm doesn’t work out.
Additionally, there are also reasons to believe that Gojo’s death may have been pre-planned. Gojo’s Six Eyes allowed him to see the flow of cursed energy in extreme detail and to use that flow to read cursed techniques. Hence, there’s no way he didn’t know the difference in their power during the fight.
In Chapter 250, Sukuna also reveals he has low cursed energy due to his fight with Gojo. Yuta also knows that if Gojo hadn’t damaged the King of Curses so much, he and Yuji would’ve died by now. This gives rise to the possibility that maybe Gojo intended to clear a path for his students all along. After all, he has blind faith in his students and considers them to have far more potential than he ever had.
