Jujutsu Kaisen: Satoru Gojo gets an underwhelming death

Jujutsu Kaisen’s beloved Satoru Gojo died 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. Written by Gege Akutami, the series instantly became popular among fans thanks to its complex power system, incredible character designs, and spell-bounding fight sequences.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Satoru Gojo contributes a lot to the series’ global popularity. Jujutsu Kaisen reaches its peak during the Shinjuku Showdown Arc when the strongest sorcerer of the past and the strongest sorcerer of today fight against each other.

However, the manga ends the battle of the strongest in the most tragic way possible, with Gojo dying. Here’s how the fan-favorite character gets the most underwhelming death in Jujutsu Kaisen.

How does Satoru Gojo die in Jujutsu Kaisen?

Satoru Gojo dies in Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 236 after fighting against Sukuna in the battle of the strongest in Shinjuku.

Crunchyroll

When the Shinjuku Showdown begins between Gojo and Sukuna, it is inarguably the biggest and most hyped fight of the series. With two of the strongest characters fighting each other, the outcome is unpredictable, and the mangaka doesn’t help it by adding one twist after another.

After multiple nail-biting twists, Chapter 235 seems to confirm Gojo’s victory, with Gojo shooting his Purple Hollow, which destroys everything in its path. However, before fans can celebrate for long, Gege Akutami drops a huge bomb in the next chapter.

The cliffhanger is followed by Chapter 236, which starts with a teenage Gojo talking with his deceased friends, Geto, Nanami, and Haibara. The subject of their conversation makes it clear that no matter what the previous chapter makes it seem like, Gojo dies.

He also meets Yaga, Riko, and Kuroi and bids them farewell before the scene changes to his lifeless body lying on the ground. 

The chapter reveals that not only is Gojo dead, but he also has a brutal death. His body is cut in half, with the lower part of his body still standing. One of his arms is amputated, too. It is also revealed that while Mahoraga perishes in the Hollow Purple attack, Sukuna survives, even after losing a hand.

Sukuna explains how Gojo’s death is thanks to Mahoraga’s adaptability. After Mahoraga is hit with an attack, it takes a certain amount of time to process and adapt to it. Being hit by the attack again speeds up the process. Since Sukuna has no way to bypass Gojo’s Infinity, he has to use Mahoraga as a “model”.

As Mahoraga adapts to Gojo’s inviolability, it neutralizes its own cursed energy to nullify the effect of Infinity. Using the Shikigami’s adaptability, Sukuna hits Gojo with a world-slashing Dismantle.

However, the attack’s target isn’t Gojo but the space around him. Just by being in the space, Gojo is cut in half and killed by Sukuna. Hence, the crown of victory is immediately passed on to Sukuna.

Gojo declared his victory even before the battle

Viz

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 declares his imminent victory.

This shows how much Gojo believes in his own strength. What’s odd about it is that Sukuna only has the power of 19 fingers, whereas Gojo’s abilities are 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 a large part of the fight, Sukuna has to rely on Mahoraga’s adaptability, and that’s how he managed to get the upper hand. The battle between Sukuna and Gojo confirms that the King of Curses is the strongest of them all.

But that doesn’t change the fact that he has no way to bypass Gojo’s Infinity without using Mahoraga. If he has, it hasn’t been hinted as of yet since Sukuna himself confesses his inability to counter Infinity.

Why is Gojo’s death in Jujutsu Kaisen so underwhelming?

Gojo’s death is off-screened, so being unable to see his final moments is unfair.

Shueisha

Considering Gojo’s influence, his death could be executed in a much better way. 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 in Chapter 251, the series has yet to show any reaction from Gojo’s students to his death.

Jujutsu Kaisen had already set the stage for Gojo’s death

Gege had foreshadowed Gojo’s death several times.

Crunchyroll

Nonetheless, Gojo’s death wasn’t suddenly incorporated into Jujutsu Kaisen. The series hinted Sukuna was stronger than Gojo in the Shibuya Incident Arc. After sealing Gojo in the Prison Realm, Kenjaku revealed if the sealing didn’t work, he had Sukuna as a “contingency plan,” meaning he had faith that the ancient sorcerer could defeat Gojo.

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 immense faith in his students and considers them to have the potential to surpass him maybe someday.

Whatever the case may be, it is irrefutable that Gojo is the strongest character Sukuna has defeated. Maybe that will change soon after Yuji awakens his powers. Until then, the title of the greatest opponent has been Satoru Gojo.

Will Gojo return after his death?

Gege Akutami/Shueisha

Yes! However, there’s a caveat: Gojo returned in Chapter 271… in a flashback.

During the Jujutsu Kaisen finale, Yuji casts his mind back to a conversation with Gojo, who tells him he should think more about the future.

Gojo (the strongest sorcerer of the modern era) wanted his students to carry his dreams forward, but he also wanted at least one of his pupils to stand apart and develop their own strength.

This made Yuji upset, telling Goho that nobody would ever forget him. The sensei laughs and tells Yuji that he’s expecting great things from him. And that’s where his return ends, sorry to disappoint!

Here’s a quick guide if you want to know more about the Jujutsu Kaisen manga ending. For more dark sorcery, check out our explanation of the latest plot twist and all major character deaths in the manga so far.