Jujutsu Kaisen: Why Gojo’s return is impossible
Gege Akutami/MAPPAThe entire Jujutsu Kaisen fandom might be holding their breath to have Gojo back — but his return is impossible, and here’s why.
Satoru Gojo is one of the biggest reasons behind the massive popularity of Jujutsu Kaisen. The tall, white-haired, and funny character is introduced as the series’ strongest character and soon became a heartthrob.
Gojo is so popular that he’s now synonymous with anime around the world; posters, figurines, cosplays —you name it and you’ll find Gojo. This is exactly why it was such a huge shock when Gojo died in the manga.
But nobody is ready to let Gojo go. The character has so much promise and is undoubtedly one of the best-written characters in the series. That’s why everyone is eagerly waiting for Gojo’s return… no matter how impossible it is.
Gojo shockingly died in Jujutsu Kaisen
Gojo was Jujutsu Kaisen’s strongest sorcerer, and the balance of the world was tiled the moment he was born into this world. Blessed with the Six Eyes and Limitless together, he couldn’t be touched — or so we thought.
Gojo and Sukuna had their highly anticipated fight in the Shinjuku Showdown Arc. It was the best fight of the series so far, but it ended on a tragic note when Gojo was shockingly and gruesomely killed by Sukuna and Mahoraga.
Gojo’s death was as controversial as his choices in life. It broke the whole fandom in half, with one side claiming his death was justified while the other claimed that Sukuna only won because he cheated. Regardless, it didn’t stop fans from trying to get him back.
There are so many theories about Gojo’s return
Since his death, there have been so many theories about Gojo’s return. As more chapters came out, fans waited with bated breath. Every little detail was claimed to be a hint for his resurrection. Months later, the fandom is still buzzing with such theories.
The most popular theory is that he’d be healed by Shoko, the only known doctor in the jujutsu world, able to heal someone else with the Reverse Cursed Technique. She was also a classmate and friend of both Gojo and Suguru Geto.
As Gojo’s friend, she could heal him until he was resurrected, and it’d be her greatest accomplishment. The theory became more popular once it was revealed that Ui Ui transported Gojo’s corpse to… somewhere with his cursed technique.
However, no matter how many theories circle around the fandom, Gojo isn’t coming back. And there’s plenty of reason behind it too.
Why Gojo’s return is impossible in Jujutsu Kaisen
The reason Gojo is not coming back is pretty simple given the gruesome way he died, with his body torn in half and brain damaged and bleeding, it’d take more than a miracle to bring him back. He was exhausted, injured, and internally hemorrhaging. No amount of Reverse Cursed Technique could help with that.
That’s not to say Sukuna got off easy. Even the King of Curses was horrifyingly wounded and if it wasn’t for Mahoraga, he’d have died too.
Apart from this, Gojo’s return wouldn’t be in the spirit of JJK. Unlike its contemporaries, like My Hero Academia and Black Clover, Jujutsu Kaisen isn’t afraid of killing its characters. In fact, it’s one of the defining traits of the series.
No character who’s died in Jujutsu Kaisen has come back, except for Gojo. He was killed by Toji and came back alive within seconds thanks to him awakening his true power and using the Reverse Cursed Technique. But that was only possible due to Gojo awakening his full potential. This time he died in his strongest self, with no possibility of getting stronger.
Also, Geto doesn’t count, because he actually didn’t come back —Kenjaku just used his dead body for his own agenda. The only possibility of a supposedly dead character returning is now Nobara, as her death was left purposely ambiguous, though there’s no guarantee.
However, it isn’t happening to Gojo this time, simply because Jujutsu Kaisen doesn’t do that. And also because the author Gege Akutami has repeatedly made it clear that he hates Gojo. To be honest, Gege isn’t kind to Gojo, despite him creating the character in the first place. Even if Gojo didn’t die in such a grotesque fashion, Gege wasn’t going to bring him back.
But here’s the biggest reason why Gojo’s return is impossible: it would be bad storytelling. Gojo’s death was definitive and necessary; he had to die to give the younger generation the chance to shine.
Powerful characters like Gojo who can change the entire direction of the story just by their sheer power are interesting in a shonen manga but they’re also a hindrance for the plot to move forward. If someone other than the protagonist has the power and the opportunity to defeat the main antagonist, then there would be no need for the protagonist.
In the entire series, only Gojo was capable of standing on equal footing with Sukuna. But as the final antagonist of a shonen manga, Sukuna must be defeated by Yuji, the protagonist. Thus, Gojo dying was necessary for Yuji to have the spotlight.
After all this time, Yuji is finally reaching his full potential and unleashing his true power. Sukuna has already defeated several jujutsu sorcerers, and now only Yuji can stand against him. At such a momentous time, Gojo’s return would be nothing more than a hindrance to Yuji’s character arc.
And that’s why Gojo isn’t coming back and rightfully so. Some characters can make the biggest impact even after appearing for a short period of time, especially in Shonen manga and anime. It’s the same for Gojo. He died but he’ll always be loved by Jujutsu Kaisen fans. Even if fans end up forgetting Yuji or Megumi, there’s no forgetting Satoru Gojo.
Love Jujutsu Kaisen? Check out our explainers on Yuji’s cursed technique Shrine and Yuta Okkotsu’s Domain Expansion. You can also find out about major character deaths in Jujutsu Kaisen and how tall Satoru Gojo is.