Jujutsu Kaisen: Yuta’s Gojo transformation was as useless as it was unnecessary

Yuta’s transformation into Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen may have had readers screaming in excitement but it turned out to be both useless and completely unnecessary.

Jujutsu Kaisen never shies away from plot twists. In fact, the story thrives on them. Be it revealing Kenjaku’s real identity or the relationship between Yuji and Sukuna, Gege Akutami’s manga almost always leaves its readers shocked.

But when it comes to the biggest twist of all (so far, at least), the story doesn’t quite manage to live up to the hype. Yuta possessing Gojo’s body in Chapter 260 is one of the most shocking moments in the series that neither we nor Sukuna had predicted.

But what did it amount to? This is the question that I’ve been scratching my head about since Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 260. And unfortunately, I found its purpose to be little more than shock value and dragging out a major reveal. 

Gojo returns, but not really

Gojo’s death in Chapter 236 was one of the most sensational moments in Jujutsu Kaisen. The death of the series’ most beloved character sparked countless theories, each detailing how he could come back from the grave.

However, there truly was no hope for Gojo’s return. His end was decisive and climactic and left no room for a comeback. And while heartbreaking, it was a necessary evil, meant to finally clear center stage for Yuji.

Gege Akutami/Shueisha

But then, for some reason, Gege backtracked and did the one thing that very few series had successfully pulled off. He brought Gojo back, but not in the way his fans wanted or expected. Instead, he added a little twist that had us all go: ‘Huh?’

In Chapter 260, while Sukuna was busy fighting Yuji, he saw a glimpse of very familiar blue eyes. I’m not going to lie, it was one hell of a cliffhanger. The mystery was finally revealed in the following chapter where we discovered a familiar mark on Gojo’s face.

As it turned out, Yuta copied Kenjaku’s cursed technique after killing him. When he was too wounded to fight, he used the technique to transfer his brain into Gojo’s corpse. The aim was to get access to Limitless and the Six Eyes, the only things that had a chance of defeating the King of Curses.

Yuta gave up his humanity and his future for this. Because whatever’s coming ahead is all bleak for the sorcerer. He could die fighting Sukuna or somehow survive and live his life in another person’s body. It was a touching moment and promised a lot, but ultimately, failed to deliver.

Yuta bears the burden of readers’ expectations

Introducing a character’s revival is always tricky, because it’s not only carrying the history of the character but is also expected to bring a meaningful change to the story. It’s very easy to slip up by managing one and failing to deliver the other.

However, in some cases, it fails on both counts. Sadly, that’s what happened to Yuta’s Gojo transformation. After Yuta rejoined the fight, he instantly entered a domain battle with Sukuna. 

Gege Akutami/Shueisha

It should’ve been an exciting prospect, yet it wasn’t as we’ve already seen the clash between Unlimited Void and Malevolent Shrine multiple times before. But even then, the author could’ve added a twist to the domain battle, giving his readers a new experience.

However, nothing of that sort happened. The clash went how every other before had gone; the same surprise at Sukuna using Domain Amplification and the same result with nothing changing at all.

What’s more, their fight simply didn’t have the same flair as the one with the real Gojo. And that’s the biggest problem with this botched revival plotline: readers have certain expectations from Gojo and at this point, it’s impossible to live up to it.

So, unless Yuta made a heavy impact on the story, fans weren’t going to be impressed by him. However, the twist fell victim to the high expectations and ruined Yuta’s character in the eyes of many.

Yuta’s Gojo transformation changed nothing at all

Everything would’ve been forgiven if only Yuta’s transformation had a real impact on the story. That could’ve been a successful revival story instead of ending up as a plot device. However, that’s the biggest failure of this twist: it changes absolutely nothing.

Gege Akutami/Shueisha

To start, the transformation brought nothing new to the table. During the drawn-out battle between Gojo and Sukuna, the author explored every possibility. Enhanced attacks, using Binding Vows left and right, utilizing the Ten Shadows Technique; there’s really nothing we haven’t seen in that fight.

So, when the fight between the transformed Yuta and Sukuna began (and ended), it didn’t move me at all. As I predicted, whatever he threw at Sukuna was endured and dealt with. Even when he aimed Hollow Purple at the ancient sorcerer, Sukuna survived, just like he did the last two times the attack was used.

Yuta then brought in Hana (and Angel) to use Jacob’s Ladder on Sukuna. To nobody’s surprise, Sukuna survived again, making Hana’s entry in the fight completely redundant. The same goes for this twist with Yuta.

The only purpose I can find in Yuta’s melding with Gojo is that it allowed Toge to make a brief reappearance after fans accused the author of forgetting about him. The Cursed Speech user uses his technique to stop Sukuna for a moment to allow Yuta to use Hollow Purple. And as mentioned earlier: it did nothing.

The plotline was used to drag out Yuji’s reveal

While Yuta was in Gojo’s body, the manga slowly shifted its focus to Yuji. While Yuta fell from exhaustion from using Gojo’s techniques, Yuji overwhelmed Sukuna with some crazy hand-to-hand combat before finally revealing his domain expansion in Chapter 264.

It was inevitable as Yuji is the protagonist and must be the one to end Sukuna. We knew this from the beginning. So, why drag the story to reach this point? Especially when what happens in the middle has little to no impact on the outcome.

Gege Akutami/Shueisha

To be fair, it’s not just Yuta’s Gojo transformation. A lot that happened during the Shinjuku Showdown Arc falls in the same category. After Gojo died, Sukuna fought one opponent after another, until it became a gimmick of sorts. 

All that is just to draw out the reveal of Yuji’s ultimate technique. The truth is Yuji still would’ve had to reveal his domain even if Yuta hadn’t taken over Gojo’s body. It’s not like he learned it during the fight; he’d come fully prepared. So, the whole twist was entirely unnecessary.

The saddest part of this is how it ruined Yuta’s character. He’s one of the most well-written characters in the series. And until a certain point, I even considered him a better protagonist than Yuji. His cursed technique is cool and his personality makes it easy to root for him.

But by having him come back as Gojo takes away the uniqueness of his own character. He didn’t need Gojo to shine. He could’ve very well been taken out of commission after his intense clash against Sukuna. It still would’ve served his character better since he’d already done more damage to the King of Curses than the majority.

However, the author’s decision to bring back both Gojo and Yuta at once changed how we view each character, and not in a good way. In my opinion, some plotlines are meant to be left untouched, and Gojo’s death was meant to be one of them.

For more on Jujutsu Kaisen, check our takes on Gojo’s underwhelming death and if Megumi should be blamed for recent tragedies. You can also take a look at our guide on the strongest modern-era sorcerers.