“Did Gojo die?” refers to puzzlement, reactions, and memes online to the character of Satoru Gojo (and noted meme)’s reported death in the manga sorcerers series Jujutsu Kaisen. The fan-favorite character’s death was revealed in leaked pages of Chapter 236 of Jujutsu Kaisen, titled Satoru Gojo’s Death, which followed a leaked cliffhanger fight sequence between him and villain Sukuna in September 2023.
This is the end of Chapter 235...
...and the first panel of Chapter 236.
Online fans of the show reacted to the news with extreme anguish, with many lamenting the character’s “sealed off” arc in the anime, which means his storyline had ended.
How did Gojo Satoru Die?
Gojo Satoru died off-panel at the hands of Sukuna. In Chapter 235 of the series, the much-anticipated battle between Gojo and Sukuna, the King of Curses, took place. At the end of the chapter, Gojo sacrifices Shinjuku to seemingly defeat Sukuna and claim victory.
However, the leaked Chapter 236 panels revealed that Gojo died “offscreen” and was cut in half. Hardcore stuff.
Why did Yuta take Gojo's body?
Yuta, another JJK character, took Gojo’s body so that he could put himself in it. More specifically, Yuta had a plan to swap brains with Gojo to utilize his skills in battle, particularly Gojo’s Six Eyes ability.
Will Gojo come back to life?
So, he sort of did. At the end of Chapter 260, it appears as though Gojo has returned alive and well. However, in Chapter 261, it’s revealed that this Gojo is just Yuta in Gojo’s body. Much to the chagrin of fans, creator Gege Akutami still has no plans whatsoever to bring the actual Gojo back to life.
Akutami’s cover art for Volume 26 served as a memorial for Gojo, finalizing and cementing his sealed-off status. "I psyched myself up saying, 'I'm going to draw a death portrait of Gojo!!!' But I feel pressured to make Gojo's color illustrations look cool every time,” said Akutami at an art exhibit.
“I find it more relaxing and can produce better art when drawing for Jump covers for example. Originally, I planned to draw camellia flowers, but since Gojo lost, I drew camellia-like sasanqua instead."
What a tease.
Internet fan reactions
The development caused an uproar in the Jujutsu Kaisen online community, who demanded a seemingly missing Chapter 235.5. The ire was further exacerbated by the fact that the character’s arc was “sealed off” in the anime, meaning fans will not see him in either new anime or manga releases.
Needless to say, the fan reaction was less than reasonable, with JJK fans going as far as threatening Mangaka Gege Akutami for the story development and execution choices. For instance, on September 20th, 2023, X user @vantaeprod posted a meme regarding Gojo’s death, which garnered over 36k likes in a single day.
That same day, X user @goatoruclitjo posted a Meme Heaven picture involving Gojo, which gathered over 40k likes in a day.
That same September 20th, another X user @jjkoohyck posted an image of a K-Pop fan sympathizing with JJK fans mourning the death of Gojo. The post garnered over 20k likes in a day.
But hold on, the Gojo memes weren’t done that day, as another X user posted an edited bus meme commenting on how Gojo will be leaving both the manga and anime, a post which also saw 20k likes in a day.
Gojo's memorial in Santiago, Chile
Gojo’s death hit the JJK fan community hard, and nowhere was that more evident than in the Universidad de Chile metro station in Santiago, Chile on September 21st, 2023. That day, fans built an altar memorial to Gojo filled with fan art and messages. A TikTok of the altar posted by @rgabriela27.1 gathered 1 million plays and 246k likes in a day.
Another TikTok of the memorial by @whoisdanny_ posted on September 23rd saw a further million plays and 183k likes. (The post has since been removed.)
Once the memorial became viral, security guards at the metro station began removing elements of it, with TikToks of the removal going viral in their own right. For instance, on September 24th, TikToker @meganoticias.cl posted a video of the removal that garnered 187k views and 18k likes in a day.
Meme examples
MORE JUJUTSU KAISEN:
- Nah I’d Win: Satoru Gojo’s iconic ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ line
- Fans feel seen by new anime-inspired Megan Thee Stallion song
- What is the ‘Gojo figure incident?’
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