Congratulations to Gege Akutama, the only mangaka I know that has achieved his goal of being on his own fans’ hit lists. We all know why, but if you don’t? Spoiler alert: Gojo Satoru is dead and the Animesphere on the internet has imploded. Look, we all knew it was going to happen at some point, considering Gege’s whole schtick. But nobody expected this. And as concrete as this death looks, a lot of fans can’t help but question whether Gojo Satoru might come back. 

Look, call it denial or whatever, but it’s a valid question to ask. As a Gojo fangirl myself, I 100% understand wanting to see him return to Jujutsu Kaisen alive, but realistically? Gojo Satoru is not coming back. His death at the hands of Ryomen Sukuna in the recently shown Chapter 236 was pretty cut and dry (Pardon the pun). But Geto Suguru also came back from the dead, even if it was as a Curse. Plus, Gojo’s send off in the flashback at the time of his death just doesn’t seem to make sense.

From that, I kind of see what some fans are saying about a comeback from Gojo. Like, he was a crowd favorite, possibly one of the most beloved characters in the Jujutsu Kaisen franchise. And while that shouldn’t mean he is exempt from being killed off, we needed a lot more buildup to it than we were given. Like yes, he had a lot of focus on him right now, but that’s because he was basically locked away in a box for the better part of a year before this current arc. So, to have him just for this fight, and then lose him immediately? Like, I get it, it’s jarringly sudden. 

But the thing with Jujutsu Kaisen is that we’ve seen characters die and come back, albeit they aren’t the same as before. We got a scene where Yuuji Itadori literally had a hole blasted through his chest and he still survived, so maybe there’s hope for Gojo Satoru yet? Though, how he’s going to put himself together after being vertically sliced, I don’t know. In any case, let’s discuss how Gojo can come back to Jujutsu Kaisen, in another round of Lore Analysis!

The ‘Death Flashback’ Scene Is Suspicious

So, let’s talk about Gojo’s death real quick. The fight between the ‘King Of Curses’ and the greatest Sorcerer to ever live was going pretty hard, right? Like, it was so close these last few chapters, that it was hard to say who would win. Gojo is famously known for being so powerful that Gege basically wrote himself into a wall with him, and Sukuna is, well, Sukuna. We’re reaching a boiling point and it can go either way. 

And then, it did. Or rather, Gojo did. In two pieces. Because Gege wanted us to suffer. Sukuna was able to do the impossible and break through the Limitless Technique that Gojo was famous for, and landed his killing blow, the Mahoraga, on him. And despite all the amazing abilities Gojo has, he is still human. And dismemberment is one sure fire way to kill a human, so. But the sequence that happened after we saw Gojo’s body split in half is what we need to analyze.

So, we see Gojo’s memories flash before his eyes, experiencing all that he has gained and lost over the years. Specifically, we see him meet the people that were no longer by his side, ones he clearly cares about a lot like Nanami Kento, Yu Haibara, Geto (obviously) and even Mei Mei. He interacts with them, as if this was a version of an afterlife where he reunited with his loved ones. He asks Nanami how he felt upon his death through Mahito, and Nanami tells him that he met Mei Mei after he died, who asked him to choose paths. One of these paths would change him forever, the other would help him remain the same. 

And as Gojo turns, he takes the path that would keep him the same, implying how he isn’t ready to let go yet. More curiously however, instead of greeting all these souls he hasn’t met in so long, he tells them goodbye? Like, his wordings in the leak aren’t clear, but it feels like he is saying his goodbyes, like he is leaving them behind and moving on. 

To what? We don’t know. But it’s strange because Gojo doesn’t seem like he wants to embrace this afterlife, at all.

Reversed Cursed Technique Still Exists

To be fair, this wasn’t the first instance of Gojo dying on us. Well, kind of. I mean, we all remember what happened in the Hidden Inventory arc right? Like, Toji Fushigoro definitely got one up on him during that, effectively killing him. But Gojo was able to resurrect himself using the Reversed Cursed Technique. 

Now, the Reversed Cursed Technique is a really useful skill where a Sorcerer can use the Cursed Energy to heal their wounds, or even regenerate full body parts. This works because the unique skill ends up turning the negative energy into a positive, adding instead of decimating. And since the power is derived from the Sorcerer’s brain, as long as that part of the body isn’t damaged? You’re basically good to go on all forms of injuries. 

This is made even more damning when you consider what Gojo Satoru told Toji when he revived himself, that as long as his head remains intact, Gojo simply cannot die. So, when we examine Sukuna’s attack on Gojo, we see he went for the midline of his body. But his head? It’s pretty much still attached to his body. Realistically, if we keep in mind how skilled Gojo is in the Reversed Cursed Technique and the fact of what he said, this implies that Gojo is not out of the running, not quite yet. 

But the actual Cursed Energy itself is created in the stomach area of the Sorcerer which, well, yeah. I’m not going to sit here and argue anime anatomy with anyone, but the cut that Mahoraga made is pretty clean, and the stomach does tend to be a little above where the dismemberment happened, meaning it and the head are left undamaged to an extent. 

It’s a hard miracle to pull off, but if anyone can do it? It’s Gojo Satoru.

If All Fails: Cursed Spirit Gojo Satoru Era?

They both wanted to change Sorcerers Society, they died on the same day, so maybe Gojo will emulate Geto one more time? I mean, there’s no rule that says our boy can’t come back as a Cursed Spirit ala Geto? Or well, not as malicious, at least. 

There is always a chance for Gojo Satoru to come back through sheer will of finishing what he started. Because let’s be honest, he didn’t die in a peaceful manner. The fight between him and Sukuna was basically a livestream, where Gojo’s students got front row seats to the carnage. They aren’t happy, he isn’t happy either because Sukuna essentially has Megumi Fushigoro as a hostage. Do we really believe that he can’t resurrect in the form of a Cursed Spirit just to have a chance to get his pseudo-son back? 

One of the reasons this could be possible is because the flashback kind of referenced themes of transformation in Chapter 236. There was a lot of symbology going on in the background with Lotus motifs everywhere, which is already known as the flower of Spiritual Rebirth. Plus, Gege once compared Gojo’s character to Lord Buddha because he transcends the ‘ordinary form of a human being’. So, it isn’t hard to see how that could be a hint for Gojo Satoru going beyond his humanity, and maybe embracing a Spiritual Rebirth in the form of a Cursed Spirit. 

After all, part of Buddha’s story is how he cycled between life and death, constantly being birthed into a new form every time. There are certain things that one goes through and has to experience before they arrive at their final form. Samsara is the breaking of that cycle through enlightenment and, well, Gojo loved referencing himself as the ‘Enlightened One’.

I don’t know guys, there’s just too much there for us to ignore. Like, I’m not saying Gojo Satoru will be back to life anytime soon, or at all. But there’s a lot of little things here that aren’t adding up neatly. 

Or maybe, I’m just fully on the ‘delulu is the solulu’ train, like everyone else on Twitter currently, crying over the loss of our favorite white haired mentor. Do you think Gege will take mercy on us and bring Gojo Satoru back? Let us know!