Jujutsu Kaisen Creator Solidifies Gojo’s Death in New Author’s Note

Jujutsu Kaisen fans have gone back and forth over whether or not Satoru Gojo is truly dead in the manga, but it seems like the character’s death has been solidified with a new comment from the series’ creator. Jujutsu Kaisen is now in the midst of the Shinjuku Showdown arc of the manga as Yuji Itadori and the final surviving sorcerers are facing off in what increasingly is looking like the final fight against Sukuna. And this all kicked off with the first fight between Sukuna and Gojo, and ultimately led to Gojo’s defeat at Sukuna’s hands. It’s something fans are still debating over. 

Gojo’s defeat looked pretty sound as he was cut in half, and presumed dead. This was then taken to the next level as the latest chapters have seen Yuta Okkotsu taking over his body, and thus further seems to indicate that there’s no way Gojo could ever truly return. Still, fans had been holding out hope that it was still possible. But with the cover art for Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 26, it turns out that series creator Gege Akutami illustrated it as a way to mourn Gojo’s time in the series. 

Jujutsu Kaisen: Is Gojo Dead? 

In a special comment about Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 26’s cover art released as part of the recent art exhibition in Japan, Akutami revealed that it’s actually approached as a death portrait for Gojo himself, “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. 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.” 

So unfortunately, it seems like from the view of the creator, Gojo truly is dead with no potential chance of a return given that the creator has sent him off with a proper funeral portrait. Gojo was one of the biggest characters that fans have loved through the series’ run, and thus his being killed off is still debated to this day over just how permanent it truly is. But while there’s no hope for his return, it could also happen someday as it’s not entirely possible that Akutami could change his mind later.