Jujutsu Kaisen: Despite hating Gojo, Akutami can't let him go

Modified May 10, 2024 21:30 GMT

Satoru Gojo as seen in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime (image via MAPPA)

The hatred that the Jujutsu Kaisen mangaka, Gege Akutami has for Satoru Gojo, the most popular character of his magnum opus, is well-known in the anime community. It was made apparent after the renowned mangaka went out of his way several times to spite the character and downplay his popularity.

In one of his most infamous comments from the past couple of years, Akutami had expressed his relief after sidelining Gojo following the Shibuya arc. While it has been made apparent that Akutami had been looking for ways to completely write Gojo off the story for quite some time, the current state of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga makes it seems like the mangaka just cannot seem to let go of his most popular creation anymore.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Satoru Gojo's death may not have provided Akutami with the relief he may have sought

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It can be said without a shred of doubt that Satoru Gojo is by far, the most popular and beloved character of the Jujutsu Kaisen series. However, in spite of all his fame and recognition in the animanga community, there was one person that the blindfolded sensei failed to win over - his creator, Gege Akutami himself.

Over the past few years, Akutami had gone out of his way to make his hatred for Gojo clear to the fanbase. He went so far as to calling him a character without a personality and claiming that it was finally going to be a good year for him, after he sidelined Gojo in the Shibuya Incident arc of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga.

Last but not the least, Akutami gave Gojo an extremely underwhelming death following the conclusion of the Battle of the Strongest, where Gojo met his end in an off-screen death. All of these instances had made it apparent that Gojo was one character who the mangaka held in the lowest regard.

Gojo as seen in the anime (image via MAPPA)

In spite of all his hatred however, Akutami has been featuring Gojo in almost all of the past few chapters, ranging from mere references to full-fledged flashback scenes, where the latter was seen explaining the fundamentals of a newly-introduced power. In fact, Gojo's frequent appearances led some fans to believe that the mangaka may be hinting at the character's return.

Gojo's latest appearance in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga was in chapter 257, where he was seen in a flashback scene, giving his permission to Ino for using Nanami's Cursed Tool. Additionally, Gojo was referenced in chapter 258 as well, where Sukuna was seen using the former's hand sign to open his own Domain.

This unmistakable reference caught a lot of fans off-guard, who were reasonably surprised to see the King of Curses using Gojo's handsign for Malevolent Shrine.

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Since it's highly unlikely that Akutami has changed his opinion of Gojo at this point in the manga, the only possible explanation for the latter's frequent appearances is probably that he is simply too important to the story to be forgotten after his death.

Due to his overwhelming popularity, Gojo has been the face of Jujutsu Kaisen for quite some time now. Despite his hatred for Gojo, Akutami had made him an extremely integral part of the narrative, to the extent where the former has made a brief appearance every time a new technique or development is introduced to the ongoing story.

As such, fans can rest assured that Gojo will continue to make more such appearances in the upcoming chapters of the manga.