joyous has always done whatever he wanted without regard to authority in Jujutsu Kaisen but in a recent chapter of the manga, he took this to an extreme. Gege Akutami’s popular Shonen Jump series is entering its final season, which makes drastic actions like this meaningful on a narrative level. It also shows how intimidating Gojo can be despite his upbeat attitude.
In chapter #223 of Jujutsu Kaisen, translated by John Wery, Gojo has an important conversation with Yoshinobu. Yoshinobu has long served as the nasty representative of the sorcerers in charge of the Jujutsu Association. So he was also the one who killed Gojo’s friend Yaga after Gojo was sealed. Surprisingly, Gojo did not resist this, saying that he was only acting on orders. He also mentioned that he always thought that Yoshinobu would be a much better leader of the Jujutsu Association. The manga then shows images of all the High-Level Mages that have died, implying that after Gojo’s epic return, he killed them all.
Jujutsu Kaisen is showing the dark side of Gojo
It’s a brutal and shocking image, but perhaps unsurprising given Gojo’s experiences. Time and time again, Gojo has witnessed the heads of the Jujutsu Association harm innocent people. While Yaga is the most recent example, Gojo also witnessed this first-hand when he was tasked with protecting Tengen’s Riko Star Plasma Ship in his flashback. Although Toji was the one who ended up killing Riko, even if he didn’t, she still had to sacrifice herself to serve as Tengen’s host, a fact that displeased Gojo. This is one of the main reasons why he started rebelling against the Jujutsu Association, all of which culminates in chapter #223.
It is unclear how this massacre will affect the Jujutsu Association in the future. Gojo says he wants Yoshinobu to lead instead of the old guard, but it’s unclear how many witches will lead after the Culling Game ends. Especially when so many powerful mages are engaged in the fight against the two biggest villains of Jujutsu Kaisen, Sukuna and Kenjaku, and are likely to die in the process. This doesn’t even include sorcerers who fled the country after the Culling Games began, like Mei Mei. There is also the question of whether the remaining sorcerers will follow Yoshinobu or whether they will rally around someone better suited to traditional leaders.
Gojo’s dark potential could make him one of the villains of Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen’s shocking murder of the top witches by Gojo leaves readers with many questions, but one thing it definitely proves is that beneath Gojo’s cheerful exterior lies a much darker core. Although he seems reasonable so far, if Gojo wants to do something bad, no one can stop him. If Gojo wins the current all-out battle with Sukuna, perhaps he can decide that it’s time to place the Jujutsu Association, or the whole of Japan, under his rule. While some readers may find joyousmurder of Jujutsu KaisenIt’s also a disturbing sign of how the manga’s most powerful sorcerer’s dark potential could make him a more dangerous threat than the main antagonists of the series.
All chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen available to read from Viz Media.