Summary
Jujutsu Kaisen brings back a famous villain in an interesting way, adding depth to the plot and raising the stakes in the Shibuya Incident arc. The return of Toji Zenin, even in a new form, poses a major threat to the main characters and poses the potential for intense battles with other important characters. Toji’s return opens up countless possibilities for the future of Jujutsu Kaisen, with the potential to cement The Shibuya Incident as one of the greatest Shonen series of all time.
Warning! Contains spoilers for season 2 episode #11 of Jujutsu Kaisen!
In its latest episode Jujutsu Kaisen just brought back one of its most famous villains in a brilliant way. While in another series bringing back a dead villain might seem like a cheap way to downplay that character’s death, here it feels like an interesting return for someone who passed away too soon. Much of that depends on how the character returns.
In Jujutsu Kaisen #11, an evil witch affiliated with Kenjaku performs a ritual to imbue her comrade with the power and appearance of a dead person. The person they choose is Toji Zenin, Megumi’s father, who defeated teenage Gojo in the previous series. After gaining Toji’s power, his new host quickly attacked Ino, the witch he was fighting, with a series of brutal punches. It’s unclear to what extent Toji’s personality has been revived, so this may not exactly be the villain that fans loved to hate in Gojo’s Brutal Past arc, but this is still the closest that they can have.
Jujutsu Kaisen delivers the best villain Toji
Seeing any Toji form even if it’s not completely real is exciting enough for many fans. During Gojo’s Past, Toji proved himself to be a ruthless killer but also one with extraordinary tactics and strength. Although he may not be able to use cursed energy due to his Heavenly limitations, his physical strength compensates for this shortcoming and even helps him defeat a Gojo young in their first battle. With Gojo now sealed, it is unclear whether any remaining witches can defeat this reincarnated version of Toji, which adds another major threat to the Shibuya Incident.
Regardless of how much of Toji’s original personality his new form contains, he is highly unlikely to side with Yuji and Megumi in the fight against the curses. He defeated Ino and he will probably fight against many other witches until he is defeated. There’s a lot of dramatic potential here as there are many sources that Toji had a personal connection to in his past life. One of the high-ranking members of the Zenin clan, Naobito, is in Shibuya and shows hatred towards his family, which could lead to a fierce fight. Additionally, Maki is following in Toji’s footsteps, fighting her to test her comparative abilities. Most important is his son Megumi, who may have an intense father-son battle with Toji.
Toji’s return makes the future of Jujutsu Kaisen even more interesting
Toji’s return opens up a lot of possibilities for where the Shibuya Incident could go from here. By bringing him back this way, the series also doesn’t make his death meaningless since he’s still dead, even if someone has effectively brought him back for a while short. If Jujutsu Kaisen make the most of Toji’s storytelling potential and it could cement The Shibuya Incident as one of the greatest Shonen series of all time.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 episode #11 is available to stream on Crunchyroll.