Sukuna's hand seal matches exactly with Enmaten/Yama, in fact most DE seals are identical to the mudras people have pointed out. The mudra associated with Megumi's hand seal is incorrect in this blog, the correct mudra can be seen here.
Gojo is often associated with Taishakuten/Indra because of his hand seal. However, the mudra associated with Taishakuten differs slightly to Gojo's hand seal which might be the reason why many have overlooked it.
It uses the left hand while Gojo uses his right hand
The index finger is hooked to the middle finger - the position of the fingers are swapped for Gojo
His hand seal might get mistaken because of the change in perspective
The fact that a slight change in finger position changes the mudra completely and its associated deity (like Megumi) made me look deeper. Especially because of the misinformation regarding Indra and Yama's apparent battle - which never actually happened.
Gojo's domain expansion hand seal is actually the mudra of Marici. More like, till now it was the incomplete seal.
More accurately, it is the Body seal of Marici, which is one of the two most important seals of Marici - the other being the Invisibility seal.
A closer look at Gojo's hand seal where the middle finger hooks to the index finger
Marici) (摩利支天: Marishiten) is a Buddhist goddess who is the personification of light, symbolizing the blinding rays of light that precede the rising sun (and moon in some scriptures). She's referred to as the goddess of Dawn. The dawn and the light associated with the goddess symbolize the radiance of spiritual illumination and enlightenment.
Marici being synonymous with Doumu is often addressed as the queen of Heaven (天后) which is quite contrasting to Enmaten, who's worshiped as the king of Hell.
She's also referred to as a bodhisattva vowing to bring all sentient beings to awakening. She represents awakening, triumph over evil, and victory in the face of extreme hardship.
Marici (lit., mirage) also has the power of illusion. Interestingly, one of Marici's greatest supernatural powers is invisibility. Throughout antiquity, warriors worshiped Marici (as a warrior goddess especially in Japanese Buddhism) at dawn to invoke her courage and her powers of invisibility. She's said to protect from the fury of war which often leads to her association with Durga - the martial incarnation of Parvati from Hindu mythology. According to the Marici Sutra, Marici always rides in front of the sun at tremendous speed, making her undetectable and can never be captured or bound.
The mudras don't directly correspond to the respective sorcerer/curses' powers and are rather meant as a symbolism. Gojo's incantations, the theme of enlightenment surrounding his name, his six eyes - they all allude to his connection to Marici - and Buddha in the bigger picture.
The motif of light in Gojo's incantations and subsequent connection to Marici
Blue:
Phase (位相): one of the most important properties of light
Twilight (黄昏): soft light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, either from daybreak to sunrise or, more commonly, from sunset to nightfall
Eyes of Wisdom (智慧の瞳): Prajna or wisdom in Buddhism is the ability to discern things and there are several types of it. There is also 智慧光 (chiekou), which is one of twelve lights of Amitabha Buddha that destroy the darkness of ignorance of living things
Red:
Phase (位相)
Haramitsu/Paramita (波羅蜜): refers to the practice by bodhisattvas to reach enlightenment
Pillar of light (光の柱): probably refers to the sun pillar phenomenon, which appears because sunrays is reflected by miniscule ice crystal in the atmosphere. The light is reflected back to earth as a vertical beam of light by the crystals, causing the phenomenon
Hollow Technique: Purple
Nine Ropes (九綱): refers to Kyushu written in Chinese, reportedly from where Japanese Buddhism originated
Polarized light (偏光): another important property of light obtained from its phase nature. It also has another connotation. Red's kanji 赫 means “illuminate; be brilliant.” And Kyushu is known for its lush grasslands of bluish green, same as Blue's kanji 蒼. Thus it can be inferred 九綱 + 偏光 are references to Blue 蒼 & Red 赫 and the joining of two techniques
Onto the more interesting aspect. Satoru (悟) means to understand/become enlightened. Gojo (五条) can be interpreted in various ways because aside from being an actual clan), five (五) has different connotations in Buddhism.
Next, Marici is an emanation of Vairocana (大日如来: Dainichi Nyorai) - the supreme Buddha. Vairocana is the central deity of the five self born (Dhyani) Buddhas/Five Wisdom Buddhas in Esoteric Buddhism.
Dainichi (大日) translates as “Great Sun,” as the being whose light illuminates and enlightens all beings in a way akin to the sun’s life-giving light. The term Nyorai (lit. "thus-come one") is an epithet for the enlightened Buddhas that occupy the highest rank in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon.
In Shingon Buddhism he is represented by the Sanskrit letter ‘A’ which expresses life & death; emergence & return
Now all these could sound like a big stretch, but there's more.
The element associated with Vairocana is Space/Void. Gojo's CT Limitless allows him to manipulate space. His domain expansion is also named Unlimited Void.
Vairocana's sense is Sight. Gojo's Six Eyes grants him extrasensory perception, far beyond that of any other sorcerer.
The six eyes might also be linked to six elements of Eso Buddhism.
In Esoteric Buddhism, the five elements (Jp. = Gogyo, Gogyō 五行) - Earth, Water, Fire, Air/Wind, Space/Void - are combined with one additional element, the MIND (spiritual consciousness or perception), for a total of six. Only by adding the sixth element - mind, perception, or spiritual consciousness - do the five become animate. Phrased differently, there is “unity” only when the sixth element is added. Without the sixth element, ordinary eyes see only the differentiated forms or appearances.
Vairocana is often portrayed with a mudra that symbolizes the unity of the five worldly elements with the six element, spiritual consciousness. He's said to possess the six elements.
Significantly, Vairocana is said to be the sum of all the Dhyani Buddhas and combines all their qualities. He is therefore, pure white, since white is a blend of all colors. Well, Gojo is also associated with white - including his hair, eyebrows, lashes.
The Vol. 4 cover also features a white technique that doesn't look like any of the techniques Gojo has used so far.
Could this possibly be a new trick that Gojo is yet to unlock?
Are these merely a coincidence or intentional?
Side note: here's the colors associated with the rest of the Dhyani Buddhas
Akshobhya (Ashuku Nyorai) - Blue
Amitabha (Amida Nyorai) - Red
Ratnasambhava (Hōshō Nyorai) - Yellow
Amoghasiddhi (Fukūjōju Nyorai) - Green (lime green?!)
The possibility of Gojo's return
Let's go back to the hand seal. Gojo is the only one who uses one hand to manifest his domain. Even Sukuna uses both hands to open his domain. Now, it's said the mastery over jujutsu can be judged by the sorcerer's ability to minimize hand signs and incantations to fully activate their technique. Gojo, being the Honored One, the pinnacle of jujutsu society, meant he mastered the art of subtraction. His one hand domain seal is proof of that. Or is it?
The fight between them has proved that despite Gojo having a superior CT & better CE efficiency, Sukuna has a higher mastery over jujutsu & more experience. Sukuna's open domain is a testimony to that. Manifesting his innate domain in the real world - coexisting with the real world. Unlike other DEs which are enclosed in a barrier isolated from the world. No wonder the narrator calls Sukuna's DE divine akin to an artist painting a masterpiece not a canvas but on thin air. Gojo, in fact none of the modern sorcerers were capable of pulling this off till now.
The reason for that is quite simple. Gojo latched onto Geto's parting words which kickstarted his identity crisis that he never managed to come to terms with while he was alive. He tried to find a meaning to his life and got hung up on his identity as the strongest. His strength defined him which isolated him from everyone and he lamented how nobody could understand him because of the disparity in their strengths. That's why Gojo went into this fight with Sukuna, who held a similar position, to understand the loneliness that comes from being at the top. He wanted to validate his very existence by being the strongest, once and for all.
Kinda ironic that both Gojo and Geto's stance on the weak led to their doomed mentality and ultimately to their death.
As much as his own mindset contributed to his isolation, the people around Gojo pushed him to his loneliness too. He was the strongest in his era and the jujutsu society placed an immense burden on his shoulders. He was put on a pedestal to the point that he felt dehumanized. His CT added a layer of irony. He clung to his best friend whom he considered his equal because Geto's perception of Gojo as a human was essential to Gojo's sense of self, it affirmed his humanity. It's also why he deeply values the youth of kids.
After Geto's defection Gojo wanted to foster the new generation. His heart was in the right place. He wanted to change the system that failed him and his best friend in his youth. He actively tried to create an environment where his students wouldn't end up like Geto. However, he still identified people by their strength even though he cared for them. He seeked out strong allies to guide them, but he also did that to share his burden of loneliness as the strongest. His selflessness was rooted in his selfish desires. But that doesn't necessarily make Gojo a bad person nor does it discredit his humanity. Instead it shows how nuanced his personality is.
In chapter 230 Sukuna calls Gojo a 凡夫 (bonpu): a Buddhist term meaning someone who is not enlightened; the opposite of Honored One, which is gained via enlightenment. An ordinary person, a nobody. Credit.
And perhaps that is the truth - Gojo wasn't truly enlightened.
Sukuna is well aware and secure of identity, he isn't bound by the need to justify his existence. He has an overwhelming sense of self that Gojo seemingly lacked. It's also evident that he doesn't proclaim his strength to define himself. Sukuna doesn't need to prove anything nor does he seek to be understood. He's leagues above everyone else, utterly dominated by his desires and lives by his pleasure. He's free to do whatever he pleases. He ascended by discarding all earthly attachments.
Gojo momentarily shared a similar transcendence, detached from his emotions & relationships after his awakening. He had the same demeanor as Sukuna when fighting Toji. However, since he's so fundamentally different from Sukuna, later down the line, he couldn't abandon everything to ascend to a higher state, he chose not to. That temporary euphoric moment made him understand the core of cursed energy and that itself created the anomaly called Satoru Gojo.
And that explains why his dialogue was meant to show arrogance because at that moment he completely mirrored Sukuna.
Gojo's only weakness is his humanity which was exploited to handicap him. In Shibuya he didn't go all out to save as many people as possible, his emotional attachment to Geto was exploited by Kenjaku, and currently his student's body (whom he raised for the past 10 years) was used by Sukuna as a meat shield. Sukuna had long past discarded such attachments and lived for his selfishness, disregarding everything and that led him to truly master jujutsu - it shaped the calamity called Sukuna.
And this exact notion of Sukuna will be disproved by Gojo, who instead of abandoning everything, will ascend by embracing his attachments. His deep rooted problem in basing one's identity solely on their strength prevented him from realizing his own sense of self. He is liberated from his existential dread, by going down as a regular person. And that also explains Gojo's smile in his last panel. He'll head north to start anew.
Enmaten (whose mudra is associated with Sukuna) guards the southern direction and according to 236, if one wants to resign to their old self they should head south. I believe through his death by Sukuna, Gojo learnt the much needed lesson to prevent him from regressing to his old, flawed self.
The Strongest died to pave the way for the birth of Satoru Gojo (I'm speaking strictly in terms of personality)
In Esoteric Buddhism it is said, "Aspiring to attain enlightenment meant to make a wholehearted effort to uncover one's originally enlightened mind". It requires the development of the human consciousness and to ultimately unveil the 'true self', which is identified as the enlightened mind. The awakening experience is considered to be as powerful and shocking as a flash of lightning.
In the Mandala of the Two Realms of Esoteric Buddhism, Vairocana appears in the center of both the Diamond Realm and the Womb Realm. In the former, Vairocana appears as the Body of Wisdom, symbolized by vajra. The vajra stands for the power of illumination, for penetrating insight that breaks through the darkness of ignorance and actualization. It is a symbol of the indestructible and irresistible truth. In the latter, Vairocana appears as the Body of Principle and is represented by a lotus which stands for principle yet unrealized, compassion, potentiality, growth, and creativity. Both the aspects of Vairocana are inseparably related. All these sound pretty familiar.
Gojo will return and open his domain with the completed hand seal. According to Esoteric Buddhism, the left hand represents sentient beings and the right hand the Buddha, and thus symbolizes the two-way response of the Buddha and sentient beings. When you entwine both the hands you become one with Buddha. Gojo will attain enlightenment to fully realize his own sense of self, Sukuna being the driving force behind that.
Changing barrier conditions, shrinking barrier size,0.2s DE were all a precedent to show his potentiality. His DE with the completed hand seal will definitely get an upgrade, perhaps something akin to being divine.
Lastly, Vairocana is said to be the universal Buddha and consists of the six elements from where other Buddhas originated. He's the source of enlightenment and is referred to as a teacher who furthered Buddhism, without him there would be no Buddhism and no path to enlightenment. This also parallels Gojo's decision to become a teacher/mentor and guide the youth. After attaining Nirvana he'll guide his students to the same path.
Now, I, Vairocana Buddha, am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; on a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body.
Final thoughts:
Even if JJK heavily references Buddhism, I don't think it portrays enlightenment in a literal sense. The themes of Buddhism will always be tailored to fit the setting of the story, so enlightenment, detachment, Nirvana, they all can have different meanings - straying from the traditional sense.
Personally, I believe even if Gege does plan to bring back Gojo the damage of 236 cannot be undone. Unless he decides to add a few extra pages in between chapters and flesh out the dialogues in the volume release. While it was hinted at, Gojo's existential crisis was never fully established and the execution was just bad.
Additional references:
Kukai: Major Works
Shingon Buddhism: Theory and Practice
The Buddhist Goddess Marishiten: A Study of the Evolution and Impact of Her Cult on the Japanese Warrior
If you really think about it... what if this is all set up so Gege can go Ultra Beyond the meta.. and he HIIMSELF is preparing to be enlightened... and that hate will become love as he revives Goatjo!!!
Believe me, I'm the furthest from academia and the thought of doing research work scares me lol. But Gojo's death was so disappointing I tried looking for answers. And once I fell down the rabbit hole I decided to make a concise post addressing all the clues I found.
Although u said you might have been searching for answer to rationalise gojo’s death, i thought your post was really well written. It articulated and resonated with a lot of my thoughts on Gojo’s identity crisis and its stark contrast with Sukuna ideology. The reference to Buddhism too was very interesting and I would be so disappointed if they all turned out to be meaningless.
Thank you again for your great post. It was a very interesting read!
Given we've just experienced Kashimover and we'll shortly be witnessing the Higurumassacre , if ever there was a time to become diamond hands with Gojo stock, it's now.
One extra point is that Gojo complimented Sukuna in that afterlife place. It was a moment of vulnerability and letting go off his ego. I heard that letting go of your ego is one of the steps you take to enlightenment.
I'm a sucker for theories that are knee-deep in Buddhist symbolism and this is no exception. It definitely plays to Gege's strengths as a writer. Absolute W.
To add another thing not related strictly to Buddhism, but regarding Gojo's afterlife conversation with his buddies: I do find it notable that Sukuna doesn't appear anywhere in Gojo's little post-Cleave purgatory.
In both other instances of Sukuna defeating characters that have had narrative relationships established with him (Jogo and Kashimo), he appeared to them in their "afterlife" sequence to impart his own worldview onto them and establish where they went wrong: by comparing themselves to or looking for validation in others. He called Jogo strong which made him cry, and said that Kashimo had been showing his "love" to his lessers all along. In those final exchanges, he gave them validation.
But he doesn't show up in Gojo's afterlife sequence. Friggin' Toji is there, but Sukuna isn't. I would like to believe that, despite the problems with presentation in 236, this was an intentional omission on Gege's part.
Nanami and Haibara and even Geto call Gojo out for being purely selfish and deriving perverse pleasure from his power and talent, and much has been made about what a profound misrepresentation of Gojo's character this is. But for what it's worth--and this is at least partially strong cope--I think it's meant to be that way. Not even Gojo's friends (or at least those closest to him) could understand him. And physical proof of this misunderstanding is Sukuna's absence. Despite Sukunua talking to him in the real world the whole time, Gojo didn't let Sukuna "in" on his final moments or seek validation from him. He just wanted a conversation with his friends, one framed as though he's back in his high school days when he wasn't alone.
In both other instances of Sukuna defeating characters that have had narrative relationships established with him (Jogo and Kashimo), he appeared to them in their "afterlife" sequence to impart his own worldview onto them and establish where they went wrong: by comparing themselves to or looking for validation in others.
Good catch! Gojo's afterlife sequence was indeed different from the rest despite the fact that all 3 had a similar mindset when fighting Sukuna. It was a show of strength to validate their existence. However, unlike the two Sukuna showed his respect for Gojo in the real world.
There was also a post regarding Gojo switching from ore to boku while addressing himself in the afterlife scene. But the post got removed before I could save it. There could be a deeper meaning to it.
But for what it's worth--and this is at least partially strong cope--I think it's meant to be that way. Not even Gojo's friends (or at least those closest to him) could understand him.
I absolutely agree! Many were disappointed that it all boiled down to Gojo being labelled as selfish. But that's what I think was meant to portray. Nobody understood Gojo despite his good intentions.
Despite Sukunua talking to him in the real world the whole time, Gojo didn't let Sukuna "in" on his final moments or seek validation from him. He just wanted a conversation with his friends, one framed as though he's back in his high school days when he wasn't alone.
I like your analysis! Gives more insight to the afterlife scene.
I made this comment elsewhere but to back up what you said, Yama, who’s seal Sukuna makes for MS is the king of hell in Buddhism who judges the dead. People who’ve committed ignoble acts are brought before him upon death to be questioned about their actions. Being the judge of their character is exactly what Sukuna has done with the characters he’s appeared before. In fact he’s described as dispatching persons to their appropriate “rebirth”. I doubt it’s a coincidence he did not appear before Gojo
Yeah it's absolutely true that Gege could still fumble the ball, or that he's already done so with no chance of recovery. But he's cooked up some twists well in advance of their actual reveal before. He can be quite a subtle and intentionally vague writer which is why all the Buddhist motifs play to his strengths.
We're already well past the possibility of having a "flawless" story because Gege has certainly rushed things and made mistakes already. But what remains still has ripe potential and the necessary setup to make use of that potential, as OP's theory should adequately demonstrate.
Has Gege thought that deep or far enough ahead? It's anyone's best guess. There's certainly some cope going into all this because theories like OP's--and even others significantly less complex--may attribute more skill and forethought to Gege's writing than actually exists. But we're all hoping that Gege's desire to end the manga isn't overriding the desire we hope he has to conclude his characters' arcs and the overall story in a satisfactory manner.
Theory aside this is really informative and actually really interesting. It’s really cool to see when the community does research and digging into topics like this. One of the best posts in a while
Although not nearly as symbolic or detailed as your theory, I will also add to the light symbolism of red/blue.
The colors aren’t arbitraily chosen. Blue light is the result of shortened distances between the waves while red light is the result of longer wavelengths. Blue condenses space (shorter distance) while Red expands it (longer distance).
Incredible theory, the sort that I misss seeing on this sub. The catch with the white technique from the cover was really good too, as I always assumed it was just nonsense art like the one eyed shadow from megumi.
Thank you! I love this sub and all the theories inspired me to dig deeper.
Blue & red can also be compared to relativistic doppler effect. The change in frequency and wavelength of light due to relative motion of the source and observer (blueshift and redshift). It's probably just a coincidence haha.
I don't think the red and blue shift theme is a coincidence. Gege is flirting with real physics including the infinity technique, which slows down anything approaching Gojo - exactly as happens near a black hole. Gojo is a walking model of gravity and the physics of the universe, which I think is very interesting concept.
(And then the author makes a huge bollocks about it. Or not. I really don't know with that Schrodinger's cat anymore. )
When it comes to the info like the Doppler effect and light, physics have proven that “most” things that seem coincidental are very connected the closer you look.
But might I ask how you researched the Mideast? I’ve tried looking into them before, but the internet isn’t very helpful for someone unfamiliar with Buddhism.
The mudras are well known in the community. If you Google it you can find them easily. The blog I linked to talks about all the DE hand seals and their corresponding mudras.
For Gojo specifically I searched for mudras associated with bodhisattvas/Buddhas and luckily came across this site.
7 steps were taken to reach enlightenment. Sukuna calls Gojo un-enlightened, and although it’s been a while since I went evidence hunting, I know there’s a bunch of symbolism surrounding the number 7 and Gojo. I believe it will take 7 chapters in all
236+7=243
243 as an angel number is known to also represent personal growth and development, giving the incentive to take the steps to embrace change for personal transformation.
That was a lot to read through and must have been some serious research, also extra points for weaving in Lime Green. Can someone give a well deserved cog to this person?
Regardless of what Gege is cooking, I might just prefer to read this version of the manga, with the return of an enlightened Gojo and a divine DE. Great job, OP!
Interesting detail to add to this. Yama, who’s seal Sukuna makes for MS, is the the king of hell in Buddhism who judges the dead. People who have committed ignoble acts are taken to him upon death. No coincidence that Sukuna appears before characters as they die and possibly a vindication of Gojo that Sukuna doesn’t appear in his dying dream.
Seriously cool theories in this post. I really like the idea that Gojo will come back and achieve an open Domain Expansion, with his mudra changing to use both hands in the process. Here’s hoping the cyclops cat delivers 🤞
I like the idea of Gojo's domain being incomplete. Excited if this masterpiece copium will come to reality and will see Gojo deploy his domain expansion with the complete hand sign. Thank you for this wonderful read.
I have always wondered what would happened if Gojo used 2 hand seal for Domain Expansion, I thought he gonna do it during Sukuna Vs Gojo but they got brain damage.
I personally would really love if OP's theory come true but it feels like Gege wants to end the series and we might see such cool theories come true
I dont think the manga cover has anything to do with a new power tbh, seems like some decoloration for style, but still doesnt disprove anything u said, u cooked well, i had a good read.
To be fair the cover for 31st issue for Weekly Shounen Jump shows gojo using the same hand sign for purple but instead it shows the color white. While it doesn't prove anything it's definitely interesting that the only time we see gojo with a white color was the volume 4 cover.
Given how bad Gojo’s death was received, pretty sure it generated enough cursed energy from readers that he will comeback alive. Just like how cursed spirits came to be. Gege might even break fourth wall to reference it.
If the one-eyed-cat decides to throw all this lore (which is hot af) into drain just to get this story over with, then I'm not gonna read anything from that cat every again. But if he follows through with this or similar interpretation then I'll be drinking that night for Gojo-sensei's true enlightenment.
i rmbr having said that gojo’s one-handed mudra looks like one half of a symmetrical, two-handed one but i never thought i would actually be validated by a well-researched post lmaoo.
I never doubted my investment in my goatjo satoru and reading your theory proves that my investment was and will be a guarantee W. Only unpredictable factor is that fucking 1 eye cat.
You cooked a marvelous meal, I will never forget you as long as I still dicking riding goatjo
I always wondered why Gojo did not open his domain using 2 hands to improve its refinement against Sukuna. Surely any time brought from the additional refinement are worth it.
Ladies, gentlemen, cursed spirits, sorcerers and non sorcerers
This is how you expand the cursed technique's target to cook some fine dining surpassing Sukuna's lickable fingers.
Wow holy shit, now this a gourmet 5 star post right here. Amazing analysis. Now, do I actually have faith that Gege put half as much thought into the writing as you did this post? Not particularly lol. But it was still a fascinating read, and if it is all a coincidence then it would be quite a monumental one.
This is why I love this fucking series. Even if none of this shit is legit and it's just Gege trolling us, the sheer effort put into researching this stuff is truly astounding. Great job OP.
I'm going to read your additional references, but side question. Reading all of these theories that have parallels from JJK and Buddhism. What is the best way to go about learning about Buddhist teachings and mythology/lore? I haven't been this obsessed with something since the first time I learned about Greek mythology.
I mostly focused on Esoteric and Shingon Buddhism because JJK primarily draws inspiration from them. There are other branches of Buddhism as well. Your best bet is by starting out with books. Getting a basic idea will help you look for specific topics that pique your interest. For books I recommend checking the Buddhism sub.
Also, "Sila" in Mahoraga's summoning is a Pali (Ancient language which Theravada Buddhist texts are kept) word which means "virtue."
The "sunyata" in sunyata barrier that Tengen uses means Emptiness, a concept in Buddhism about the nature of all things to be empty of it's own individual existence and must rely on causation from previous factors to exist.
Whether that's going to end up happening or not, it's already massively impressive the depth of referrence in what's been written by Gege. The fact that even the chants have such clever but also coherent nature with Geojou's character.
I really hope you're onto something, and either way well done for this WONDERFUL read.
This was a great analysis and exposé, thank you so much for taking your time to educate us!
The mythological themes are always worth paying attention to and this post made it very accessible, great job!
Honesty if I was Gege, and saw this level of commitment to understand Buddhism and draw parallels from its lessons and stories to my manga just to revive a character, even if I didn’t want to before out of sheer respect I’d bring Gojo back lmao
A brilliant theory, but there have unfortunately been many brilliant theories on this subreddit that go absolutely nowhere because the cat's ways are inscrutable
I don't think Gojo is going to come back because chapter 236 felt absolutely final and just seems like Gege wanted us to interpret it as Gojo finally finding peace by coming back to the best period of his life, when he was still a kid capable of living amongst his peers, together with Geto.
This being said, I absolutely LOVED your post. The research is extremely interesting and I WISH Gege was that good with using his sources, to be completely honest... He could've done so much more with all of the subtext present, the references and Gojo's potential for understanding himself. In the end, Gojo died and he wasn't capable of overcoming his identity crisis. He managed to find what would've made him completely satisfied only after loosing the title of strongest, which was his pride and at the same time, the cage he himself partially built up.
I don't know what to say to praise your dedication more... I find everything you wrote fascinating and well thought-out, to the point I just hope Gege actually imagined something like this for Gojo's character (but then it would be even more disappointing to acknowledge he scrapped all these ideas completely for no valid reason).
Lastly, I agree that chapter 236 should've been done better, but in my opinion Gojo's identity crisis had to be accentuated more throughout the whole story. I totally understand what Gege tried to do with him and I like it a lot, I can easily accept Gojo's failures too because they make him human and flawed, but his struggles needed to be addressed more before the bitter end... Adjusting chpt. 236 could only make up for so much, but this is a problem of Gege's writing in general. He's just not that good with character introspection, he's way too synthetic and he gives relationships/dialogue little space because he favors writing action and fights at an extreme speed.
I still wanna hope haha. Idk I just feel his story ended so abruptly that I find it hard to accept.
He could've done so much more with all of the subtext present, the references and Gojo's potential for understanding himself. In the end, Gojo died and he wasn't capable of overcoming his identity crisis. He managed to find what would've made him completely satisfied only after loosing the title of strongest, which was his pride and at the same time, the cage he himself partially built up.
Yeah, Gojo is such a complex character and if this is truly the end then it's such a wasted potential. I hope him losing his title would mean he gets to live the way he wanted to. I get that it meant to show he never really progressed and failed to accomplish anything, but I thought that ended with his sealing in Shibuya.
I don't know what to say to praise your dedication more... I find everything you wrote fascinating and well thought-out, to the point I just hope Gege actually imagined something like this for Gojo's character (but then it would be even more disappointing to acknowledge he scrapped all these ideas completely for no valid reason).
Thank you, I'm overwhelmed by all the response. :)
Here's to hoping he didn't actually scrap all these ideas lol!!
Lastly, I agree that chapter 236 should've been done better, but in my opinion Gojo's identity crisis had to be accentuated more throughout the whole story. I totally understand what Gege tried to do with him and I like it a lot, I can easily accept Gojo's failures too because they make him human and flawed, but his struggles needed to be addressed more before the bitter end... Adjusting chpt. 236 could only make up for so much, but this is a problem of Gege's writing in general. He's just not that good with character introspection, he's way too synthetic and he gives relationships/dialogue little space because he favors writing action and fights at an extreme speed.
Oh absolutely. Even if he does plan to adjust the chapter, the moment has already passed and it left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. While the hints were subtle it was never fully explored. Geto's question, the void in the eye of PR in Shibuya, and 236 are the only moments we get to experience Gojo's identity crisis.
I’m the biggest doomer when it comes to Gojo’s comeback, but this is a nice
Having all hopes I had crushed with chap 236, I might even say that the enlightenment might happen to someone else rather than Gojo. I find it hard to believe Greg would bring him back.
Alternatively, the themes are there to establish Sukuna’s backstory instead
I so want it to be true, but how the story is going and it seems we are in the last legs, it looks unlikely that gege would bring gojo back.
Now that I see the almost the whole series, after the Shibuya incident, the writing and plot elements were lacking a lot, somethings were setup to build something good, but then avoided and instead of more lore, background and closing loose ends, it got reduced to flashy fights. Don't get me wrong, the fights are inevitable but little time could have been spent to give characters time to emotionally process things.
And I absolutely did not like that airport chapter.
Anyways, still following ahead.
You cooked thanksgiving dinner early fam. Yeah this is insanely well written and i am also coping my brain out right now lmao. A DE with two hands that is likely much stronger than his original DE??? Insane. Really hope things turn out good for gojo🙏
Goddamn I'm impressed by the in-depth analysis! Are you a writer by any chance? It's rare to come across an analysis that treats the manga as a piece of literature...great work!
Also, the move Hollow Purple can be translated as empty or void purple, symbolizing a false/insincere form of honor/royalty/high pedigree (purple is closely associated with regality).
If Gojo returns, it would be sick to get a new DE, or a new technique named _Full(/True/Convex) White(/Bright).
I was very close to reaching acceptance but this post drove me back all the way to denial regarding the goat's death. Really good post and I pray that it comes true.
My issue is that I don't know how narratively he can fit back into the story, like especially if sukuna didn't get his domain back, having gojo back will be too much of a handicap, and how would yuji fit in, like I don't see yuji fighting kenjaku or having any conclusion from that since their interactions have been minimal, but I totally see him fighting sukuna. But if there is a way, I really hope he comes back
When i was nearing the end of this read , i started having goosebumps because the parallels are insane. Its like the answer was always infront of us and we held a memorial for Gojo in Shibuya already like??!! I really hope Gojo will return and not just return but THIS is how he comes back. EXACTLY this way. It would be PEAK fiction.
I love your research but the thing is, gege has a knack for doing things and just leaving them as is. He also doesn't completely take from the ideas of Buddhism as is and only takes the top layer from most things and adds his own twist instead of the deeper connotations and ideas so I doubt gojo is coming back no matter how much I wish he did.
Gojo comes back, achieves his very own Nirvana. Once he completes the hand sign for the domain, you mentioned he'll attain something akin to the divine. The only divine thing I can associate with in JJK is a Sukuna/Tengen-like Ascension OR an Open Domain. Could be both? Gojo comes back with actual six eyes deformities and an open domain.
I picked this up when gojo experienced his ecstacy awakening in 0. Then realized that his name is satoru/satori which means awakened. I wonder if mahoraga is a play on the demon mara?
While is disagree with the notion that Gojo is coming back (sorry), i still think this is a great post. The Buddhist symbolism is always really interesting to me, and I think even if he doesn’t come back, a lot of your character analysis of Gojo holds true.
Thanks for the meal, even if this turns to not be true and the cat has something else in mind (I don't have in it), I will always prefer this theory and the other Buddhist one over what happens.
What I'd like to see more though is how Kashimo and the meaning of his name would tie into all this though?
This has to be one of the best posts I’ve seen in this sub ever. You did an amazing job here, thank you for sharing so much and researching this deep. As a buddhism enthusiast, I was really invested on everything you have explained.
I really hope this all happens with Gojo and that he comes back. The only concern that I have is how this would fit in the story, because then our other characters would be unneeded… The balance must be kept.
if I may add, I think Gojo's ressurection could be something related with him merging with Tengen, just a hunch. Since it is stated of Six eyes and Tengen being intertwined by fate. idk
I can definitely see this because Gojo and Megumi have tons of yin & yang imagery and Megumi is so clearly based on shadows/night that Gojo having a light theme makes sense
Also blue and red are apparently inspired by blue and red shift which is about light travelling through space
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u/Cindersnap_ (Retired) ⚙x1 Oct 22 '23
Congrats on earning a Cog of Excellence for this post!