Technically, Yuji Itadori dies in Jujutsu Kaisen, not once but twice. However, he comes back alive both times. To better understand, let’s look at the events that pushed Yuji into the chaotic world of jujutsu.
Jujutsu Kaisen began with Yuji’s execution as he became a vessel of the King of Curses – Sukuna, after ingesting one of his cursed fingers. But Satoru Gojo saw promise in Yuji and indefinitely suspended his execution, later enrolling Yuji into Tokyo Jujutsu High to turn him into a sorcerer.
Death and resurrection have been with Yuji since his grandfather passed away. As Sukuna’s vessel, he’s a target of sorcerers and strong cursed spirits alike.
But how is he still alive? How did he come back alive two times after dying? Will Yuji die at the end of the manga?
To answer all these questions, I’ll discuss the arcs detailing his death and how he came back to life.
Does Yuji Itadori Die in the Fearsome Womb Arc?
As a trio, Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara got their first mission to evacuate five inmates trapped inside the detention center along with a cursed womb.
Such missions are usually handled by Grade 1 or Special Grade sorcerers because the cursed womb might evolve into a special-grade cursed spirit. But, due to their absence, the first-year students took this mission instead.
They were trapped inside the cursed spirit’s domain once they entered the detention center. The next thing they witnessed were the dead bodies of the inmates they were asked to evacuate. Yuji and Megumi argue about what to do, and moments later, Nobara gets dragged somewhere else.
Megumi found one of his divine dog’s severed head stuck on the wall. He noticed this mission might be out of their league and told Yuji to evacuate quickly, but it was too late.
A special-grade cursed spirit comes to say hello. The first-year sorcerers were too amateur to face a special-grade spirit!
Yuji tried to attack it but unfortunately lost his left hand to it. Yuji then asked Sukuna for help, who said that he would kill Megumi and Nobara first. So, Yuji told Megumi to find Nobara and evacuate, then signal him.
While Megumi was searching for Nobara, Yuji was getting toyed with by the special-grade cursed spirit. But to Yuji, it was a harsh reality he never thought he would face.
He thought he was strong enough to die a natural death. Yuji regretted every decision he made since devouring the finger. But without knowing how to cursed energy, he couldn’t do much anyway. But he got back up and accepted the reality.
Yuji accepted that he was weak and was too naive to think that a sorcerer would experience a natural death. He remembered Principal Yaga’s words of wisdom. Yuji imbues cursed energy and throws a punch. But it didn’t even scratch the cursed spirit.
At that moment, Yuji hears the signal from Megumi and gives Sukuna control over his body. After getting control, Sukuna shows annoyance towards Yuji and asks the cursed spirit to join him in attacking Megumi and Nobara. But the newly born cursed spirit decided to dig its grave and attack Sukuna, and within a few moments, the cursed spirit was dead.
Sukuna retrieves one of his fingers from the special-grade cursed spirit. After killing it, Sukuna asks Yuji to take over, as Yuji will do that anyway if he tries to attack Megumi. But, after not getting a response, Sukuna devises a plan, appears before Megumi, and rips off Yuji’s heart to take him hostage.
Megumi told Sukuna that knowing Yuji, he would die but never give up his body to someone like Sukuna. After ingesting the retrieved finger, Sukuna decides to kill Megumi for fun.
Although they started fighting, it was like a walk in the park for Sukuna. He was bashing Megumi left and right. Finally, after much beating, Megumi decides to use his strongest techniques, but Itadori returns and regains control of his body just in time.
After talking about their way of doing things, Yuji dies!
While Gojo is thinking about killing all the higher-ups for setting this trap to kill Yuji, Sukuna brings Yuji to his innate domain. Sukuna tells Yuji that if he enters a binding bow, Yuji will get revived.
But Yuji disagrees; he asks to get revived without any conditions or vows. On that, Sukuna asks for a death match where the winner will get his way. As expected, Sukuna wins, they enter a binding vow, and Yuji gets revived.
But the problem lies in the binding vow, which Yuji has made but has forgotten about due to conditions, which will come into play in the near future. And that is how he dies but returns to life during the Fearsome Womb Arc.
!!! SPOILER WARNING !!!
Now, we’ll be discussing what happened after the Shibuya Incident Arc. So, proceed at your discretion if you only follow anime or have yet to read past Chapter 136 – the last chapter of the Shibuya Incident Arc.
Itadori’s Extermination Arc: Yuji Dies, Again?
After the Shibuya incident Arc, Japan was facing a void in every possible way – with more than ten million cursed spirits roaming around freely, the yen depreciating and the safety of the citizens was in question. And amidst all this, the higher-ups of the Jujutsu world ordered three death sentences along with the permanent exclusion of Satoru Gojo from the Jujutsu world.
Along with Pseudo-Geto and Masamichi Yaga’s death sentences, Yuji Itaodri’s stay on execution was also lifted. And special-grade sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu was the one who took the role of Yuji’s executioner.
On the other hand, after Naobito Zenin passed away, Megumi was announced as the next head of the Zenin clan in his will. However, Naobito’s youngest son, Naoya Zenin, unable to accept it, was preparing to kill Megumi, who was said to be searching for Yuji in Tokyo. Naoya decides to kill both of them and heads toward Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Yuji is once again self-blaming about the deaths and destruction in Shibuya. But soon, head out to exorcise cursed spirits with Choso.
While they were exorcising cursed spirits, Naoya appeared. The Zenin started showing off, and moments later, Yuta arrived.
Naoya asked Yuta to go after Yuji as his executioner and took on Choso. During their battle, Yuji tried hard to dodge Yuta but was also aware of Yuta’s unending cursed energy reserve. But in the end, Rika appeared, held Yuji, and Yuta killed him.
Meanwhile, Naoya’s arrogance leads him to near death, but Yuta comes and stops Choso. Yuta healed Naoya with the Reverse Cursed Technique and told him to notify the higher-ups about Yuji’s death.
Later, Yuji woke up to see Yuta sitting in front of him. Yuta explained that he started healing Yuji with the Reverse Cursed Technique right after Yuta killed him. That was how Yuji came back alive from his second staged death.
Yuta then explained that Satoru Gojo met him a month before the Shibuya Incident and asked him to take care of the Jujutsu High students if anything happened to him.
Even after coming back alive, Yuji was still blaming himself for the casualties in Shibuya, to which both Yuta and Megumi – who arrived soon after Yuji woke up – said that it was not his fault and that he should focus on saving people in front of him. Megumi told Yuji that they are not heroes fighting for justice; they are jujutsu sorcerers.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Does Itadori die permanently?
No, Itadori doesn’t die permanently. His death was staged twice, and in both cases, he came out alive, one through a binding vow with Sukuna and the other by getting healed using Yuta’s Reverse Cursed Technique.
What episode does Yuji die in JJK?
In anime, Yuji dies in episode 5 of JJK Season 1.
What happens after Yuji dies?
After Yuji dies, Sukuna takes him to his innate domain to enter a binding vow, and in exchange, Sukuna will revive Yuji.
Although Yuji refuses, Sukuna makes a deal that whoever wins the death match will do as he pleases, and as expected, Sukuna wins, enters the vow, and revives Yuji.
What happens to Sukuna if Yuji dies?
Sukuna’s soul is divided among his twenty fingers, so as long as Yuji doesn’t ingest all of them and gets killed, Sukuna will survive.
Who kills Itadori Yuji?
In Fearsome Womb Arc, Yuji dies after regaining control over his body without a heart (Sukuna ripped it out) and dies. Later in Itadori’s Extermination Arc, Yuta kills Yuji by stabbing him in the heart while Rika holds onto him.
Why did Sukuna revive Yuji?
During Fearsome Womb Arc, when Yuji loses control over his body for a few minutes, Sukuna devises a plan to force Yuji into entering a binding vow by ripping out his heart.
And after fighting against Megumi, he decides what his endgame will be, and for that, the binding vow is of utmost importance. Besides, Yuji is collecting his fingers anyway, so why bother making himself a target when he can chill and kill without even doing much?
Is Yuji still alive in JJK manga?
Yes, Yuji is very much alive in JJK manga, but after recent incidents, he has lost one finger of his left hand. The rest is a spoiler, so read the manga if you’re curious.
Does Yuji Itadori die at the end of JJK manga?
Jujutsu Kaisen manga is ongoing, so no one except Gege Akutami knows if Yuji will survive. In shounen manga, the protagonist always survives, so it’s highly likely Yuji might survive. But looking at how many times Yuji has escaped death till now, it can go either way.
Conclusion
Life and death go hand in hand, and Yuji knows that well, thanks to his grandfather’s upbringing. From witnessing the death of close ones to going for a trip to the afterlife, Yuji has seen it all. His views on natural death have changed a lot as well.
Only time will tell if Yuji will get to experience a natural death or not. Until then, keep reading the manga or watch the anime seasons, whichever you prefer.
With that, I conclude this article. If you have any suggestions or feedback regarding this article, please leave your comment below.
