Jujutsu Kaisen fans love Gojo so much they built him a shrine
Apparently, some fans think that Gojo Satoru is “the Princess Diana anime fandoms.” And the title seems fitting now that people have built a vast public shrine in his honor.
Gojo is a main character from the manga and anime Jujutsu Kaisen. In the series, he is a slightly immature and arrogant but well-meaning mentor who leads the series’ main group of three young people. He looks like your typical anime pretty boy and has a slim build and icy blue eyes. In the fictional world of the series, he is famous for being one of the greatest, if not THE the most powerful Jujutsu sorcerer. But like all the best anime characters, Gojo has become a real-world icon in his own right.
Even if you don’t care about anime, manga, or the latest obsession with a fictional character, there’s a good chance you’ve come across it digitally. Whether it’s social media trends using an augmented reality filter with him, memes that transform pets and landmarks into him, or audio clips using his lines from the show, Gojo has become a must-watch of Internet culture. The name tag is complete 21 billion views on TikTok alone.
The character became notable again when leakers shared images from chapter 236 of the manga in September. The content – which we won’t get into now for spoiler purposes – prompted a massive show of support for the character. Today, love for the character has poured out onto TikTok and other social media and into the streets of Santiago, Chile, as fans came together to build a shrine to celebrate him.
(Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead for leaked content, including major spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen manga.)
Last week, leaks from the manga showed that Gojo Satoru had died in the main series. The fan response was intense to say the least. While some fans simply created memes and shared artwork of the character, others sent death threats against Jujutsu Kaisen creator Gege Akutami. On a much more positive note, Santiago’s Chilean fans reacted to the news by building shrines to the character.
According to Fernanda, a fan who visited the shrines and spoke to Polygon for this article, fans have built two main shrines in Santiago located at the metro stations passing by Crunchyroll and Jujutsu Kaisen ads. The ads feature Gojo, so the walls provided the perfect canvas for fans to express their love and the sense of loss that came with the character’s death. Over the past week, viewers have flocked to the ads and decorated subway walls with hundreds of fan art, notes and candles dedicated to the character. Fernanda shared images of the sanctuary with Polygon below.
Remarks contained messages like, “the strongest forever”, which echoes Gojo’s catchphrase that he is the strongest. Fernanda left a sign saying, “My six eyes tell me you are dead but my soul won’t believe it”, referring to the power behind Gojo’s eyes.
Fernanda said Gojo’s death was not just about loving a character, but also about honoring the deeper meaning his character and story brought to fans.
“I love the character, his way of seeing life and he is always smiling. Also his loneliness despite everything he has experienced. It is so important to many people who are suffering but trying to smile despite everything going on in their lives.