Saddest quote in Jujutsu Kaisen

Important takeaways

• Gojo's confident claim that it honored displays his enormous power and alienation.
• Sukuna's quote to Jogo reflects his impressed but harsh assessment of ambition.
• Yuji's realization of being just a cog highlights the harsh reality of purposelessness and determination.

Fans of mega hit anime Jujutsu Kaisen can agree that the series has been a rollercoaster of emotions. It has hinged on tragedies, whimsical scenes, brutal character attacks and other gripping backstories. Curses aside, viewers felt moments of intense sadness throughout the series. Some reported that their dogged devotion to the show had developed into masochism.

In these moments of sadness, characters offer some of the saddest quotes in anime history, emblematic of the emotional depth of the world creator Gege Akutami aimed to build. As characters navigate these muddy waters, they deliver lines that capture the bleak human experience, the frailty of life and the absurdity of existence.

10 “In all heaven and earth I alone am the honored one.”

Satoru Gojo Season 2 Episode 4

Perhaps one of the most iconic – and definitely one of the most Instagram caption-worthy – lines from the anime, this one captures Gojo's confidence in his abilities and his esteemed position in the Jujutsu world. While some magicians can be all talk, Gojo's claim goes beyond arrogance. He is the only wizard to have inherited both the Six Eyes and the Limitless technique in the past 400 years.

Gojo utters this statement in battle to the Buddha, who proclaims himself the World-Famous One. Until the end, Gojo proves that only a few can hold a candle to his name – that he alone is the honored one. But in addition to being a confident statement, the line also represents how alienating enormous power can be.

9 “Stand proud, you are strong.”

Ryomen Sukuna Season 2 Episode 16

With Sukuna in Yuji Itadoro's body, he fought one of the strongest disaster curses, Jogo. But despite Jogo's combined strength and incredible ability in battle, he was no match for Sukuna. Sukuna made a deal with him that he would fight for the curses and kill all the people in Shibuya, except one, if the latter could land just one hit on him.

In the end, despite Jogo's inability to defeat him, Sukuna is impressed by his skill and ambition, a trait he hates Yuji for lacking. Jogo died with the severity of his incompetence despite his immense abilities, having killed Nanami, Maki Zenin and Naobito, all great wizards. Sukuna is not easily impressed, and these were his last words to Jogo. But to him it was a reflection of his weakness.

8 “You are me, Yuji Itadori. I kill without a second thought—just as you save people without a second thought.”

Mahito Season 2 Episode 21

While this may seem altruistic to Yuji, this line packs a punch when examined on a deeper level. Mahito explains to Yuji the nature of their parallel morality, dissecting the line between good and evil and explaining how everything is relative ideal and subject to interpretation. Yuji may see himself as a righteous man, but killing people is as natural to Mahito as killing curses is to Yuji.

Mahito tries to describe their psychological wiring, that Yuji was no better than him, nor should he assume that he is. In the end, they did not differ from each other. Curses are not evil out of sheer will, but because they are the manifestations of the deepest and, as Jogo argued, the truest parts of humanity.

7 “In the grand scheme of things, I'm probably nothing more than a cog.”

Yuji Season 2 Episode 21

Yuji says this in response to Mahito's claim that they are the same. In a sad awakening to reality, Yuji realizes the truth of Mahito's speech and begins to question everything he stood for and believed in. Before that, Yuji believed that there must be a greater purpose to his mission to eliminate curses, believing it to be for the greater good. But at that moment he realizes that there is none, and his search for a reason is in vain.

Regardless, Yuji doesn't let it weaken his will, claiming that he doesn't need meaning or reason. “I will continue killing curses as long as I can,” he says. “That's my role in all of this.” Unfortunately, Yuji's decision only vindicates Mahito's claim.

6 “If you die again, I'll kill you myself.”

Megumi Fushiguro Episode 19

No one can bear to lose a close friend twice, and this quote is as sad as it is funny. Megumi shows how much he cares for Yuji with this one comical line, after watching Sukuna rip out Yuji's heart earlier.

When it is later revealed that Yuji is still alive, Megumi is overjoyed and cannot bear the thought of losing her friend again. He knows that true friends are as precious as they are rare. He understands the importance of holding on to precious bonds, like the one he shares with Yuji.

5 “Love is the most twisted curse of them all.”

Satoru Gojo, Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Anyone can attest to this universal truth. Gojo Satoru explains this after having his own fair share of tragedies. He loses his best friend, Geto Suguru, to the dark side, and witnesses how love became an evil fate for Yuta and the curse, Rika.

At first, most people assumed that Rika was just a curse that Yuta was curiously attached to. But the story became clearer: They were childhood sweethearts who promised to be together forever, but fate had something else in mind when Rika met with an accident. Seeing this as a clear departure from the promise, she cursed Yuta and is now bound to him as a curse that protects him. In the end, it is a twisted fate for them.

4 “The only thing that is given equally to all is an unjust reality.”

Megumi Fushiguro Season 1 Episode 5

This quote wins points for relatability. In both fiction and reality, good people suffer as much as bad people, and an impartial reward and justice system gradually increases the bad population. This truth dawns on Megumi after he sees his sister Tsumiki, a kind and pure soul, turn into a curse.

This highlights the fact that life can be harsh and cruel to the innocent, creating a mutual understanding of existence. It further drives home the importance of the pursuit of justice in a world that often feels unnaturally balanced or stacked against justice. He asserts Yuji's belief that Jujutsu wizards are “just a cog in the retribution machine.”

3 “But no matter how many allies you have around you, when you die, you will be alone.”

Gojo Satoru Season 1 Episode 23

Gojo is loved for his character's ability to balance humor with moments of deep insight. This line covers the theme of isolation he felt in his life under his natural charisma and confidence to be the strongest Jujutsu wizard. It emphasizes the inescapable loneliness of life, whether one has ten friends or a thousand.

Gojo's words are a reminder of the transient nature of relationships, even those with the most solid foundations. In the end, everyone is on a solo path and must navigate their different lives carefully in a dangerous world full of curses.

2 “Are you the strongest because you are Saturo Gojo, or Saturo Gojo because you are the strongest?”

Suguru Geto Season 2 Episode 5

This line describes how Gojo struggled to understand his own personality, if any, and separate his core from the strength of his character, which was all he had ever known from birth. He felt that the only person who ever understood him was Geto. When Geto turned to the dark side, Gojo suffered from conflicting thoughts about his identity and projected his feelings onto Sukuna, who he assumed suffered from the same dilemma.

As Gojo and other characters grappled with expectations and burdens of responsibility in the dangerous world Jujutsu Kaisenit raised a rather sad question: Was it one's ability as a powerful wizard that defined them or innate traits and history that shaped their strength?

1 “I will never forget you as long as I live, Gojo Saturo, you were magnificent.”

Ryomen Sukuna Chapter 226

To receive a compliment like this from the King of Curses is a true testament to one's outstanding abilities. When it comes to wizard superiority, Gojo needs no introduction, which is why his eventual death at the hands of Sukuna was one of the saddest arcs in the entire series. It came as a huge shock, with fans hoping it was a stunt that would later resurrect the mighty wizard.

But it wasn't. Sukuna's last words to Gojo after the battle were words of complete respect, even though Sukuna never considered anyone but himself. To the audience, these were words of finality that marked the end of the reign of Gojo Satoru, a major driving force behind anime. It was a goodbye no one was prepared for but got anyway.