The Jujutsu Kaisen Deaths That Hit Hardest, Ranked
Jujutsu Kaisen runs on blood and consequence—towering curses, impossible choices, and deaths that redraw its world. From noble sacrifices to ruthless blindsides, we break down why each major loss hits harder than the last and why no fan favorite is safe.
Jujutsu Kaisen does not flinch. It swings hard, it breaks hearts, and it leaves bodies. The show pushes its world forward by putting real skin in the game, and the results are messy, tragic, and wildly entertaining. Below is a clean, ranked walk-through of the major deaths that shape the series. No fluff, no filler, just who died, how it happened, and why it mattered.
The deaths that change everything, ranked
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17. Naobito Zenin
The Zenin clan head and a top-tier speedster thanks to Projection Sorcery. He took charge, barked orders, and backed it up in a fight. During Shibuya, Dagon wrecked him first, then Jogo finished the job with flames that cooked him beyond recovery. He hung on for a bit, but the burns were fatal. -
16. Masamichi Yaga
Tokyo Jujutsu High’s principal and the creator of Panda, Yaga did the rare thing in this world: he mentored with empathy. The higher-ups sentenced him to death, and Gakuganji carried it out. A big loss, both practically and morally, for the school’s leadership. -
15. Naoya Zenin
Mean, smug, and obsessed with strength, Naoya made himself an easy character to root against. He barely survived Maki’s clan-wide payback, only for Maki’s mother to finish him off. Then he came back as a vengeful spirit in the Culling Game, because of course he did, and Maki finally exorcised him with a single, surgical sword strike. -
14. Riko Amanai
Chosen to merge with Tengen, Riko carried a cosmic burden with a sunny demeanor. Gojo and Geto protected her, bonded with her, and then Toji Fushiguro appeared and shot her in the head the moment she chose an ordinary life. That one move snapped Geto’s ideals in half and set him on the path to the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. -
13. Mai Zenin
Maki’s twin, complicated and resentful but deeply tied to her sister. Her technique could create objects at the cost of her own life force, which is why she’d only ever made one bullet. When the twins were imprisoned by their clan, Mai sacrificed herself, pouring her soul into forging a special weapon for Maki. She died peacefully beside her sister, and Maki answered by wiping out the Zenin clan. -
12. Jogo
A special grade curse who genuinely believed curses should run the show. He helped set the table for Shibuya, then challenged Sukuna and learned, brutally, where the ceiling really was. Sukuna toyed with him and erased him without breaking a sweat. -
11. Choso
One of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, he started as an enemy out for Yuji’s blood and pivoted to older-brother mode after realizing their connection. In the Culling Game’s endgame, he threw himself on the line to protect Yuji and the others. He raised a blood barrier, bought time, and paid with his life. A quietly devastating exit for a standout character. -
10. Rika Orimoto
Yuta Okkotsu’s childhood friend, whose love curdled into the Queen of Curses after she died in a car accident. Yuta’s grief bound her, fueled his growth, and nearly destroyed him. In Jujutsu Kaisen 0, he finally broke that binding. Rika moved on, but a vessel holding a piece of her cursed energy and techniques stayed with Yuta, which is why the Rika we see after is more like a persistent, terrifying toolkit than the tragic spirit herself. -
9. Master Tengen
The immortal barrier keeper holding Japan’s jujutsu infrastructure together. Their body drifted far from human over centuries, which is why they needed a vessel. Kenjaku targeted that system core, absorbed Tengen’s evolved, curse-like form using Cursed Spirit Manipulation, and folded it into a plan to force a global merger and turbocharge cursed energy evolution. Later, Sukuna undid that absorption, but the damage had already been done to the status quo. -
8. Toji Fushiguro
Megumi’s father, a legend who needed zero cursed energy to terrify sorcerers. Gojo killed him after the Riko Amanai job. In Shibuya, Ogami’s Seance technique yanked Toji’s body back by using her grandson as a vessel. He rampaged, met his son without realizing it at first, and when he did, he ended it himself. Messy, brutal, and very Toji. -
7. Yuki Tsukumo
One of only four special grades and eternally curious about how to solve the curse problem at the root. She went all-in against Kenjaku and got drilled through the torso by his Mini Uzumaki. Even so, she landed a last hit trying to take him with her. He survived by using Yuji’s mother’s innate technique, the Anti-Gravity System. Close, but not quite enough. -
6. Suguru Geto
Gojo’s closest friend turned ideological opposite. After seeing too much, he decided sorcerers should rule over non-sorcerers and made it his crusade. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 ends with his showdown against Yuta Okkotsu; Geto bleeds out afterward, shares a final conversation with Gojo, and it’s strongly implied Gojo ended his suffering for good. -
5. Kento Nanami
Salaryman energy, Grade 1 skill, and the mentor Yuji needed. In Shibuya, he fought Dagon and got wrecked, then was roasted half to ash by Jogo and still kept swinging, clearing out curses. Mahito finally cornered him and used Idle Transfiguration to detonate his body right in front of Yuji. Still hurts. -
4. Mahito
An unregistered special grade curse with a child’s curiosity and a sociopath’s values. Teamed up with Kenjaku and Jogo, dreamed of a world ruled by curses, and tormented Yuji nonstop during Shibuya. After a punishing tag team fight against Yuji and Aoi Todo, Mahito tried to bail. Yuji moved to finish him, but Kenjaku swooped in and absorbed him with Cursed Spirit Manipulation. -
3. Satoru Gojo
The strongest sorcerer alive, mentor to Nobara, Yuji, and Megumi, and the series’ ultimate safety net. After finally escaping the Prison Realm, he threw down with Sukuna in an all-timer of a battle. It lasted and it delivered, but in the end, Sukuna won and Gojo died. The shockwave from that loss re-shaped everything that followed. -
2. Kenjaku
The long-game puppeteer behind centuries of horror: body-hopping, curse-wrangling, and architect of the Culling Game. His last act was a bizarre, creative standoff with Fumihiko Takaba. Then Yuta Okkotsu dropped in, decapitated him, and that was effectively that. Kenjaku’s technique kept the body shambling for a moment, but there was no escape. Rika ate the head to copy his cursed technique for good measure. -
1. Ryomen Sukuna
The boogeyman of jujutsu: a thousand-year-old monster sorcerer, cruel, brilliant, and unstoppable. After hijacking Megumi’s body, he got even worse and mowed down a horrifying number of heavy hitters. In the end, Yuji Itadori put him down, pulling off Domain Expansion, mastering Black Flash, and using Reverse Cursed Technique. Sukuna’s soul separated from Megumi’s body, and Megumi came back. Yes, that is the biggest swing the series has ever taken.
That’s the list. Which death rattled you the most? Drop your pick below.
Quick watch info
Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen
Creator: Gege Akutami
Seasons: 2 (Season 3 arrives January 8, 2026)
IMDb: 8.5/10
MyAnimeList: 8.53/10
Streaming: Crunchyroll