#combined with the shinjuku showdown scenes

[gojonanami]

I’m just always crying over gojo satoru

And that’s not gonna change

[rmorde]

Now that I got more time to think about it combined with the realization that Gojo has actually been sacrificing selflessly all this time, the Shinjuku Showdown is starting to make sense.

There was a subtle development in both Gojo and Sukuna's attitudes over the course of their fight. The expositions just cut in between.

STAGE 1: Chapters 223-225

At the onset, Gojo considers this as a battle for the sake of everyone depending on him despite his jovial attitude and seemingly careless comments regarding Megumi's wellbeing. He is taking it really seriously.

Meanwhile, Sukuna is extremely dismissive of his opponent. He even went as far as calling Gojo a nameless fish. ---> Gojo was fighting selflessly. He was not supposed to have fun here. He needed to be practical and careful to win while keeping Megumi alive. ---> Sukuna sees that and is annoyed by it which results in his condescension. The pinnacle of sorcery is being selfish. A sorcerer must not care about anything and his opponent is faking it. He is insulted.

*This is also reminiscent of Gojo vs Toji Round 1. Why did Gojo lose? He lacks concentration and selfishness. He took on Toji alone to protect Amanai.

STAGE 1.5: Chapter 226

This is when Gojo started to forget fighting selflessly. This is the moment when he is starting to have fun and become selfish. He pushed himself into new heights by risking it all with the RCT healing his CT strategy.

Another thing are the notes in Chapters.

225: "The barrier of the Strongest shattered. His savage blade breaks the unbreakable." 226: "Sukuna's blade reaches Gojo."

I think these are working metaphorically as well. Gojo's Infinity is symbolic of his isolation from people. Sukuna breaking through it meant a change in Gojo's worldview - he is not alone anymore because someone can now reach him.

Gojo found an equal and was elated by it enough to start being playful without a care in the world.

Perhaps this is what the note meant in the end "Common sense won't prevail in this battle of the strongest."

Sukuna was already fighting using his instincts to satisfy himself. He wants to experiment and learn. He desires to be entertained with something new. For these reasons, he fights without common sense by refusing to use his full arsenal against Gojo.

I guess the video game comparison is not far off. Sukuna sees Gojo as a shiny new AAA game and he wants to speedrun him with limited weapons.

As for Gojo, he has only now let go of logic and careful selflessness. He is finally indulging to his instincts in getting pleasure for himself in reckless selfishness. The reason? He is no longer alone. There is finally someone who can stand beside him - fill the hole Suguru left in his heart.

I think this is the turning point for Gojo. This is the chapter when he starts empathizing with Sukuna.

STAGE 2: Chapters 227-229

Cutting out the exposition scenes, the mood in the fight feels different now. It feels like an intense gameplay instead between two rivals in a finale of a sports manga/anime.

There is banter between Gojo and Sukuna. Gojo is becoming more of a show-off. Sukuna is smiling a lot more even when he gets seriously beaten up. They are both having fun together because of each other.

However, while Gojo empathizes with Sukuna, he is still not too far gone. He still remembers his original objective. He was still able to pull himself back by thinking of Yuji. He wants to get back at Sukuna for the sake of his students - a selfless act.

This stage could have also been the turning point for Sukuna. This is when he realize Gojo may not be someone he should dismiss easily since he is adapting too quickly for him to study and beat with his own abilities. Hence, he finally used 10S and called Mahoraga. He needed a "hack" to accomplish his "speedrun". Maybe for Sukuna, forcing him to cheat is actually a sign of strength worthy of respect?

STAGE 2.5: Chapters 230

This is where things get interesting. In Chapter 230, Sukuna started a conversation with Gojo. I might even dare say that he is lecturing him. It's not something an antagonist should do, doesn't it? But he takes his time to explain himself and Gojo's condition before capping it off with "This is goodbye... but you turn out to be painfully ordinary."

I think, Sukuna immediately saw Gojo slipping back to his sacrificial nature. His opponent is prioritizing someone else again. In his eyes, Gojo's head is not in the fight again. He stopped being selfish which is being boring. Sukuna was disappointed.

That conversation may have been Gojo's doom. Sukuna could be perceived as vulnerable there - even lonely, because he sounded like he finally found an equal but Gojo fell short from his expectations.

But then the full effect of UV hit. The fight is still on. However, the damage is done.

Even tho he mentioned his students, when Gojo promises that he would show off, I believe he meant that it would be a performance for Sukuna to enjoy too - a promise that made the King of Curses smile like the rest of the students.

This is when Gojo ultimately decided to just be selfish from now on. He would just fight to his heart's content and look cool for as long as he can.

SIDENOTE: Why does the entire Shinjuku Showdown starting to look like a seduction/temptation of Gojo by Sukuna on hindsight?! WTF?!

STAGE 3: Chapters 231-235

This is basically STAGE 2 but even more unrestrained and devoid of any logic, common sense, and selflessness. There are more smiles and playful banter. Just two strong fighters indulging in battle.

Even the audience takes note of Gojo's change in behavior and worried if he had forgotten Megumi. To which, Kashimo said "Let him [forget Megumi]." because he understands what is happening. Selfishness is allowing Gojo to reach his full potential as a sorcerer. This is peak battle of sorcery. Nothing else matters now.

To us the readers and the audience in-universe, this is a scary battle for the sake of the world - it's life and death. Hence, Yuta's willingness to intervene. His instincts are telling him his teacher is in danger.

For Kashimo, Sukuna, and now Gojo, it is a once in a lifetime battle - it's a grand finale of a magical tournament. It's an intimate duel which is why Kashimo was pissed when Yuta attempted to help and comment on how modern sorcerers are so "dense" that they missed the point of the fight.

Again the notes are really interesting.

232: "That sword encroaches upon his life." 233: "The hand of the devil finally reached him. Gojo pushed to the brink."

On the surface, the notes are referring to Mahoraga. It can be interpreted as Sukuna himself too. He pulled Gojo into his orbit/level. He made the Six Eyes user indulge into his desires - enjoying sorcery to its fullest and completely forgetting everything else.

Sukuna took over Gojo's entire life in this battle. He reached Gojo and pushed him towards greater heights - exactly like Toji did after beating Gojo. Sukuna made Gojo "high" - again like Toji did for their Round 2 fight.

"High" Gojo/Enlightened Gojo has a completely different mindset from Teacher Gojo:

"I'm really sorry, Amanai [Megumi, Yuji, etc.]. I'm not angry on your behalf. I don't hate anyone. All I'm feeling right now is the pleasantness of this world."

This extremely selfish version of Gojo gave Sukuna the best ever show/experience he got in over a thousand years which led to the "controversial" ending.

END: Chapter 236

Looking back to on this arc, again if we cut away all the expositions and comments from the rest of the cast, everything was lined up perfectly actually.

Sukuna wants something different. He thought Gojo couldn't deliver at first but he got more than what he bargained for which was a lot of fun for him. Gojo is no longer a "nameless fish" for him. Instead, he would be a person he would never forget.

Gojo went in selflessly - the first line of defense for his students and their hopeful savior. However, this mindset held him back until he gave in to his desires to simply revel in his power and reach out to someone similar to him. He died while he was "high" aka "one with the world".

I guess... we can look at the situation in two ways:

Sukuna seduced/tempted Gojo towards selfishness. Gojo "fell" and died because of it.

Sukuna inspired Gojo to let go of all his attachments and embrace selfishness to become "more".

The Shinjuku Showdown is sort of a parallel to the beginning Gojo's journey as a character.

In Hidden Inventory, Toji "enlightened" Gojo towards the heavens but Gojo "went back to earth" with Suguru's help. However, his "return to earth" brought him nothing but the pain of loneliness as the strongest. He was chained down by duty and sacrifice.

In Shinjuku, Sukuna "enlightened" Gojo once more but he didn't allow him to "return to earth". He cut Gojo while he was "in heaven" or "in a different realm/reality". And so, Gojo dies feeling happy and free with no regrets. His "earthly" attachments were cut off or dulled which resulted to his behavior in the Afterlife Airport.