Jujutsu Kaisen: What Is Momotetsu & Why Is It Important to Gojo?

Gege Akutami, the author of Jujutsu Kaisen, is known for putting in a lot of pop-culture references in his magnum opus, a lot of which are, of course, related to contemporary culture. We’ve already talked about the OPP and Digimon references here on Fiction Horizon, but the third episode of Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen provided us with yet another pop-culture reference. This time, the reference was related to a popular Japanese video game franchise, Momotaro Dentetsu, which is not really popular outside of Japan, but now that Gojo has mentioned it, we wanted to tell you what it is and why Gojo referred to it.

In Episode 3, Satoru Gojo said that he has played a total of 99 years in MomoTetsu, which is the abbreviated name of the Momotaro Dentetsu video game franchise that has been present in the Japanese market since 1988 and has been released on several consoles. It is a board game-style video game in which the player has to commute around the world of the game in order to increase their wealth by doing business and buying land. It is a popular franchise in Japan, although it is not as popular outside of its home country.

Pop culture references in Jujutsu Kaisen are nothing strange, and in this article, we will elaborate on the most recent one, as far as the anime is concerned (it was featured in the manga a while ago, though). Non-Japanese fans of the series might have been confused by the MomoTetsu reference made by Gojo in Episode 3, which is why we have decided to fully clarify it and reveal all the details you need to know about the reference and the actual game behind it. Some spoilers will be present, so be careful how you approach the article.

MomoTetsu is short for Momotaro Dentetsu, a popular video game franchise in Japan

After Gojo, Geto, and Riko saved Kuroi from the kidnappers in Okinawa, they decided to spend the day there to relax and have a little fun, as the recent events had been quite stressful for the 14-year-old Riko.

While there, they had a lot of fun, and seeing how happy Riko was, Satoru Gojo ultimately suggested that they should remain in Okinawa for an extra day so that Riko could have a bit more fun before her planned merger with Master Tengen. Geto was a bit surprised, and as he discussed everything with Gojo, he asked him whether he was too exhausted. Namely, Gojo had failed to use his ultimate technique, and since then, he had not gotten any rest, which worried Geto.

But, Gojo being Gojo, he simply brushed that off, telling his friend that he was okay and that he was there, which is why Gojo did not worry. But, Gojo also compared his exhaustion to a video game, claiming that playing 99 years in MomoTetsu was much harder than anything he had been doing the last couple of days. Okay, what is MomoTetsu? We know that Gege Akutami likes to place pop-culture references in his work, but – what is MomoTetsu?

Well, it is no surprise that Western fans of the series had no idea about MomoTetsu as the series, while quite popular in Japan, is basically unknown outside of Japan and has no cult following like some other Japanese products. So, MomoTetsu is the abbreviated name of Momotaro Dentetsu, a long-running Japanese video game franchise that has been around since 1988.

Hudson Soft initially produced it but has been owned by Konami since 2012. The series is a board game-style video game where the played uses different means of transportation (plane, train, boat) to travel around the world and become wealthy; the player does that by doing business around the world and buying land while – at the same time – clashing against rivals and an archenemy known as the God of Poverty. A lot of players compared the mechanics to that of Monopoly.

As of 2023, a total of 24 console games have been revealed:

1. Momotaro Dentetsu (1988)
2. Super Momotaro Dentetsu (1989)
3. Super Momotaro Dentetsu II (1991)
4. Super Momotaro Dentetsu III (1994)
5. Super Momotaro Dentetsu 3 (1995)
6. Super Momotaro Dentetsu DX (1995)
7. Momotaro Dentetsu HAPPY (1996)
8. Momotaro Dentetsu 7 (1997)
9. Momotaro Dentetsu jr.: Zenkoku Ramen Meguri no Maki (1998)
10. Momotaro Dentetsu V (1999)
11. Momotaro Dentetsu X: Kyushu Version (2001)
12. Momotaro Dentetsu 11: Black Bombee Arrives (2002)
13. Momotaro Dentetsu 12: All Aboard for Western Japan! (2003)
14. Momotaro Dentetsu USA (2004)
15. Momotaro Dentetsu G: Make a Gold Deck! (2005)
16. Momotaro Dentetsu 15: Godai Bombi Toujou! No Maki (2005)
17. Momotaro Dentetsu 16: Moving in Hokkaido! (2007)
18. Momotaro Dentetsu 16 GOLD (2007)
19. Momotaro Dentetsu DS: TOKYO & JAPAN (2007)
20. Momotaro Dentetsu 20th Anniversary (2008)
21. Momotaro Dentetsu 2010: Sengoku Ishin no Hero Daishūgō! No Maki (2009)
22. Momotaro Dentetsu Tag Match: Yūjō Doryoku Shōri No Maki (2010)
23. Momotaro Dentetsu World (2010)
24. Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!! (2016)
25. Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa Mo Teiban! (2020)
26. Momotaro Dentetsu World: Chikyuu wa Kibou de Mawatteru! (2023)

On top of that, numerous mobile games have also been released, which speaks about the franchise’s popularity in Japan more than anything else. But, as we’ve said, the series is virtually unknown in the West, so if you’ve actually caught this reference without the need for an explanation, we must congratulate you, as this is a truly obscure reference, but knowing both Akutami and Gojo, it makes complete sense, just as the OPP and Digimon references had a lot of sense before.

So, how is Momotaro Dentetsu related to this? Well, we assume playing Momotaro Dentetsu to the limit is not as easy… it seems that the game has a 99-year limit (which makes sense, as the number 99 or 999 is often a certain limit in video games), and if Gojo wanted to do it, playing all the 99 years without losing is a difficult task for sure and when Gojo said that it was an exhausting one as well, we actually believe it him.

It was probably not as difficult as the fights he was in, as they significantly drained his energy, but we don’t think that beating a game in such a way is so – kudos for that!

And with this, the reference itself is explained. We now know what it means, why it was said, and how it fits into the scene in which it was mentioned. These references are rarely, if ever, truly important for the story, but they add a lot of flavor to the story, as well as Gojo’s characterization, which is why it is always a pleasure explaining them.

We also wanted to add that Gojo severely underplayed his exhaustion, as it was so relevant that Toji managed to use it to slip past Gojo’s special technique and stab him with a sword, so comparing the mission to protect Riko with a game wasn’t the best comparison he ever had, but knowing Gojo, he is certainly going to come back and do what is needed to defeat Toji.