Nobara Kugisaki Gets Her Moment in Jujutsu Kaisen 

In a series where characters like Yuji Itadori and Satoru Gojo routinely steal the show, Jujutsu Kaisen’s Nobara Kugisaki doesn’t always get a chance to stand out. Considering the events of the Shibuya Incident Arc and chapters leading up to the series’ conclusion in September 2024, I was honestly pissed! I love who she is and her signature Straw Doll Technique. It seemed like Gege Akutami was about to do her wrong. Fortunately, chapter 267 of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga pulled Nobara Kugisaki into the spotlight.

Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen up through chapter 268.

Nobara always had drive and ambition in Jujutsu Kaisen. From the very beginning, we see her determination. She got out of her small town and reached Tokyo, determined to reunite with her friend Saori and get out of that village. She pushes herself and shows she’s as strong as Megumi Fushiguro and Yuji. Perhaps even at times she’s even more unwavering. After all, she used her Straw Doll technique nails on herself to help defeat Eso and Kechizu during the Death Painting Arc and how she went after Mahito during the Shibuya Incident Arc.

It was at that point that I felt like Akutami decided to make an example of Nobara. After all, it’s going after Mahito that resulted in what seemed to be her demise. In chapters 124, 125, and 126, we see the results of her ignoring Kento Nanami’s directive to stay and wait to be rescued. She’s determined to do as much as people like Yuji are, and chases down one of Mahito’s doubles. For a while, it works! She reunites with Yuji, and their combined forces make it seem like they have a chance. Mahito touches her, unleashing Idle Transfiguration. We see her lose an eye, potentially more, in the process, and then she just… disappears.

I don’t mean literally. Figuratively. Akutami just… doesn’t talk about her again. It felt wrong. I hated it. Nobara was an important part of the Tokyo Jujutsu High “team.” Her Straw Doll Technique was an incredible idea, given how she could use damage done to the doll with nails and her hammer. There were so many more great applications of that and her Hairpin technique that we could have seen used in unusual ways during fights. Especially since her fearless nature and passion meant she would consider doing damage to herself if it meant succeeding against her enemy. Moreover, the fact that it happened and she was just gone, never brought up again, didn’t seem right. We didn’t have that proper closure.

So chapter 267 of Jujutsu Kaisen was an absolute delight. Seeing Nobara alive was an absolute joy. Especially considering we had no idea what happened and Yuji and Megumi are already in dire straights due to Ryomen Sukuna. But then seeing Yuji is missing two fingers instead of one, and that everyone all along had been counting on Nobara to wake up and use her Straw Doll Technique to again be part of the solution to cut Sukuna down, was priceless. Watching her Resonance hit him was so satisfying. “You better be happy, boys!” Akutami, you have no idea.

Of course, this is Jujutsu Kaisen, and Akutami is still putting us through the ringer as it draws to a close. So things naturally get harrowing in chapter 268. We get to see the three first-years reunite! Megumi is fighting back against Sukuna’s possession and influence. Yuji is there. Nobara is assisting in the fight. However, we also see Sukuna hit back, with Nobara once again falling victim of a harrowing Jujutsu Kaisen foe. The nail she used on Yuji’s finger backfires and go straight into her own forehead, exposing the Mahito wound in the process. It’s a shocking, stark parallel to watch happened to her before. However, we see her rebound and, alongside Yuji and Megumi, succeed. I found it an amazing parallel to the events of 126. It’s clearly similarly life threatening! However, this time her own power and awareness, as well as that of others, meant things went right when it mattered most.

What will eventually happen to Nobara Kugisaki, as well as Yuji, Megumi, and the rest of the cast of Jujutsu Kaisen, remains to be seen. After all, we have until the end of September 2024 until the manga ends. But at least we have this major moment for her in chapter 267! There was this point of redemption for her, and perhaps for Gege Akutami as well. Rather than being someone forgotten while her classmates got to go on to greater strengths and notoriety, we got to be reminded of how critical and amazing she was yet again.

Viz Media handles the Jujutsu Kaisen manga outside Japan. You can also read it on MangaPlus. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.