Highlights
- Nobara's death in the Shibuya arc left fans devastated and hoping for her return in the future of Jujutsu Kaisen.
- While her death was unexpected and lacked substance, there is still a chance for Nobara to make a comeback, potentially stronger than ever before.
- Nobara's return would not only provide consolation for fans who have lost other beloved characters, but also play a crucial role in guiding and supporting protagonist Yuji in his journey to change the world order.
Jujutsu Kaisen is currently in one of the most intense arcs in the entire series, the Culling Game. This arc has been going on for quite a while now and, given the premise of it, fans were expecting some major fights and that is exactly what was delivered. However, not every major character in the story is taking part in this game.
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There are some who ended up not taking part, for one reason or another, and, of course, others, who ended up dying just before it. Nobara is one such character and her death is still something that haunts the fans to this day. Of course, the good thing is that there is still hope for her to return in the future and fans are desperately clinging to it.
Nobara's Introduction To The Story
Nobara was introduced in the story quite early. As one of the three main characters, it was quite clear for the fans to see that her story would be explored in great depth as the plot moved forward. At the beginning of the story, Nobara was treated very well by the author. She received her powerful moments and, at the same time, bits about her story were being explored as well. Nobara formed a great bond with the likes of Yuji, Megumi, and Gojo and certainly found herself getting stronger as well. She fought some very powerful foes and by putting her life on the line, she got stronger.
While she was certainly not as important to the story as the likes of Yuji and Megumi, fans still expected her to gain more important roles as the story progressed. Often, shonen anime and manga see to it that the main female character gets left behind. At the beginning of JJK, that was not the case. However, as the story progressed, the patterns started appearing and, once again, fans were treated to what could be one of the worst treatments that any female lead has received in a story.
Nobara's Death In Shibuya
Just like the vast majority of the sorcerers, Nobara also took part in the war in Shibuya on October 31st. After Gojo was sealed away, it was up to the sorcerers to help rescue him and fight against the curses and the curse users who were responsible for it. Of course, Nobara was also at the center of everything. While her role was not as interesting as the likes of Yuji, she did put up quite a fight and fans were excited to see her take on powerful enemies at first. That is precisely when things went south for her as she came across Mahito.
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Fans already knew Mahito to be incredibly powerful and even first-grade sorcerers could not defeat him alone. Ever since the first few arcs of the story, Mahito had only grown stronger and, at this point, there was absolutely no hope for Nobara in this fight. The only thing that gave the fans hope was the fact that Mahito had split himself up. One of his bodies was fighting against Yuji while the other was taking on Nobara. Still, a match-up against him was very bad for her, and in a very shocking manner, Nobara ended up losing her life when she was hit with Idle Transfiguration, the powerful cursed technique of Mahito to manipulate the soul and, with that, the shape of the bodies of his targets. In the end, Nobara ended up being used as a tool to fuel Yuji's rage. All the great potential that her character carried crumbled.
Nobara's Return – Is Nobara Still Alive?
When Nobara was hit with Idle Transfiguration, fans were made to believe that she had died on the spot. However, that is exactly when Todo arrived on the battlefield. With him came help and Nobara was healed to an extent. It was also made clear that there was still a tiny bit of hope left for her. After the events of Shibuya wrapped up, Yuji inquired Megumi about her fate and he did not respond at all. Yuji took it to mean that she was dead, however, an exact confirmation of her death was never provided to the fans. That said, the implication was quite clear. The fact that she has not shown up in the story in around 100 chapters now is also a clear indication that she is not around anymore.
However, there might still be hope for her. Nobara could very well have survived and gotten a part of her face messed up. As long as her brain was okay, losing a part of her face would not matter much. Of course, it is quite easy for the author to simply just kill her off and never mention her in the story again. However, one absolutely cannot deny the fact that her death felt incredibly off and had no substance behind it. The fight against Mahito was certainly fun, however, the conclusion of the character arc of Nobara was certainly lacking in many ways.
Perhaps, the reason why she has stayed away in the series for so long is because she has had to train her body in order to get used to her new handicap. Nobara has certainly lost quite a lot and, potentially, weakened tremendously. To make up for that, it is possible that she stayed away until she could make up for that and return once again, stronger than ever before.
Nobara Role In The Future Of Jujutsu Kaisen
There is hope for Nobara to return in the future of the story. While the Culling Game is going on, fans know that any player can enter and become a participant themselves. This means Nobara can be entered into the competition as well, if she is still around and the author has plans for her. This would be a very interesting twist that the fans would absolutely love, given the horrible treatment that her character was given. This would also be some consolation for the fans, who have recently also lost Gojo, after he fought against Sukuna in a very difficult battle. The return of Nobara would mean that the next generation of sorcerers are still intact and the ones who will be responsible for changing the world order once and for all.
At the moment, Yuji is alone and he cannot do everything by himself. There are those who need to guide him and who need to help him as well. Nobara can certainly play this role magnificently. At the same time, she has her own dreams and goals that she wants to fulfill. Given how her story concluded, fans were left with a sour taste in their mouths. There is a need for her character to return in order for her story to finish properly and fans can only hope that Gege does give her the opportunity to become a well-written character and one that is remembered for years to come.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of JJK, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 238, is set to be October 8, 2023.
