Despite her being presumably dead for over 140 chapters, Nobara Kugisaki has remained one of the fan-favorite characters in Jujutsu Kaisen. Fans never strayed away from the idea of her returning to the series, as she is the beloved tritagonist alongside Itadori and Megumi. Gege made this dream a reality in Jujutsu Kaisen manga chapter 267. Thus, if you are curious to know how Nobara survived in the first place and made a comeback, keep reading.
Spoilers Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers about Nobara Kugisaki’s character in Jujutsu Kaisen. Thus, make sure to read the manga (up to the latest chapter) in order to avoid ruining your intended experience.
Mahito Killed Nobara During the Shibuya Incident
Before we learn how Nobara rewrote her fate and came back from the dead, here is a quick recap of the events that left her in such a terminal state. Similar to other Jujutsu High sorcerers, Nobara was also present during the Shibuya Incident. In her desperate attempt to take a huge win back home for the sorcerers’ team by defeating Mahito, Nobara was outsmarted by him.
Mahito caught her off-guard by switching places with his clone, and he delivered a fatal strike to Nobara’s face using his idle transfiguration cursed technique. It was a clean hit that ruptured half of Nobara’s face and made her lose her left eye. As a result, Nobara collapsed to the ground and it seemed that Nobara ran out of time and luck.
For a long time, numerous indirect confirmations made us think she got killed by Mahito, however, Nobara’s death was never mentioned by Gege Akutami directly in any instance until chapter 265. In that chapter, Nobara appeared in a dedicated panel in the list of Yuji’s closest people who lost their lives. Nevertheless, Gege Akutami cleverly deceived us for a long time until her return later in the finale.
How Did Nobara Survive a Lethal Blow in Jujutsu Kaisen?
Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration is a scary cursed technique that can obliterate anyone with a simple touch. We have seen Mahito kill characters such as Junpei, Nanami, etc. in an instant. So, Nobara taking a direct hit to her face is not at all a small injury to easily recover from. So, she indeed got a grave gash on her face, which seemed incurable at first.
But fans should be thankful to Arata Nitta, the younger brother of Akari Nitta. If you remember well, as Todo came to Yuji’s rescue in his battle against Mahito, Nitta was also present in the same scene. Arata confirmed that he used his Pain Killer technique to treat Nobara’s fatal wounds. Now, Akutami sensei didn’t showcase or explain the complete recovery journey of Nobara later in the finale.
After treating Nobara after Mahito’s attack in the subway station, Arata remarked that she had no pulse and wasn’t breathing; nevertheless, he applied his technique and claimed the odds of her surviving this deadly injury were very slim back then. However, we now know that his timely arrival and treatment were one of the reasons Nobara survived. We still don’t know much about Nobara’s recovery but is alive and kicking with a sick-ass eyepatch.
Anyhow, it is intended that Nobara was taken back to the Tokyo Jujutsu High and was treated by Shoko as she was in a comatose state. After that, Nobara was there healing for a long time, and she missed out on most of the major incidents during the Shinjuku Showdown. However, as soon as she woke up from her coma, she made sure to help our hero, Itadori Yuji.
Thus, she used her resonance technique in the last remaining finger of Sukuna to obliterate his soul and remarkably helped Yuji secure a win in his fierce battle against Sukuna. This also led to the OG Jujutsu Kaisen trio, i.e, Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara, reuniting in the latest manga chapter.
That said, do you think bringing back Nobara is a good decision by the author or not? Let us know in the comments below.
Aparna Ukil
