Highlights

• Nobara's death in JJK was unexpected, but her return is still possible, leaving fans hopeful for her return in the story.
• The fact that Nobara's death was never explicitly confirmed in the series increases the possibility of her survival and return in future chapters.
• If Nobara were to return, she could play a crucial role in the battle against Sukuna, given her ability to damage enemies' souls, making her valuable to the story.

Nobara Kugisaki was one of the main characters in JJK right at the beginning. Alongside Yuji and Megumi, she was part of the main trio of the series that fans followed, under the guidance of none other than Gojo Satoru, the strongest sorcerer. Nobara was on her way to becoming one of the strongest sorcerers of the modern era, however, her journey JJK was, unfortunately, cut short. This is because Gege loves to kill off his characters, regardless of how it affects the plot, as he himself has explained before.

Sometimes, this isn't the smartest decision and leaves a lot of character arcs incomplete. Nobara's character arc was certainly far from complete, and fans were utterly devastated to learn that she would no longer be involved in the story going forward. However, the door for her return is still open, now more than ever.

Nobara's death in JJK

Nobara lost her life to Mahito in Shibuya

Nobara has been in many battles in Jujutsu Kaisen since the beginning of the series. This doesn't come as a surprise to fans, given that it's a story heavily focused on combat. In fact, it could be said that JJK is much more battle-focused than most Shonen out there, which is a blessing in many ways, but also a curse in some others. For Nobara, she had plenty of opportunities to show off early on in the series, and she did so effortlessly on many occasions. Nobara, as well as the other two characters in the main trio, Yuji and Megumi, grew consistently with each passing arc.

However, in the end, things didn't go as fans expected for this character. In the Shibuya Incident Arc, Nobara met her end. This was an unexpected turn of events in the series, and one that left fans completely shocked, given how important this character was to the plot. The Shibuya Incident arc gave fans their first glimpse of Gege Akutami unleashing his inner monster. He began killing characters left, right, and center, and Nobara also ended up getting caught in the vortex. Just as the battle between Yuji and Mahito was getting intense, Nobara also joined the fray. At this point, Mahito split in two.

I will bring her corpse to Yuji Itadori and destroy her soul!

One part of him was fighting Yuji, while the other was fighting Nobara herself. The one fighting Nobara couldn't use the power of Idle Transfiguration, so it was at a disadvantage against her, as her techniques directly targeted an individual's soul using Resonance, making it a perfect counter to Mahito. Realizing the threat she posed, the other half of Mahito began to run towards the main body fighting Yuji, and switched places. Essentially, Nobara, who was chasing Mahito at that moment, didn't realize that the switch had happened and was hit by Idle Transfiguration when she least expected it.

With a single palm strike, Mahito was able to destroy the left side of Nobara's face, essentially rendering her dead. This shocked Yuji to the core, and at the same time, fans were left in disbelief as well. Fans even got a small flashback of Nobara after this, which pretty much solidified the fact that she had died. However, even after suffering this traumatic injury, there is still hope for this character, against all odds.

Why Nobara's return is still possible

Nobara's death was never openly declared to have happened.

The first thing that fans need to keep in mind is that Nobara's death was never explicitly confirmed in the series. Nobara suffered a very serious injury and it is highly likely that she died. However, the chances of her surviving this event still exist and this is due to the fact that her death was never confirmed. When Nobara was hit by this powerful technique, it was immediately clear that there was a small hope for her and that she would receive treatment immediately. However, what also became clear to Yuji was the fact that nothing was absolutely certain. After Aoi Todo and Yuji collaborated to defeat Mahito, and the Shibuya Incident arc ended, Yuji found out from Megumi that Nobara did not survive.

Ever since I joined you, I've been afraid that she will replace Kugisaki.

Instead, it would be more accurate to say that Megumi feigned silence at this point, which, once again, only implied that Nobara had died. However, proper confirmation of her death was never provided to fans. Megumi never said that Nobara is essentially dead, nor did any other character in the series. While the implication was certainly that Nobara died, the author could easily be misleading fans here, setting Nobara up for a big return later on.

This is truer now than ever. In the previous chapter of JJK, Todo returned to battle. Now, Todo's case is a bit different from Nobara's. For one, fans know that Todo was alive and well after Shibuya. The only thing he supposedly lost was the power to use Boogie Woogie, as he himself mentioned back then. However, in the previous chapter of JJK, Todo entered the battlefield with Boogie Woogie intact, stating that he began to feel the heartbeat of the cursed technique again.

Essentially, this also sets up Nobara's return to the story. If Todo, who was also hit by Idle Transfiguration, managed to survive, then so did Nobara. Granted, her injuries were more severe and could have easily led to her death, but if her injury somehow managed to not be fatal, then there is absolutely a chance that she could have survived and honed her powers since then. When it comes to the possibility of Nobara surviving, it certainly exists, and that is something that no fan of the series can deny.

In fact, Nobara's return to the story now makes a lot of sense. This is because she would be of great help in the battle against Sukuna. Fans know that Nobara has the power to directly damage the souls of her enemies. This is an ability she has in common with Yuji, who has punches that can damage the soul of his enemy. Nobara can do something similar with her blows. This is precisely why Mahito feared her to a certain extent and why she would be fundamental in the battle against Sukuna. If Todo made it to this battle, Nobara can too and there is nothing stopping her other than the author himself.

Of course, the question of whether Nobara should return or not is a completely different matter. Even if she did return at this point in the story, the sad thing is that she would have missed more than half of the series and her character progression would be very lazy and cheaply written. It would be a cool moment, and that goes without saying. However, it certainly wouldn't make her a well-written character and that aspect should be taken into consideration as well.

Jujutsu Kaisen is available to read from Viz Media. The series can be read by fans officially and for free in Shonen Jump and Manga Plus application. The release date for the next chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen, JJK chapter 260, is set for May 19, 2024.