Jujutsu Kaisen: Nobara’s Unexpected Comeback is a Terrible Plot Twist

Despite confirming that Nobara is still alive, Jujutsu Kaisen has delivered one of the worst plot twists in its story. Here’s why.

In the 267th chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen, Nobara Kugisaki returns to deliver the final strike against the King of Curses. If you don’t recall, Nobara was a first year student at Jujutsu Tech High who was defeated by the cruel Mahito during the Shibuya Incident Arc.

Despite the occasional mention of her, Nobara’s status has remained a mystery since the battle and we have grown more certain of her death. The manga rarely brings her up.

Despite her unexpected return and significant involvement in the ultimate battle against the King of Curses, her death continues to be considered one of the most disappointing plot twists in JJK.

The Events Surrounding Nobara in Shibuya

Despite being warned by Nanami, an experienced first-grade sorcerer, Nobara chooses to stay on the battlefield and continue fighting Mahito. However, her determination is short-lived as she soon realizes that she won’t survive after being struck by Mahito’s attack.

Despite Arata’s warning not to get too hopeful, he still took her to receive emergency treatment from Shoko, known as the best Reverse Cursed Technique user in the series. This shows that there was still a possibility for her survival.

Jujutsu Kaisen rarely focused on Nobara’s character development after the Shibuya incident.

Despite supposedly being dead, Nobara’s role as part of the main trio became insignificant after the events in Shibuya. Over the course of the next four years, she was only mentioned three times in the story.

In Chapter 144, Yuji inquires about Nobara from Megumi, but the latter chooses to remain silent. This leads Yuji to believe that Nobara may have passed away, causing him genuine distress. However, in Chapter 211, Yuji displays rude behavior towards Hana Kurusu. When Megumi questions his actions, Yuji explains that he is afraid of Hana filling the void left by Nobara.

In the panel, we catch a glimpse of Nobara smiling, but that’s all. The next time she appears is in Chapter 265, as Yuji recalls her along with Gojo, Junpei, Choso, Nanami, and his grandfather. It is disappointing that Gege Akutami did not include her in the story until the very end, especially given how crucial she was to the main characters.

The Underwhelming Return of Nobara in Jujutsu Kaisen

Nobara and Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen — Shueisha

If Nobara had returned a little earlier, her comeback would have been more thrilling. However, she only makes an appearance in Chapter 267, right before the manga ends in Chapter 271. This leaves her with very limited time to make any significant contributions, as she only gets to use one move against the villain as a mere plot device. By this point in the story, the plot had already progressed to a point where her presence was not essential.

In Chapter 265, Yuji is certain that he can defeat Sukuna on his own. Despite being at his limit and lacking strength, the villain is almost defeated. However, Megumi and Nobara still offered their assistance to Yuji. Therefore, he did not feel the need to assure them that he could defeat the villain.

Despite gaining a significant amount of strength and even mastering the pinnacle of Jujutsu sorcery, a Domain Expansion, Yuji’s growth ultimately falls short when he is unable to fulfill his promises.

In addition, it should be noted that a character who was previously thought to be deceased makes a sudden return and delivers the final strike. This is due to Nobara’s Resonance, which played a crucial role in enabling Yuji to repeatedly attack in Chapter 267.

Nobara Returning Early Would Be a Better Choice

Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi in Jujutsu Kaisen — Gege Akutami/MAPPA

The concept of characters returning from presumed death is not uncommon in Shonen manga, particularly when their demise was never officially confirmed. However, it should be noted that she regained consciousness 30 minutes prior to using Resonance. If Gege had chosen to revive her sooner, the battle would not have been as prolonged.

Although Gojo’s desire to face Sukuna alone is reasonable, it must be acknowledged that the rest of the group also made sacrifices in order to defeat the King of Curses. Higuruma and Choso lost their lives and Yuta barely managed to survive by utilizing Kenjaku’s technique. The outcome of Yuta’s situation remains uncertain.

Therefore, it would have been beneficial to have her join the fight earlier; however, the fight unnecessarily dragged on. For more than a year, Jujutsu Kaisen solely focused on the fight without any developments in the plot. Gege made the decision to reintroduce her much later, only to have her use one attack and nothing else.

Despite being no match for the King of Curses, she managed to outwit him by working together with others and using Resonance to bind his finger, making it a clever writing decision.

This implies that her character lacked a purpose after her time in Shibuya and only had one function upon her return. While her comeback was not a poor choice, the execution does not allow for any growth in Nobara’s character.

The release date for the final chapter of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, which will be ending in a few weeks, can be found here.