Warning: Contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen chapters #265-#267.One of the biggest points of contention in theJujutsu Kaisenmanga has been the ambiguity of whetherNobarais dead or alive. The Shibuya Incident arc ended with a heavy emphasis on how there was a small chance she was still alive after Mahito’s attack, but there has yet to be a direct statement on anything surrounding her fate in the four years to follow.
Nobara’s fate inJujutsu Kaisenhas been a major question for years, but it might have finally been resolved.Jujutsu Kaisenchapter #265 initially seemed to confirm that Nobara died in theShibuya Incident arcby how she was contrasted with other dead characters in the series, but in a surprising twist,Jujutsu Kaisenchapter #267 revealed that Nobara really was alive the entire time.
How that came to be is easy enough to explain, and while it doesn’t erase all the problems with Nobara’s handling, it still made for a great twist inJujutsu Kaisen’s final act.
How Jujutsu Kaisen Hid Nobara’s Death
Jujutsu Kaisenchapter #265 was focused primarily onYuji using his Domain Expansionto try appealing to Sukuna’s emotions one more time before killing him, and part of that involved Yuji talking about how he’s realized the importance of life and has moved past his mentality of being a cog. That idea was further contrasted by a montage of people who were important to Yuji that died throughout the series, and Nobara was included in that montage, soJujutsu Kaisenchapter #265 seemingly confirmed Nobara’s death by putting her together with other characters who have died in the series.
How Jujutsu Kaisen Brought Nobara Back To The Story
Nobara’s Return Explained
InJujutsu Kaisenchapter #267, a flashback revealed that Gojo refused to let Rika eatSukuna’s final fingerbecause there was something they could do with it, leading to Rika eating one of Yuji’s fingers to give Yuta a copy of Shrine. While Gojo didn’t explain his plan, it was revealed halfway through chapter #267:Gojo’s final gambit was for Nobara, after awakening from her coma, to use her cursed technique to attack Sukuna’s soul through his finger, and Nobara doing just that prevented Sukuna from opening his Domain again and giving Yuji the chance to finally defeat him.
Naturally, Nobara being involved with anything conflicts withJujutsu Kaisenchapter #265 all but confirming her death, but an earlier chapter established that people were keeping things from Yuji in case Sukuna still had a mental link with him. Therefore, if Yuji thought Nobara was dead, it’s becauseYuji was deliberately led to believe Nobara was dead so Sukuna would have no way of learning she was alive. Nobara’s the only other person who can directly attack Sukuna’s soul, so it makes sense that Gojo and other characters kept her hidden as another possible trump card.
Jujutsu Kaisen Continues Its Poor Handling Of Female Characters
Nobara’s Return Was Too Late To Fix A Big Problem
A constant point of criticism ofJujutsu Kaisen’s handling of its female charactershas been how they never get as much screentime, development, or overall good showings as the men. As great as it was for Nobara to return, it still came about after the story spent years barely acknowledging her, and more importantly, it doesn’t change howJujutsu Kaisenused Nobara to invoke the cliché of killing off a female character for the sake of a male character’s development.Jujutsu Kaisenonly has four chapters left, and unfortunately, Nobara’s unlikely to get any meaningful development in that time.
One other instance where this trope presented itself was in Tsumiki’s death; Tsumiki, after being possessed by Yorozu, died without ever contributing as a character, meaning thatTsumiki only existed as a means of furthering Megumi’s character development, both positive and negative. Similar complaints have been voiced about characters like Hana, Mei Mei, and Yuki; each of them garnered interest from viewers who hoped to see them fleshed out and developed in the story, but they were all either quickly killed off or received very sparse moments of screen time when compared to the series' male heroes.
Nobara’s Death Is Another Example ofJujutsu KaisenFailing Its Female Characters
ThroughoutJujutsu Kaisen,its portrayal of female characters has been its massive sticking point.Missed opportunities occur again and againwithJujutsu Kaisen’sheroines, who often die before realizing their potentialor receiving the same development as male characters. Even with Nobara now confirmed to be alive, it doesn’t change how little development and screentime she received before spending years barely being acknowledged, a period that was even longer than the time she spent involved with the story, and withJujutsu Kaisenabout to end, there are few opportunities to change that.
By spending so long neither confirming nor denying Nobara’s death,Jujutsu Kaisenhas againfailed another one of its female heroes, even with her long-awaited return. The seriesis often praised for its powerful and engaging female heroes, butas wonderful asJujutsu Kaisen’s female characters are, the story never uses them properly. These stellar women too often become mere plot devices, shock value deaths, or tools to prove another character’s power or develop their character arc. As amazing of a story asJujutsu Kaisenis, this is one area in which it continually falls flat time and time again.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Cast
Jujutsu Kaisen follows Yuji Itadori, a high school student with extraordinary strength, who becomes intertwined with curses after ingesting a cursed object. Under the guidance of sorcerer Satoru Gojo, Yuji joins Tokyo Jujutsu High School to combat malevolent forces and navigate his new, perilous existence.
