Gege once again refused to bring back Nobara in Jujutsu Kaisen, but this time it's justified

Modified Jul 12, 2024 17:30 GMT

Jujutsu Kaisen: Nobara's technique is no longer needed (Image via MAPPA)

The Jujutsu Kaisen fandom has been theorizing about Nobara's potential return ever since her apparent death in chapter 144 at the hands of Mahito. The lack of confirmation of her death further fueled these theories. These theories essentially reached their peak during the Sukuna fight, where the sorcerers needed to somehow target Sukuna while keeping Megumi safe.

Although the Jujutsu Kaisen exhibition nearly made it clear that Nobara's return is impossible, chapter 263 introduced a set of abilities that simply outclass Nobara's. While many fans expected Nobara to return during the final arc, Angel and Yuji essentially extinguished that possibility.

Disclaimer- This article contains spoilers for the Jujutsu Kaisen series.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Yuji and Angel's abilities render Nobara's abilities redundant

Nobara as shown in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

Nobara's return has fueled numerous theories in the fandom, similar to Gojo's supposed return post-chapter 236. Many fans expected her to return during the Sorcerers vs. Sukuna fight. They believed her ability to target souls directly with a straw doll would allow her to target Sukuna's soul without harming Megumi in the process.

Although this could have been a genuine solution to the complicated situation between Sukuna and Megumi, chapter 263 hinted at a synergy of abilities that can scrape away Sukuna's soul directly from Megumi's body.

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Since the earlier parts of the Sukuna fight, Yuji's punches have been consistently carving away at the barrier that separates Megumi and Sukuna's souls. Chapter 263 also revealed that Yuji's dismantles were specifically targeting the barrier between their souls with improved efficacy due to a binding vow that Yuji made.

Yuji's binding vow essentially ensured that every one of his strikes would scrape away Sukuna's soul from Megumi's body. While this alone might not be enough to save Megumi, Angel's cursed technique might just make up for that.

Angel's cursed technique, Jacob's Ladder, essentially manifests a pillar of "holy light" that extinguishes cursed energy and cursed spirits, including seals similar to the prison realm. Given that Sukuna is essentially a mass of cursed energy latched onto Megumi's body, it is very possible that Sukuna could be completely scraped away from Megumi's body by capitalizing on all the damage from Yuji.

Ryomen Sukuna as shown in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

The sorcerers have already decided to scrape away Sukuna's soul instead of just damaging him while keeping Megumi alive. This makes Nobara's technique no longer needed since Yuji and Angel are serving the same purpose with much more efficacy.

The specifics behind Angel's cursed technique and why it can create a "holy light" from inherently negative cursed energy have yet to be revealed. This, along with the fact that Angel refers to some entity as "God," makes it clear that Angel will play an integral role in Sukuna's defeat.

Final Thoughts

The recent Jujutsu Kaisen exhibition revealed that Nobara and Nanami's deaths were planned even before Gege started the Shibuya Incident arc. However, there is still a possibility that Nobara returns, given the unpredictable nature of the plot of this series.