Jujutsu Kaisen: "It's not even close" - My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen fans at war again over Bakugo and Nobara's respective returns

Following the release of the spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 267, Gege Akutami's magnum opus has now joined Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia as one of the few series where the mangaka brings one of the main characters back to life after their apparent death.

For almost four years, Jujutsu Kaisen fans held on to the hope of seeing Nobara Kugisaki return to the series one day. Although the upcoming chapter 267 finally answered their prayers, not everyone was satisfied with how her return was handled.

Her return sparked several heated debates and arguments on social media, as fans questioned whether bringing Nobara back during the final stages of the battle, that too, by making her the key to defeat Sukuna, was the right decision on Akutami's part.

It even led to comparisons with Katsuki Bakugo's death and subsequent return in the 'Final War' arc of My Hero Academia, to determine whose comeback was executed better.

Examining Nobara and Bakugo's respective returns in Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia

Expand Tweet

Katsuki Bakugo's death in the 'Final War' arc of My Hero Academia was something almost no one saw coming, seeing as how crucial he was to the story and the final battle. It was perhaps the most shocking moment of the entire series, as it caused quite an uproar on social media when it happened.

However, his death was reversed almost a couple of chapters later, as the Pro Hero Edgeshot was seen desperately trying to fix Bakugo's heart. This moment gave fans some hope of his return, which ended up taking place in My Hero Academia chapter 404, where Bakugo managed to arrive just in the nick of time to save All Might from certain death.

While it is always a relief to see beloved dead characters come back to life, many fans criticized Kohei Horikoshi for going back on his decision to kill off the deuteragonist of his manga. Some even thought that bringing him back from death just to defeat All For One wasn't a good decision on Horikoshi's part.

Bakugo as seen in My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

That said, many fans who previously used to criticize Bakugo's return are now seemingly retracting their words upon witnessing Nobara's return in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 267, claiming that the latter's comeback was arguably worse than that of the former.

Ever since Akutami gave fans a sliver of hope that Nobara may be able to survive Mahito's attack following the 'Shibuya Incident' arc, fans have been waiting for her return for almost 4 years. However, Akutami only ever vaguely hinted at her passing a couple of times during the Culling Game arc, avoiding giving fans a direct confirmation about her fate.

With the Jujutsu Kaisen manga having only a handful of chapters left till it reaches its end on September 30, 2024, fans had pretty much abandoned all hope of seeing Nobara alive.

Nobara as seen in Jujutsu Kaisen (image via MAPPA)

However, Akutami managed to subvert everyone's expectations once again by bringing Nobara back in chapter 267 of the manga and having her inflict heavy damage on Sukuna by using her Resonance technique.

However, what's surprising about Nobara's return is how a vast majority of fans reacted to it on social media. While there certainly were a few who celebrated her comeback, a lot of people blatantly discarded it as "bad writing" on Akutami's part.

This is because bringing her back only in the final stages of the fight, that too, by making her essentially a plot device to kill Sukuna, is something that fans did not approve of.

Fans compare Nobara's return in Jujutsu Kaisen to Bakugo's return in My Hero Academia

Expand Tweet

Fans on social media worldwide immediately began comparing Nobara Kugisaki's return in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 267 to Katsuki Bakugo's return from certain death in the 'Final War' arc of My Hero Academia, to determine whose comeback was handled in a better manner.

As one would expect, the two fandoms engaged in a heated war of words against each other, as they tried to determine the better comeback between the two beloved characters of their respective series.

"So one got revived in a realistic way the other came back outta no where. Plus atleast bakugo got revived in the same arc he died in and packed up afo," said one fan.

"Idc how “mickey” Bakugo’s was. What came after is INFINITELY better than Nobara. Her comeback is quite literally if Bakugo came back here," said another.

"Bakugo by far, as much as I hated his revive goofiness, Hori made it WORTH IT with his fight against AFO. Not even close, Bakugo >>>>>>," another chimed in.

The two fandoms compared and analyzed the respective deaths and subsequent returns of Bakugo and Nobara, as some claimed that the latter's survival was something that Akutami had actually hinted at, whereas Horikoshi killed Bakugo out of nowhere and then went back on his decision by saving him a few chapters later.

"Nobara coming back was a possibility that Gege had already hinted at. Bakugo had his heart destroyed, then Hori decided to back track on it just 2 chapters later by having Edgeshot magically preform surgery on his heart and then couldn’t even commit to killing him off either," wrote one fan.

"Nobara comeback >>>> Bakugo comeback and its not even close," another chimed in.

"Nobara cuz at least she was dead. Bakugo was dead for like 5 mins and we knew he was coming back so it didn't matter," one fan claimed boldly.