Yuko Ozawa may reappear before Jujutsu Kaisen ends, and it could signal Yuji's survival

Modified Sep 07, 2024 07:00 GMT

Jujutsu Kaisen might reintroduce Yuko Ozawa and reunite her with Yuji (Image via MAPPA).

Jujutsu Kaisen has only three chapters left in the manga to finish the story, and there are several plot points that need to be addressed, although one that doesn't get a lot of attention for somewhat understandable reasons is that of Yuko Ozawa. She is one of Yuji Itadori's former classmates at school and had a crush on him, which resulted in her trying to set up a date with him with the help of Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro.

However, after their encounter prior to the Shibuya Incident arc, Yuko is never seen again in Jujutsu Kaisen, as of this writing. There is no suggestion she might have survived the events of the recent arcs, although it begs the question of why author Gege Akutami chose to introduce this character and build this little romantic plot if he was never going to do anything with it.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

Yuko Ozawa might return to conclude her subplot with Yuji in Jujutsu Kaisen

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Author Gege Akutami introduced Yuko Ozawa in chapter 64 of the manga, and it is revealed that she is a former classmate of Yuji Itadori. She ends up befriending Nobara Kugisaki, and the latter gets the help of Megumi Fushiguro so they can pair Yuko with Yuji since she has a massive crush on him, although she eventually decides to drop the whole thing and is never seen again in the manga, as of this writing.

Most fans assumed that Yuko was going to appear again in the story, perhaps setting her up as a romantic interest for Yuji, but that never happened, to the point that some people have theorized that she was one of the multiple civilian casualties that took place during the Shibuya Incident and Culling Games arcs. However, that has never been addressed, but now that the final battle has ended, Gege has the chance to solve that issue.

Yuko is certainly a very minor character, but she was one of the few normal civilians Yuji had a degree of connection with and was someone who cared for him for who he was. It would be a reward of sorts for the protagonist after defeating Ryomen Sukuna and all the different ordeals he has gone through.

What can happen in the coming chapters

Yuta, Gojo, and Yuji as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

The final chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen are going to have to solve several plot points, with the one of Yuta Okkotsu's current state and whether he is going to survive through Satoru Gojo's body or not being the next one to be addressed. That was the cliffhanger of chapter 268, and Gege is bound to deal with it, but there are other subplots, such as confirming who fully survived the Sukuna battle and who didn't.

Then there are more complex issues, such as the state of Jujutsu society after the recent Shinjuku arc and whether there are Curses left anymore, with these two topics being heavily connected with each other. There is also the variable of the merger and what happened to it, as well as the state of Master Tengen.

Final thoughts

There is no certainty that Yuko Ozawa is ever going to show up again in Jujutsu Kaisen, but it is something that a lot of fans would appreciate. Yuji Itadori has gone through a lot of hardships in the story, and meeting up with a potential love interest would be a considerable reward for the protagonist.

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