Gege Akutami is famous for two things: creating the Jujutsu Kaisen manga and hating Gojo. Why would he create a character just to hate it with his whole soul? That’s a question for another day. For now, let’s talk about another character who got treated worse than Gojo, Kugisaki Nobara.
This not-so-sweet and outspoken girl became a member of the protagonist trio and proved to be a mighty fighter. But what was she rewarded with? A sudden and uncertain death. Nobody in the manga knows about her status, leaving fans in a hopeless dilemma.
Naturally, fans have started wondering if Akutami also hated Nobara but never mentioned it.
Why did Gege Akutami kill Nobara in Jujutsu Kaisen? Does he hate her?
It is not common for Gege Akutami to kill off fan-favorite characters (*cough cough* Gojo, Nanami, Mai, etc), but his treatment of Nobara left people puzzled. Some fans suggest that Nobara was never meant to exist in the manga. She was added at the suggestion of Jujutsu Kaisen’s editor to extend the manga’s appeal.
If that is the case then Gege might have wanted to get rid of her once the plot was established and the series began performing well.
Akutami once claimed that Nobara was difficult to draw. On a scale from easiest to hardest to draw, he listed Gojo as easiest, then Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara as the hardest. This has incited fans to derive that Akutami killed off Nobara just because she was difficult to draw.
This might seem like a farfetched scenario, but do you remember all the times the mangaka needlessly hated Gojo? Yeah, it doesn’t seem unrealistic now, does it?
How did Gege Akutami mistreat Nobara?
Nobara was a great character at the beginning of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga; however, as time passed, she became dull. Her backstory was unrelated to the story and seemed disconnected from the rest of the Jujutsu world. Akutami barely gave her a backstory, and it didn’t incite any empathy in fans.
Somewhere along the way, it was implied that Nobara’s character was created to break Yuji so that he could grow up. However, the ambiguity surrounding her death makes the situation a bit awkward. Akutami never planned to give Nobara a chance at greatness.
According to fans, the true potential of Nobara was never fleshed out and she was added just to create the trio trope. Even her death was shown from the perspective of another character.
Will Nobara return in Jujutsu Kaisen?
It is very difficult to state whether Nobara will return to the Jujutsu Kaisen manga or not. Her death was very vague, followed by the entrance of Arata Nitta, who treated her with his injury reduction technique. He claims that she has no pulse and isn’t breathing, but the chances of her survival aren’t zero.
He then advises Yuji not to get his hopes high, as the chances are still not zero. He does not talk about Nobara in the manga again. This is what makes Nobara’s status difficult to predict.
The next time Nobara was mentioned was when Yuji asked Megumi about her and he only looked downwards without saying anything. Still, Yuji never forgot her and did not want to replace her with anyone else. All of these hints could be signing towards Nobara’s return, but take it with a grain of salt.
Nonetheless, Gege Akutami’s sins are overwhelming, and now you know why he always hides his face. Let’s hope his kill streak is halted soon, and fans are left with enough characters to sympathize with.
You can watch Jujutsu Kaisen anime on Crunchyroll and read the manga on Viz Media.
