If you have started watching Jujutsu Kaisen, then chances are you have been introduced to a character called Nobara Kugisaki.
A first-year student at Tokyo High, Nobara is known for her confident and brash personality, which has made her a popular character among the fandom. She is also one of many characters with the potential for future development, even though it seems her story has been cut short.
Despite the character’s popularity, Nobara has not appeared in the anime since the Shibuya Incident, with some fans theorizing that she has been killed. And while this has yet to be confirmed, we still can’t help but wonder what has happened to the character following her sudden disappearance.
So if you want to know what happened to Nobara Kugisaki, then you have come to the right place. In the following article, we have used our extensive research to answer your burning questions about Nobara and her fate…
If you’re in a rush and don’t have time to read the entire article, then we have provided a condensed version of our answer in the section below:
Is Nobara Kugisaki dead? No – for now it seems Nobara is still alive, even though we have not seen her since her duel with the cursed spirit Mahito.
However, this does not mean that Nobara will survive to see the end of the show, as there are many theories that seem to confirm her future demise.
If you want to learn more about Nobara Kugisaki and her strange backstory, then you will find a detailed character description in the following section…
Who Is Nobara Kugisaki?
Nobara Kugisaki is one of the main protagonists of Jujutsu Kaisen, which is a manga and anime series set in an alternate universe where cursed energy exists. In the series, cursed energy is produced by negative emotions and can be used to wield special abilities or create cursed spirits.
During the start of the anime, Nobara was a brash and overconfident student at Tokyo Tech, where she was training to become a Jujutsu sorcerer. While she was known for her abrasive character, Nobara would form a close connection with Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fishiguro, who she considered inferior upon their first encounter.
Despite pretending not to like the boys, it is clear that Nobara cares for them, as she even sheds a tear upon learning of Yuji’s death.
Together, the trio would make an excellent team, as Nobara was able to use her authority to control the boys and keep them in check. She was even able to remain calm and collected in life-threatening situations.
Despite her association with Yuji and Megumi, Nobara also demonstrated admiration for the other girls in her class. This included Maki Zenin, who had to fight against the oppression of her family.
Nobara can be identified by her short brown hair and pale complexion, with the character also wielding powerful cursed techniques and badass fighting abilities. While she is rarely seen outside of her school uniform, Nobara always walks with confidence and is known to wield a hammer as her signature weapon.
However, Nobara’s story took an unfortunate turn following the Shibuya Incident, with the character seemingly vanishing from the show. Because of this, many fans have questioned Nobara’s fate and whether she is still alive or not.
In the section below, we are going to take a look at Nobara’s fate, to see if she is really dead or merely waiting in the shadows…
Is Nobara Kugisaki Dead?
The short and simple answer is no – Nobara Kugisaki is not dead, although her fate has yet to be confirmed. While some believe that she has died offscreen, we believe that Nobara will return to the show soon. However, we also believe that she will not survive to see the end of the series.
In the Shibuya Incident, fans were shocked when Nobara entered a ferocious duel with Mahtio’s double, a sentient copy of the cursed spirit. During this battle, Nobara was able to injure the double, which also wounded Mahtio during his own battle with Yuji in another location.
While recovering from the impact, Mahito realized that Nobara now knew of his double’s inability to perform his Idle Transfiguration. Because of this, he decided to swap places with his double and face Nobara himself. However, it seems the decision was also prompted by two other reasons.
By confronting Nobara himself, Mahtio was able to gain the upper hand and overpower the sorcerer.
This also allowed him the chance to kill Nobara in front of Yuji, which would have further crushed the latter’s soul. While Mahito was unable to kill Nobara, he did leave her with fatal scars on her face, which left her incapacitated.
Since then, there has been little word on Nobara’s condition, with the mention of her name receiving long silences from the characters. While it could be theorized that she has already died, we believe that she is alive and slowly healing from her wounds. However, we also believe that she will die at a later point in the show…
Will Nobara Kugisaki Come Back?
While nothing has been confirmed, we believe that Nobara has been left in a critical state and that she will return to the show once she has healed. However, this Nobara will be different to the character we all know and love, as she will wear an eye patch to cover her scars.
This theory is backed by the popularity of the character and the insignificant impact her death would have on the show. While the fandom would mourn her loss, Nobara’s death would not move the story forward and nor would it progress Yuji’s development as the main character.
Instead, we believe that she will return and have a more substantial character arc, as she will have to come to terms with her new weakened state. It could even be possible that Nobara will show up during the culling game, which would be a huge surprise for fans of the show.
Of course, there are countless possibilities to how Nobara could return to our screens, with other fans also constructing their own theories…
Other Theories & Ideas
According to one theory that we found on Reddit, some fans believe that Nobara inflicted the wounds upon herself, as a way to escape Mahtio and his transfiguration technique. And for the most part, this theory would actually explain some of the gaps in the story.
For example, during her confrontation with Mahito, Nobara seemed to be holding something in her hand, which was kept hidden from the viewer. And while this could have been anything, we wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be a weapon or Nobara’s signature hammer.
Of course, the idea that self-mutilation can stop the spread of transfiguration was first introduced by Todo cutting off his hand. So the idea that Nobara would wound herself for the same reason is not entirely unfounded.
However, there is also the theory that Nobara uses positive cursed energy to perform her techniques, which means she could be capable of healing herself and others. If this is true, then Nobara would be able to heal her wounds and return to the show.
While these are only theories, some do seem to make sense, which is why we wouldn’t be shocked if a similar revelation was reached in the show itself.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we don’t think Nobara is dead. In fact, we think she could come back during the culling game with a new scar or eye patch covering her face. But this is just our theory, which means we have to wait and see what happens…
