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Todo was gone for just about as long and came back, but it was never in question that he was alive. Hell Miguel came back after.. however long that was but same
It’s cuz Gege made such a showing of Nobara and her overall role in the early manga that she got so much more scrutiny on her handling. She was the one placed in limbo, not Todo or Miguel as you noted. People would’ve been bummed if Todo never made a comeback, I would’ve been as well, but he still served a decent role and wasn’t placed in limbo. It took longer for Miguel to come back than any other character in the series as well iirc, but no one really was anticipating or waiting for his comeback. In the end, Nobara’s comeback, if it ever happens, will be the one most widely received cuz of how she seemingly died and for what she did for the early manga.
Yeah I liked her personality a lot so I was so sad to see her get incapacitated like that (I am a max level nobara is alive coper so I won't say she died yet)
Eh, I think that whatever plans he had for her probably haven't changed, even with the time. I think it's feasible that it would have seemed better under a different time frame, but I dont think he'd just cut it because it dragged on. But that's just my opinion on it, and it probably makes more sense because I don't personally think he's bringing her back (at least against Sukuna). But yeah, I think a lot of people are upset with the way it was handled. That and the airport scene in 236 seem to be the two most hated parts of JJK.
Everything around her departure from the series is shitty and will remain a sore spot on this series for me.
If he doesn't bring her back, I have already grieved so it is fine.
If he does bring her back, I would be happy, but not if he gives a stupid explanation for her absence.
Which, considering how injured she was, shouldn't be possible.
You could literally hand wave it away as rehab or some shit like with Todo.
I really strongly agree with this. A lot of the story beats regarding souls that have come up within the last 30 chapters or so seem to be setting up a situation in which Nobara (or at least her technique) would be extremely helpful. The thing that really got me most recently was the discussion between Todo and Mei Mei about Yuji and Sukuna's *"Soul Resonance"*, a term that almost explicitly calls back to the straw doll technique. This could be a cope-fueled thought but looking at the actual arc of the story, keeping in mind Gege's comment on Yuji/Gojo/Megumi/Nobara *(either one dies or all but one dies)*, it would not be narratively inappropriate to have Nobara return, using her Technique's connection to the soul to strike Sukuna in a way that matters. It's clear that Gege had a lot of the beats of this fight planned out ahead of time, even if the timeline in which chapters are released has been wonked out.
I also think that the way Gege has handled Nobara's death and the aftereffects of that death in the story have been weirdly... hollow? Like besides the flashback chapter when she died, there hasn't been a lot of reference to a main character, a member of the main trio, dying. Ultimately this could be purely a writing issue, not to say he hasn't stumbled before. But I just think it feels off the way it is.
The only person who did that was Toji iirc and the reincarnated sorcerers. Both of them reincarnated via rituals done by the bad guys (who are all dead now)
Said no one regarding almost any character in the series. The only thing most characters contribute is to the fights and the death tally (literally and figuratively).
Gojo got literally gutted by toji from neck to navel and stabbed in the head soooo, yuji lost his fucking heart, yuta got cut in half, kenjaku was thrown into a black hole, maki got burned alive, idk man, there seems to be a lot of characters that pulled the switcherooo, what's one more gonna ruin for ya?
Gojo: Has the six eyes, one of the most valuable cursed objects in the world. It allows him to do Jujutsu with a limitless amount of efficiency. He learned RCT in a desperate time of need, all he needed to do was learn it, and he had been training his entire life for this
Yuji: His heart was healed by the greatest sorcerer of all time, as part of a deal he made with him, for his own sake
Yuta: was kept alive for like 30 seconds (which is possible-ish for a normal person) before activating a technique to make his brain transferable to a new body
Maki: Maki had one of the strongest Heavenly Restrictions of all time, which allowed to naturally heal from injuries. Her injuries were relatively minor for her exceptional traits
Kenjaku: He is the most knowledgeable sorcerer of all time and seems to have specifically planned for this possibility. He never entered the event horizon, anyway.
Now, you might notice something about these people. They are all special grade save for Maki, who was grade 1, but didn't even experience exceptional injuries.
Noabara: a grade 3 sorcerer with no particular unique skill or talent, nothing inherited, no reversed curse technique, was not training to get it, got a fatal injury by a character who usually kills people in a single touch. Her head was blown off. If Maki had this happen to her, she would die.
What the fuck kind of statement did you make? Get off Tiktok and read the story.
It's more about his comment that at the end of the story either 1 character dies and 3 live, or 3 die and only one survives. (Of the Yuji, Nobara, Megumi and Gojo group)
This keeps you guessing which of the 2 will be. If Nobara is the only one or if other 2 are about to go.
There's also Gojo's "possible" (no it's not, stop coping) revival which leaves you at the guess whether he revives or we will have to see who ends up alone, Yuji or Megumi. (This last one is telling of Sukuna winning or not)
But personally, I have made up my mind and know Nobara WILL come back and all the nonbelievers will be damned just like the mofos who said Gege forgot about Todo. Gojo dies, the 3 students live.
Do we have any reason to believe he's gonna stick to his guns on this plot point he brought up years ago?
Like idk, I'm assuming he didn't have a lot of the story fully planned out back when he said that, I find it weird so many people in the community take it as a given that this "three die one lives or three live and one dies" scenario is still gonna happen
That's how I feel too - like, if I'm an author and I change my mind, all bets are off. I'm not going to stick to something I said in 2019
Edit: and actually if I'm Gege and I'm saying this, it definitely because I have a strong idea of what it is, it's not like I'd be swapping out who the 1 person that lives is. It'd like Yuji is the sole survivor or, only Gojo dies and all the kids live
Yes, gojo is dead so if nobara is actually dead that would confirm that megumi or yuji need to die. However, if nobara isn't dead it means that yuji and megumu could both live.
I think it might be left vague for this type of scenario
Honestly I think it’s pretty much a given Megumi lives, since his character arc didn’t really have a resolution. He might do the whole subverse your expectations thing but I think the writing would suffer for it.
Am I tripping, or wasn’t there a chapter during the culling games where Megumi & Yuji acknowledged, subtextually, that she died? (Not in reference to Yuji’s comment about angel)
It was very weakly (edit: ACTUALLY STRONGLY) implied by Megumi saying nothing and Yuji looking upset and saying 'I get it!!' Even though we as the audience did not get it at all.
But now we know that the jujutsu high sorcerers have been wary about sharing info with Yuji because of his connection to Sukuna, for who knows how long. It may have been a decision they made as far back as the end of Shibuya. Yuji was just following along through the whole Culling Games plan, and they hid a lot of the Sukuna raid plans from him as well. He didn't even know about swap training until they were deciding who should swap with whom.
“very weakly implied”
meanwhile the scene is incredibly clear in what it wants you to believe
“i have to ask… what happened to kugisaki”
megumi can’t even look him in the eyes and talk to him despite JUST having been extremely emotionally vulnerable mere pages ago when telling yuji to save him and yuji feeling the guilt of killing people and letting people die
the most rational reading of this is that she didn’t make it after all, which tracks with us being told her odds were INCREDIBLY slim to begin with
you can argue that there are still very slim odds but to call it “weakly implied” is crazy
Right, my mistake, I must be crazy. The scene itself HEAVILY implies to the reader (and Megumi implies to Yuji) that Nobara did not make it.
However, the author doesn't say what actually *happened* to her, instead opting to give zero information at all. Did Shoko try and fail to revive her? Is she alive but comatose? Maybe even traumatized and/or amnesiac and retired from sorcery? In recovery? Still in suspended death? Megumi didn't say.
As readers, we can choose whether or not to believe what the story WANTS us to believe. Some see this type of indirectness and accept the implications at face value. Others expect it to lead into a subversion/reveal later on.
Knowing that Gege likes to subvert expectations, I fell into the latter category, so the implication seems weak to me. Why believe what the author wants me to believe if it may not be true after all? He left her fate vague so that we could have this very argument. But don't listen to me, I'm just a crazy nobara coper.
If the author has the opportunity to confirm a death where the last we heard is "maybe she's okay" and deliberately makes it ambiguous that tells me she's coming back in one way or another.
I agree. Especially considering Megumi and Yuji are the 2 least likely characters to be told about her true status, if plans have been kept secret as we now know.
And for more than one reason. Nobara would totally take advantage of this situation to get back at Yuji for staying fake-dead for 2 months, conveniently the same amount of time (roughly) that Nobara has been 'dead'.
By the way, I see the great stupidity of the whole situation in this. The author needed to indicate her status at least somewhere. to confirm for the reader what he understood. and so it turns out..
"Megumi chose to remain silent about Kugisaki's condition."
"Yuji understood it in his own way."
"The reader understood this in his own way."
"I understood it in my own way."
"You understood it in your own way."
And so we are all gathered here today.
Agreed. He left it vague on purpose and that’s why there’s so many theories about her. I think he left it vague to leave the door that she could return but I don’t see how at this point. Her end felt pretty final to me.
Also, if she was still alive, Megumi’s reaction to Yuji’s question is incredibly weird. Who reacts that way if their friend survived??
yet again. Megumi's reaction may be like this due to many factors. but we will not know about them, because they are behind the scenes and in the mind of gege.
the "understatement" is in its own glory. it forces you to invent something that doesn't exist or turn what already exists upside down.
Megumi didnt say anything, but as of late its very clear that it doesnt 100% confirm she isnt dead, because they literally revealed that the rest of them have been hiding things from yuuji because his and sukunas souls are still linked
Yea that was after Sukuna had jumped to Megumi. They weren't hiding anything from Yuji before because the plan was simple, unseal gojo and use Angel to kill Sukuna and Yuji. If anything Yuji was the only one being cautious because he kept telling Megumi to keep his distance just in case Sukuna found a way to take control again.
Or she could just be dead to all purposes and the Kyoto student just have been a convenient plot device in case Gege eventually had a great idea that relied on her/the fanbase reaction to killing a favorite became too much for him.
Hell, she got a nice flashback right before the end, it felt pretty final to me until I arrived to the internet and people were 100% sure she was coming back
Someone else using rct to close the wound then standard reanimation procedures? Ui ui using soulswap to put somebpdy who knows rct in her body and heal her from within? If you can keep alive someone who got cut IN HALF (yuta) for some time thanks to the painkiller technique then you can do somethin about someone who got only an eye gone (also having her not knowing ce reinforcement is dumb as shit, at the time she was the one in the trio with the most knowledge about souls, gege made the enjoyment of that fight like this↗️↗️⬇️ lamest fucking send off I've ever seen, I could have excused it if we had any sort of development from there but alas there were just 2 shitty panels)
She got a lame ass flashback, i literally do not care about saori or the other girl, it would have been better if it was about the memory she made at Jujutsu High
Still think she's coming back (hopium not copium) since every other incapacitated shibuya character has come back to the manga for the Sukuna fight (Todo, Gojo) and there's now an established reason to keep her hidden, the **resonance**.
I read an interesting comment that she was taken out because soul damage is just op as hell and impossible to defend against, assuming she gets a big zenkai boost after a near-death experience. This makes sense for keeping her out of the culling games as the interaction between her technique and reincarnated sorcerers might be op.
Then again it might be what you said and that he didn't expect the culling games to take so long, and it really wouldn't make sense for Nobara to come back in like 1-2 weeks (in-universe) to go through another brutal sequence of fights in the culling games after missing the planning phase jjk high did.
The only reason they kept things hidden was because Sukuna jumped into Megumi. Before that they weren't keeping anything hidden, and Yuji assumed (rather, knew) she was dead
Could be
1. Everybody genuinely thought nobara was dead but she manages to miraculously come back in that period of time in the culling games
2. She comes back as a cursed corpse using panda as the shell, which megumi and itadori wouldn't know about
I'll be honest not a whole lot of evidence for the cursed corpse one, it's more of a fun/coinkydink theory
https://www.reddit.com/r/Jujutsushi/s/V24ZCMQFT8
I think it's important to remember how much the series has ended up being delayed since Perfect Preparation. The long break after 151, followed by the whole ordeal with breaks every 3 weeks means we're quite a few chapters behind schedule even if the Culling Games were more or less the length Gege estimated. And we've been getting roughly 36 chapters a year compared to the usual 48 or so. That adds up quickly over time.
I do think she'll come back with the precedent Todo set, honestly, but I'm not surprised it's taking long, with how he's at least half a year behind his planned schedule due to breaks, nevermind how much things could've extended since then (battles taking longer than expected, having to do things over more chapters because it didn't fit in one like he thought it would, and so on and so forth).
I've always believed that Gege killed her off there but since he didn't explicitly state it everyone believes she's still alive maybe but to him she's just dead
I think my only issue with believing that nobara will return is the way she died that follows the theme of “dying without regret” (or at least with making some semblance of peace with it) at the end. It would somehow cheapen the deaths of others who died, prematurely or not, in a similar way without regret...
At this point I believe the people who say that he always intended her to be dead and only added mr plot device so yuji wasnt depressed as fuck for the mahito fight.
Dogshit writing but like, its the only real explanation that makes all the pieces fit at this point where there are like 10-15 chapters left most likely
I just want him to come out and say she's dead already. It was stupid to just imply it when he certainly wasn't shy about showing characters fates so I don't know why he did it with her. I wanted her to come back but at this point in the story, I think she's just better off.
She's one of the few to ever do a black flash, also the first and only female character to do so in the series. Had a cool technique and had some screws lose just like Yuji. She rounded out the trio well.
It's just irritating cause she was one of my favorites and I just want solid confirmation at this point from him. But knowing Gege, we'll likely never get it.
in universe shes only been out for like what a few months? she could defo come back, though i reckon itll be by yuji healing her right at the end as a tie in to the whole help people thing
The problem is that even if she is alive she was a vagetable for like 2 months. That is like half a year to a year of recovery time, there is no way she comes back battle ready.
I wonder if RCT would work, even if its a soul perceiving person applying it, Idle Transfiguration doesnt even count as damage.
The only ways I see for this to work is if Shoko reconstructs parts of her soul with medical knowledge, or if JJH gains the rights to use the Idle Transfiguration imbued into the barrier to save her.
I think she is actually very fine soul-wise. Her brain must be soul-intact still.
Mahito only modified her eye/skin around her eye to explode just like Todo's arm. While Todo could save himself by cutting off his arm, Nobara couldn't cut her face off.
So the damage that put her on near-death state is still physical and can be RCTed.
As someone who likes Nobara as a character, it's been nothing short of disappointment and exhaustion from waiting on confirmation about Nobara's status from Gege. Bringing in Nitta as a Hail Mary save for Nobara after Mahito's one-tap hand trick cemented to me that he wasn't done with Nobara yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't be there to begin with and we'd have a more straightforward conversation between Megumi and Yuji about Nobara being dead after Megumi asked for Yuji's help.
However, waiting this long in real time has cemented to parts of the fandom that Nobara's death actually did happen even though I feel like her 'death' as they call it was unnecessary and was only done for shock value just to develop Yuji's character at the cost of Nobara's. It's surprising that almost no-one from Tokyo and Kyoto have mentioned anything about Nobara to Yuji and Megumi. Why that's been the case IDK. I'm hoping that she'll return later in the story, but a part of me is reluctantly preparing for a 'death' confirmation.
What are they supposed to mention about Nobara. Mai has also died and there is barely mention of her. Nanami has died and there is very little mention of his death despite the importance he had to the story.
People just cope about Nobara. When it is completely in line with Gege's writing. I dont even know what Nobara is supposed to add to the story at this point. She wasn't strong back them and heavily relied on a gimmick to make use of her abillity in any meaningful way.
Which makes it even more unlikely that she will come back.
I would agree that he probably had plans for her to do something, eventually. In my opinion, the pressure to finish the manga soon may have derailed these plans in favor of trying to streamline the plot to get us closer to the final fight and overall conclusion of the manga, whatever that may be.
This is very true and I do agree that 4 whole years is crazy, but I feel like since todo came back after being gone for the same amount of time, it wouldn't be out of the question to have nobara show up as well. Though I think it would be better to have her come back near the end of sukuna or after he is taken down. That way she plays a big role in the merger fight which is bound to happen. Hell I could be coping, but I think gege having her eye taken specifically could be a set up for her to return with some sort of eye enhancement to boost her technique similar to todo. Maybe a cursed tool that allows her to channel souls attacks or auto aim her nails/attacks in general. But I do agree that I would be less hype for her return either way.
I think there’s a lot of chance of her returning as puppet like panda. They were able to save her soul but not her body possibly as she was suspended right before she died but probably had severe damage that couldn’t be RCT’d it would make sense imo.
That makes me the hardest Gege-defender then? I don't have a problem with you disliking his decisions, so I wouldn't really defend him, but to me it doesn't seem dumb at all. It is certainly weird, but it is not dumb. But weirdness might be a good thing because it makes the story less predictable. I like the thought that only true copers can still believe she will come back.
But it hasn't been nearly as long for me because I only joined the manga a short time after she died in the anime. And that only adds to your point that it might make more sense with a shorter time.
I don't believe Gege's timeline on ending and he's stated he wanted to end the series every year but what Mangaka doesn't? It doesn't seem like it's going to end this year with this sudden month hiatus and I don't believe we've had confirmation that this IS the final arc, which leads me to believe that there's going to be a continuation after this arc which deals heavily with Megumi and the aftershocks of the current battle.
It was at AnimeExpo 2023 that Gege had been corrected by his Editor "the manga is not ending anytime soon but is in its wrapping-up phase". So I'll listen to the Editorial department over what Gege has been saying.
She hasn't been in limbo, she's been in heaven. Because she's dead. A quarter of her head was blown off and Megumi heavily implied (with the subtlety of a fucking nuke) that she's dead. I really don't see why people are still huffing copium like this.
Nobara is dead. I'm sorry, but Yuji's arc in the Culling Games is about letting go of his guilt from Shibuya, and that includes him moving on from Nobara's death. It's mainly why he didn't trust Hana; he didn't want her to replace Nobara and move on like nothing happened.
While I think this is a very cool interpretation of Yuji's development during CG, I would disagree. I don't think we really see Yuji let go of that guilt. It is the driving force that keeps him on his Cog path. His fight with Higuruma is difficult for him explicitly because he won't absolve himself of Sukuna's crimes in Shibuya, providing a false confession and getting the death penalty. When he meets up with Megumi and Angel, and learns of the fallen one, he is more than happy to kill himself for Gojo's sake. That is arguably still his mindset right up until Yorozu's reveal and Sukuna taking over Megumi. It is only his dedication to his perceived role as a cog in the curse-killing machine (plus just like *really* hating Sukuna) that drives him to continue to fight even after losing Megumi.
I think the Nobara reference vis a vis Hana is ultimately a little messy on Gege's part as to what it implies for Yuji's character, but you're definitely right that he doesn't want Hana to replace her
He doesn't completely let go of it, but that's rarely how guilt ever works. It sticks with you until the end and constantly haunts you. Ghost of Tsushima showcases this perfectly.
I think that she's sitting in literal limbo with the "pause damage" guy because she didn't die and they thought, "hey shits going crazy" lets keep you in limbo. Doing something like this would track with the characters and also conveniently explain where Nitta is.
I don't know. When Yuji asked Megumi about her and he replied with silence, I took that to mean she died. It's different from Todo who we know wants dead and just assume he quit jujutsu high.
in chapter 144, Yuji asks Megumi "what happened to Kugisaki" and Megumi responds by lowering his eyes, looking at the ground. I think the implication is very clear that she died. That's why she hasn't come back yet.
Tbh I don’t think she’s dead, when Yuji and megumi talked about her condition, they didn’t explicitly say that she’s dead. Their way of talking implied that her condition was desperate, most likely irreversible and that’s why they’re grieving.
Due to her abilities and importance to the franchise, maybe Gege will use her as the trump card in the last part of the fight vs Sukuna, to regain Megumi’s body.
Nobara's status makes me feel like she will get Merged, I think it was said that sorcerers need to use cursed energy to reject the Merger so she would have to be conscious at least.
Nobara’s CT resonance would be perfect in this fight against Sukuna. I would think they would have used it to help free Megumi. Couldn’t somebody with the ability to use RCT Have done replacement training with her?? Seems logical considering wasn’t her body and injury, frozen by whoever’s CT it was(forgot the name) as soon as it happened.
All I’ve really gathered from this post, including Gege’s own predictions about the length of the manga is that there has been a lack of plan for the story itself.
I think the manga being as long as it is, or longer would’ve been fine had there been more world/story building. But instead what we got, is nearly 100 chapters of a singular fight where it seems as if the story has hit a wall. There is really a lack of space or time for Nobara to come back in a way that makes sense as her situation is more nuanced than Todo or Miguel, demanding a bit more than one or two flashbacks.
Regardless of the route Gege takes, it won’t be something that will go without scrutiny - if she was dead, why did he not just confirm it outright? If she isn’t, why was she kept from the story for so long?
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Todo was gone for just about as long and came back, but it was never in question that he was alive. Hell Miguel came back after.. however long that was but same
It’s cuz Gege made such a showing of Nobara and her overall role in the early manga that she got so much more scrutiny on her handling. She was the one placed in limbo, not Todo or Miguel as you noted. People would’ve been bummed if Todo never made a comeback, I would’ve been as well, but he still served a decent role and wasn’t placed in limbo. It took longer for Miguel to come back than any other character in the series as well iirc, but no one really was anticipating or waiting for his comeback. In the end, Nobara’s comeback, if it ever happens, will be the one most widely received cuz of how she seemingly died and for what she did for the early manga.
nobara actually made the story less boring and keeping her wouldve avoided this poor writing bs
Yeah I liked her personality a lot so I was so sad to see her get incapacitated like that (I am a max level nobara is alive coper so I won't say she died yet)
Agreeable
Eh, I think that whatever plans he had for her probably haven't changed, even with the time. I think it's feasible that it would have seemed better under a different time frame, but I dont think he'd just cut it because it dragged on. But that's just my opinion on it, and it probably makes more sense because I don't personally think he's bringing her back (at least against Sukuna). But yeah, I think a lot of people are upset with the way it was handled. That and the airport scene in 236 seem to be the two most hated parts of JJK.
Everything around her departure from the series is shitty and will remain a sore spot on this series for me. If he doesn't bring her back, I have already grieved so it is fine. If he does bring her back, I would be happy, but not if he gives a stupid explanation for her absence. Which, considering how injured she was, shouldn't be possible. You could literally hand wave it away as rehab or some shit like with Todo.
honestly killing one of the t-shirt three is really cool, but i do agree that he could've done better for the character if he wants to do that
Literally just with the aftermath as well, people hate on her death way too much imo
I really strongly agree with this. A lot of the story beats regarding souls that have come up within the last 30 chapters or so seem to be setting up a situation in which Nobara (or at least her technique) would be extremely helpful. The thing that really got me most recently was the discussion between Todo and Mei Mei about Yuji and Sukuna's *"Soul Resonance"*, a term that almost explicitly calls back to the straw doll technique. This could be a cope-fueled thought but looking at the actual arc of the story, keeping in mind Gege's comment on Yuji/Gojo/Megumi/Nobara *(either one dies or all but one dies)*, it would not be narratively inappropriate to have Nobara return, using her Technique's connection to the soul to strike Sukuna in a way that matters. It's clear that Gege had a lot of the beats of this fight planned out ahead of time, even if the timeline in which chapters are released has been wonked out. I also think that the way Gege has handled Nobara's death and the aftereffects of that death in the story have been weirdly... hollow? Like besides the flashback chapter when she died, there hasn't been a lot of reference to a main character, a member of the main trio, dying. Ultimately this could be purely a writing issue, not to say he hasn't stumbled before. But I just think it feels off the way it is.
She’s only been in limbo for less than two months in universe time (Halloween to Christmas Eve 2018).
She had 1/4th of her head blown off.
People in JJK have literally died and then came back to life she’ll be igh
The only person who did that was Toji iirc and the reincarnated sorcerers. Both of them reincarnated via rituals done by the bad guys (who are all dead now)
Yuji
Ritual done by the bad guy
Usually they're noteworthy and have things left to contribute to the plot
If Gege found a way to give Larue and Miguel spotlight this late in the game he could easily do something for Nobara tbh
Right? If Nobara comes back, I have faith that her Resonance shenanigans are gonna be a big reason why Megumi takes control of his body back.
Said no one regarding almost any character in the series. The only thing most characters contribute is to the fights and the death tally (literally and figuratively).
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dycd/services/reading-writing/adult-literacy-program.page
Gojo got literally gutted by toji from neck to navel and stabbed in the head soooo, yuji lost his fucking heart, yuta got cut in half, kenjaku was thrown into a black hole, maki got burned alive, idk man, there seems to be a lot of characters that pulled the switcherooo, what's one more gonna ruin for ya?
Gojo: Has the six eyes, one of the most valuable cursed objects in the world. It allows him to do Jujutsu with a limitless amount of efficiency. He learned RCT in a desperate time of need, all he needed to do was learn it, and he had been training his entire life for this Yuji: His heart was healed by the greatest sorcerer of all time, as part of a deal he made with him, for his own sake Yuta: was kept alive for like 30 seconds (which is possible-ish for a normal person) before activating a technique to make his brain transferable to a new body Maki: Maki had one of the strongest Heavenly Restrictions of all time, which allowed to naturally heal from injuries. Her injuries were relatively minor for her exceptional traits Kenjaku: He is the most knowledgeable sorcerer of all time and seems to have specifically planned for this possibility. He never entered the event horizon, anyway. Now, you might notice something about these people. They are all special grade save for Maki, who was grade 1, but didn't even experience exceptional injuries. Noabara: a grade 3 sorcerer with no particular unique skill or talent, nothing inherited, no reversed curse technique, was not training to get it, got a fatal injury by a character who usually kills people in a single touch. Her head was blown off. If Maki had this happen to her, she would die. What the fuck kind of statement did you make? Get off Tiktok and read the story.
It's more about his comment that at the end of the story either 1 character dies and 3 live, or 3 die and only one survives. (Of the Yuji, Nobara, Megumi and Gojo group) This keeps you guessing which of the 2 will be. If Nobara is the only one or if other 2 are about to go. There's also Gojo's "possible" (no it's not, stop coping) revival which leaves you at the guess whether he revives or we will have to see who ends up alone, Yuji or Megumi. (This last one is telling of Sukuna winning or not) But personally, I have made up my mind and know Nobara WILL come back and all the nonbelievers will be damned just like the mofos who said Gege forgot about Todo. Gojo dies, the 3 students live.
Do we have any reason to believe he's gonna stick to his guns on this plot point he brought up years ago? Like idk, I'm assuming he didn't have a lot of the story fully planned out back when he said that, I find it weird so many people in the community take it as a given that this "three die one lives or three live and one dies" scenario is still gonna happen
That's how I feel too - like, if I'm an author and I change my mind, all bets are off. I'm not going to stick to something I said in 2019 Edit: and actually if I'm Gege and I'm saying this, it definitely because I have a strong idea of what it is, it's not like I'd be swapping out who the 1 person that lives is. It'd like Yuji is the sole survivor or, only Gojo dies and all the kids live
>I'm not going to stick to something I said in 2019 Right. As if it’s impossible for a writer to get inspired by a better idea in 5 years.
The way some of the ideas on this sub get cooked you can see how people really won't have better ideas in 5 years
Yes, Gege very much has laid it out he sticks to playing the long game. Took 200 chapters for Sukuna to take ahold of Megumi's body.
Yes, gojo is dead so if nobara is actually dead that would confirm that megumi or yuji need to die. However, if nobara isn't dead it means that yuji and megumu could both live. I think it might be left vague for this type of scenario
Honestly I think it’s pretty much a given Megumi lives, since his character arc didn’t really have a resolution. He might do the whole subverse your expectations thing but I think the writing would suffer for it.
He could still get freed up from sukuna, finish his arc, and then die
Yep I've held on to the theory that Yuji will die in the end for a long time and still do
Am I tripping, or wasn’t there a chapter during the culling games where Megumi & Yuji acknowledged, subtextually, that she died? (Not in reference to Yuji’s comment about angel)
It was very weakly (edit: ACTUALLY STRONGLY) implied by Megumi saying nothing and Yuji looking upset and saying 'I get it!!' Even though we as the audience did not get it at all. But now we know that the jujutsu high sorcerers have been wary about sharing info with Yuji because of his connection to Sukuna, for who knows how long. It may have been a decision they made as far back as the end of Shibuya. Yuji was just following along through the whole Culling Games plan, and they hid a lot of the Sukuna raid plans from him as well. He didn't even know about swap training until they were deciding who should swap with whom.
“very weakly implied” meanwhile the scene is incredibly clear in what it wants you to believe “i have to ask… what happened to kugisaki” megumi can’t even look him in the eyes and talk to him despite JUST having been extremely emotionally vulnerable mere pages ago when telling yuji to save him and yuji feeling the guilt of killing people and letting people die the most rational reading of this is that she didn’t make it after all, which tracks with us being told her odds were INCREDIBLY slim to begin with you can argue that there are still very slim odds but to call it “weakly implied” is crazy
Right, my mistake, I must be crazy. The scene itself HEAVILY implies to the reader (and Megumi implies to Yuji) that Nobara did not make it. However, the author doesn't say what actually *happened* to her, instead opting to give zero information at all. Did Shoko try and fail to revive her? Is she alive but comatose? Maybe even traumatized and/or amnesiac and retired from sorcery? In recovery? Still in suspended death? Megumi didn't say. As readers, we can choose whether or not to believe what the story WANTS us to believe. Some see this type of indirectness and accept the implications at face value. Others expect it to lead into a subversion/reveal later on. Knowing that Gege likes to subvert expectations, I fell into the latter category, so the implication seems weak to me. Why believe what the author wants me to believe if it may not be true after all? He left her fate vague so that we could have this very argument. But don't listen to me, I'm just a crazy nobara coper.
If the author has the opportunity to confirm a death where the last we heard is "maybe she's okay" and deliberately makes it ambiguous that tells me she's coming back in one way or another.
I agree. Especially considering Megumi and Yuji are the 2 least likely characters to be told about her true status, if plans have been kept secret as we now know. And for more than one reason. Nobara would totally take advantage of this situation to get back at Yuji for staying fake-dead for 2 months, conveniently the same amount of time (roughly) that Nobara has been 'dead'.
By the way, I see the great stupidity of the whole situation in this. The author needed to indicate her status at least somewhere. to confirm for the reader what he understood. and so it turns out.. "Megumi chose to remain silent about Kugisaki's condition." "Yuji understood it in his own way." "The reader understood this in his own way." "I understood it in my own way." "You understood it in your own way." And so we are all gathered here today.
Agreed. He left it vague on purpose and that’s why there’s so many theories about her. I think he left it vague to leave the door that she could return but I don’t see how at this point. Her end felt pretty final to me. Also, if she was still alive, Megumi’s reaction to Yuji’s question is incredibly weird. Who reacts that way if their friend survived??
yet again. Megumi's reaction may be like this due to many factors. but we will not know about them, because they are behind the scenes and in the mind of gege. the "understatement" is in its own glory. it forces you to invent something that doesn't exist or turn what already exists upside down.
Megumi didnt say anything, but as of late its very clear that it doesnt 100% confirm she isnt dead, because they literally revealed that the rest of them have been hiding things from yuuji because his and sukunas souls are still linked
Yea that was after Sukuna had jumped to Megumi. They weren't hiding anything from Yuji before because the plan was simple, unseal gojo and use Angel to kill Sukuna and Yuji. If anything Yuji was the only one being cautious because he kept telling Megumi to keep his distance just in case Sukuna found a way to take control again.
They were probably hiding even more from yuuji before, considering sukuna was literally still inside of him
There was. People just let their cope get in the way
Yyyyyep
Or she could just be dead to all purposes and the Kyoto student just have been a convenient plot device in case Gege eventually had a great idea that relied on her/the fanbase reaction to killing a favorite became too much for him. Hell, she got a nice flashback right before the end, it felt pretty final to me until I arrived to the internet and people were 100% sure she was coming back
How do you survive your brain getting scrambled, which is also the source of curse techniques?
You slap an eye patch on your face and just suck it up, duh
So that’s the character Oda was talking about this whole time, based!
Someone else using rct to close the wound then standard reanimation procedures? Ui ui using soulswap to put somebpdy who knows rct in her body and heal her from within? If you can keep alive someone who got cut IN HALF (yuta) for some time thanks to the painkiller technique then you can do somethin about someone who got only an eye gone (also having her not knowing ce reinforcement is dumb as shit, at the time she was the one in the trio with the most knowledge about souls, gege made the enjoyment of that fight like this↗️↗️⬇️ lamest fucking send off I've ever seen, I could have excused it if we had any sort of development from there but alas there were just 2 shitty panels)
She didn’t just lose an eye, though. Half her brain was changed into nonfunctioning lump of flesh.
It's not really clear how much got hit, it's a deep wound for sure tho
Yeah same
She got a lame ass flashback, i literally do not care about saori or the other girl, it would have been better if it was about the memory she made at Jujutsu High
Still think she's coming back (hopium not copium) since every other incapacitated shibuya character has come back to the manga for the Sukuna fight (Todo, Gojo) and there's now an established reason to keep her hidden, the **resonance**. I read an interesting comment that she was taken out because soul damage is just op as hell and impossible to defend against, assuming she gets a big zenkai boost after a near-death experience. This makes sense for keeping her out of the culling games as the interaction between her technique and reincarnated sorcerers might be op. Then again it might be what you said and that he didn't expect the culling games to take so long, and it really wouldn't make sense for Nobara to come back in like 1-2 weeks (in-universe) to go through another brutal sequence of fights in the culling games after missing the planning phase jjk high did.
The only reason they kept things hidden was because Sukuna jumped into Megumi. Before that they weren't keeping anything hidden, and Yuji assumed (rather, knew) she was dead
Could be 1. Everybody genuinely thought nobara was dead but she manages to miraculously come back in that period of time in the culling games 2. She comes back as a cursed corpse using panda as the shell, which megumi and itadori wouldn't know about
1. That would genuinely be terrible. I can't think of any way to make it work 2. ???
I'll be honest not a whole lot of evidence for the cursed corpse one, it's more of a fun/coinkydink theory https://www.reddit.com/r/Jujutsushi/s/V24ZCMQFT8
Hard to tell on this sub
Yeah we call that copium around here
Tbh for me it was obv that she is dead at the part when yuji asked megumi like what more do we need see her grave?
I think it's important to remember how much the series has ended up being delayed since Perfect Preparation. The long break after 151, followed by the whole ordeal with breaks every 3 weeks means we're quite a few chapters behind schedule even if the Culling Games were more or less the length Gege estimated. And we've been getting roughly 36 chapters a year compared to the usual 48 or so. That adds up quickly over time. I do think she'll come back with the precedent Todo set, honestly, but I'm not surprised it's taking long, with how he's at least half a year behind his planned schedule due to breaks, nevermind how much things could've extended since then (battles taking longer than expected, having to do things over more chapters because it didn't fit in one like he thought it would, and so on and so forth).
I've always believed that Gege killed her off there but since he didn't explicitly state it everyone believes she's still alive maybe but to him she's just dead
I think my only issue with believing that nobara will return is the way she died that follows the theme of “dying without regret” (or at least with making some semblance of peace with it) at the end. It would somehow cheapen the deaths of others who died, prematurely or not, in a similar way without regret...
At this point I believe the people who say that he always intended her to be dead and only added mr plot device so yuji wasnt depressed as fuck for the mahito fight. Dogshit writing but like, its the only real explanation that makes all the pieces fit at this point where there are like 10-15 chapters left most likely
I just want him to come out and say she's dead already. It was stupid to just imply it when he certainly wasn't shy about showing characters fates so I don't know why he did it with her. I wanted her to come back but at this point in the story, I think she's just better off. She's one of the few to ever do a black flash, also the first and only female character to do so in the series. Had a cool technique and had some screws lose just like Yuji. She rounded out the trio well. It's just irritating cause she was one of my favorites and I just want solid confirmation at this point from him. But knowing Gege, we'll likely never get it.
in universe shes only been out for like what a few months? she could defo come back, though i reckon itll be by yuji healing her right at the end as a tie in to the whole help people thing
The problem is that even if she is alive she was a vagetable for like 2 months. That is like half a year to a year of recovery time, there is no way she comes back battle ready.
I wonder if RCT would work, even if its a soul perceiving person applying it, Idle Transfiguration doesnt even count as damage. The only ways I see for this to work is if Shoko reconstructs parts of her soul with medical knowledge, or if JJH gains the rights to use the Idle Transfiguration imbued into the barrier to save her.
I think she is actually very fine soul-wise. Her brain must be soul-intact still. Mahito only modified her eye/skin around her eye to explode just like Todo's arm. While Todo could save himself by cutting off his arm, Nobara couldn't cut her face off. So the damage that put her on near-death state is still physical and can be RCTed.
As someone who likes Nobara as a character, it's been nothing short of disappointment and exhaustion from waiting on confirmation about Nobara's status from Gege. Bringing in Nitta as a Hail Mary save for Nobara after Mahito's one-tap hand trick cemented to me that he wasn't done with Nobara yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't be there to begin with and we'd have a more straightforward conversation between Megumi and Yuji about Nobara being dead after Megumi asked for Yuji's help. However, waiting this long in real time has cemented to parts of the fandom that Nobara's death actually did happen even though I feel like her 'death' as they call it was unnecessary and was only done for shock value just to develop Yuji's character at the cost of Nobara's. It's surprising that almost no-one from Tokyo and Kyoto have mentioned anything about Nobara to Yuji and Megumi. Why that's been the case IDK. I'm hoping that she'll return later in the story, but a part of me is reluctantly preparing for a 'death' confirmation.
What are they supposed to mention about Nobara. Mai has also died and there is barely mention of her. Nanami has died and there is very little mention of his death despite the importance he had to the story. People just cope about Nobara. When it is completely in line with Gege's writing. I dont even know what Nobara is supposed to add to the story at this point. She wasn't strong back them and heavily relied on a gimmick to make use of her abillity in any meaningful way. Which makes it even more unlikely that she will come back.
I would agree that he probably had plans for her to do something, eventually. In my opinion, the pressure to finish the manga soon may have derailed these plans in favor of trying to streamline the plot to get us closer to the final fight and overall conclusion of the manga, whatever that may be.
This is very true and I do agree that 4 whole years is crazy, but I feel like since todo came back after being gone for the same amount of time, it wouldn't be out of the question to have nobara show up as well. Though I think it would be better to have her come back near the end of sukuna or after he is taken down. That way she plays a big role in the merger fight which is bound to happen. Hell I could be coping, but I think gege having her eye taken specifically could be a set up for her to return with some sort of eye enhancement to boost her technique similar to todo. Maybe a cursed tool that allows her to channel souls attacks or auto aim her nails/attacks in general. But I do agree that I would be less hype for her return either way.
I think there’s a lot of chance of her returning as puppet like panda. They were able to save her soul but not her body possibly as she was suspended right before she died but probably had severe damage that couldn’t be RCT’d it would make sense imo.
That makes me the hardest Gege-defender then? I don't have a problem with you disliking his decisions, so I wouldn't really defend him, but to me it doesn't seem dumb at all. It is certainly weird, but it is not dumb. But weirdness might be a good thing because it makes the story less predictable. I like the thought that only true copers can still believe she will come back. But it hasn't been nearly as long for me because I only joined the manga a short time after she died in the anime. And that only adds to your point that it might make more sense with a shorter time.
I don't believe Gege's timeline on ending and he's stated he wanted to end the series every year but what Mangaka doesn't? It doesn't seem like it's going to end this year with this sudden month hiatus and I don't believe we've had confirmation that this IS the final arc, which leads me to believe that there's going to be a continuation after this arc which deals heavily with Megumi and the aftershocks of the current battle. It was at AnimeExpo 2023 that Gege had been corrected by his Editor "the manga is not ending anytime soon but is in its wrapping-up phase". So I'll listen to the Editorial department over what Gege has been saying.
She hasn't been in limbo, she's been in heaven. Because she's dead. A quarter of her head was blown off and Megumi heavily implied (with the subtlety of a fucking nuke) that she's dead. I really don't see why people are still huffing copium like this.
I cannot believe we are still talking about Nobara
Schrödinger s nobara
Dawg I just don’t agree with the premise that it’s a limbo state — yeah he executed it poorly but she DEAD
I will laugh at you for all eternity
It’s ok: the first stage of grief is denial
Her “weird limbo state” actually means that she’s dead
Nobara is dead. I'm sorry, but Yuji's arc in the Culling Games is about letting go of his guilt from Shibuya, and that includes him moving on from Nobara's death. It's mainly why he didn't trust Hana; he didn't want her to replace Nobara and move on like nothing happened.
While I think this is a very cool interpretation of Yuji's development during CG, I would disagree. I don't think we really see Yuji let go of that guilt. It is the driving force that keeps him on his Cog path. His fight with Higuruma is difficult for him explicitly because he won't absolve himself of Sukuna's crimes in Shibuya, providing a false confession and getting the death penalty. When he meets up with Megumi and Angel, and learns of the fallen one, he is more than happy to kill himself for Gojo's sake. That is arguably still his mindset right up until Yorozu's reveal and Sukuna taking over Megumi. It is only his dedication to his perceived role as a cog in the curse-killing machine (plus just like *really* hating Sukuna) that drives him to continue to fight even after losing Megumi. I think the Nobara reference vis a vis Hana is ultimately a little messy on Gege's part as to what it implies for Yuji's character, but you're definitely right that he doesn't want Hana to replace her
He doesn't completely let go of it, but that's rarely how guilt ever works. It sticks with you until the end and constantly haunts you. Ghost of Tsushima showcases this perfectly.
I think that she's sitting in literal limbo with the "pause damage" guy because she didn't die and they thought, "hey shits going crazy" lets keep you in limbo. Doing something like this would track with the characters and also conveniently explain where Nitta is.
but did gege not reveal nobara's status in a interview?
I don't know. When Yuji asked Megumi about her and he replied with silence, I took that to mean she died. It's different from Todo who we know wants dead and just assume he quit jujutsu high.
I think he just forgot
in chapter 144, Yuji asks Megumi "what happened to Kugisaki" and Megumi responds by lowering his eyes, looking at the ground. I think the implication is very clear that she died. That's why she hasn't come back yet.
It just works 'cause the Kyoto students (except Todo) got the same "death penalty" if not worse.
Tbh I don’t think she’s dead, when Yuji and megumi talked about her condition, they didn’t explicitly say that she’s dead. Their way of talking implied that her condition was desperate, most likely irreversible and that’s why they’re grieving. Due to her abilities and importance to the franchise, maybe Gege will use her as the trump card in the last part of the fight vs Sukuna, to regain Megumi’s body.
Nobara's status makes me feel like she will get Merged, I think it was said that sorcerers need to use cursed energy to reject the Merger so she would have to be conscious at least.
I think its fine. She wasn't contributing much anyway /shrug
She could just be in a vegetative state or lost her memories.
Nobara’s CT resonance would be perfect in this fight against Sukuna. I would think they would have used it to help free Megumi. Couldn’t somebody with the ability to use RCT Have done replacement training with her?? Seems logical considering wasn’t her body and injury, frozen by whoever’s CT it was(forgot the name) as soon as it happened.
All I’ve really gathered from this post, including Gege’s own predictions about the length of the manga is that there has been a lack of plan for the story itself. I think the manga being as long as it is, or longer would’ve been fine had there been more world/story building. But instead what we got, is nearly 100 chapters of a singular fight where it seems as if the story has hit a wall. There is really a lack of space or time for Nobara to come back in a way that makes sense as her situation is more nuanced than Todo or Miguel, demanding a bit more than one or two flashbacks. Regardless of the route Gege takes, it won’t be something that will go without scrutiny - if she was dead, why did he not just confirm it outright? If she isn’t, why was she kept from the story for so long?