Nobara Kugisaki is a first-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Her personality can best be described as fierce, confident, and completely genuine. Right from her introduction, she’s a character who knows exactly who she is and makes no apologies for it. Nobara also has great confidence in her own skills as a jujutsu sorcerer. While she may not always express it, she values and looks out for her friends.
Is Nobara alive?
Nobara Kugisaki is back in action in Jujutsu Kaisen after years of doubt. Her survival was confirmed in Chapter 267. She now wears an eyepatch over her left eye, which she lost during the Shibuya Incident. The injury was caused by Mahito, leaving her in critical condition.
Thanks to allies like Arata Nitta and Shoko Ieiri, Nobara was saved. She was kept in a coma for a long time before finally returning. Even with the loss of her eye, her spirit hasn’t wavered.
Nobara’s return is a big deal. She uses her cursed technique to help in the fight against Sukuna, playing an important role in the story’s climax.
Abilities
The Straw Doll Technique
This is Nobara’s signature ability and the foundation of her fighting style. Using a hammer, nails, and a straw doll, she channels cursed energy to attack enemies indirectly. By driving a nail into the doll, she can transfer the damage straight to her opponent.
The technique is at its most effective when she has something connected to her target, like a severed limb or even a strand of hair. With that link established, any damage she inflicts on the doll hits the enemy directly.
Resonance
Resonance takes the Straw Doll Technique to the next level. With this ability, Nobara amplifies the damage she can do to a specific part of her opponent’s body. It works by nailing an object tied to the enemy, like a chunk of their flesh or hair, to the straw doll and then channeling her cursed energy.
One of the most intense examples of this technique happened during her fight with Eso and Kechizu. To counter their poison, she used Resonance on herself by driving a nail into her own wrist. It was a bold move that reflected their attack back at them.
Hairpin
Hairpin is Nobara’s more tactical and explosive technique. She plants nails around her target and uses cursed energy to make them detonate. The explosions are controlled but powerful enough to injure multiple enemies at once.
Nobara also uses it to manipulate her surroundings and restrict her opponent’s movement. In her fight with Momo Nishimiya, for example, she fired nails into the trees around her, setting a trap. When the nails exploded, they forced Momo into a tight spot, giving Nobara the upper hand.
Black Flash
Black Flash is one of the rarest and most advanced jujutsu techniques. It happens when cursed energy is applied at the exact moment a physical attack lands, creating a distortion in space. The timing required is so precise that it’s almost impossible to pull off without exceptional skill, and Nobara has done it.
Nobara’s Story
Nobara originates from a small rural village where she was raised by her grandmother. Her early life, though peaceful, was marked by a persistent sense of isolation and dissatisfaction with her surroundings.
In a certain point of her life, she befriended Saori, a girl from the city who had moved to the village. Saori’s presence introduced a refreshing change in Nobara’s otherwise monotonous life, and the two developed a close bond. Unfortunately, their friendship was short-lived. Saori became the target of bullying by the villagers, eventually forcing her to return to the city. This experience left a profound impact on Nobara, intensifying her desire to leave the village and seek a broader world.
Nobara’s grandmother, a sorcerer herself, played an essential role in shaping her future. She imparted the basics of Jujutsu to Nobara, encouraging her to pursue a path as a sorcerer. Following her grandmother’s passing, Nobara made the decision to move to Tokyo and enroll at Jujutsu High.
At Jujutsu High, Nobara distinguished herself through her determination and abilities. As a first-year student and grade 3 sorcerer, she trains under the esteemed Satoru Gojo, alongside her classmates Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro.
Motivation
Nobara grew up in a small, rural town where she was often frustrated by the conservative, narrow-minded attitudes of the people around her. Her best friend, Saori, was ostracized for being different, and that experience solidified Nobara’s desire to live her life on her own terms, free from judgment.
Nobara simply wants to stay true to herself and never feel like she has to fit into a box. That’s part of why she fits so seamlessly with the rest of Team Gojo. Yuji and Megumi are on their own journeys of self-discovery, and Nobara complements them perfectly by being unapologetically herself right from the start. She doesn’t have to figure out who she is; she just needs to make sure the world knows it too.
This self-assurance also ties into her dynamic with other characters. Nobara has a kind of sibling rivalry with Yuji, constantly teasing him but also showing that she genuinely cares about his well-being. She balances out Megumi’s more reserved and serious nature by pushing him to be more expressive, whether through banter or battle.
