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This article provides an in-depth explanation of Nobara Kugisaki a character from Jujutsu kaisen. It includes details about her abilities, past episodes, and images of her appearances in the anime.

What is the Anime Jujutsu Kaisen Where Nobara Kugisaki Appears?

Jujutsu Kaisen (呪術廻戦) is a dark fantasy series that began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in March 2018. The story follows Yuji Itadori, a high schooler who enters a world of curses and sorcery after unsealing a powerful “Cursed Object.” The series concluded in September 2024.

The Jujutsu Kaisen manga has surpassed 100 million copies in circulation. The anime adaptation aired its first season from October 2020 to March 2021, becoming a massive hit. The success continued with the theatrical release of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 in December 2021 and the highly acclaimed Season 2 airing from July to December 2023. Fans can also look forward to the production of Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Arc.

Nobara Kugisaki's Official Plofile

Name: Nobara Kugisaki
Nobara Kugisaki (釘崎 野薔薇, Kugisaki Nobara) is a first-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High alongside Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro. A confident and headstrong individual, Nobara wields her unique Straw Doll Technique (芻霊呪法, Sūrei Juhō), utilizing nails and a hammer for long-range attacks and curses through effigies. While her fearless and assertive personality stands out, she also demonstrates a deep sense of camaraderie and care for her friends.

Age: 16
Birthday: August 7
Height: Just under 160 cm
Affiliation: First-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High
Jujutsu Grade: Grade 3 sorcerer
Hometown: A rural village in Tohoku, four hours from Morioka
Hobbies: Shopping during her downtime
Favorite Foods: Trendy dishes and watermelon
Disliked Foods: Lightly pickled vegetables (*Asazuke*)
Stress Point: Dry skin
Ideal Type: Historical figure Oda Nobunaga

Combat Style
Nobara's techniques revolve around precision and creativity. Her Straw Doll Technique enables two primary attacks:
Resonance (共鳴, *Tomonari*): Inflicting damage on a target via a linked object, such as hair or body parts.
Hairpin (簪, *Kanzashi*): Nails imbued with cursed energy erupt in explosive force upon impact.
This versatility makes her an effective sorcerer capable of adapting to various scenarios.

First-person Pronoun: "Watashi" (私)
Theme Songs:
Sunny Day Service: "Seishun Kyousoukyoku" (青春狂騒曲)
Natsuko Nisshoku: "Ano Department" (あのデパート)

Source: Official Jujutsu Kaisen Fanbook, bonus pages from the manga volumes

Nobara Kugisaki’s Appearance

■Hairstyle and Hair Color:
Nobara’s signature look is her bob-style brown hair. Originally black, she dyed it to achieve a more urban and sophisticated impression. This hairstyle reflects her admiration for city dwellers' refined style and serves as a form of self-expression.

■Facial Expressions:
Emotionally expressive, Nobara’s feelings are often vividly displayed on her face. During battles, she adopts a fierce gaze, glaring sharply at her opponents with a determined expression. In contrast, in her daily life with friends, she often shows a relaxed smile or playful expressions. Notably, when angered, her furrowed brows and intense look convey her strong will and fiery personality.

■Physical Features:
Standing just under 160 cm, Nobara has a petite frame, yet she exudes strength in combat. Her agile and well-toned physique, honed through her training as a sorcerer, enhances her sharp movements and speed in battle. To compensate for her smaller stature, Nobara effectively utilizes her tools and techniques in her unique combat style.

■Fashion:
Nobara takes care in her choice of clothing, favoring trendy styles outside of her Jujutsu High uniform. Since moving to Tokyo, she has developed a keen awareness of the city's fashion trends and enjoys shopping as a hobby. This aspect of her lifestyle highlights her free-spirited personality and serves as a means of personal expression.

Back Story

Growing Up in a Small Village
Nobara Kugisaki grew up in a small, secluded village in the Tohoku region. The village was highly insular and harbored strong hostility toward outsiders. This environment significantly shaped her worldview, with one pivotal event leaving a lasting impression on her.

Meeting and Parting with Saori-chan
As a child, Nobara met a girl named Saori, who became a pivotal figure in her life. Saori, a middle schooler who had moved to the village from Tokyo, was admired by Nobara for her beautiful appearance and kindhearted demeanor. Saori’s doll-like beauty and almost saintly kindness ignited Nobara's longing for the sophistication and openness of city life.

However, the villagers’ hostility toward outsiders intensified, leading to escalating harassment of Saori and her family. Ultimately, Saori's family was forced to leave the village. This event deeply scarred young Nobara, leaving her with a sense of despair and a strong belief that she could never truly be herself in such a narrow-minded community. She came to see the village as a place where her individuality could not thrive.

Loneliness and Determination
During her time in the village, Nobara had a close friend named Fumi. They shared joyful moments together, often playing in their secret hideout. However, the Saori incident only deepened Nobara's resentment toward the village's rigid and exclusionary attitudes.

Upon finishing middle school, Nobara resolved to move to Tokyo. She yearned for an environment where she could live authentically, free from the constraints of her hometown. As she put it, “I hated the countryside and wanted to live in Tokyo.” With her grandmother’s recommendation, she enrolled at Tokyo Jujutsu High, a decision partly motivated by her desire to enjoy city life without financial worries.

Departure to Tokyo:
When leaving for Tokyo, Nobara said an emotional goodbye to Fumi, holding back tears as she promised, “Next time we meet, it’ll be the three of us!” This statement reflected her lingering attachment to both Saori and Fumi. Despite cherishing these bonds, Nobara's resolve to never return to the village remained steadfast as she set her sights on forging her own path in life.

Nobara Kugisaki's Abilities

Nobara Kugisaki is a sorcerer who balances boldness with calm judgment in battle. She utilizes the Straw Doll Technique (芻霊呪法, Sūrei Juhō), combining her skill in cursed techniques with physical combat. Her abilities are rooted in the teachings of her grandmother, an experienced sorcerer, which serve as the foundation of her combat prowess.

■Technique: Straw Doll Technique
The Straw Doll Technique is a classical cursed technique involving the use of cursed nails to strike and inflict damage on targets. This method, steeped in the historical symbolism of “cursing” through effigies in Japanese tradition, is well-regarded among conservative sorcerers. Nobara employs a hammer and five-inch nails as her primary weapons, channeling cursed energy through the nails to attack her opponents. Her mastery of the technique allows her to adapt and integrate advanced applications into her combat style.

■Signature Moves

1. Resonance (Tomonari) Resonance involves channeling cursed energy into an effigy, such as a straw doll, using a fragment of the target’s body. This enables Nobara to inflict damage on the target remotely, no matter where they are. While not always lethal against special-grade curses, this technique can immobilize opponents and disrupt their actions effectively.

2. Hairpin (Kanzashi) Hairpin is a technique where Nobara drives cursed nails into a target and injects cursed energy into them. The technique includes a delayed effect, where the cursed energy stored in the nails erupts, causing devastating damage. This move can also be used strategically by leaving nails embedded in the ground to set traps or using multiple nails for large-scale destruction.

3. Black Flash (Kokusen) Black Flash is a phenomenon where cursed energy distorts space at the moment of impact, amplifying the power of an attack by 2.5 times. Nobara successfully executed this during the battle at Yasohachi Bridge, showcasing its immense power. This rare occurrence significantly enhances a sorcerer’s combat sense and marked a turning point in Nobara’s growth as a fighter.

■Limitations and Challenges
While Nobara’s techniques are powerful, they often require specific conditions, such as obtaining a fragment of the target, to activate. Compared to her peers, Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro, her physical abilities and the versatility of her techniques are slightly less adaptable. As a result, she excels in team-based strategies, where her strengths can be maximized in coordination with others.

Nobara Kugisaki’s Key Relationships

■Yuji Itadori (虎杖 悠仁)
Nobara met Yuji Itadori at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Initially, she described him with a biting remark, calling him “He's the type who ate his nose boogers as a kid. For sure.” However, through enduring dangerous battles together, she came to trust him deeply. When Yuji was presumed dead, Nobara outwardly maintained her composure but was seen struggling to hold back tears. Upon learning he was alive, she showed her tsundere side, tearing up while feigning annoyance.

Their relationship occasionally hints at complex emotions that go beyond simple friendship. For instance, when hearing about Yuji’s middle school experiences, some readers speculated that Nobara might have romantic feelings for him. However, she has explicitly denied such notions, stating, “That’s absolutely impossible.”

■Megumi Fushiguro (伏黒 恵)
Nobara’s initial impression of Megumi was equally sharp, likening him to “He'd definitely do things like... lighting a gull drenched in oil on fire.” Despite this, they grew to respect each other’s skills and developed a strong bond through their work as fellow sorcerers. Megumi’s calm and cautious personality contrasts with Nobara’s passionate and intuitive nature, creating a balanced dynamic in their interactions.

■Maki Zenin (禪院 真希)
Nobara looks up to Maki as an older sister figure and admires her strength and independence. Maki’s determination to carve her own path, despite being born into the esteemed Zenin family within the jujutsu world, deeply inspired Nobara. Maki’s pursuit of authenticity resonates with Nobara’s own beliefs, fostering a profound sense of respect and admiration.

■Saori-chan (沙織ちゃん)
Saori was the first person Nobara admired as a "sophisticated urbanite." Her kindness and beauty left a lasting impression on Nobara, who grew up in a closed-off village. Saori’s presence solidified Nobara’s dream of living in a city. However, the villagers’ cruel ostracism forced Saori’s family to leave the village, leaving a deep scar on Nobara’s heart. This experience fueled her determination to leave the countryside and live a life true to herself.

Nobara Kugisaki’s Family

■Mother
Although little is mentioned about Nobara’s mother in the series, their relationship does not appear to be particularly close. In an exclusive episode featured in the final volume of the manga, it is revealed that Nobara’s mother is rather free-spirited in her relationships with men. It is implied that Nobara’s father’s identity remains unclear.

■Grandmother
Nobara’s grandmother is a jujutsu sorcerer who taught Nobara the fundamentals of jujutsu. At her grandmother’s recommendation, Nobara enrolled at Tokyo Jujutsu High. For Nobara, who disliked her rural hometown, this opportunity was a welcome chance to escape, and she happily embraced the opportunity to study there.

Nobara Kugisaki’s Voice Actor

Asami Seto portrays Nobara Kugisaki in Jujutsu Kaisen. Seto began her voice acting career shortly after gaining attention in a voice acting audition during high school. The following year, she officially debuted as a voice actress. In 2011, she gained widespread recognition for her breakout role as Chihaya Ayase, the protagonist of the anime Chihayafuru.

Nobara Kugisaki’s Key Scenes in the Anime

First Mission
Shortly after moving to Tokyo, Nobara was taken by Satoru Gojo to Roppongi. However, the destination turned out to be an abandoned building inhabited by Curses. This mission marked her first assignment alongside Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro. During this mission, Nobara faced a Curse holding a child hostage, overcoming her inner conflict and bravely confronting the enemy. With Yuji’s support, she used her Resonance technique to defeat the Curse, delivering the iconic line, “That's why I'm me.” This scene symbolizes Nobara's commitment to her beliefs and her first steps as a jujutsu sorcerer.

Cursed Womb: Death Painting Arc
Nobara joined Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro in a mission to exorcise a special-grade Curse at a juvenile detention center. The battle was a pivotal moment, as Yuji’s apparent death (though he later revived) left a significant emotional impact on Nobara.

Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event
During the Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event, Nobara showcased her bold personality and combat abilities. One standout moment was her face-off against Mai Zenin, where Nobara’s sharp retorts, such as “Your pores are showing” and “Are you sleep-deprived?” highlighted her fiery nature.

Additionally, Nobara battled Momo Nishimiya, a Kyoto student who moved freely in the air. Using her Hairpin technique, Nobara strategically launched nails imbued with cursed energy, exploiting a split-second opportunity to defeat Momo. This fight demonstrated Nobar

Battle at Yasohachi Bridge
At Yasohachi Bridge, Nobara and Yuji faced the Death Painting Womb brothers, Eso and Kechizu, who were incarnated from special-grade cursed objects. Nobara’s Resonance technique and Yuji’s martial skills worked in perfect sync, allowing them to achieve their first victory against special-grade entities. In particular, Nobara’s clever use of Resonance to turn Kechizu’s poison against him highlighted her quick thinking and exceptional skill. This battle showcased her growth as a sorcerer and her ability to collaborate effectively.

Romantic Consultation with Yuko
In a rare lighthearted moment, Nobara meets Yuko, Yuji’s former middle school classmate who once had a crush on him. During their conversation, Yuko directly asks Nobara if she has feelings for Yuji. Nobara firmly denies the notion, humorously adding, “I feel like Yuji would get a girlfriend before I get a boyfriend, and that annoys me.”

This scene highlights Nobara’s candid personality and offers a glimpse into her dynamic with Yuji, blending humor with her steadfast independence.

Shibuya Incident Arc
The Shibuya Incident was a turning point for Nobara, particularly during her confrontation with the special-grade Curse, Mahito. In the narrow alleys of Dogenzaka, she detected Mahito’s double and successfully used Resonance to damage the duplicate. However, she later suffered a critical injury when Mahito’s true form struck her, blowing off the left side of her face and rendering her incapacitated.

As she lost consciousness, Nobara entrusted Yuji with her final words, “It wasn’t so bad.” Her fate remains ambiguous, as her survival or death has not been confirmed. Creator Gege Akutami has stated, “Nobara is currently dead, but the possibility of her revival remains,” leaving fans eager to see how her story unfolds.

Source : Jujutsu kaisen Official