Nobara Kugisaki is one of the first-year students at Tokyo Jujutsu High along with Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro. However, compared to Yuji and Megumi, Nobara’s capabilities are less highlighted in the series. So in this article, we will explore the various abilities of Jujutsu Kaisen’s tritagonist and answer the question, “How strong is Nobara?”
Nobara Kugisaki: Jujutsu Kaisen’s Resident Voodoo
Nobara is a grade 3 jujutsu sorcerer with a great amount of cursed energy and skill in manipulating it. She was given a grade 3 skill level due to her lack of experience as a sorcerer, but Nobara’s skills actually deserve more recognition than what they already get.
Straw Doll Technique
Similar to performing ushi no koku mairi in Japanese folklore, Nobara’s cursed technique utilizes a hammer, nails, and a straw doll to inflict damage on her opponents. However, Nobara’s technique does not require a tree. Instead, she can simply strike the nails midair and turn them into lethal projectiles that could puncture her opponents’ bodies.
Resonance
The most effective feature of Nobara’s Straw Doll Technique is Resonance. By nailing a strand of the target’s hair or severed body part onto the straw doll, Nobara can inflict critical damage to the target’s body. Resonance pierces the target with black spikes that protrude from their chest. The advantage of this technique is that it is a guaranteed hit and Nobara can inflict damage on her target even if they’re out of her range, as long as a part of the target’s body is nailed onto the straw doll.
Nobara frequently uses Resonance throughout the series. During her face-off with Momo Nishimiya in the Kyoto Goodwill Event, Nobara snatched a bristle from Momo’s broom and nailed it onto her straw doll to incapacitate Momo from flying. During the Death Painting Arc, Nobara also utilized Resonance to inflict a great deal of damage on Eso. She nailed his severed arm onto her straw doll and pierced it with a nail, causing black spikes to protrude from Eso’s chest.
Using her own body as the medium
The most impressive use of Resonance during the series occurred in her fight with Yuji against Kechizu and Eso. The curses spewed rotten blood on Nobara and Yuji in order to poison their bodies. To their surprise, Nobara used their technique against them. Instead of a straw doll, she used her body as the medium and pierced her infected arm with a nail in order to activate Resonance, fatally wounding Kechizu and Eso. Not only does she have a powerful technique, but Nobara also has insane grit that makes her an unpredictable opponent.
How Strong is Nobara?
Although Nobara is often considered slightly weaker than the other first-year students, we cannot deny that she has one of the best cursed techniques out there. Nobara’s Straw Doll Technique is quite terrifying if you think about it. She can inflict fatal damage on her enemies no matter where they are, and the target can never escape from her attacks as long as a connection was drawn between the target and her straw doll.
Plus, Nobara’s tactical intellect makes her techniques more effective in battle. Even when she’s at a physical disadvantage during her fight with Momo Nishimiya who was flying with her broom, Nobara was able to outwit her by using the environment to her advantage. She struck the surrounding trees with her nails and made them explode using the Straw Doll Technique: Hairpin to force Momo to lower down her broom. Once the broom was around her reach, Nobara grabbed a bristle and nailed it onto her straw doll to permanently disable Momo from flying.
Nobara’s fearlessness and flexibility are also her best assets. She proved to be an unpredictable opponent during her fight with Yuji against Kechizu and Eso. Honestly, who would expect Nobara to use her body as a substitute for the straw doll and pierce her arm with a nail?
Despite being a bit on the lower side when it comes to the power ranking of Jujutsu Kaisen characters, Nobara definitely has a vast amount of potential if only her abilities will be highlighted and developed more throughout the series. In fact, many fans have been saying that Nobara needs a power-up soon (if she survives the you-know-what in the manga) since it seems like she was falling behind compared to Yuji and Megumi, who have demonstrated insane growth in terms of power.