In Volume 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen, Gege Akutami revealed that our main girl’s hair was actually dyed. But why did Nobara dye her hair? And what does this mean? Before that, here’s a little background.
The hit manga and anime series Jujutsu Kaisen is undoubtedly one of the best among the new generation of shounen series. Although many of its aspects were inspired by classic shounen series like Hunter x Hunter and Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen has its own charm that sets it apart from other series in the genre.
In Jujutsu Kaisen, cursed spirits are creatures that were born out of negative human emotions. They lurk among humans and cause mysterious deaths. Tokyo Jujutsu High is a school dedicated to fostering young sorcerers whose role is to eliminate those cursed spirits. The series’ protagonist, Yuji Itadori, was living an ordinary high school life until he got involved with a special grade cursed object known as Sukuna’s finger. For some reason, he decided to swallow the cursed object, and the next thing you know, he was already brought to Tokyo Jujutsu High. There, he met two other young sorcerers, and the three of them eventually became known as the “JJK Trio.”
One of them was Nobara Kugisaki, the only woman in the trio with a very standout personality and unique technique. In fact, it seems like Gege Akutami put a lot of thought into her character, and even her hair color says a lot about her. How? Let’s dive into the details in this article.
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Who is Nobara Kugisaki?
Nobara Kugisaki is a grade 3 sorcerer and a first-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High, along with Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro. She is a confident and brash young woman with firm principles. She is the type of person who would do crazy things on a whim. Being spontaneous and unshakeable are all part of her personality. Apart from that, Nobara also takes pride in being both pretty and strong, refusing to let anyone influence her in any way. Her determination to stay true to herself is one of her most admirable qualities.
At first, Nobara appeared obnoxious and overly enthusiastic since it was her first time coming into the big city. After all, she came from a small, quiet town in the countryside where people live simple and conservative lives. Even as a child, Nobara was outspoken and adventurous. Hence, she always felt like she did not belong in the countryside. That’s why she went to Tokyo to pursue being a sorcerer and explore greater things.
When she came to Tokyo, Nobara’s first stop was immediately Harajuku, Tokyo’s fashion district. Despite her brash attitude and tough image, especially in battle, Nobara actually loves typical girly stuff like fashion, shopping, and dressing up. These contradictory aspects of Nobara’s character only show how multifaceted she really is.
Another interesting aspect of Nobara’s character is her hair. In Nobara’s profile in Volume 1 of the manga, Gege Akutami revealed that her ginger hair is actually dyed. Apparently, her natural hair color is dark brown, as shown by her childhood flashback in the anime. Initially, you might think of that piece of information as trivial. But if you think about it, the fact that Nobara dyed her hair is actually very telling of her character.
Why did Nobara dye her hair?
The reason why Nobara dyed her hair is deeply tied to her upbringing. She left the small village in the countryside because she always felt like it was too small for her and that she never had the freedom to express herself due to nosy and conservative villagers. Hence, we can say that Nobara dyed her hair for self-expression. Once she got out of the countryside and reached the big city, she immediately dyed her hair a ginger color to kick start her new beginning. After all, Nobara is the type of person who would dye her hair a bright color, considering her bold personality.
She probably wanted to dye her hair for a long time, but she never had a chance to do so for fear of being ostracized by the villagers in their small town. So once she had the freedom to express herself, the first thing Nobara did was to do something that she really wanted—to express her individuality.