Jujutsu Kaisen: Are Nobara and Saori in Love? Thier Relationship Explained!

As far as Jujutsu Kaisen ships are concerned, one of the often discussed characters in this category is Nobara Kugisaki, who is, incidentally, one of the most popular characters in the series as well. She is, as you know, the only female protagonist in the group, which is why she is so often mentioned in this aspect. In this article, we have decided to focus on one specific ship that is often mentioned when Nobara is talked about: the NobaOri ship, which explores the relationship between Nobara and her childhood friend, Saori. In this article, we will explain the exact nature of their relationship in the series.

Saori seems to care for Nobara, and Nobara is very attached to Saori

As viewers of the series are aware, Nobara is a bold and self-assured young woman with a strong personality. Above all, Nobara is devoted to following her moral principles at any cost. She is unafraid to display her “dual nature,” which combines being a stunning girl with the might of an opponent. At first glance, Nobara may come off as an extremely snobbish and impolite person. She made it obvious how little she thought of Magumi and Itadori as she introduced herself to them.

Nobara was an opinionated individual who stood out among her peers in her home village, even as a young child. She despised the residents in her community and firmly decided to leave the rural setting for the big city. This is why she did not have many friends growing up, and Fumi was her only known friend during her earliest childhood. Although completely different personality-wise, the two of the managed to build a firm friendship that would go on for years.

But, aside from Fumi, another female character left a mark on Nobara’s childhood: Saori. Saori moved to Nobara’s village from Tokyo with her family and since Nobara wanted to leave for the big city, she was fascinated by Saori, and the two quickly became friends. Fumi was not left out, and the three of them would spend a lot of time together, although it was clear that Nobara looked up to Saori and that her friendship with Saori changed her and made her more mature. But, due to her family being ostracized by the villagers, Saori once again left for Tokyo, leaving Nobara in tears.

It was never clearly implied that Nobara Kugisaki was in love with Saori. She was, in fact, too young for such emotions, and Saori was young as well, so as far as the canon is concerned, we can only state that the two of them were friends. They are very close to each other, but still – just friends.

When Saori left, Nobara never forgot about her, but she continued with her life, and later, when she went to Tokyo herself, she did not look for Saori. Interestingly enough, Saori decided not to stay in touch with them, fearing that they would end up estranged later on, so she abandoned them while fearing that she would be abandoned. And that was all we were given about the relationship between Nobara and Saori, but we later saw Saori again in the series.

Namely, after the Shibuya Incident, Saori was shown at work. She discussed the incident with one of her co-workers, who suggested that it might have been a terrorist attack. As the conversation continued, Saori came to tell her co-worker her life story, mentioning Nobara and Fumi as well and how she had not stayed in touch with the two of them. She was quite sad about it, and it seemed like she was missing them. Whether this implies any deeper emotions is unknown, but this is the only proof we have that Saori is still thinking about Nobara and Fumi in the present.

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