Jujutsu Kaisen Anime: Gege Akutami's Brilliant Fix Sets the Manga World Ablaze!

Although the Jujutsu Kaisen manga has achieved great success with its intricate storytelling and captivating characters, it is not without its flaws. There have been occasions where certain characters or situations were not portrayed accurately. However, the anime adaptation has addressed these shortcomings.

Under Gege Akutami's guidance, MAPPA Studios has incorporated numerous original anime sequences to rectify or enhance these situations in Jujutsu Kaisen. One recent episode showcased a unique scene that highlighted why Nobara Kugisaki was deserving of a promotion to grade one.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from Jujutsu Kaisen manga.

Jujutsu Kaisen anime treats Nobara better than the manga during her battle against Haruta Shigemo

Nobara Kugisaki entered Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen as a fresh face among the first-year students at Tokyo Jujutsu High. With her abundant talent, she held the potential to become an exceptional sorcerer, if not the very best. Manifesting her prowess, she exhibited remarkable strength and abilities, even mastering the formidable Black Flash technique when facing Kezichu in the Death Painting Arc.

As a result, Aoi Todo and Mei Mei recommended her for promotion to being a grade one sorcerer, together with Maki, Panda, Megumi, and Yuji. It was widely expected by numerous fans that Nobara would play a pivotal role in the Shibuya Incident arc, building upon her accomplishments in the Death Painting Arc.


Despite not being given the opportunity to showcase her abilities, Mahito mercilessly defeated Nobara in Shibuya, causing her to fall short of fans' expectations. Despite being nominated for promotion to grade one, Nobara failed to leave a lasting impact.

Many fans criticized Gege Akutami for not effectively portraying Nobara's character in the manga. However, the recent anime adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen's Shibuya Incident arc has partially redeemed Nobara, as seen in the latest episode titled "Dull Knife." In this episode, Nobara displayed her full strength while battling Haruta Shigemo.

Nobara, as depicted in the episode (Image via MAPPA)

Despite the fact that Haruta possessed greater strength than Nobara, the Jujutsu Sorcerer successfully held her ground and deflected his strikes. It is worth noting that in the manga, Nobara's encounter with Haruta heavily tilted in his favor, resulting in a completely one-sided battle.

Although the anime adaptation of Gege Akutami's manga did not alter the final result of the battle, it granted Nobara a form of solace. In the anime, she employed her cursed technique to bring down a ceiling on Haruta, who willingly chose not to evade the assault.

Haruta Shigemo in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

The attack didn't kill the curse user but it did remove one of his miracle procs, as shown in a close-up. Haruta's cursed technique, Miracle, shields him from certain death. Without his cursed technique, Haruta would have died from the falling ceiling.

It is worth noting that this scene did not appear in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga. In the manga, Nobara had no opportunity to retaliate against Shigemo. She was completely defeated and later saved by Nanami.

But the addition of an anime original sequence starring Nobara and Haruta has truly worked wonders for her character development. Even though she wasn't initially portrayed as a top-tier sorcerer, this scene gave a glimpse of Nobara's immense potential.

Later, the Jujutsu Sorcerer was filled with awe witnessing Kento Nanami's effortless annihilation of Haruta, realizing the vast disparity between her own abilities and those of a genuine first-grade sorcerer. Determined to bridge the gap, she made a solemn oath to grow stronger.

Stay tuned for further updates on anime news and manga releases as we venture into 2023.