#gege i will find you

[zlamanypedzel]

reunited

I'm gonna miss them

[epickiya722]

Seeing someone say they hope Gege gets hit by a car and others going "good" because he's sick was just... look, hate or love the story but it's extreme to wish harm on some guy over FICTION.

You know, one reason why some people stop creating is because people do shit like that.

Imagine being someone who writes a fic and someone comments how they wish harm on you. OVER WORDS. THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO READ.

Ridiculous, isn't it?

[2018-01-20]

if you still have your 1k words of kissing satoru pls bestow it to me 🧎🏽‍♀️i’m grabbing him by the back of his blindfold and making out with him fr

pairing. high schooler!gojo satoru × gn!reader

content. fluff + one kiss, implied that reader is shorter than gojo, somewhat proofread (i hate everything) read slowly!!

sticky-note. IM CRYING the way u worded this ask made me want to write an entirely new thing of making out w gojo 😭 ty for sending this in leeee 🫶

it is no secret that gojo satoru looks like a good kisser.

he’s attentive; one large hand on the small of your back to hold you steady while the other rests on your hip, eyes on you to see if you’ll make the first move. to both his and your dismay, you don’t move a single inch.

“i can’t do it,” you finally say, exasperated, pulling away to quickly hide your face in your hands. you awkwardly twist away from his figure, unable to stand the way that you’re able to see his stupidly pretty eyes through his sunglasses. it infuriates you to no end. “i give up. this is too embarrassing.”

“that’s so mean of you to say,” gojo whines not unsimilar to a toddler, but there is only amusement in his tone as he lightly tugs on the waistband of your pants, trying to get you to turn back around. “shouldn’t you be honored to kiss the one and only gojo satoru?”

“shutupshutupshutup,” you chant, mostly to yourself than to the obnoxious boy behind you. you swat weakly at his hand while trying to ignore the demonic voices in your head.

it is no secret that you’ve liked your classmate for a long while now. as cute and funny (and hot) as gojo is, he is twice as annoying and unpleasant. you swear he makes it his daily goal to get your blood boiling every chance he gets. that is the sole reason why you don’t plan on professing your love anytime soon: due to the fact that shoko will forever be disappointed in you and will never let you live it down if she knew. you don’t even want to think about what utahime would ultimately think of you.

he continues to bug you, “c’mo-on...” you can practically hear him sporting his signature smug grin. “do you really wanna go back to jujutsu high like that and kiss suguru instead?”

at that, you spin around in an instant—a mortified look on your face that further urges you to stab an accusatory finger at his chest. “y-you’re a damn liar! there is no way that there is an actual curse who’s goddamn antidote requires you to kiss someone when you get hit.”

sneakily, he wraps a palm around your wrist but makes no move to push your hand away. “but you just got touched by that cursed spirit, right? doesn’t your skin feel all sticky and itchy, like i mentioned?”

as much as you hate to admit it, you know that he’s right. before the two of you had gotten into the fight in the first place, he warned you not to get hit and the symptoms you would have to face if you did. your skin does feel like you just took a swim in poison ivy, and your head feels dizzy with a sudden migraine that should not be there, since gojo had instantly caught you the moment you faced a hit from the cursed spirit.

“b-but it doesn’t make any sense,” you sputter out, a weak last-minute resort. you really do not want to kiss gojo satoru—at least, not because of a measly curse—and have to hear him blab about it later on to your friends. you rant on, “if such a technique exists, then why didn’t you just kill the thing right away? aren’t you the strongest? why am i even on this mission with you?”

“hey!” he feigns an offended gasp, “are you saying that you don’t like hanging out with me?” he groans and dramatically lays an arm on his forehead, reminding you of a mistress in distress. you stare blankly. “how cruel of you. and besides, just because i’m the strongest doesn’t mean i can kill a first-grade so quickly.”

you keep staring at him with a disapproving look, but he only looks back at you with a joyous glint in his eyes. “...you’re insufferable,” you finally huff out, your hand still in his. but the both of you can hear the undertone of surrounder in your voice.

you stand awkwardly still in front of him for a few solid seconds, narrowing your eyes as he returns your defeated glare with a sheepish smile. you can’t help but sigh to yourself—you’re going to have to prepare yourself for a mouthful from shoko when you both head back.

you let him pull you closer when he tugs at your hand, your other palm moving to rest on his chest to steady yourself. but even then, you don’t get to kiss him until he leans down from that freakishly tall height of his— gently meeting his lips with yours.

it isn’t a quick peck. in fact, it’s a sweet and slow kind of kiss that makes your heart skip a concerningly amount of beats. a free hand of satoru’s moves up to softly cup the back of your head to deepen the kiss. nothing about his movements show that he’s in a rush to get the whole ordeal over with—and as much as you would like to lie and say that you hate it, you can’t help but step forwards to reach him better too.

your mind is in so much of a daze that you don’t even realize that satoru turned his limitless infinity just for you.

when you finally step back into reality and—reluctantly—pull away, gojo is grinning brightly with his sunglasses tucked into his hair. you didn’t even notice that he pushed them up to make the kiss more comfortable for you. however, you do notice that your skin still very much feels uncomfortable on your body and your head is pounding (whether it be from the symptoms or the kiss, you don’t really wanna know).

“you’re so cute,” gojo chuckles unabashedly, laughing again when you avert your gaze with another huff and a warm face. you are more than used to his flirty remarks and his more-than-platonic habits, but somehow it feels more... genuine this time around.

“and gullible,” he suddenly adds, the out of blue comment making you turn back towards him with a raised eyebrow. you squeak out a sound of surprise when he unexpectedly, but gently, pushes your head downwards, his other hand now in your line of sight. you feel more confusion swirling in your head when you see him holding a small vial with some clear, greenish liquid inside of it.

“here’s the real antidote,” gojo casually cheers, and he does not have a single shame in the world. a whole minute seems to pass by until you connect the dots, and when you do, the first thing that pops up in your mind is the thought of absolute murder.

“are you serious?” you practically screech. “you made that whole kiss thing up?”

[sade-summer]

If I EVER catch Gege it's on like donkey Kong, WHY couldn't he let my husband be happy😭😭😭😭

[iooiu]

it's not chosover until i SAY it's chosover

[kentuckyfriedmegumi]

GEGE!!!!!! DROP MORE JJK BASEBALL SCENES!!!! AND MY LIFE. IS YOURS!!!!!!

silly jjk baseball sketches that i did instead of work, oops

[lotus-lamps]

originally just quick doodles but i got carried away gege style LMAO (gege when i catch you gege) not too satisfied with the second one but alas. i apologize to artfight i got distracted by jjk 😭😭😭

anyways. guess my favorite character (i have two sketchbook pages worth of drawings of junpei. i lobe him dearly)

[worstloki]

Calamity Mu Qing this and calamity Xie Lian that. Have you considered Feng Xin as a ghost?? He'd be out there looking for Xie Lian. He would know that's what Hua Cheng is doing too. It'd be the most competitive 2 supreme ghost race of which of them can find Xie Lian first and it would last for 800 years...

[niinnyu]

Here's why I think jjk 261 is bad writing and wasted potential.

I've tried to separate more objective stuff and my opinions so I've made them into separate sections.

1. Jjk 260: I've already stated my issues with how jjk 260 ended and this applies tenfold now with this chapter. Buildup to sidestep to something completely different nullifies your buildup and is jarring to read. You also cannot blame villains in the story for undermining a character if you, as the author, keep doing it.

2. Okkotsu Yuuta's character: Yuuta's plan and willingness to use Gojo's body if he dies feels incredibly ooc and very uncompelling.

Yuuta is one of the few characters who's been able to see glimpses of the slightly more human side of Gojo "The Strongest" Satoru (he was my one and only/love is the most twisted curse of all). He has *just* seen the catastrophic consequences of a body used by someone else as a weapon. He was willing to go against a villain purely so that Gojo wouldn't have to.

You're telling me the same Yuuta was that ready to use his sensei's body and brought to anger when someone questioned the ethics of it?

Yuuta saying 'if no one else has the guts to then I will' means nothing becauseif his idea of becoming a monster includes using Gojo's body then he is the only one who can do it. All while implying cowardice of the others for "not having the guts to do so" (while being in Maki's presence and with Yuuji's absence, both of whom have been not self described as monsters).

Yes this is him stepping up to the task of being the strongest. But it doesn't feel like the big sacrifice of his humanity he says he doesn't care it being, if he's okay with it the moment the possibility of having to do so comes into light.

It just comes off as cocky and inhumane. And if that *is* Yuuta's character now, show me reason to believe this shift in personality in him specifically.

Also if Yuuta gets so mad at Gojo for being the "monster alone", why is his solution to do exactly that.

The easiest way to have the same events play out, but keep characters intact and have it be much more compelling would be:

Yuuta is presented with the plan of using Gojo's body. Have Meimei or Kusakabe, who've never really interacted with Gojo in any meaningful way to see him as more than his power, bring it up. Or maybe while brainstorming with everyone he comes to theconclusion himself with a lot of dread.

Yuuta immediately rejects the plan because he wouldn't do that to his sensei. Him having to throw his humanity away isn't his issue. He won't allow something like this happen again. And especially not to Gojo whom this was used against firsthand. He plans to kill Kenjaku himself.

Yuuta is reminded that if push comes to shove they still might have to if Sukuna continues to pose a large threat, but since he's the only one who can, it'll finally be only his decision. A panel of internal dialogue shows that Yuuta knows this is true.

Yuuta gets the formality "permission" from Gojo. Gojo says "who cares what happens to my body once I'm dead" and Yuuta *then* gets angry because Gojo of all people knows that he should care. Yuuta notices how Gojo also sees himself only as a weapon for others and calls him out on taking the burden all by himself (being a monster alone).

Fast forward to when Yuuta is dying and being kept alive by Shoko, Nitta, and Amai, Yuuta knows that Sukuna is still going strong and he has no choice but to use Kenjaku's CT against all his hopes because he knows he needs to.

Not only does this align with Yuuta's character a bit more, as someone who cares a lot for the people in his life including Gojo, and abides by his concern people at large, it also gives us a moment to see how heavy an ask it is of Yuuta, and forces the reader to be much more sympathetic of the choice he's had to make. How he'd rather not have done this and only went through because he's desperate.

3. Gojo's influence: This chapter essentially disregards any influence Gojo has had thoughout the story outside of having physical.

The main reason he'd not killed the higher ups waaay before now was because he knew the people who'd take their place would continue to pull the same shit.

Gojo ideology and the reason he went into teaching was to bring about a new generation of sorcerors who would know better. To dismantle the system that doesn't see sorcerors as more than dispensable tools for their power balance purposes, from the inside out.

I've seen people talk about how this ending for Gojo is significant because he isn't an exception to the cruel jujutsu system. Yes! True! He's been facing that his whole life! And that is exactly what he'd hoped to change through his students!

Yuuta using Gojo's body for his power feels like something the higher ups would not think twice about ordering. This was the perfect opportunity to show that the kids Gojo brought up *despite* this system are better than what the higher ups were.

And although throughout his life he too was not exempt as a jujutsu sorceror of being seen as solely his power (he'd also never allow anyone to see him otherwise). He sees, right at the end, these kids that he's helped train, and grow, and keep alive, know just a little better. Know *of* the human behind the power even if they don't *know* him.

OR! If you wanna stay grim about it, show that Gojo failed in this endevour. That the system still continues. Yuuta has made himself a weapon that is used because of his CT and Rika. That Yuuji has only ever been seen as a vessel, he'l he was created solely as one. That Yuuta goes to great lengths to keep his friends safe and Yuuji does so because he's already (kinda) lost them. Show that *they* still hold onto the parts that make them more than tools even if the system still doesn't.

And acknowledge the failure that it is on his part.

Because with this chapter Gojo, even just narratively, continues to be just a weapon.

Below the cut are my pretty coloured opinions about the chapter.

1. Payoff followed by setup and why Shibuya is still some of Gege's best writing: (ended up being long and not specific to this chapter so I'll make it it's own post lol)

2. Okkotsu Yuuta: I am frankly tired by the amount of importance Yuuta has been getting since the culling games ended. The only real narrative significance he has is being a student of and related to Gojo and the previous protagonist. He has no arc, no narrative weight, no personal stakes that other don't have.

He was an interesting character back when he was first reintroduced into the main story. As an unbiased executioner who would be there to kill Yuuji if Sukuna took over, both a threat but also an ally until then. The framing also made him more of a threat against Yuuji than a threat against Sukuna. Interesting!

He also has no personal conflict with the villains. The closest he got was wanting to kill Kenjaku because 'he won't let his sensei kill his Best Friend again', which is personal once removed since it's more for Gojo. Which was also a nullified sentiment because Gojo died before facing Kenjaku anyway.

He is just an overpowered character with no developmental backing. I still won't believe that Yuuta using Gojo's body is stronger than Gojo, because it is still Gojo who had had to condition and train his body to be able to handle the power he wielded. Yuuta has had a lot of groundwork already done for him in Gojo's body so even if he's able to do more damage than Gojo, it's still only because he's standing on Gojo's shoulders. People talking about "are you Gojo Satoru because you're the strongest or you the the strongest because you're Gojo Satoru" will be answered here need to remember this.

And since when has either of them cared about the Gojo clan looking bad to mention this lmaao what?

3. Kenjaku's relevance: Yuuta copying Kenjaku's CT being such a flippant discussion made me so mad lol. Your telling me they were seeing killing Kenjaku as a minor stepping stone to a bigger plan. When Kenjaku has been alive for yeaaarrrs on end pulling who knows what all shit that got all these balls rolling in the first place?

I know it easy to do in retrospect with Kenjaku already dead in current time and Sukuna being the current threat. But that's just undermining the threat Kenjaku posed and the "victory" that killing them was (even as anticlimactic as it was).

Seems like Gege had to do his best to brush off Kenjaku since they was proving to be a much more interesting villain than the Big Bad Sukuna, but man way to make your own rather well written character feel lame.

4. Gojo killing the higher ups: While the panels of Gojo wanting to shield his students from the bloodshed he was about to cause was sweet, I still wish the second years had siccesfully forced themselves in and joined him. It's another place where they could've shown Gojo fostering a generation that follows through with his ideology and plans because they get how messed up the system is.

When the higher ups were initially shown to be killed before Gojo vs Sukuna, the chapter had Inumaki and Yuuta talking in the hallways of the higher ups' hq. The implication that they'd also done it in the month of preparation made it feel like everyone was joining in and getting shit done. Yes it's satisfying knowing that Gojo got to go through with something he's wanted to do for a long time, but almost everyone has the same beef with the higher ups. Give everyone or a representation of everyone a slice of the action.

5: Shoko hate: Completely unfounded. People expecting her to suddenly have so much more agency than Gege has ever given her just because they're sad about their fav is stupid. And if you need to be angry direct it at Gege's writing that chose to use her opinion for comedic purposes.

Also question why you care about her ability to do something only when it comes to your fav male characters are facing difficult situations. Remind yourself she's the only overworked bloody doctor/ healer assisted by only a 15/16 yo underskilled underprepared child (Nitta) in a society that is still facing the effects of Shibuya. Also go away stop pretending you care.

I have more issues but whatever. Jjk fans who's favs are dead and never mentioned again be glad!! They're safe!!

[sijopolang]

“I’ll meet you in the next life, and the one after that, and the one after that, and every life after those. For as long as even a fraction of my soul exists in this universe, I will find you, and I will be with you.”

[deathshallbethelastenemy]

hear me out hear me out hear me out Gojo's head is still intact, so all we need is Yuta to use rct and he'll be fine (i am extremely delusional)

[dailykugisaki]

Day 157 | id in alt

Mai told Miwa that Kugisaki was a creature with no morals and because Mai is the one that directly protects Miwa's back most of the time? Miwa believed her.

Also Kugisaki is a creature. I rematched her death painting fights.

[wannaeatramyeon]

I recently re read all of your gun park fics and I always really liked him and the soft Gun fics are so 🥰 .

Just wanted to ask what’s your opinion on the newer chapters? Like personally I’m lowk a apologist for him like I would love little Daniel and Allied to win but idk my hearts like “but Gun 🥹🥹”

Idk what I’m saying lmao but yeah! What’s your opinion on how Guns portrayed in the recent chapters? I think PTJ really likes him like how Gege Akutami likes Sukuna 💀(I am a Sukuna girl tho so like lmao my type is showing)

Thanks for reading through my ramble and uh yeah! Stay safe and have a good summer 🫠

~🦋anonnie

Is Gun canonically unhinged? Yes. Is he a murderer? Yes.

But is he a sweet soft silly lil blorbo that likes to cook, that enjoys an onsen, and has interests like whittling whilst listening to his silly lil music in his silly lil junkyard? Also yes.

I am high key a Gun apologist. I can handwave most crimes away for him if he doesn't turn out to be someone like Taejin.

PTJ did dress up like Gun on one of his vlogs so...

So.. 🦋anon, your type is just Problematic, huh.

[bbqsauceonmytiddiez]

ok once again I don't know too much about flowers but I like talking about them so bear with me lol

first of all morning glories are SO different than hydrangeas it seems almost like it was said on purpose

but one thing in common is they were always both very popular flowers in japanese culture since the heian era so sukuna just accessing megumi's flower memories seems like a very convenient LIE

especially with sukuna's line about sorcerers bonding with each other (sounds very possible for two sorcerers that shared a body) the themes of these flowers are so important imo. morning glories named after their morning bloom and mid-day fade represent the beauty in the fleeting moments just like everything else yuuji is trying to show, all the small things that make every life worthwile and important. hydrangeas on the other hand are associated with mutual understanding and unity. but they are also famous for having a very contrasting meaning in western culture: arrogance and a lack of empathy (what we see from sukuna all the time haha).

[aroxis]

Itafushi ending is so undeniably gay I love it, I love that it wasn't rivals to sorta friends to "our author would rather give us all the interactions than write a girl properly", they're just two kids who genuinely like and care about each other. They aren't covered in jagged rocks that never melt. I Iove that Gege made them soft and sensitive and caring, I love how tender their love is TT♡

[kentuckyfriedmegumi]

i analyzed the songs that gege akutami assigned to the first year trio and i how i think they relate to their characters

for the record, we are talking about the songs that gege had said he thinks would be the theme songs for each member of the trio (like island in the sun for megumi)

this was a 20 page document in word, hope you enjoy more of my ramblings...

YUJI’S SONG 1: HEART NI HI WO TSUKETE by 9MM PARABELLUM BULLET

I think what really makes Yuji’s song so beautiful is the way that it highlights two people trying to heal and overcome some sort of trauma. They are wondering if they will be able to fight through and it keep fighting while finding comfort in each other.

The narrator is addressing someone in pain who makes a lot of self-destructive decisions. This is inherently interesting because we know that Megumi has a tendency to look down on himself and not see the value in his life. This is especially true in the manga and specifically in the chapter where Yuji tries to communicate with Megumi, but Megumi tells him that he gives up.

But the narrator is in just as much pain. They are HURTING and they cannot bear it alone. THIS IS SUPER INTERESTING BECAUSE OF CHAPTER 266 WHERE YUJI TELLS MEGUMI “It’s lonely without you, Fushiguro”!!!! Mind you, this was chosen as his song be Gege a longgg time ago.

In this part of the song, we see that the narrator and the person they are speaking to have found a comfort in each other, but it also leaves them feeling a bit empty. Neither of them have fully healed yet and they are far from that path in the light that they are trying so desperately to get to. But the narrator still cannot stand being alone. While this isn’t necessarily related to Yuji or Megumi, it still parallels Yuji’s desire for companionship after everything that has happened and what he has gone through.

This is the end of the song, and it’s especially interesting because we’re seeing repeat themes with the “don’t turn to ashes” and themes of burning and fire. Fire in media can represent a lot of things, but in this song I think it’s meant to represent purging. The narrator is begging this person to please keep going, please keep standing by their side, don’t let your trauma consume you.

And then there’s this last line, a question of whether or not the narrator and the unknown person will be able to find love and comfort in each other, or will their pain consume them and burn them from the inside out. We know that JJK touches a lot on themes of love, romantic and platonic arguments being set aside right now. This last line ties in directly with that theme while also calling back to the pain that these two people are feeling.

YUJI’S SONG 2: ITSUKA DOKOKA DE by KUCHIRORO

I actually had first discovered the wrong song with the same name and realized that the song that’s meant to be Yuji’s is like 13 minutes long. I will not include the lyrics, but I will highlight and quote the ones that I find tie in with Yuji’s character. This song also switches from first to third POV. In this analysis, I am only addressing the first person POV.

This song overall seems to be a sort of conversation that the narrator is having with an unknown person. There is mentions of belief, love, and a desire for a simple, mundane life. There is also a lot of counting in this song, having to do with time and time running out or time flying by.  

Wow this is going to be very hard, I am struggling with Google Translate here. From what I am picking up, it seems that the narrator wishes for love, but isn’t sure what that looks like, all the while they feel that time is running out. I think with Yuji, this could relate to his character in that he wants to surround himself with good people, people that he loves and people who love him, but he feels like he doesn’t have time. This is most likely in part due to his execution.

In this part, it seems that the narrator is putting a lot of pressure on themselves, as they struggle to do their best. Yuji is constantly in a state of growth ever since the beginning of the series where he says that he wants to get stronger, especially after the detention center. “I met someone who was doing it” may even be hinting at Megumi or someone else that Yuji heavily admires. Skipping over the third POV stuff, these lyrics also hint that the narrator just wants to live a mundane life, maybe even with someone as the “I’m thinking of you, you dream of me” lyric.

The narrator is alone at night and we see a lot of references to time and its passage. “Am I moving forward?” The narrator feels stuck, lost in their thoughts and the only thing that grounds them is the thought of seeing someone soon and every single day after that. While this isn’t exactly related to Yuji, I think it’s interesting to note their worry about time running out and the only thing that is keeping them from spiraling is companionship.

MEGUMI’S SONG 1: HAKUJITSUMU by UCHUJIN

In this song, the narrator not only speaks about wanting to save someone, but also battling with their own internal struggles as they try to navigate their trauma. This is really cool because it can be applied to Megumi’s relationship with Yuji and his relationship with Tsumiki—both being people that Megumi has compared time and time again.

These lyrics immediately make me think of Megumi’s relationship with Tsumiki. We see him admire the goodness in her throughout the series and he’s often remembering her with a smile. Not to mention “there’s always an exit somewhere” which reminds me of his revealed desire to create a life away from jujutsu sorcerer where Tsumiki isn’t threatened by the dangers of his word. Or, comparatively, this could also apply to Yuji and their first time saving each other. Megumi decides that he is worth saving and is willing to go against his rules and morals to do so.

Here we see the narrator’s internal struggles and their own discomfort with themselves. This is related to Megumi as we see that he struggles with his self-worth and seeing the value in his life.

These lyrics first made me think that the narrator was giving up and giving into hopelessness, but upon reading it further, I think that this is actually where we start to see a push back. There’s a fight that’s coming through and leading up to the rest of the song, which we can see with “you are no longer inside me.” In my mind, this is being said to Sukuna by Megumi.

The finale of this song is a final banishment and an honest “screw you” to the darkness that is plaguing the narrator. This was first touched on in the second and third paragraphs (stanzas?) and we see now that the narrator has finally overcome it and does not want anything more to do with it. This could be directly related Megumi’s internal struggles with his own value that he’s placed upon himself or with Sukuna. You decide.

MEGUMI’S SONG 2: ISLAND IN THE SUN by WEEZER

This one is probably the most analyzed that I’ve seen since it’s in English and is a somewhat well-known song. This song is about a narrator and their desire to run away with someone and live a peaceful life, away from their troubles so they will “never feel bad anymore.” I think once again, this is so applicable to both Tsumiki and with Yuji, ESPECIALLY after 266.

The narrator’s desire to better understand the person they’re addressing, along with their thoughts and feelings, is really interesting to me because we see that Megumi doesn’t quite understand his sister or Yuji. He respects and admires them and appreciates their ability to see the goodness in the world, but he has such contrasting views that he just doesn’t get it. We see him even refer to Yuji’s ideas as naïve. But there’s a desire to learn and understand.

Then there’s the obvious chorus bit with a desire to live a peaceful life, one where they are together and that’s the only happiness Megumi could ask for. I will not be including the chorus after this point, since it’s pretty repetitive.

In this section of the song, we see the narrator pointing out how the person they’re referring to has little wants or needs. They have a desire to just be, as if all they need is a place to belong. This section here is what makes me think of Yuji the most.

Going back to my overall analysis, this song really is just a desire for a normal, peaceful, and happy life. One where the narrator (Megumi) and the person (Tsumiki or Yuji [or both]) they’re talking to are just able to live their life. We see in 266 that all Megumi wanted for his sister was for her to just be able to live. We also see that Yuji is the only person that he thinks truly deserves to stand alongside them.

NOBARA’S SONG 1: SEISHUN KYOSOKYOKU by SUNNY DAY SERVICE

The first song for Nobara’s selection reminds me heavily of her flashbacks with her friend in her hometown. This song is all about the desire to catch up with an old friend (maybe a lover? But we’ll say friend because as far as we know, Nobara’s relationship with her friend was strictly platonic), reminiscent of a connection that they used to have.

In this initial set up, we see how this person is feeling lonely and heartbroken. Immediately followed by “What about you? Are you doing well?”, we see that the narrator is going about their day and desires to know about this unnamed person. There’s a feeling there that they haven’t spoken in a while. There’s a desire to know what they’re up to now, what is life like for you, what funny stories do you know?

Similarly, we know that Nobara never got a chance to see Saori again after leaving for Tokyo. We know that she looks back on that time fondly, and even from Saori’s POV, we see that Nobara only cried twice in front of her—once when Fumi moved away and again later when Nobara moved away.

There’s a sense of hopelessness that you sense from the lyrics here as it seems like the narrator is only able to speculate about the person because they feel they may never meet again. There’s this desire to know how they are doing, but they are in a situation where they won’t get to know, hence “there’s nothing I can do about it.”

We know that Nobara never really wanted to go home, but she did extend an olive branch to Saori by telling her that they should all meet up in Tokyo one day. But we know with how the events of the story took place, them meeting again is unlikely.

However, there’s still a sense of hope within the narrator as they think about what their conversation would be like should they ever meet again. This is interesting since we know that Nobara thought of Saori in her last moments and we see that imagery with Saori sitting in the chair across from her.

NOBARA’S SONG 2: ANO DEPAATO by NATSUKO NISSHOKU

This song is about the desire to return to simpler time in one’s childhood as they go through the struggles in adult life. There are several references to things that you experience first as child, as well as just the simplicity of youth. This song is really tragic for Nobara because we know that she always wanted to just grow up and leave her hometown when she was younger, but she also never got to be a kid by the time she became a sorcerer.

The first part of this song is calling back to a place the narrative used to frequent as a kid, and how they would look to the top of the building and never knew what resided up there. It wasn’t until they were older when they finally learned that it was a beer and coffee shop, whereas before they only knew it to be a store and a place to get soft serve ice cream.

We then learn that now, years later, that building will be gone and the narrator finally learns the nature of the rooftop shop. However, they dismiss the “bitter taste of adulthood” and instead turn back to ice cream, like they did in their childhood.

I think making this song Nobara’s theme song is what makes her death in the series a lot more tragic. We know that she is a kid, and maybe she has childlike qualities, but at the end of the day she is a jujutsu sorcerer who must be able to fight and face death. But there’s this desire for more mundane things. We know that she became a sorcerer because she wanted to live in Tokyo. We know that she loves trending things, shopping, and even trying trendy foods.

This part is about returning to your roots, despite your experiences as you grow and change. This makes me think about how Nobara last thought of her friendship with Saori and her childhood, and that no matter what, there would always be that part of them within her, even if she moved away and never saw her again.

However, in the end we know that they are still living separate lives away from that department store and their childhood memories. This song leaves with a bit of a sad ending, highlighting that store will no longer be there anymore. So, no matter how much the narrator wishes to go back and relive those memories, they will never be able to because that building will be gone.