ItaKugi

"There are only so many open seats in my life, and I don't want to let my heart be swayed by anyone who's not sitting in them. Is that mean? Of course, there are also people like you who bring their own seat and sit down."

- Nobara to Yuji.

ItaKugi is the het ship between Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki from the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom.

Canon
Yuji and Kugisaki are classmates and close friends at Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, both being Jujutsu Sorcerers. The two are in a small group with their peer, Megumi Fushiguro, under their Sensei, Satoru Gojo. Despite their upfront personalities strongly differing, the two find themselves on the same wavelength a lot of the time and have proven to be powerful when working together.

They first met after Yuji became the vessel for the special-grade curse, Sukuna, immediately being recruited by Gojo, and when Kugisaki enrolled into the college. Yuji, along with Megumi and Gojo, met Kugisaki when she first arrived in Tokyo. Yuji was somewhat put off by her upfront, and blunt personality whilst Kugisaki assessed Yuji as the kind who ate his own boogers. Nonetheless, they were immediately paired up together for a mission by Gojo to eliminate some curse spirits nearby on their own. The pair ultimately succeeded and have since developed a strong sense of camaraderie and companionship.

Kugisaki is a proud, open, and blunt person, often making honest remarks to whoever she is talking to, and is highly confident in every situation she is in. Yuji is simple-minded, energetic but also equally as confident, lacking any fear whatsoever. Despite their initial differences, the two often react in similar ways to news or events. They both were excited to tour Tokyo, were obsessed with Megumi’s demon dog, and teased Megumi for having beaten up some bullies when he was a kid. They both find amusement in the fun things in their lives and tend to have a good time together, often being just as excited as each other. When Yuji's ex-classmate shows romantic interest in him, Kugisaki agrees to help the girl but reveals her competitiveness by stating the idea of Yuji being in a relationship before her feels annoying, adding that he should be after her.

Despite the fun they have, Kugisaki is not above "abusing" Yuji if he annoys or upsets her, often punching him. However, Yuji does not react negatively to this, instead either feeling remorseful for having upset her in the first place or confused as to what he did. She also does not take kindly to him giving her commands, even at one point telling him not to boss her around, due to doubting his abilities as he was relatively new to fighting curse spirits. This left her pondering how Yuji was able to break through a wall with sheer force during their first fight against a curse spirit. Despite all this however, Nobara shows to be grateful to Yuji for saving her and the child that was taken hostage by the cursed spirit as she smiles at him brightly while blushing. Yuji blushes back as he replies that everyone had their own reasons for saving someone.

When it appeared that Yuji had actually died, Kugisaki was evidently upset at the loss of her new friend, despite exclaiming to Megumi that she does not make a habit of mourning someone she had only known for two weeks, yet Kugisaki still made a painful face after saying that. When he revealed himself to be alive, in an overly theatrical way, she is left initially disturbed by this revelation but soon walks over to Yuji with tears in her eyes and demands he apologizes to her for making her grieve for him.

Gradually, Kugisaki comes to accept Yuji as a comrade and begins to have faith in his abilities to fight off curse spirits. Their relationship culminated when they fought together to defeat two special-grade curses. They proved to be a powerful duo with Kugisaki, in particular, having great admiration and confidence in Yuji’s ability to handle the pain he was inflicted with whilst fighting the special grades. At one point, he is able to carry her in his arms to safety when being pursued and she is shocked to see how absurdly quick he can run. In Shibuya Mahito even notes that Nobara has immense trust and confidence in Yuji, and when Nobara uses resonance on Mahito's clone, greatly affecting the real Mahito who Yuji is fighting, Yuji is shocked that Kugisaki was there with him but smiles as he thanks her for showing him that he isn't alone.

Following their victory over the special grade brothers, Kugisaki comforted Yuji when he felt unhappy at killing the special grades, as opposed to exorcising them. She reminded him that they’re not in a position to save everyone and do not have the means to do so. Later, Megumi concludes that the recent events of active spirits killing people result from Yuji eating Sukuna’s finger. She agrees not to mention anything to Yuji as she fully understands how much it would upset him. It would also seem Kugisaki admits that she cares for Yuji’s well-being, as she explained that there are a limited number of seats for the people she can care for in her life and she didn't want her heart to be swayed by people who weren't sitting in them. But Yuji had brought his own seat to sit down on, ultimately Kugisaki accepts that he has become a part of her life. Kugisaki, with great poignant, tells Yuji with a smile how her life wasn't so bad after she reminds herself of her past with Fumi and Saori, moments after she was disfigured by Mahito.

When Yuji sees Kugisaki's disfigured head, he is in complete shock before he sobs and repeats her name over and over again with a painful face. Kugisaki's death had greatly damaged and disturbed Yuji, and in his moment of weakness it gave Mahito the opportunity to ridicule him and try to kill him with black flash. Yuji didn't do anything as Kugisaki's death had completely destroyed his resolve to fight, he was later saved by Todo and Nitta when they arrived.

When Yuta and Megumi are talking with Yuji, Yuji is the only one to ask about Kugisaki's condition and what had happened to her. Once he learns the truth, for a moment he is overcome by grief and shock but that soon gets replaced with anger as he clenches his fist with a dark look in his eyes. It is implied that Kugisaki is dead due to Megumi's silent response which had greatly hurt Yuji.

Moments

 * In chapter 5, Nobara blushes and smiles at Yuji as she thanks him, Yuji blushes back.
 * In chapter 64, Nobara tells Megumi that the idea of Yuji getting a girlfriend before she gets a boyfriend annoys her, she points at Yuji's imaginary blushing figure and says that her heart skipped a beat.
 * When Nobara fights Momo Nishimiya, there is a scene where she gets a flashback of Yuji. In the Manga the panel made him look funny, however in the anime that was changed and Yuji looked more happy, presumably from Nobara's point of view.
 * While battling Nobara, Mahito realizes that she is a close friend to Yuji and decides on killing her as he thinks that bringing her dead body to Yuji would destroy his soul.
 * Yuji was the only one who asked about Nobara's condition while talking to Megumi, getting enraged when he realized the truth.
 * Whilst battling Momo Nishimiya, in order to get Momo to understand Yuji, Nobara told her "Have you guys ever stopped to consider the person behind the curse which you've condemned?" many fans found this intriguing since Nobara tried to get Momo to understand and consider what Yuji had to go through, when she refused to understand Mai when Momo tried to talk to her.
 * When Megumi figured out that the Kyoto students were going to kill Yuji, Nobara yelled at him wondering why they would that, then hastily payed attention to Panda when he started to explain.
 * In the English translation of chapter 63, Nobara tells Yuji that she considers him to be her 'Ride or Die'. Ride or Die Ride was originally a biker term meaning if you couldn't ride you'd rather just die. It has now changed to mean anyone (boyfriend, best friend, husband, wife), that you will "ride" ANY problems out with them or "die" trying. The "ride" doesn't always have to be a negative either.
 * In Shibuya Arc when Todo encourages Yuji to keep fighting, he still doesn't move as he's too shocked after everything that had happened. He only reacts and makes a hopeful face when Nitta tells him that there might be a slight chance that Nobara could live.
 * When Yuji carried Nobara away in his arms from the death paintings, she tells him "Nice job, you deserve some praise."
 * When Ozawa asks Nobara if there's a chance that she likes Yuji Nobara quickly denies it. Saying that even if heaven and earth were to dance lambada she would never be with him, there's an illustration on her cup of two figures titled 'earth' and 'heaven' dancing together and right after that panel, Nobara's heart skips a beat.
 * In the chapter where Yuji 'revives from the dead' Nobara is the only person who has tears in her eyes after seeing him. She even kicks his bucket and tells him "Got something to say?" as she looks at him angrily, Yuji apologizes for keeping quiet about being alive and later gets "punished" for his actions by Nobara. In that panel she has a slight blush on her face as she faces away from him.
 * In the second ending of Jujutsu Kaisen, Yuji uses his phone to record memories. In the sequence on the beach, the camera follows Nobara and focuses on her.
 * When Yuji carries Nobara in his arms, she tells him that she's got his back.
 * When Nobara gets disfigured by Mahito, Yuji destroys his clone and runs to check on Nobara.

Quotes
"Itadori. Tell everyone... it wasn't so bad!"

- Kugisaki smiling at Itadori as she tells him this before her death.

"Kugisaki?! Kugisaki..! Thank you! I couldn't save everyone, I wasted everyone's effort... but... Thank you for showing me I'm not alone."

- Itadori is grateful to her.

"If there is only pain... Yuji... Itadori... will not stop!"

- Nobara about Yuji right before Black Flash.

Behind The Scenes
"Hmm, Kugisaki. Out of the three of them, she's the only girl. Although she's the girl she's the most manly one. She has more grit than any of them. She's a very cool girl."

- Junya Enoki (Yuji Itadori's Voice Actor) about Nobara.

"Maybe Itadori for me? Isn't he kind? Even though he complains he's always there for you. He's also physically strong. Don't you think he has a strong heart?"

- Seto Asami (Nobara Kugisaki's Voice Actor) on who she'd be friends with in Jujutsu Kaisen.

"I was again, drawn in so much that I felt like I couldn't help but to choose this (scene). Nobara too... Nobara herself was being considerate of Itadori's feelings but also piercing through him. But if she pays too much attention, it feels like she'll be having a tantrum. I chose it because I thought that the care and the sense of distance between them was really delicate, while also being considerate of each other's true feelings."

- Seto Asami on Kugisaki and Itadori and her favorite scene.

"She was worried about him after everything that happened."

- Uchida Yuma (Megumi's VA) on Nobara's reaction of Yuji's "death" and "revival".

Fanon
ItaKugi is not a particularly popular ship in the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom, but this is not due to a dislike of the pair, in fact many fans see them both as very close friends and they think that's how it should be. Platonically, the pairing is very much loved because of their comedic and energetic personalities blending well with each other. The fact that Kugisaki stated she would never date Yuji, even if Heaven and earth danced to the lambada, encouraged most fans to see their relationship as sibling-like.

Nonetheless, some fans argue that it is these qualities that makes the pairing worthy of being shipped. The two get on well with each other, share similar interests and excitement, and work well together as a team. Even with slight lack of romance, ItaKugi shippers still hope that the pair will end up together or for romance to form between the two. Some SukUme fans draw parallels between their ship and ItaKugi.

ItaKugi is Nobara's third and Yuji's sixth most written ship on Archive of Our Own. ItaKugi is the third most written Jujutsu Kaisen het ship on AO3. Due to JJK having minimal romance, there are currently no canon-status rival ships involving either Yuji or Nobara, although slash ship ItaFushi and femslash ship NobaMaki are much more popular in the western fanbase.

At the same time, in Japan, Yuji and Nobara's pairing is the only ship with Nobara, which is included in the most popular ships in the franchise and in the Japanese fandom. Itakugi is also on the list of the TOP 30 of the most popular Jujutsu Kaisen ships in the Japanese franchise and fandom on Pixiv, scoring 21st place while being the only ship with Nobara. Japanese fans are so enthralled by the ship, some of them write about Nobara liking Yuji romantically and explore their relationship in their personal blogs.

The reason why Itakugi is a loved ship with many shippers in the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom is because of the close bond Yuji and Nobara have with each other, from Nobara saying that Yuji took his own seat in her heart to Yuji saving Nobara and trusting her completely. Nobara also holds a great value of affection for Yuji, telling him that she's got his back mid-battle. The relationship between the two is formed on trust and true companionship.

Nobara's name has the kanji «薔薇» (bara) in it which stands for "rose" preferably, a red rose as she is seen holding them in official arts. Mainly in the one made by Gege Akutami where she points a bouquet of roses at Yuji, amongst the most popular flowers in Japan, the red rose — (Akaibara, 赤い薔薇), Is the most popular. In Japan, roses have a global meaning of romance and can be offered as a sign of love to your significant other. Red rose (Akaibara, 赤い薔薇) - means romance as well as in the Western meaning. Many Japanese fans thought this could be a hint of romance for Nobara and Yuji.

Nobara's birthday, August 7th is the day where Tanabata (Japanese: たなばた or 七夕, meaning "Evening of the seventh"), also known as the Star Festival (星祭り, Hoshi matsuri), a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival is celebrated. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. Nobara's birthday is about loving someone but not being able to be with them, fans connect this to her death and not being able to see Yuji anymore. This also makes sense since Yuji's birthday March 20th is the day where in Japan the holiday (祝日) is celebrated. And it is celebrated in a few ways. First, most people have the day off from work. Secondly, though it is now a non-religious holiday that focuses on nature and the importance of all living things, it also retains much of its Shinto roots. Much like in the past, Japanese families today often visit the burial sites of their ancestors, gleaning the gravestones and offering flowers and incense in reverence of those who have passed. Many connect this to Yuji's mourning over Nobara. As both of their birthdays share the "star crossed lovers" theme.

ItaKugi shippers think that the second ending song of Jujutsu Kaisen "Give it Back", besides encompassing all of the friends, could also be from Yuji to Nobara, as the lyrics suggests that it's one person to another singing about how they want them back. Considering Nobara's death many find this likely as Yuji was devastated upon seeing her get disfigured. And because Nobara was shown through Yuji's phone more in the ending, the camera even focuses on her as Yuji is recording during the beach scene. There are lyrics like "I want to believe I'm not alone." which many think is supposed to indicate Yuji thanking Nobara for showing him he's not alone during his fight with Mahito in Shibuya. The lyrics that play when Yuji focuses on Nobara are ''«Please give it back, Itsu ni nareba raku ni nareru. Oshite wa kaesu nami ni aragatte.» which means: "Please give it back, when will it get easier? Please come back to me."''

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Trivia

 * The two are often drawn side by side together in official arts.
 * In MAPPA's official art of Nobara giving flowers to Yuji on his birthday, the flowers she's giving him are gerberas, which in the Japanese language of flowers (hanakatoba) stand for "You are the sun of my life."
 * Anne Yatco, the English voice of Nobara, described on Twitter Yuji and Nobara's team up with "fire" emojis.
 * Adam McArthur, the English voice of Yuji tweeted that the only official Jujutsu Kaisen merch he wanted was the pink Nobara shirt, Anne Yatco (Nobara's ENG VA) replied to his tweet with lenny face emojis.
 * Junya Enoki and Seto Asami did a live reading of Nobara and Yuji's accomplices episode, during the reading Seto Asami when saying the line "And I don't want my heart to be swayed" used the word "kokoro" when referring to Nobara's heart not wanting to be swayed by those who didn't have a seat in her life. Kokoro is the word for the metaphysical heart, as in "heart, mind, spirit." Kokoro has a meaning related to the soul. Therefore the word is often used in Japanese literature and music to refer to "heart and soul" in one.
 * David McArthur the English voice of Yuji, once retweeted an official Nobara action figure with the caption "Take my body, I mean my money."
 * Yuji and Nobara are both Mahito's natural enemies.
 * ItaKugi is a very popular ship in the Japanese fandom, their ship name in Japanese is 虎釘 which means "Tiger Nail" from the kanji "Tora" which means tiger and the kanji "Kugi" which means nail.
 * In one of Gege Akutami's sketches of Yuji, Nobara, Gojo and Megumi, Yuji and Nobara are drawn as Luffy and Nami from One Piece. Although the two aren't a canonical romantic couple and are instead best friends, some fans believe that the relationship between Luffy and Nami is hinted towards being romantic at the end of the series. Therefore, fans compare ItaKugi to LuNa, since both pairings are best friends that the fans of the ships hope to become canon at the end of the series.
 * During a radio show with Uchida Yama, and Junya Enoki, Seto Asami (Nobara's JP VA) had to pick a scene that she enjoyed the most, she picked the scene of Nobara and Yuji's talk of them being accomplices saying, "I was drawn in so much I couldn't help but to choose this (scene)." Uchida Yama also chose this scene, saying that the word "accomplice" had left an impression on him.
 * In June 2021, Jujutsu Kaisen collaborated with Niigata Rice Cracker Museum & Bakauke Inari, on the rice crackers packages the two characters are depicted as Borin and Barin, who are boyfriend and girlfriend respectively. They were portrayed by Yuji and Nobara on multiple packets.
 * Yuji and Nobara's VAs did a comedy skit as their characters.
 * Gege Akutami drew a sketch of Nobara with tiny Megumi, Gojo, and Yuji's faces in her hands. In the second drawing, blushing Nobara is depicted with Yuji's little smiling face on her hand.
 * In the official Spanish translation of chapter 63, Nobara's dialogue is altered to: "Honestly... I'm fine. When you are a sorcerer these things happen, right? Although I am not Fushiguro, we cannot save all humans. I don't want people... I mean, people who are not in a situation... join me on this journey. Do I seem cold to you? Although there are always good people like you who bring their own seat and accompany me."
 * Nobara and Yuji were showcased on an official embroidery in Summer Jump 2021's anime merch.
 * In Studio MAPPA's official art of the trio and Gojo, fans noticed that Yuji has Yagasuri (arrow feathers) patterns on his scarf that are pointing downwards and to the left (to Nobara). Yagasuri is a traditional pattern usually worn for different ceremonies, such as weddings and graduations for good luck and a sign of protection. However, in Yuji's pattern the arrows are horizonal and not vertical like in its original design. Fans believe the arrows pointing from Yuji's direction to Nobara's might be a hint of Yuji's feelings towards her, as the meaning behind the design is the saying "an arrow fired, never returns."
 * Nobara and Yuji are the only first years who have experienced Black Flash together.
 * In one of the official merchandising for Jujutsu Kaisen, Megumi, Yuji and Nobara are shown in strawberry themed keychains, with Yuji and Nobara being the only ones wearing crowns, as if to depict them as "King and Queen."
 * Gege Akutami drew a sketch of Yuji and Nobara together, Nobara sitting under a tree and Yuji chasing a dragonfly in the background.
 * Yuji and Nobara have their own cover for Jujutsu Kaisen's Colored Volume 2 where the two are drawn together.
 * The official Jujutsu Kaisen Twitter posted a picture of Nobara's look at Yuji with the caption "When she gives you the look... 👀"
 * On Studio MAPPA's 10th anniversary, Yuji and Nobara were drawn together with a canonical couple from the sports anime Yuri On Ice, Viktor and Yuri.