Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man are two of the biggest manga to come out of Weekly Shonen Jump in recent years, and an incredibly dark reference has just united them, with Chainsaw Man introducing a new character inspired by Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Nobara Kugisaki. Since their early days, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man have had an overlapping fanbase due to both revolving around demonic creatures and having far darker content than what their demographic is typically known for.
There still hasn’t been any sort of crossover between Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, but at the very least, Chainsaw Man is making what appears to be a clear reference to Jujutsu Kaisen. Chainsaw Man chapter #144 introduced a new character, the Nail Fiend, who has a lot of overlap with Nobara Kugisaki, a major character from Jujutsu Kaisen.
While it could just be a coincidence, the similarities are incredibly uncanny, nonetheless. The fact that the Jujutsu Kaisen character in question has been poorly, and was even (apparently) killed despite her popularity, adds even more weight to the reference, and even if it wasn’t intentional, seeing Chainsaw Man do something like this is still fun to see.
Chainsaw Man‘s New Character References Nobara Kugisaki’s Dark Fate
Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami; Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto
The way Chainsaw Man connects itself to Jujutsu Kaisen is through a dark reference to the fate of Nobara Kugisaki. Near the end of the Shibuya Incident arc, half of Nobara’s face is destroyed after she’s hit with Mahito’s curse technique, leaving her with a scarred face and an empty eye socket. Coincidentally, Chainsaw Man chapter #144 introduced someone who appears to be the Nail Fiend, and in addition to being a woman who fights with a hammer and nails, just like Nobara, half of her face is missing to leave her brain exposed, so it’s easy to see her character as a reference to what happened to Nobara.
This is supported by Chainsaw Man‘s penchant for pop culture references. While these are usually reserved for movies, the series has occasionally referenced anime and manga before, like how Cosmo emulated the Kamehameha and how a character from part 2 referenced Sailor Moon’s signature catchphrase. As such, it wouldn’t be impossible for the Nail Fiend to be an intentional reference to Nobara, and with how often Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen are grouped together as part of Shonen Jump‘s “Dark Trio”, it could even be Tatsuki Fujimoto’s way of paying respect to one of his biggest competitors.
Chainsaw Man‘s Nail Fiend Makes Up For Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Treatment Of Nobara
While the Nail Fiend’s similarities to Nobara might just be a coincidence, her appearance in Chainsaw Man still works to make up for Jujutsu Kaisen’s poor treatment of Nobara. Jujutsu Kaisen has received criticism for how little focus Nobara received in the story, and the aftermath of the Shibuya Incident arc has been an especially big sticking point because of how the manga still hasn’t made it clear if Nobara is dead or alive. As such, it’s almost like Chainsaw Man has introduced its own version of the character, thus appeasing anyone who’s been wanting to see more of her.
Seeing Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man be united through this reference to Nobara is great for anyone who’s been a fan of both and has wanted to see them connected in even a superficial way.
Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man are both available to read from MANGA Plus.
Read Chainsaw Man
Read Jujutsu Kaisen
