Please, hear me out.
This post is about Itadori and Nobara (Itakugi)
(Reddit might mess up the order of the images)
Before we start i want to say that you can ship anyone you want if it's not weird or straight up illegal.
I'm initially not much of a shipper myself but i had to let it out.
Itakugi❤️ is not really appreciated as a ship in the community, so i will try my best to not sound stupid (please don't be too harsh 🙏🏾). And if you see them as just friends, that's fine, that's most likely how gege sees it too. I mean Itazawa🧡 exists for a reason.
Get ready because im about to rant :
Their relationship starts of on the wrong foot with them bickering, but during their first mission, Yuji saves Nobara from the grade 3 curse, she realizes that she was judgemental towards him despite not knowing what person he was.
This is basically what she dislikes about the kyoto students, they wanted to kill yuji without even knowing that behind the curse there was a kind and selfless boy, they are similar to her hometown's inhabitants, they cast Sayori out because they had projected their own expectations of what a person like her is supposed to be, and for the villagers and the sorcerers in regards to Sayori and Yuji respectively, "The nail that sticks out, gets hammered down".
As far as i can remember, Nobara cries for only three characters : Sayori, Fumi and Yuji
She cried (or more was about to) when he died and she teared up when he came back
Their names mirror their personalities, Itadori is a medicinal plant reflecting his compassion and need to help others. Nobara on the other hand means wild rose, she is brash, loud mouthed, her thorns keeping anyone at a distance like how she doesn't let people take a seat in her life easily (Yuji is the only one, who basically invited himself in) but once you pass the layers of thorns you find something beautiful, appealing.
Nobara has saved Yuji 3 separate times in the series : Eso and Kechizu, Mahito and Sukuna
When Nobara is asked by Yuko if she has feelings for Itadori, she completly shuts down the possibility but her heart skips a bit, i know people say that is because she can't support the thought of Itadori having a girlfriend before she gets a boyfriend(she kinda sounds like she is coping in my opinion) and in the same breath she says angrily that he is supposed to be after her like she was mad that he seemingly didn't.
When Yuji goes to watch Human Earthworm 4, he tries to convince her by saying that the theme of the movie is "love". Its funny when like wormo man, Yuji is a freak of nature and Nobara an average sorcerer (Let me use my asspull technique to its full potential)
They are the only characters to ever do a dual black flash, Nobara is the only character to do a dual black flash with our favorite black flash merchant.
They both can target the soul which makes them both Mahito's natural enemies (you can say they are soulmates)
They were both raised by a grandparent, in Yuji's case his grandfather and in Nobara's her grandmother.
At the end of their first mission, they both blush at eachother.
She is the only one that was mad at Itadori for his death after his return like how maki was mad at yuta for his near death
Itadori is the only character to mention Nobara's state after Shibuya
He got defensive towards Hana because he didn't want her to replace Nobara.
When Itadori came back he said OPP, Nobara did the same when she returned
Yuji saved Nobara's life in their first mission together (like yuta saved Maki in theirs)
In his talk with Sukuna in the hometown domain, When Yuji talks about raising a family, it's Nobara's face that is shown (copium)
Yuji cried both at her death and return like in her case
When he needs a reminder that he isn't alone Nobara shows up in Sukuna's and Mahito's fights
REMEMBER tho it's more of the death paintings siblings' theme, i think it also fits Nobara and Yuji
In a promotional artwork for Yuji's Birthday, Nobara holds flowers for him
In a shonen jump cover forgot which one, Nobara holds flowers in her hand and they're pointed towards Yuji
(You can type the first year's and Gojo's names and jump cover and you might find it)
Nobara becoming Yuji's family makes the Eso and Kechizu fight funnier (or sadder) since they would be fighting their younger brother and their sister in law
In anime promo, The color associated with Yuji is orange which is like Nobara's hair(on colored pages) and Nobara is associated with red (like Yuji's hoodie, awakened eyes and blood) (COPIUM)
They are dumber together, their interactions are so goofy and dumb
I mean they look cute together
And in modulo, Nobara is contacted by Jujutsu headquarters and during her testimony, she said that despite how he looks he is really sensitive and she adressed to him saying to not underestimate her
After Yuji knew what to do thanks to Maru, he went to see Nobara with Panda, he apologized and explained himself and she forgave him really quickly
Gege said in modulo volume 3 bonus, that Nobara's cat avoided anyone that isn't Nobara, AND ESPECIALLY YUJI that he avoids like the plague, maybe because he comes by often who knows....🤷🏾♂️
That point is dumb don't take it too seriously : Nobara's type is *Oda Nobunaga" and Yuji as a special grade can overthrow a country.👀
And i think the last point, Ozawa was created to show Yuji's popularity with girls, but Ozawa is only one girl and in the same chapter we get all these hints that Nobara likes Yuji.
Showing that Yuji managed to sway two girls in one chapter like the editor probably wanted.
In conclusion even tho i wasn't a fan and only saw them as friends back in 2021, im now one of this ship's defenders. I personally like this ship more than Itazawa because Yuji and Nobara are in far more chapters, separated or together, they have funny interactions and are important to eachother's character tho i still love Itazawa🧡.(it needed more screentime).
I hope i wasn't too annoying and please don't flame me too much 😞 in the comments im not trying to change your view of them as friends but i hope i managed to make you either love more or hate less this ship.
Thank you.👋