Saori Was Briefly Introduced in 'Jujutsu Kaisen' as a Major Part of One Character's Backstory

The Gist:

• Saori was officially introduced in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime.
• She was previously teased as a past figure in a major character's backstory.
• The series catches up with her in the present day.

Spoiler alert! This article contains plot details for Jujutsu Kaisen.

2023 has been an impactful year for Jujutsu Kaisen. Adapted from the manga by Gege Akutami, the popular anime follows high school student Yuji Itadori. After inadvertently becoming the host of an immensely powerful Cursed spirit named Ryomen Sukuna, Yuji begins training with an organization of Jujutsu sorcerers in order to harness his newfound powers, protect humanity from malevolent Curses, and keep Sukuna at bay all the while. The series first premiered in 2020 and has achieved worldwide popularity.

The anime returned in 2023 after a long hiatus for Season 2, which includes the highly anticipated "Shibuya Incident" arc. During this storyline, a ragtag group of powerful Curses works together to seal away the omnipotent Jujutsu sorcerer Satoru Gojo so that they may eradicate humanity. The sorcerers of Japan band together to put an end to their plans, but meanwhile, a woman named Saori comes in to break up the action. She plays a major role in one character's backstory, but what happened to her?

Saori is briefly mentioned in Season 1 by prodigal first-year sorcerer Nobara Kugisaki. In a flashback, Nobara reveals that she was a treasured childhood friend who moved to Nobara's hometown in Japan's countryside when she was in middle school. Though she was an older girl, Saori became fast friends with Nobara and another young girl named Fumi who often visited Saori's house. However, Saori and her family were ostracized by the other townspeople for their perceived status as city folk.

They were eventually driven out of town and moved back to the city, separating the trio for some time. This spurned Nobara to move away from her hometown so that she could be reunited with her childhood friend. To that end, she found her out when she awakened to her Jujutsu sorcerer potential and began her training at the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College alongside Yuji and fellow first-year Megumi Fushiguro.

As for Saori, Season 2 reveals that she remains alive and well in the present day. With anime so often killing off childhood friends for another character's origin story, it's refreshing to see that Saori gets to live her own life.

She grew up and became a workaholic office worker. She even hears about the Shibuya Incident in passing, being based somewhere away from the carnage where uninvolved observers mistake it for a terrorist attack.

Saori remembers Nobara fondly and even expresses a desire to reconnect with her somehow. Unbeknownst to her, however, Nobara is in the middle of the Shibuya Incident and is in dire straits.

Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen streams new episodes (almost) every Thursday on Crunchyroll. The next new episode premieres on Dec. 7.