Jujutsu Kaisen Star Just Debunked a Fan-Favorite Romance Theory
A Jujutsu Kaisen voice actor shuts down the fan-favorite Yuji–Nobara romance theory, dousing shipper hopes just as the Execution Compilation Film hits Japanese theaters.
If you were shipping Yuji and Nobara, I get it. But the guy who actually plays Yuji in English just threw a big bucket of cold water on that.
Yuji and Nobara: friends, not flames
Adam McArthur, the English dub voice of Yuji Itadori, told ScreenRant at Anime Pasadena 2025 that the Yuji-Nobara dynamic is not headed toward romance. His read on their relationship is pretty straightforward: they care about each other, they have each other’s backs, and that’s the point.
"I think it’s purely platonic. What I love about JJK is that we almost don’t have time to consider romance. There’s a task at hand, and whatever is right in front of them is what they’re dealing with."
"Friendships are such underrated relationships - we’re always looking for it to be more. But Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi have this bond through trauma and everything they’ve experienced, and I think that’s really special."
Honestly, that tracks. Jujutsu Kaisen rarely hits the brakes for romance when it can throw another curse at the cast. And if you want an official pairing to hang your hat on, the manga has confirmed Maki Zenin and Yuta Okkotsu as a thing. Otherwise, Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi’s trio is built on shared trauma, not meet-cute energy.
Quick update on the new movie
While we’re here: the new compilation film is out in Japan and headed stateside soon, and it’s a bit of a hybrid project.
- Title: Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution
- Japan release: November 7, 2025 (now playing in Japanese theaters)
- U.S. release: December 5, 2025
- What’s in it: the Shibuya Incident arc from Season 2 plus an early peek at Season 3 via two Culling Game episodes
- Tease to watch for: a big-screen setup for Yuji vs. Yuta
The film’s logline spells it out:
"The desperate confrontation between Satoru Gojo’s two beloved students comes to the big screen with an early preview. Be the first to experience Yuji and Yuta’s fateful battle with the hotly anticipated kickoff to Season 3 in theatres nationwide."
So yeah, keep the Yuji/Nobara shipping in the fan art folder. On screen, they’ve got curses to exorcise and zero time for date night.