Jujutsu Kaisen is nearly halfway through its first season, and fans have fallen for the supernatural anime with ease. After climbing the charts in Japan, Jujutsu Kaisen has amassed a fandom that spreads across the globe. Of course, fans in North America have embraced Yuji Itadori from the start, so it was only a matter of time before a dub was fast-tracked. Now, the series is wowing fans across the States with its English dub, and Comicbook.com had the chance to speak with its stars recently.
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In honor of the dub’s debut, the stars of the show spoke with ComicBook.com to share their love for all things Jujutsu Kaisen. Adam McArthur (Yuji), Robbie Daymond(Megumi), Anne YatcoNobara), Kaiji Tang (Gojou), Ray Chase (Sukuna) opened about the difficulties they faced taking on a demanding series such as this. Between curses and sorcery, there is a lot to handle when you step into Jujutsu Kaisen, and the stars admit they’re handling the series success in their own ways.
Question: Jujutsu Kaisen has become one of the biggest hits this year. How are you handling the show’s breakout status?
Adam McArthur: It’s been incredible so far! I think I’m still wrapping my head around it, to be honest. I’m very excited to see how things progress and doing my part in bringing the dub to new audiences!
Question: Yuuji Itadori is such a fun character to watch in both his comedic moments and his serious ones. What is your favorite part about playing the hero?
McArthur Exactly what you said! I get to play everything. I love that Yuji has a great sense of humor, but he also experiences great loss and some really dark moments. It’s an actor’s dream to play a character with such depth. I’m very excited for everything still to come!
Question: What would you say is the most difficult aspect of voicing Yuuji?
McArthur I think it’s been difficult to wrap my mind around his youth, mixed with the high stakes and the world he’s thrown into and honoring both sides of that! On a technical level, it’s been challenging adapting to recording from home and all the caveats that have come along with that because of covid. All of us actors are doubling as our own engineers, in our makeshift booths and it adds an extra layer of stress when we’re trying to focus on acting! Thankfully after a couple of episodes, the studio opened up and I’ve been able to record in person, which I prefer.
Question: And finally, I have to ask – what do you think Sukuna’s finger actually tastes like?
McArthur Ha! Dirt and flavorless beef jerky with like… a little hair 😀
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Question: Jujutsu Kaisen has become one of the biggest hits this year. How are you handling the show’s breakout status?
Anne Yatco: It’s such an honor to be part of this show! Even if I wasn’t on this show, I’d be watching it, because it’s that good. And I’m excited that the show’s gotten such a positive response so far! Really, though, I’m just happy to be here in the company of so many talented actors on this show.
Question: Nobara’s debut in Jujutsu Kaisen set her apart from the start, and she has become such a complex character in a matter of episodes. What is your favorite part of Nobara so far?
Yatco: It’s exactly that Nobara IS so complex, right off the bat! She’s a bit holier-than-thou, but she’s also got this silly, naive excitement over Tokyo. Then she’s an intensely confident badass in her battle mode, but she also has a tender, more fragile side that we see in the flashback sequence. And that’s just in one episode! Talk about range. Plus, there’s the amazing performance by Asami Seto setting the bar for me. I am extremely lucky to be able to play this character, and I’m having a blast doing it!
Question: If you could bestow any cursed power upon Nobara, what would it be?
Yatco: Ooh, I want Nobara to have her own Domain Expansion! Her cursed technique is a take on ushi no toki mairi, so I could see it involving a grove of trees…m aybe nailing her straw dolls to these trees exponentially increases the power of her attacks? I’m just saying, the Domain Expansions we’ve seen on the show so far have been really cool, and my girl deserves one of her own someday!
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Question: Jujutsu Kaisen has become one of the biggest hits this year. How are you handling the show’s breakout status?
Kaiji Tang: I think my favorite part so far has been all the beautiful artwork of the show people have been creating. Their passion for the show reminds me to always bring my A-game every episode. It’s an effort the fans deserve and also what the show deserves. I want to do Jujutsu Kaisen justice.
Question: Gojo has become the hot new character with anime fans, and he trends on social media regularly at this point. How do you think the character would feel about his huge boost in popularity?
Tang: Oh, he’d be super used to it at this point. Can you imagine what the character’s social media looks like? He’d be posting pics of his eyes on Instagram all day. This guy probably streams all his curse exorcisms. Yeah, I’d say Gojou would be a social media titan and he’d be very used to dealing with his name trending much to the chagrin of the jujutsu upper echelon.
Question: What is one of the most difficult things about voicing Gojo?
Tang: Sincere overconfidence. There’s being confident and then there’s a character who believes they are in control of any situation they’re in. Effortlessly so. That part of his personality shapes every interaction he has in the show. The hard part is remembering this world view and applying it consistently. There’s also a thin line between charming overconfidence and annoying overconfidence. Gojou brazenly lolerskates down that line.
Question: It goes without saying that Gojo is kind of over-powered. If you could pit him against one other anime fighter in the world, who would it be and why would Gojo win?
Tang: It would have to be a planet buster level character and they would legit have to destroy the planet Gojo is standing on. I legit can’t think of another situation. Infinity can’t be bypassed by any physical or energy-based force.
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Question: Jujutsu Kaisen has become one of the biggest hits this year. How are you handling the show’s breakout status?
Ray Chase: Well it’s a little different this year under quarantine with no conventions! Usually, you walk around and see the cosplays and all the ads for the different shows, but now with everything online it’s harder to judge what people really think about it. Panels, too, that’s another thing I miss – getting to answer questions that are on the minds of viewers. This interview is the closest I’ve gotten all year!
Question: Sukuna is such an interesting baddie in Jujutsu Kaisen because he shares his being with the hero. How did you craft your take on this villain? Did you work with Adam McArthur at all, or did you come up with your own portrayal separate from Yuuji?
Ray Chase: I haven’t met Adam yet but I’d love to! I think his comedic timing is awesome – and his voice is a nice balance between Robbie’s brooding and Kaiji’s sarcasm. We basically came up with our voices in the initial audition and haven’t deviated much since!
Question: What is one of the most difficult aspects of voicing this dreaded curse?
Ray Chase: The hardest thing ever is matching his huge cackling laugh when it’s onscreen. When he first shows up at the end of episode one, we spent maybe an hour on that laugh. It’s super hard navigating the lip flaps, volume, and breath support to make it all match! I think in the end his first laugh is maybe 5 or 6 takes spliced together.
Question: So far, fans have only seen a little bit of Sukuna’s power, and it is insane. But in your opinion, do you think your character is strong enough to take down Gojo or not?
Ray Chase: My hope for an interesting story is that yes, Sukuna does defeat Gojo one day in a truly epic battle that maybe spans like 9 episodes or something. But then! Itadori is finally strong enough to take on the king of demons himself after all 20 fingers are consumed. That would be an awesome clash!
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Are you keeping up with Jujutsu Kaisen? Got any questions about the anime? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
