Summary
- Adam McArthur, the English dub voice actor of Itadori in Jujutsu Kaisen, reveals his passion for martial arts and acting since childhood.
- McArthur expresses his love for Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia, and his desire to play a hero rather than a villain in the latter.
- The intense moments and character deaths in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 deeply impacted McArthur, particularly the scene with Nanami and the shocking moments with Nobara.
Jujutsu Kaisen is considered one of the best anime of the newer generation. Jujutsu Kaisen follows the story of high schooler Itadori Yuji. After consuming a cursed finger containing the soul of the powerful Sukuna, Itadori joins Tokyo Jujutsu High and is trained by Gojo Satoru to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer - a human who can see curses and must eliminate them from the world.
TheBestWarGames recently had the opportunity to sit down with Adam McArthur, the English dub voice actor of Itadori, to delve into the person behind the voice. McArthur also lends his voice to other iconic characters, such as Trumpet in My Hero Academia, Chifuyu Matsuno in Tokyo Revengers, and Sota Miyagi in The First Slam Dunk.
The following interview has been edited for brevity.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Innate and Inherited Cursed Techniques, Explained
Cursed energy serves as the power source in the JJK world, with some abilities being non-innate or innate, and others being inherited from birth.
Q: Can you tell me how you got into voice acting?
McArthur: There's two things I always wanted to do since I was a kid: martial arts and acting. I always wanted to do cartoons. I just made my parents basically put me in acting classes. I booked my first professional acting job at 16 years old and then just never stopped.
Q: Could you talk a little bit more about [your background in] martial arts?
McArthur: I've done traditional northern and Southern Shaolin Kung Fu and Judo since I was 11. I was ranked in the top ten in the U.S. For Wushu. Kickboxing, boxing. I love it all. Martial arts is like my happy place. It's truly when I feel like myself the most.
Q: You’ve done voice acting for JJK and My Hero Academia? Do you have a favorite?
McArthur: Jujutsu Kaisen, for sure. But, I love My Hero Academia. My Hero is what made me want to do anime. [When] I had my first audition for anime, [it] was for My Hero. I love it, but I was sort of bummed that I got cast as a villain. I want to be a good guy. I don't want to be the bad guy. I don’t like being evil.
Q: If you could be a hero in My Hero Academia, then who would you have wanted to be?
McArthur: Mirio [or] Deku, but all of those are already voiced by amazing people. I've been reading My Hero Vigilantes. The main character in that [Koichi Haimawari] would be really fun to play.
Q: Season 2 of JJK was stressful. How was it for you as Itadori?
So for me, the acting process is kind of the same no matter what I'm doing. Finding parallels in your life that you can relate to what this character's going through, even when you personally haven't, decimated Tokyo, you know what I mean? Like those moments where he's realizing what happened and wishing that he had just let the higher ups kill him instead. When I think about those moments, it takes me back to the mental place that I was in when I was doing it. And it was really tough. But, you know, we've all experienced guilt and letting people down or just feeling like you don't deserve something. I really wanted all of those break-down scenes to feel kind of visceral and real. I'm proud of what I did.
Q: Season 1 felt like “The Gojo Show” for many fans. But Season 2, them taking him away, and him getting sealed really showed that this is Yuji’s story. Did you feel like that?
McArthur: I think it's always interesting when you start a story off, and you have a character like Yuji, who's like this fish out of water, right? He's a new character to the world. You're kind of learning along with him…so when you're learning from people like Gojo, it is easy to give a lot of attention and focus on Gojo. Then when stuff got serious…it was crazy. And…it's only a few months from when Yuji joins Jujutsu Tech to when Season 2 ends. So, a lot of it's ramping up very, very fast for this 15-year-old kid.
Q: There were so many deaths this past season. Which was the most heart-wrenching for you?
McArthur: That's a tough one. They all had their own challenges. I think the way they handled Nanami’s death was beautiful. We got to live in the moment, which is pretty courageous of them as storytellers and as animators. The way they cut back and forth between him on the beach and him destroying curses and the music that they were playing…that was really beautiful. But as far as shocking goes, there were two things in that scene with Nobara that really stood out to me. One of them was the sound effects that they used when she fell back towards the camera, like the thud. And, there was a POV shot through her eye. It's so cool that they don't shy away from making us really feel uncomfortable.
Q: Is Yuji your favorite character?
McArthur: I think if I was watching this show, and I was not voicing him, I think it would for sure be him, that golden retriever energy. But, it is Todo. He's just so funny. And then just the sheer commitment of his relationship with Yuji. The best friendo, calling him his brother all the time.
Q: Well, speaking of best friendos, you made me think of another friend that I feel like we didn't really get to spend a lot of time with - Junpei.
McArthur: RIP Junpei.
Q: How do you feel like they play on foreshadowing with JJK?
McArthur: I think what's really cool about JJK is that Gege, the author, [writes] these tropes that are sort of familiar and that we've seen in other anime, but either how they end or where they end up is a slightly different take on it. It’s surprising and new, but it still feels familiar. I think that those two things together are a really hard combo. We all know trauma happens in anime, we all know people die. We all know you can't have a favorite. That's not a new thing. But, having them in the opening and then having it happen so fast like that, that is not normal. Even Yuji dies [early in Season 1]. I remember when I recorded that episode, I was like, "Wait. I thought I was the main character and he dies?” But again, I just think that's such a cool thing is like putting these characters in positions that we're not used to seeing them in and how they handle it. And some of them can handle it and some of them don't go to Jujutsu Tech and turn into Barney (laughing).
Q: Do you have a character that you hate?
Easy. Mahito. I hate Mahito, because he's such a good villain.
Q: Do you have a scene in particular that you just love?
McArthur: We're spoiled with this show. There's so many good ones. But, I really love when Yuji and Nobara are fighting the brothers. It set the tone for Season 2. There's a scene after where Yuji and Nobara are walking…and Yuji asks her if she's okay. And she says like, “Yeah, this is just part of it.” And he's wrestling with what it's like to actually have to kill somebody after for the whole season he's like, “I'll never kill anyone no matter what. I'll always find another way.” I love doing all the heavier stuff. The whole Mahito thing, staring him down. That’s why he’s such a good villain. Yuji needed him. Yuji needed him to do that so that he could have that resolve and he needs it for what's coming.
Q: Do you have a favorite non-anime character that you’ve done?
McArthur: I would definitely say Marco Diaz on Star vs. The Forces of Evil. I spent the most time with them. We did four seasons. It was a lot of fun. But, I [also] do a lot additional voices and background voices and stuff like that. I worked on the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem, which came out last year. I also voiced a character named Shota Miyagi in First Slam Dunk. So, I had two movies in the theaters at the same time. That was cool.
Q: Do you have any other projects coming up that you can tell us about?
McArthur: Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash just came out. The whole cast got to play. We basically beat each other up as our characters, which was cool. Everyone's playing as Gojo, and he teleports in the game. It's so annoying.
Q: We are all Gojo’s stans.
McArthur: Oh, I know.(Laughing)
Itadori Doesn't Get Enough Respect in His Own Anime
With Gojo being such a scene-stealer, are fans overlooking Jujutsu Kaisen's protagonist?
- Release Date
- October 3, 2020
- Network
- TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC
- Directors
- Ryohei Takeshita, Masataka Akai, Chie Nishizawa, Daisuke Tsukushi, Tomomi Kamiya, Kakushi Ifuku, Ken Takahashi
- Writers
- Hiroshi Seko
- Franchise(s)
- Jujutsu Kaisen
Cast
-
Junya EnokiYuji Itadori -
Yuichi NakamuraSatoru Gojo
WHERE TO WATCH
Based on Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen manga, Mappa's battle shonen anime envisions a world where Jujutsu Sorcerers battle against entities born out of Cursed Energy. One day, a teenager named Yuji Itadori is dragged into this conflict when he eats a possessed finger.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available for streaming on Prime Video.