Recently, we got to chat with Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 English dub voice actors, Adam McArthur (Yuji Itadori) and Kayleigh McKee (Yuta Okkotsu), in an interview series hosted by Crunchyroll.
One of the most striking things about Season 3 so far is its animation, which makes sense given that the Culling Game features dynamic fights with plenty of creative moves and Domain Expansions. Thus, we asked the VAs of Yuji and Yuta if this animation quality put a bit of pressure on them when it comes to their performances. We also asked about their thoughts on the Culling Game’s rules, as well as if the anime’s power system also caused them to theorycraft with fellow cast members and/or friends.
[The following is a complete transcript of our interview with the Jujutsu Kaisen English dub cast, lightly edited for clarity.]
The Culling Game has really gone above and beyond in terms of art and animation, as the quality is movie-like in every episode. Would you say that the show’s impressive quality has put extra pressure on your performances?
Adam: I wouldn’t say, actually, that it puts extra pressure. I think we’ve all known since the beginning, since we started working on this series, what a special series it is, how important our jobs are, and what we’ve been tasked with, to make sure we’re doing our part, bringing what we bring to it, and doing that in a way where we put in a lot of hard work. So yeah, even though I agree with you that this season is insanely cinematic, the animation is just beautiful, I think we’ve known what we had since the beginning.
We all, Kayleigh will speak to this herself, but we’ve all read the manga. We’re watching the sub as well as working on the dub, making sure we’re taking in as much of the material as possible to ensure we’re doing the best job we can.
Kayleigh: Yeah, he’s right. I’ve read the manga; basically, all of us have. You know, watching the sub episodes as they come out, watching our dub episodes as they come out, and also, I’m just a big fan of it. So really, I feel like it’s the minimum of what it deserves.
The Culling Game’s rules are quite complicated. How long did it take you to understand the rules and scenarios?
Adam: I will say, listen, if anyone is watching this or reading this, let me tell you, the rules are re-explained as we go. So don’t feel pressure. I know at the beginning, in the first couple of episodes of season three, when those rules flash on screen, everybody was like, ‘Wait a second, hold on.’ People had to go back and pause. That’s intentional. It’s done by design. It’s supposed to show you how overwhelming they are and how immense the Culling Game is in and of itself.
But what I love that MAPPA is doing in the anime adaptation is using the characters’ need to understand the rules as a vehicle for the audience to learn and know the rules better. So be patient with yourself. It’s okay not knowing. All will be revealed.
Kayleigh: Yeah, I think maybe it’s flashed up front so that when they have to explain it on the fly later, as a kind of gotcha or something, you know it wasn’t just made up. You can go back and make sure it’s there. I think that’s mostly what it’s there for.
If there’s one thing about Jujutsu Kaisen fans, it’s that they strongly latch on to characters. Aside from your characters, Yuji and Yuta, fans have also become attached to many other characters, even those who appear briefly. What do you think makes Jujutsu Kaisen’s characters so easy to love and cheer for?
Kayleigh: I think they feel very human, despite it being such a wild world and setting, and even though they have these awesome powers. At the core, they aren’t written like cartoon characters, right? Even in some anime that value emotionality, Jujutsu Kaisen really stands out. Gege wrote these characters, I feel, in a way that adds the quirks of real people—the little inconsistencies, the depth of emotion, the relationships, particularly how they relate to others and the world around them.
I think that’s really the genius of Gege’s characterization: it makes you connect to them in the same way [you would to real people].
Adam: Yeah, I feel like there’s really just something for everybody in JJK. There’s not a bad character.
I mean, you could argue maybe Naoya. But still, they’re so beautifully written and adapted. His character, what he’s supposed to do in the story, he does so perfectly. And if you follow me on social media at all, you know how much I dislike Mahito as a character, just for what he put Yuji through.
But even Mahito—what an amazingly written character. The reason he is so bad, and the reason he is so good, is because of what he does. So yeah, there really is something for everybody. And then you have the iconic character designs. Everybody loves Sukuna. Gojo is beautiful, and everyone thinks so.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s power system can be complicated, but it makes for compelling theorycrafting; it kind of reminds me of back in my teen days, theorycrafting with friends about popular shonen anime. Has this also happened to you? Have you had conversations with fellow cast members or friends like this?
Adam: Maybe, maybe one day when all this is over, in like 10 years, we’ll release the JJK cast group chat and all the DMs about the theories and what our hopes are and all that stuff. Yeah. As we said earlier, we’re also fans. If I weren’t on this series as the English voice of Yuji, I’d just be a massive fan of the show. I think it’s so fun.
Kayleigh: If we do eventually release that, there are some things that wouldn’t make it in because they’re said in darkness and secret, in person.
Adam: It’s nothing bad, don’t worry.
So far, what is your favorite part or moment of Season 2?
Kayleigh: Mine is when Yuji is able to see Yuta for the first time, when he’s brought back. And then Yuta is finally able to ‘oh my god, okay, let’s talk about this.’
It’s either that, or… I don’t want to give too many spoilers for people who haven’t caught up yet, but Maki and her clan. That whole episode is peak. Catch up if you haven’t.
Adam: Okay, I can’t narrow it down to one, so I’m gonna give you two. In the scene where Yuta reveals that he’s kind of faking Yuji out, and Megumi walks in, there’s this weighty moment of Yuji asking, ‘What happened to Kugisaki?’ And that moment, the way it was animated, everything together, just had a lot of breadth. I loved that moment. I felt the weight of all of season two in that one question Yuji asked Megumi.
And then the other thing is something else Yuji says to Megumi. It’s in one of the more recent episodes, when they’re heading down their separate paths to go into the Culling Game. It’s one of those rule explanation moments. Megumi is like, ‘Yeah, remember that.’ And Yuji, walking confidently, says, ‘I remember. But in case I don’t, explain it again.’ And I thought, that’s the perfect explanation. The perfect line for the Culling Game.
New Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 episodes are released weekly on Crunchyroll, available with the English dub along with other language options.