Jujutsu Kaisen is a story filled with gruesome body horror, terrifying monsters, and heartbreaking betrayals that often lead to bloodshed. Yuji Itadori is a high school student who becomes the vehicle for the almighty demon Ryomen Sukuna in order to save the lives of his friends, a decision that sends him on a journey to escape great curses, fight a team of terrifying bad guys trying to compete with Sukuna, and survive multiple attempts on his life.
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Adam McArthur voices Itadori in the English dub of Jujutsu Kaisen, and despite the show's horror elements, he affectionately refers to Itadori as "Golden Retriever" several times when we sit down to talk.
I know he is been through a lot, but what I love about Yuji is that he's still Yuji McArthur says of his character. and He still wants to do good and he still wants to be the best. I think even though the light has dimmed a little bit since the second season he is still our sunshine boy.
Inside the Role: Playing the Main Hero in a Dark Shonen World
This optimism and compassion are helpful in counteracting the power-hungry evil of Sukuna, a demon who shares a body with Itadori. Yuji is the only human capable of controlling the omnipresent spirit, and while Sukuna scolds and taunts those he deems too weak for fun, Yuji is a more sympathetic character. I asked if he had a favorite quote from the show, and McArthur recalled a horrifying moment from the end of the second season, a series of episodes in which Itadori's closest friends and mentors were beaten up (or worse).
The whole i am you speech [Yuji] gives to Mahito, where he finally corners Mahito and makes him realize he's just a cog in the machine. One of the main antagonists in the series so far, Mahito is a cursed being bent on destroying humanity, and he taunts Itadori that they are one, as Yuji's mission is to destroy cursed beings like Mahito. After initially denying it, at the end of a tense chase scene Yuji admits it is a true. That whole last part was so emotional.
J.J.K. is a story of immense loss, and while MacArthur appreciates the moments of turmoil throughout the story, he knows that foreshadowing can often be dire for the characters we all love. He has read the manga in its entirety, and he prepares for the recording of each episode by listening to a recording of Yuji's Japanese voice actor Junya Enoki before recording his own in English. And while most of his co-stars spend their time in the booth shouting battle cries, the real challenge for MacArthur in recording Jujutsu Kaisen comes from the heaviness of Itadori's story.
He says his idea behind the trauma and the Shibuya incident was to make it feel as real as possible. He didn’t want it to seem like just a sad anime character. And you do that to make it as real as possible for yourself so it was tough to go into the studio week after week and be in the same mental state for almost the entire duration of the second season.
Breaking Barriers The Megan Thee Stallion Effect Explained
As we speak over Zoom Jujutsu Kaisen has recently been named the world's most in-demand animated TV show for 2024 by the Guinness Book of World Records, a relatively new one that has surpassed long-beloved series like Attack on Titan and One Piece which previously held the title.
This year's decision was a toss-up between Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece, but a surge in popularity in mid-2024 has pushed JJK to victory. Perhaps not coincidentally this surge came shortly after the release of rapper Megan Thee Stallion's song Otaku Hot Girl which begins with a modified line from Itadori from the anime and makes multiple references to the show.
When another character asks what type of woman he likes, Itadori replies I like a tall woman and a nice big ass that's all I am saying This voice line went viral on social media. The original quote talks about Jennifer Lawrence but McArthur says he saw people arguing online about celebrity choices and redubbed the line to be about Megan Thee Stallion after she won a Grammy in 2021. Then he didn't hear anything about it other than social media conversations until his phone went crazy one night at 9:30 p.m.
So I brought it up and people said, Congratulations and you are finally on Megan Thee Stallion's song he recalls, smiling. And I will say when I did that [recording] I thought it would be stupid not to use it in the beginning.
What is Next for Adam McArthur?
Even though Jujutsu Kaisen is still airing, McArthur has been keeping busy. He recently played Reno Ichikawa in the anime Kaiju No. 8 and voiced Troy Simpkin in the game WWE 2K24. To keep you occupied for the rest of 2025, he's going to play an as-yet-unnamed character in the upcoming dating simulator Date Everything!, a game about dating your anthropomorphic household furniture.
I am still trying to find a simple way to explain to people why this should not happen without hearing it from the outside he laughs. You date the furniture. It is a game where you can date anything in your house. They turn into a person though so that's cool.
Fellow Jujutsu Kaisen voice actors Ray Chase (who plays the ghost Sukuna) and Robbie Daymond (who voices Itadori's classmate Megumi Fushiguro) join Date Everything! as the brains behind it and I asked if McArthur could reveal anything about the role. His IMDB page says the character's name is Cam. When I guessed he might be a Ring doorbell or a webcam, he said I won't say exactly what he is but you're not right.
He did offer a few teasers, though. You will love the wordplay he does. He is moody he's not the sunshine boy quite the opposite! It will sound different than people expect.
When he's not recording for his various roles, McArthur attends conventions around the world. When I ask him how he and his co-stars feel about the hordes of fans eager to hear their characters iconic quotes, he beams. We are very lucky there's no complaints he says. If someone told me every day that I like a tall woman and a nice big ass, or asked [co-star Kaiji Tang] every day Are you crying Then how lucky are we that this is a thing? It is pretty funny. You never think life is going to end here. It's all good. The first two seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen are currently available to watch on Crunchyroll Netflix & more.
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