To celebrate the release of Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie hitting UK Cinemas on Friday 18th March (with advanced previews from Wednesday 16th March), we were invited by Crunchyroll to take part in a roundtable interview with the English voice cast of the film.
(Yuta Okkotsu) Kayleigh McKee, (Rika Orimoto) Anairis Quiñones, (Satoru Gojo) Kaiji Tang, (Suguru Geto) Lex Lang, (Maki Zen’in) Allegra Clark, (Toge Inumaki) Xander Mobus, (Panda) Matthew David Rudd
STARBURST: Congratulations to you all on the film, as fans of the series, we loved the film and all of your performances were excellent.
CAST: Thank you so much!
Kayleigh and Anairis, with the film being a prequel and a lot of the characters already appearing in the series, how did that affect your prep to be the focal point of the story as a performer?
Kayleigh: To be honest, I did as much as I could to not worry about it too much. Because that is a sure-fire way of second-guessing yourself. I knew members of the cast, I had heard some of it and watched the show. I knew I was a fan, and I knew people involved and I just tried to have fun and do my best.
Anairis: I’m in a similar boat where actually my boyfriend is a huge fan of Jujutsu Kaisen, it’s his favourite anime. I’ll listen to my friends talk about it and my peers voice in it and be excited about it – so I knew about it and I kind of had some ideas about Yuta and Rika and their relationship because I’ve heard the names and then when I got the audition it was great to see that it was for Rika, a character I’d heard so much about. When I got cast, my prep is knowing where the story is going so I did read the manga and I did understand that when Gege (the author) wrote this it was originally intended to be the first draft, so I approached it very similarly to how Kayleigh did with not worrying about what the other characters were doing in the main series and just focusing on Yuta and Rika which was interesting.
Yuta’s story is something that a lot of us can relate to in regards to having a difficult childhood. What influences did you draw upon when preparing for the role?
Kayleigh: Honestly, there are definitely some parallels that I drew from that I personally went through as a child. I lost a couple of friends and I lost some from moving, so I had a lot of experience with not having people in my life but then also tying that into, well actually, was very interesting. To be perfectly honest, I drew inspiration from my peers. As an artist, the best are always constantly listening with a learning ear to help create something that I’m really proud of.
Kaiji and Lex, the quality of the series was always high, but the movie takes it one step further with even higher production values. Did that add to the pressure of revisiting your character?
Lex: It’s always incredible production value when MAPPA are involved with this IP, I think in terms of my character, he came from a different state of being in the film compared to the series. Without spoilers, you know how the story arc for Suguru Geto goes, that as a precursor to the series starts to make more sense – he’s more connected to his emotional state and to his passions in the film, and when he gets to the series, you can see the changes. He’s much more relaxed and friendlier in a sense in the series and in the film he’s much more passionate and unhinged. His beliefs are driving him through the film. The production quality was so phenomenal that makes you as an actor happy to be there. It’s a great feeling to be involved with something like this and I am blessed to be the person chosen to portray this character.
Kaiji: I will say, the more high quality the animation, the easier it is to read the lip flaps (laughs). So that was a huge bonus! When you work on anime, you have to really hit those lip flaps in the dub, a lot of times we work on shows where the animation for the flaps will be either low quality in the background where you have to squint (laughs) – fortunately, there’s none of that in Jujutsu Kaisen as it is so immaculately animated. If I was in my second or third year of voice over, and I booked this gig, I probably would’ve freaked out in the booth a bit because of the gravity of the project. Fortunately, I’ve had the privilege of doing this job for over a decade now so whenever I walk into the booth, it’s business as usual – you always give 110% no matter what the project is. I loved working on this.
Xander, Allegra and Matthew, your character’s relationships with Yuta are briefly hinted at in the first series, how much fun was it for you as an Actor to actually get to explore this story rather than just reading about it to help you develop your performances?
Allegra: It was interesting because the events of JJK0 and Maki’s first year helped inform who she is in the series. She’s lightened up a lot and she’s less mean to be honest. She’s a lot more playfully mean in the series than genuinely mean, I think we can say (laughs). She’s lost a lot of the chip on her shoulder. Getting to play and explore the moment before the series, helped me really appreciate who she’s become as well. She has such a fascinating arc through the manga (no spoilers here!) but her point zero in the series with her sister – it’s a part of this really beautiful story of her finding acceptance from her peers and within herself.
Matthew: I love Panda, he’s so much like me in real life that I love that they keep reinforcing his character in the movie – hopefully in season 2 we’ll see the same. To be reassured that he is such a genuine person that when Yuta comes to school, Panda takes it upon himself to help him feel acclimated – Panda is the big brother figure, he tries to keep the group glued together. When Gojo needs someone to take care of business – he sends Panda because he knows he can trust him. It’s great to see that the caring nature of him from the prequel film carries over into the series so I really appreciate his character and his development.
Xander: I say rice ball ingredients (everyone laughs). Obviously, my role is the best (laughs) and Toge is the greatest. As far as my process goes, try not to get hungry in the booth!
What is your favourite rice ball ingredient, Xander?
Xander: I love a good Tuna – but sometimes I love a good Salmon Roe! (laughs)
Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie is released in UK Cinemas on Friday 18th March with advanced screenings in select cinemas from Wednesday 16th March.
