Animate Times is conducting a series of interviews. For the second installment, we welcome Megumi Ogata, who plays Yuta Okkotsu. Following his appearance in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 The Movie and his return during the Shibuya Incident Arc, what does Ogata feel about Yuta's way of being?
From the unique atmosphere of the recording studio to the performance of Yoshiko Sakakibara as Tengen, Ogata shares her perspective on Jujutsu Kaisen in depth.
A Shared Sentiment Between Ogata and Yuta
—The third season has finally begun broadcasting. After being appointed as Yuji Itadori's executioner at the end of the Shibuya Incident Arc, there was an ominous atmosphere, but many viewers must have been relieved by Yuta's unchanged kindness.
Megumi Ogata (Voice of Yuta Okkotsu, hereafter Ogata): He just appeared different for a moment, but his core hasn't changed at all.
I recorded the Shibuya Incident Arc scenes almost alone, and it ended surprisingly quickly, which actually shocked me. During Jujutsu Kaisen 0 The Movie, we spent time on each and every line, so I thought, "This production takes time" (laughs). I remember going home thinking, "Huh? Is that really okay?"
—Having gone through ujutsu Kaisen 0 The Movieand the "Culling Game," how do you see the character "Yuta Okkotsu"?
Ogata: Fundamentally, he "doesn't exclude others," you could say. Of course, it's different with cursed spirits, but he thinks about others more than himself.
That's exactly why, even with Rika, he doesn't try to "exorcise" her but rather thinks, "This is troubling" and "What should I do?" He's troubled that Rika attacks people around him, but he never once considers exorcising her. He never says anything like that.
—So he's someone who constantly thinks about others rather than himself.
Ogata: At the end of the Season 3 teaser PV, there's a line that goes, "Living only for yourself will surely reach its limit someday," and I think that's his true feeling. I also think that way myself.
When I was young, as an actor, I thought things like "I want to be able to make a living," "I want regular roles," "I want to try playing leads," and "I want recognition." But after reaching a certain point, I realized that "I can no longer move forward even one step for my own desires alone."
—You faced the "limit" that Yuta speaks of.
Ogata: It's obvious, but that's when I realized, "We're all doing this together." Saying "for others" sounds very selfless, but simply from a business perspective, "presenting something that makes customers happy" is what we should be doing. The period when I was thinking "only for myself" ended 20 to 30 years ago. In that sense, I think I'm thinking the same things as him (Yuta).
—Watching your work, I feel you also value the "for the sake of the work" aspect.
Ogata: Creating a work is teamwork. Not just fellow actors or the sound team we directly interact with, but if the acting doesn't match the animation, it's meaningless. Since we're bringing all of that together, naturally we think about various things. People in different positions come together with their strengths to entertain the audience. It's a job where we deliver something that makes people forget their worries for a moment or gives them the feeling to "try a little harder tomorrow."
For example, live events are quite direct. Working together with the staff and musicians there, customers say they "feel energized" or "can smile from tomorrow" as they leave. There's a part of me that works hard to see those smiling faces. However, I feel Yuta is a bit more self-sacrificing. I'm not like that at all (laughs).
—In the end, is it also "for yourself"?
Ogata: To satisfy my own desires, I work together with everyone. Including family, without someone's help, there's nothing I can do alone.
So, in a more raw sense, I feel the same way (as Yuta). Since Yuta is still around high school age, I think, "It's admirable that you can think like that."
—In Episodes 48-49 (Season 3 Episodes 1-2), that Yuta encounters Itadori.
Ogata: That said, we barely exchanged lines at all (laughs). Even in the battle, Yuta has the advantage, so he's not out of breath at all. Itadori-kun (Junya Enoki) is putting in sounds of dodging by himself, but (Yuta) isn't putting anything in, so it didn't really become much of an exchange.
—After the Shibuya Incident Arc, Itadori himself is struggling with inner conflict.
Ogata: Even if it wasn't his intention, he killed many people with his own hands. After that, he's in a state where his personality and heart are broken. In that sense, he wasn't the normal "usual Itadori-kun." It's a strange way to put it, but that's the state Itadori-kun was in.
Encouraged by Yoshiko Sakakibara's Performance as Tengen
—At the end of Episode 49, Tengen, played by Yoshiko Sakakibara, appeared.
Ogata: When a being like Tengen who "knows everything" appears, following animation templates, you'd expect them to speak in a grand, detached manner. I think there's generally that kind of image.
But Sakakibara-san didn't perform it that way, and I felt something send chills down my spine. "What was that? What did we just hear?" After that, the director and sound director came over and said, "Sorry, could you try doing it a bit more detached?" I thought, "So it does come to that," but then Sakakibara-san said she wanted to make it "a being that encompasses the entire world" because it's a role that knows everything, that she wanted to perform while carrying all emotions and things. I honestly thought, "That's amazing."
—Even having that kind of approach to the role is overwhelming.
Ogata: The longer your career becomes, the more you tend to rely only on your past experience. This applies not just to actors but to all professions, but most people stand on top of their own "routine." Among the overwhelming majority who work based on past experience, Sakakibara-san is trying to find a new "Tengen image." I was really encouraged by that spirit of challenge and the fact that such a senior exists. I've worked with Sakakibara-san several times, but I left the recording booth saying, "I learned so much. Thank you."
—It also becomes a stimulation as an actor.
Ogata: I thought, "I still have to work hard." As long as there are seniors like that, I can't act all high and mighty. I finally understood the Culling Game rules when Tengen explained them. At first, I didn't understand them at all (laughs). I understood the general framework, so I thought once the anime started it would work itself out, but I was convinced along with Yuta by Tengen.
The Unique Relationships Within the Jujutsu Kaisen Recording Studio
—I'd like to hear about the team creating ujutsu Kaisenfrom your perspective, mainly in the recording studio.
Ogata: It's a very careful and sincere team. Everyone is really thinking about "what they want to do to make the work better." At least from what I can see, everyone seems to be approaching the work with that mindset.
Even when there's a small problem, they don't just brush it off casually, nor do they blow it out of proportion. Everyone quietly directs their awareness toward each other while carefully resolving it to clear the problem. You can tell they're being considerate of each other without words. It's like vectors are spreading out in multiple directions.
—Is that atmosphere created precisely because the work is ujutsu Kaisen
Ogata: That's right. The characters in Jujutsu Kaisen don't get all clingy with each other. No one says template things like calling a "powerful enemy" their "friend." However, even without showing such close behavior, you can tell there's trust between the characters. That's also a kind of "ideal," and in the real world, everyone is different, and there's the "hedgehog's dilemma."※ Having that kind of atmosphere throughout the entire production team is rare.
※"Hedgehog's dilemma": The psychology where the closer human relationships become, the more they hurt each other
—Finally, please give a message to the viewers.
Ogata: In Jujutsu Kaisen, every character does whatever they want (laughs). Everyone is moving separately, so they don't really come together, and there's an image of everyone conducting their own "undercover investigations." They haven't even met the other main characters much. That's exactly why I think, "Everyone, do your best!" Both the cast and the characters are working hard individually, so please enjoy each one's activities.
[Interview: Inari Ogawa]
Jujutsu Kaisen: Culling Game Series Information
Introduction
Turn, curse, in the game of death
Following the "Shibuya Incident," Suguru Geto (Noritoshi Kamo) has transformed10 barriers (colonies) nationwide into dens of curses.
The battle becomes a death match among those with jujutsu abilities: the "Culling Game."
Amid the accelerating chaos, it's discovered that Fushiguro's sister Tsumiki has been caught up in it.
Itadori and the others move to find a way to revive Gojo and rescue Tsumiki, but...
What exactly is Suguru Geto's (Noritoshi Kamo's) objective?
Where will they end up as they participate in the game to suppress the "Culling Game"—?
Cast
Yuji Itadori: Junya Enoki
Megumi Fushiguro: Yuma Uchida
Maki Zenin: Mikako Komatsu
Panda: Tomokazu Seki
Yuta Okkotsu: Megumi Ogata
Choso: Daisuke Namikawa
Yuki Tsukumo: Noriko Hidaka
Tengen: Yoshiko Sakakibara
Kinji Hakari: Kazuya Nakai
Kirara Hoshi: Yuki Sakakihara
Naoya Zenin: Koji Yusa
Hiromi Higuruma: Tomokazu Sugita
Fumihiko Takaba: Satoshi Tsuruoka
Reggie Star: Yutaka Aoyama
Kogane: Niko
Suguru Geto (Noritoshi Kamo): Takahiro Sakurai
Staff
Original Work: "Jujutsu Kaisen" by Gege Akutami (published by Shueisha Jump Comics)
Director: Shota Goshozono
Series Composition/Screenplay: Hiroshi Seko
Character Design: Yosuke Yajima, Hiromi Niwa
Assistant Director: Yosuke Takada
Art Director: Junichi Higashi
Color Design: Eiko Matsushima
CGI Producer: Yusuke Tannowa
3DCG Director: Daisuke Ishikawa (Monsters Egg)
Director of Photography: Teppei Ito
Editing: Keisuke Yanagi
ACEMusic: Yoshimasa Terui
Music Producer: Kenki Kobayashi
Sound Director: Yasuunori Ebina
Sound Production: dugout
Production: MAPPA
© Gege Akutami/Shueisha, JUJUTSU KAISEN Project
© Animate Times
*Some parts of this text have been translated using machine translation
