Jujutsu Kaisen has become one of the best-selling manga titles and with its anime launch, a fan favorite. The series follows Yūji Itadori, an unnaturally fit high school student living out his grandpa’s dying wish to “always help people.” But how does he do it? By eating a cursed object, sharing his body with its demon names Sukuna, and learning more about curses and jujutsu. Now studying at Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College, Saturo Gojou chooses to postpone Itadori’s death sentence, given to him because of Sukuna’s presence in his body, and uses him to recover the missing cursed objects tied to Sukuna.
Kaiji Tang has brought a lot of charismatic fan-favorite characters to life. With a voice acting list of credits that include Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Archer from Fate/Stay Night and Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs, Tang is now bringing Satoru Gojou to life in Crunchyroll’s Jujutsu Kaisen. A chaotic character in charge of teaching Itadori jujutsu, Gojou is the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. With love and care given to his friends, he’s ruthless in battle and as we’ve seen so far this season, capable of wreaking infinite damage with his move “infinite void.”
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We got the chance to talk with Tang about what goes into voicing Gojo and how he views the character through Gojou’s weakness and not his strengths.
BUT WHY THO: Gojou has many sides to his personality. He’s chaotic, wise, and extremely powerful. What’s your process for making sure all of these personality traits come to life?
KAIJI TANG: I’d probably start off by saying I disagree about the wisdom thing. He’s impulsive and believes that throughout Heaven and Earth, he alone is the honored one. That’s not to say he’s not smart or clever, he absolutely is. However, arrogance is a heck of a blinder. And that’s how I approach his character. Instead of trying to play up his strengths, I focus on his weakness. His blind belief in his ideals and the complete faith he has in himself. He’s Clark Kent who was never tempered by Mama and Popa Kent. I think a part of the charm of this character is that he’s more or less a child who has had to do very little growing up. That makes him an incomplete person with glaring weaknesses. And I think that’s my favorite aspect of voicing Gojou.
BUT WHY THO: Were you a fan of Jujutsu Kaisen before taking the role of Gojou?
KAIJI TANG: I had heard a little bit about the series, but I admit I didn’t know too much! Of course, when the audition came in I did my homework. I’ve been a fan ever since. It’s like premium horror shonen goodness.
BUT WHY THO: Do you prefer voicing the more emotional moments that Gojou has, or the action sequences? Why?
KAIJI TANG: Definitely the more heartfelt stuff. Don’t get me wrong, big action scenes are always fun. However, the scenes where we get a peek behind the blindfold so to speak are my favorites. When the incident with Yuji and the Special Grade happened, we get to see just how unstable Gojou’s thought processes can be. Without spoiling anything, he briefly and very casually considers what some might call straight-up teamkill murder death. Every time he makes a poor decision or his arrogance gets the better of him, those are the moments that reflect who he is inside. Though saying Infinite Void is pretty cool.
BUT WHY THO: How does bring out Gojou’s charisma compare to some of the other characters you’ve voiced like Joe in Megalo Box or Archer in Fate/Stay Night?
KAIJI TANG: Gojou sees the world in a far more childlike way than both Joe and Archer. The latter are world-weary and their belief in themselves and their ability is strengthened by the challenges they’ve faced in their lives. Joe especially who has seemingly lost everything but his dreams. Archer who has achieved his vision but is haunted by the consequences. Gojou has faced some challenges in his past, but nothing that would come close to tempering him. Nothing has clouded that childlike view of both himself and the world around him. Thus he’s able to live with this fun, carefree attitude as if nothing in this world could challenge him. A Troll Superman if you will.
BUT WHY THO: Do you put any of your own personality into Gojou, and if not, does Gojou have any qualities you admire?
KAIJI TANG: We’re both foodies so I can appreciate that. I believe Gojou is the type of man to honestly have an hour-long conversation with you about whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich.
BUT WHY THO: What do you want fans to take away from your performance as Gojou?
KAIJI TANG: There are some people who are not equipped to handle power. Few have the wisdom to temper it and wield it correctly. Gojou is a child with superpowers. He fancies himself a teacher while still being a young man himself. He doesn’t respect anything. He’s the Monkey King. And at some point, a mountain always drops on the Monkey King.
BUT WHY THO: You’ve voiced quite a few powerful characters in anime, so, I feel like I have to ask: If you had to pit Gojou against one of your previous characters in a battle would it be?
KAIJI TANG: WOW. Uh. Who even comes close. I was involved in the Bang, Zoom dub of Dragon Ball Super and I guess the closest thing to a real fight would be Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta? But even then how does he even touch Gojou. And does he have anything to counter Infinite Void? It’s rough, man. My guy would have to blow up the planet Gojou was on.
As a big fan of Gojou, getting the chance to talk to Tang and getting insight into how he sees the character helps me appreciate my white-haired fave even more. Both child-like and powerful, Gojou is complex, and so is Tang’s take on the character.
Jujutsu Kaisen‘s English dub airs new episodes Fridays on Crunchyroll.
