Silent, stoic, masked. Some of the most revealing moments in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 are reserved for none other than Satoru Gojo, instructor of first years at Jujutsu High. This makes him a bit responsible for the series’ protagonist rock introductions to the world of curses and sorcery.
Set a year before the familiar events of the television anime based on Gege Akutami’s dark fantasy shonen manga, Gojo’s character isn’t far from the person we know in his season one debut. He still feels a bit like an endearing but overzealous PE coach in a social studies classroom as a teacher. Or as Kaji Tang, the character’s English dub actor, jests, “Gojo has still not found his sense of fashion yet. He’s still trying to explore what kind of drip looks good on him.”
Tang is also the voice of the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super. I wanted to know what he thought about how well his character does at instructing the first years of Jujutsu High, so I asked whether he thought Gojo is actually a good teacher.
“That’s arguable, right? You think classically good teacher it’s like…I don’t see Gojo sitting there grading papers on time, I don’t see him coming up with homework assignments in advance. Maybe he’ll pull something out of his butt the day of.”
But Gojo isn’t the only teacher of curses. In fact, it’s never been more apparent how Gojo and the series’ antagonist, Suguru Geto, reflect each other. “For fans of the show, this movie is really going to give them an entirely new take on Suguru as well,” Lex Lang shared.
Lang reprised his role as Geto in the film. The voice actors’ roles mirror each other elsewhere as well. In addition to iconic roles like Goemon Ishikawa in Lupin the Third, Lang voices Goku in Dragon Ball Super alongside Tang.
“It’s a much more animated version” he continues, “where you really get to see what his ideology is and how that’s changed. In the flashbacks even during this movie, you can see where he started and the course it took and what led him to do the things and be the person he is now.”
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 humanizes the villainous Geto, and Lang shares that fondness for his character.
“He really cares about his fellow curse users, that’s something very genuine in him. So when he sees them supporting each other or coming through for each other, it moves him. That action gets to his heart…As far as being a good teacher, it’s because he cares so much about them that he has a genuine concern and he wants to see them do well, so I think that makes for a good teacher or a good leader.”
And as for Gojo, Tang says that while he’s not by the books, his methods do have their own wisdom.
“He makes up for it in other ways. He’s sort of wise when giving advice to the kids, he lets them be themselves, and he doesn’t do anything to stifle their own growth. He puts them in situations that will utilize their own personal strengths as individual kids.”
Tang’s final grade for the teacher? “A solid B-.”
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 premieres in U.S. and Canadian theaters today, Friday, March 18. The series is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Published: Mar 18, 2022 09:18 am