Adam McArthur voices main character, Yuji Itadori, in the world famous anime series, “Jujutsu Kaisen”. (Adam McArthur PR team)
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) —Anime fans in El Paso got a chance to meet one of anime’s most recognizable voices as actor Adam McArthur stopped by Anime Mundo to talk about his career, the growing popularity of anime in the U.S., and an upcoming Netflix project.
McArthur, known for voicing Yuji Itadori in “Jujutsu Kaisen” and Marco Diaz in “Star vs. the Forces of Evil,” said he has been acting for decades now.
“Yeah, dude, I’ve been acting since the late nineties, 1998,” McArthur said. “I begged my parents for acting classes is basically how I got my start.”
McArthur said an early voiceover audition helped set his path.
“I got an audition opportunity for a voiceover job, and once I found out I could get paid to talk, I was like, ‘You know what? I think I’m going to keep doing that,’” McArthur said.
At anime conventions and fan events, McArthur said the energy stands out and the connection with fans is a major part of the experience.
“Oh, it’s amazing, man. It’s very energetic. People come out with such enthusiasm,” McArthur said. “The beauty of these kinds of shows is it touches people’s lives in different ways.”
McArthur said he enjoys hearing what different series mean to different people.
“Getting to hear people’s stories, getting a chance to laugh with fans, to hear how they you inspired them or how they are inspired by you and all that stuff,” McArthur said. “It’s, it’s amazing.”
McArthur also pointed to anime’s surge in mainstream popularity in recent years.
“Yeah, anime has absolutely exploded in popularity,” McArthur said, adding that he wasn’t sure if it was tied to the pandemic era when people ran out of things to watch. “But yeah, I think it’s just finally, I mean, it’s been around forever, but it’s finally just catching up, you know, and people are having a bigger awareness of it.”
Adam McArthur voices main character, Toshiro Kamiya, in the new Netflix anime series, “Fool Night,” set to debut on November 26th. (Adam McArthur PR team)
McArthur also <a href="https://comicvibe.com/x-men-outback-5-preview-longshots-ex-stars-in-murder-tv/” title=”X-Men: Outback #5 Preview: Longshot's Ex Stars in Murder TV”>previewed his next major role, voicing Toshiro Kamiya in “Fool Night,” a Netflix anime set for release Nov. 26. “There’s 12 episodes. They’re dropping all 12 episodes at once,” McArthur said.
McArthur described his character as a kid struggling to find a reason to keep going.
“Yeah, I voiced Toshiro Kamiya. He’s a kid who just feels like he has nothing left to live for. He doesn’t have a good life,” McArthur said, adding that the story follows Kamiya as he finds motivation to live within a “murder mystery, horror anime.”
“There’s nothing like it,” McArthur said. “It’s super weird in a good way, as in unique and yeah, I’m very excited for it.”
For young people hoping to break into acting or voice work, McArthur encouraged practice and training, even outside a formal classroom.
“Yeah, get yourself in some acting classes and it doesn’t have to be, you know, it doesn’t have to even be class. It could just be imitation,” McArthur said. “You could watch something on TV or that you see online and you could do, you could practice imitation.”
McArthur said persistence matters.
I think it’s important to remember that someone’s got to do it and it might as well be you,” McArthur said. “And if it’s what you really want to do, there’s no reason you can’t do it.”
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