Summary
Jujutsu Kaisen is an action-packed anime with intense battles but also displays a witty sense of humor, breaking up the intense action with fun moments. Season 1 had a lot of funny moments, especially the humorous interaction between Yuji and Todo in episode 19. However, the English dub failed to recreate the comedic magic of the original Japanese version. This scene became viral in the Jujutsu Kaisen community due to the oral dialogue and the voice actor’s decision to emphasize a British accent for comedic effect. Unfortunately, the localization team was unable to fully recreate the joke in the dubbed version, causing some viewers to lose the funny moment.
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the most action-packed shounen anime to date, with many battles turning into tense back-and-forths that showcase the series’ unique power system. However, that doesn’t mean the series can’t explore characteristics of other genres. In fact, Jujustu Kaisen has an extremely witty sense of humor; from Gojo and Nanami’s interactions to Itadori’s teasing of Megumi, the series does a great job of breaking up the intense action with fun moments.
Season 1 had many funny moments, mainly because tense and heartbreaking plot twists like the Shibuya Incident had yet to come to fruition. The animation team enhanced the series by including one of the The funniest moments between Yuji and Todo in real lifeBut tragically, the English dub fails to recreate that magic.
Todo and Yuji’s bonding experience is the funniest moment in the show
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, Episode 19: “Black Lightning”
In episode 19 of Jujutsu Kaisen season 1, Todo Aoi and Yuji Itadori faced off against a special level Hanami curse that had infiltrated the school. Determined to turn its master Itadori into cursed energy, Todo told him to fight Hanami himself until he achieved the Black Lightning, and would not help him until then. Throughout the war, Todo spoke in English instead of Japanese. Saying empowering phrases like “My best friend!”, the lighthearted dialogue in the midst of intense life-or-death combat is entertaining and one of the funniest moments in Jujutsu Kaisen.
What makes the scene even more strange is that Todo’s voice actor, Subaru Kimaru, is fluent in English and decided to emphasize the accent for comedic purposes. It was a great decision because fans loved it and it became a viral meme in the Jujutsu Kaisen community. However, fans of the dub did not get the same experience. It’s not that the voice actor intentionally didn’t do it, it’s that he couldn’t. Unfortunately, due to the dialectical nature of the original joke, it put the localization team at a huge disadvantage when trying to recreate it.
Although no one is at fault in the dubbed version, it is still a pity that some people cannot experience the funniest moment in the movie. With how big the franchise is Jujutsu Kaisen has become, it’s great to see the cast and staff have creative freedom to make the show better. With the Shibuya Incident Arc teasing another team-up between Itadori and Todoviewers hope their comedic moves will once again shine.
Jujutsu Kaisen is available to stream on Crunchyroll.