Jujutsu Kaisen Voice Actor Criticises Manga Translation

This article contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 267.

Jujutsu Kaisen has become one of the most popular manga series of the current era, both in Japan and abroad. As Japanese manga need translations for English-speaking audiences, debates often arise about the quality of these translations.

Recently, an official voice actor from the Jujutsu Kaisenanime’s English dub shared his thoughts on the English translation of the manga.

The actor in question is Adam McArthur, who voices the protagonist Yuji Itadori. The manga, which is nearing its conclusion, has led to a debate in the fandom about the translation choices in Chapter 267.

McArthur posted a GIF on his X/Twitter account (via CBR) from the anime where Yuji says, “I see. I don’t get it,” with a serious expression. McArthur captioned it, “John Wery.”

The name “John Wery” in McArthur’s caption refers to the current translator of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga for Viz Media. Werry took over the role from Stefan Koza, who was infamously involved in a scandal for possessing child pornography and was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Since Werry took charge, many fans have criticized his translation choices for Jujutsu Kaisen. While fans have been vocal about their opinions on the translation, this is the first time someone officially involved with the anime has commented on it.

The Jujutsu Kaisen Translation Problem Explained

Fans have called out the English translation of Jujutsu Kaisen for not properly capturing the essence of certain Japanese phrases.

For instance, there was a problem in Chapter 220; and Chapter 221 saw a major change like Satoru Gojo’s iconic line “Nah, I’d win,” being shortened to just “Nah.”

However, the specific instance that sparked McArthur’s comment is in Chapter 267.

In this chapter, Yuta Okkotsu talks about copying Sukuna’s Cursed Technique Shrine by eating Yuji’s finger. However, the term Malevolent Shrine is used in the English translation.

This is problematic because Malevolent Shrine refers to Sukuna’s Domain Expansion technique, something Yuta cannot replicate.

While minor translation issues are understandable, given that translation and localization are challenging tasks, repeated errors have become a source of frustration for fans.

With the Jujutsu Kaisen manga set to end soon and only a few chapters remaining, it remains to be seen if these translation issues will be addressed.

Fans can continue following the series on Viz Media and Manga Plus by Shueisha.