Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution stars tee up brutal Yuji vs. Yuta face-off and season 3's Culling Game ...

Adam McArthur and Kayleigh McKee, the English voices behind Yuji Itadori and Yuta Okkotsu, preview the next big anime theatrical event. Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution stars tee up brutal Yuji vs. Yuta faceoff and season 3's Culling Game Arc: 'Nothing but hype' Adam McArthur and Kayleigh McKee, the English voices behind Yuji Itadori and Yuta Okkotsu, preview the next big anime theatrical event. By Nick Romano :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/NicholasRomanoauthorphotoadc9b60763e34711935cbf7b3d768d24.jpg) Nick Romano is a senior editor at with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment.

Adam McArthur and Kayleigh McKee, the English voices behind Yuji Itadori and Yuta Okkotsu, preview the next big anime theatrical event.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution stars tee up brutal Yuji vs. Yuta face-off and season 3's Culling Game Arc: 'Nothing but hype'

Adam McArthur and Kayleigh McKee, the English voices behind Yuji Itadori and Yuta Okkotsu, preview the next big anime theatrical event.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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December 2, 2025 12:24 p.m. ET

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Yuta Okkotsu (voiced by Kayleigh McKee) in 'Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution'. Credit:

- Adam McArthur (voice of Yuji) and Kayleigh McKee (Yuta) preview their characters' faceoff when *Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution* opens in theaters.

- "This fight is nothing but hype," McArthur says.

- The stars of the English dub also tee up the Culling Game battle royale of season 3, coming to Crunchyroll in January.

As *Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution*, the compilation film and the very first look at the anime series' third season, opened in theaters overseas, the official social media accounts of Japan reminded local movie-goers of the laws that are in place for recording the screen. "Penalties may include up to 10 years imprisonment, or a fine of up to 10 million yen, or both," one post on Twitter/X read. True fear of God stuff.

In the age of viral theater trends, like the whole "chicken jockey" moment around *A Minecraft Movie*, does a reality even exist in which an American audience wouldn't post footage from inside a cinema screening for TikTok? We'll find out this weekend when *Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution* hits U.S. cinemas starting Dec. 5.

"As a representative of the brand and as a legal citizen of the United States, my official take is don't do it," Kayleigh McKee, the voice behind Yuta Okkotsu for the English dub of *Jujutsu Kaisen*, tells **. "Listen, it's gonna come out on Crunchyroll not that long after. If you really have to clip clips and send it to your friends, it's gonna be higher quality."

Adam McArthur, the English voice of lead character Yuji Itadori, playfully chimes in. "Wait, wait. So you're saying don't do something illegal *now*, do something illegal later?" he jabs.

"Not necessarily," McKee responds. "Under 30 seconds is legal, but not in movie theaters, on Crunchyroll."

Yuji Itadori (Adam McArthur) in 'Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution'.

McArthur, on a more serious note, agrees. "What are we doing here? Respect the medium. Respect all the hard work that went into this," he says.

There are a lot of secrets to preserve when it comes to *Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution*, the next big anime event to play in theaters following the record-breaking *Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle* and the box-office-busting *Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc*.

The compilation movie begins with a big-screen recap of season 2's Shibuya Incident, a pivotal event in which a dark veil trapped civilians within the bustling Shibuya area, along with dangerous curses and curse users. Key character fatalities occurred as a result, and Satoru Gojo, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer, was sealed away in the Prison Realm.

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*Execution* then pivots to reveal an early look at the first two episodes of season 3's Culling Game Arc* *adaptation before its 2026 premiere. Set directly after these traumatic season 2 events, it kicks off with an assassination hit on Yuji for his perceived crimes. Yuta, a Special Grade sorcerer who featured in the prequel movie *Jujutsu Kaisen 0*, is the one tasked with carrying it out, leading to a buzzed-about Yuji-vs.-Yuta showdown.

"This fight is nothing but hype," McArthur says. "To me, there's nothing cooler than when you have a character and you put them in a situation that just seems insurmountable. With *JJK 0* and what we know of Yuta so far in the anime, there is no possible way Yuji has a chance against Yuta, even though Yuji is this anomaly. I don't wanna give any spoilers, but to me, what it turns into is a character-defining moment for both of them. Whenever you can do that through an epic fight scene, I don't know what more you can ask for. It's gonna be amazing."

McKee similarly tees up the cinematic confrontation. "Two large people with bags of determination, clashing," she says. "Two people that were taught by Gojo, however, with different paths. Then that coming to a head against each other with determination, just desperation of those determinations matching. You'll just have to figure out what that means when I say that."

Yuta in 'Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution'.

The symbiosis of these clashing characters feels palpable. McKee points to a prominent theory that the custodians of *Jujutsu Kaisen* have not yet confirmed on the record, that Yuta was initially envisioned as the main character of Gege Akutami's manga before he pivoted to Yuji, a character who could grow more powerful as the story progressed.

McKee herself also auditioned for the English dub of Yuji before landing the Yuta part, adding even more color to the dueling characters. "As somebody who's also a writer, it's like being able to write your own crossover episode from the things in your own head that you've been bubbling on for years," she says.

The Yuta we meet in *Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution* and the beginning of this season 3 story arc appears different than the one we met in the prequel. "While I am performing Yuta, one of the biggest images is still from *JJK 0* that I always go back to in my head," McKee explains. "It's Yuta looking up at [antagonist] Geto and just realizing Geto has ill intent for his friends and being like, 'I will never be on the side of somebody who would hurt my friends.' That, I feel, is his core driving principle."

At the start of the Culling Game Arc, Yuta arrives in a more lethal manner. His haunting eyes appear vacant in the animation aesthetic, which adds to his unsettling aura. Fans may know where this is all going, but for McKee, "I will admit it was sort of a mental workout. Immediately, my brain starts kicking in. He's acting very different than he did in the movies. He's grown, he's a year older. At the end of *JJK 0*, he still had that happy-go-lucky, but then we see him here, I had to start thinking, 'How am I going to bridge that gap? How am I going to sell that? Who is he now and for what purpose?'"

McArthur describes Yuji at this moment of collision as "weathered" and "scarred up," especially over the deaths of Nanami and Nobara during the Shibuya Incident. "Our poor boy is beaten down constantly, basically, since the end of season 1," the actor says. "He's riddled with guilt...It's gonna be some trauma from here on out."

Yuji in 'Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution'.

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And then there's the titular Culling Game of season 3. While *Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution* doesn't touch on those events, the episodes screening in theaters set up the battle royale in which jujutsu sorcerers from 10 colonies across Japan are paired up for 1:1 fights to the death. Engineered by nefarious curse user Kenjaku, the goal is to force the evolution of humanity and jujutsu.

"I just wanna be along for the ride," McKee comments of that looming event. "I'm working on the show, sure, but I also just wanna be like a fan, as somebody who's a nerd for the medium, and sit back and be in awe of it."

McArthur feels "season 3 has the potential to be even more hype than the Shibuya Incident." He says, "We get so many new characters, so many manga fan-favorite characters. The world continues to expand and build. We get a bigger picture of what is at stake for jujutsu sorcerers, what they're fighting for, what might be working against them."

With *Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution* in theaters this weekend and season 3 coming to Crunchyroll Jan. 8 in the new year, let the games begin.**

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Source: Sci-Fi

Published: December 02, 2025 at 07:38PM on Source: ANDY MAG

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