The movie " Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu ", a compilation of the second season of the TV anime " Jujutsu Kaisen ", based on the popular manga by Gege Akutami " (Shueisha), "The Complete Jujutsu Kaisen - The Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu", will be released on May 30th. "The Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu" is a 5-episode episode that aired from July 2023, depicting the "blue spring that can never be returned" of the "two strongest people", Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, during their time at Jujutsu Technical College. We asked Nagase Anna, who played Riko Amanai, a girl with a cruel fate known as a star plasma, about her thoughts on the complete work and the appeal of "The Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu".
◇The reason behind Riko Amanai's cheerfulness: Similar experiences
Riko Amanai is destined to become a Star Plasma Being, who must assimilate with Tengen, the key figure in the Jujutsu world who possesses the formula for immortality, and is targeted by Jinji Toji and others who are plotting to assassinate her. Gojo and Geto are tasked with "protecting" and "eliminating" Riko, Toji the "worst case scenario" occurs due to Jinji's overwhelming strength.
When Nagase heard that a theatrical compilation of "Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu" was being produced, he had mixed emotions, saying, "I was happy, but to be honest, I was a little scared."
"There were some tough and difficult parts to the role, and I thought it would take a lot of courage to watch it on a big screen with the volume of the theater turned up. Even looking back now, it was cruel, and I remember it being tough when I was playing the role, so I thought it would be painful to watch it again..."
Riko is a cheerful middle school girl who is usually carrying a cruel fate. Nagase says that he feels that Riko "knows her final destination deep in her heart and is prepared for it."
"Her usual lively brightness gives the impression of hiding her true feelings, which are that she still wants to be with everyone and that she wants to live longer. I think she probably thought that she shouldn't let anyone know. So I think that cheerfulness was a reaction to her trying to suppress that and not let anyone know. I was nervous when we first appeared on screen, but I had the image of her having incredible power, saying, 'Come on!', so I acted with the image of her speaking loudly, brighter than anyone, and breaking through with a bang. I thought at the time that it was because I had that awareness that the final scene where she spills her true feelings stood out even more."
Towards the end of the series, there is a scene where Gojo and Geto seem to see through Riko's true feelings. Nagase said that he felt he only noticed this now that some time has passed since the TV broadcast.
"Geto realizes the true feelings that Riko has been hiding, and gives her the choice of becoming Tengen-sama or going home. I've only realized this recently, but people watching really do notice. Even if you think you're hiding it, people who notice will notice. In another production, there was a time when I was really worried about my acting and various things, and I thought I was acting cheerful and normal, but one day, a senior voice actor told me, 'You have a really weak mentality, don't you?' He said to me, 'You were thinking this during the recording the other day, weren't you?' I was taken aback and asked, 'How did you know?' When Geto offered Riko the choice to go home with him in the main story, I felt like I was reliving her emotions, thinking that this is what Riko must have felt."
◇ The amazingness of Yuichi Nakamura, who was helped by a word from Risa Shimizu as “Kuroi” and made a new discovery
Nagase said that she was nervous when recording for the TV anime. She was also influenced by senior voice actors such as Risa Shimizu, who played Misato Kuroi, Riko's caretaker.
"The thing that made the biggest impression on me was when I first met Shimizu Risa, who plays Kuroi, and the first thing she said to me was, 'I'll protect you.' I really thought, 'There are people who care so much about roles and people,' and because of that one word, I was able to take on the role with confidence, trust in the people around me, and believe in myself."
In the scene where Gojo and Riko are frolicking in the ocean in Okinawa, she recalls about Yuichi Nakamura, who plays Gojo, "I was really surprised that there was someone who could laugh in such an eccentric way."
"I had the image of Nakamura-san as someone who could do anything, but at that time I really thought that 'anything' came from his high level of resolution and understanding of each and every character. Gojo's laugh was unique and very funny, and I was able to get carried away by it and laugh my head off."
While playing the role of Riko, she also discovered something new about herself.
"I think it was probably good that I was able to act without being too caught up in the images of the original manga of ' Jujutsu Kaisen.' Looking back now, I don't think I was acting with the images in mind. I think I was able to imagine the words and situations in my head, and then output them with sounds and a sense of acting that I was satisfied with."
"It may have been good that I was able to act without being too caught up in the images of the original Jujutsu Kaisen or the animation. I was able to imagine the lines and the situation in my head, and then output them with a sound and theatrical feel that I was satisfied with."
Prior to "Jujutsu Kaisen," when she appeared in another production based on a manga, she said, "I once relied on the illustrations from the original manga to act, and I was told that if I tried to concentrate on the illustrations while acting, 'your acting will become stiff that way.' So they said it would be better to organize in my head what I could read from the text, because the animators would do their best with the illustrations. Based on this advice, I think I was able to act while being more conscious of Riko Amanai's perspective and emotions during the dubbing."
◇The realism of Gojo and Geto: The cold, dark side behind their freshness
How does Nagase, who played Riko, perceive the relationship between the ``two strongest people'' Gojo and Geto?
"In both a good and bad sense, they are like incredibly realistic high school students. They trust and understand each other so much that they feel like they can do anything, they have a tendency to take on things with a forward-leaning attitude, and they're a bit cheeky. I thought those aspects were very life-sized. I think it's possible for that kind of relationship to fray and fall apart over the slightest bit of discrepancy, so I felt it was very relatable."
Nagase feels that "The Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu of the Jewel" is the episode that could be said to be the beginning of "Jujutsu Kaisen."
"The 'Kaitama' part in particular has a refreshing image, and the key visual is also green and refreshing, but through to 'Tamaori' there is a thread that runs through it of the cold, dark, unpleasant side of humanity that lies deep within the freshness. This comes to the fore in the episodes that follow, so in ' Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu' you can really feel a sense of foreshadowing."
Finally, we asked about the highlights of " Jujutsu Kaisen : The Movie Compilation - The Kaigyoku/Gyokusetsu."
"All five episodes are compiled into one, and there are no gaps between each episode, so I think it's very easy to follow the flow of emotions of the characters. Personally, I'm very happy to be able to hear Tatsuya Kitani's acoustic version of "Ao no Sumika." It really shows how the story was created to closely align with the fleeting, short time that Gojo and Geto spend together, and I hope you enjoy it at full volume."
