Fan-favorite anime ‘Black Clover’ concluded after one-hundred seventy episodes. The fantasy series was based on a manga by Yūki Tabata and follows the human Asta who, despite having no magical abilities, is recruited into the Black Bulls magic knight order.
Voice actor Gakuto Kajiwara performed the character of Asta for the entirety of the show’s run in Japan. He spoke with Crunchyroll about the protagonist and the show’s impact.
“I’ve always liked manga and anime, especially battle manga. When I was in grade school, I read a lot of Shonen Jump and got hooked on Dragon Ball. I would play around impersonating Goku with my voice and started to wonder if I could express myself in various ways using my voice,” he said.
When asked how he got the role, he replied, “I actually auditioned for both Asta and Yuno at first, but the role I got a second audition for was Asta. After the second audition, I got asked to come again, but when I went for my third audition, I practiced too much and lost my voice. I figured I had no chance of getting the role anymore, but that’s when I got the call saying I got the part. That’s how I ended up being Asta.”
Kajiwara continued, “First, if I hadn’t gotten to play Asta, I wouldn’t have been able to meet all of my senpai voice actors or the staff I’ve worked with. Being able to meet all of them has been very important to me. Because of Asta, so many people have gotten to know me as well. Also, I ended up learning more about acting through Asta than any other role.”
Asked about Asta’s heart or soul, he answered, “He ends up pulling the people around him into his life, but in a positive way. His enthusiasm, strong will, and his desire to never give up end up moving the hearts of those around him. Even if no one ever wanted to acknowledge it, people would end up wanting to see him and acknowledge him because of his determination and strong will, and he just kept flipping how people felt about him. I don’t think this just applies in the story. I think as readers of the manga, he gives us the same kind of power. I think just by seeing him, we’re able to find hope and energy in our own daily lives.”
Kajiwara concluded with a message for the fans.
“I’m going to continue to better my understanding of my acting ability and of my roles. I’m going to get stronger and better myself until the time comes when I get to play Asta again,” he said. “I’m applying everything I learned by playing Asta in my other roles, but I’m going to just use everything gained there to become even stronger when I play him again. I will do everything I can to continue to move the hearts of people around the world.”
Ahead of the finale, it was announced that the showrunners were developing a film to conclude the final story-arc.
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