He compared Yuta with the Jujutsu Kaisen protagonist Yuji Itadori, whose roles in the narratives are similar because having to deal with inner beings with different personalities.

Ogata's role was picked by Akutami himself, finding her ideal for the part, while McKee felt pressure over her work because of her lack of experience when the film was dubbed.

[1] Akutami never intended Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School to be serialized as Yuta's character arc was the sole focus of this short series.

The first scene of Yuta being interrogated was influenced by the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion which often uses a group known as SEELE that communicates with Gendo Ikari.

[5] Akutami included Michizane Sugawara, a famous figure in Japanese history, as an ancestor of Yuta and Gojo as a tribute to the former editor Yamanaka.

[6] In retrospect, Akutami found the early design of Yuta too similar to that of fellow Jujutsu Sorcerer Megumi Fushiguro in the main series, thinking this they might confuse readers.

Nevertheless, Akutami planned that once Yuta would return in Jujutsu Kaisen, he would once again wear a white uniform in hopes older readers would remember him.

[11] In the original format, Park would dedicate the series' first three episodes to develop Yuji Itadori and then replace him with Okkotsu but the idea was scrapped.

[12] Although Yuta is not present in the anime's first season, he was given a brief cameo in the second introduction sequence, which was created months before the studio MAPPA confirmed the production of the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 film.

[15] In regards to the film's theme song King Gnu's "Ichizu" (一途, "The Only Way"), the lyrics places focus on the relationship between Yuta and Rika.

Fellow voice actors Yuichi Nakamura and Takahiro Sakurai felt that the feeling of "synchronization" is great in regards to Ogata's performance as Yuta.

[25] McKee, who was new to voice work, had fun doing fight scenes because her character makes several types of sounds, especially because of Yuta's troubling experiences.

[35] In the series' beginning, Yuta finds salvation in Satoru Gojo, who guides him in controlling Rika in Jujutsu High and avoiding isolation.

[35] McKee was moved by Yuta's motivational speech about being cherished by his classmates and noted a major change of expression towards the climax in his fight against Geto.

Satoru Gojo takes charge of Yuta's case and enrolls him at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School, where he befriends Panda, Maki Zen'in and Toge Inumaki.

In his first mission, a wounded Maki motivates Yuta to fight to achieve his goals, allowing him to briefly control Rika and swearing to stop the Curse in the process.

The animated film adds an extra scene where Yuta befriends one of Geto's former allies as they have lunch in Kenya until being interrupted by Gojo.

[48] The group joins forces to defeat Kenjaku who aims to curse Japanese civilians through his Culling Game terrorist attack.

[64][65] Critics also praised Yuta's fight scenes in the film, which were deemed superior to most of MAPPA's past works such as The God of High School with Polygon finding him comparable to the superhero Batman based on how energetic he becomes.

[29][66] In Jungian Dimensions of the Mourning Process, Burial Rituals and Access to the Land of the Dead: Intimations of Immortality, the writer Hiroko Sakata addressed similarities Yuta and Rika with the God Hiruko, the Oni Katako and the child K, citing the Yuta's and Rika's stories as modernized versions of Japanese myths, comparing them with Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado from the manga Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba as both aim to control the Oni element present in the narrative and become fighters in the process.

[68] Yuta's eventual return to Jujutsu Kaisen surprised critics due to the irony in the former protagonist's role of killing the current one.

[36][69][70] James Beckett from Anime News Network looked forward to Yuta's role in the main series as a result of finding him more compelling than the protagonist Yuji since the later felt more generic by the time season 2 ended.

[73] Geekmi found Yuta's role in the latter story arc and looked forward for such events to be adapted in anime format.

[77] With the epilogue's release in the final volume, GameRant noted fans were satisified as it appeared that Yuta ended forming a family Maki, something people were looking forward for a long time.

Some media praised Megumi Ogata's Japanese portrayal of Yuta for making the character stand out as unique in the film, in which when he changes from being calm, which was compared to her early deliveries as Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion, to aggressive, when there are elements of horror and action.

[85] Ogata's performance in the season 2 finale was praised by Real Sound for giving him several aura at the same time, citing his caring treatment towards a young girl at the cold attitude when telling his superior he would kill Yuji Itadori.

[91] According to EpicStream, Yuta's Expansion Domain against Sukuna was became hot topic when revealed in the manga in February 2024; It was nicknamed by the fandom as "Unlimited Blade Works" due to its similarities with a dimension from the visual novel Fate/stay Night in which the protagonist Shirou Emiya and his future persona Archer due how the characters draw a large amount of swords when preparing to fight with all their might.

[97] He was also second in the Best Male Character award from Animage' 2021 Anime Grand Prix poll behind Tengen Uzui from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

[99] Yuta's appearance in the finale of the anime's second season was praised by the fans according to The Television [ja] to the point he became a hot topic in social media.

[100] McKee posted in January 2024 in social media an "apology form" towards Yuta due to multiple negative responses by the fandom and wanted they to sign more of them.