#zenke

[sonicmega]

That anon's asking if you're gay for any of your characters

Why yes, I feel very lighthearted/happy about a good number of them! Fatigue and Teba are 2 of my personal favorites from opposite ends of the vocal spectrum, in the same way that Zenke was a role that was right up my alley in terms of intensity. Revali was challenging as hell, but an experience I sorely needed to encounter with the supportive aide of my session director, and Rean will always hold a special place in my heart as my first true “lead role”.

[hopanda]

[sonicmega]

I finished BotW a while ago and Persona 5 a couple weeks ago. You did a really good job with both, especially since Revali and Mishima are pretty different personalities. I'm looking forward to replaying 999. Is there any other video games/media that you VA in that you recommend checking out?

If you explicitly mean in terms of performances of mine that you’d like to hear, I highly recommend Fairy Fencer F/Advent Dark Force for my role as Zenke; it’s easily the most intense of my portfolio thusfar, but also one of my best talent showcasings to date.

In terms of games that are just solid on their own (even if the VO were removed), Freedom Planet consistently earns well-deserved praise from its fanbase and the speedrunning community at large; with the sequel coming out fairly soon, now’s as good a time as any to dive into the Sonic-inspired madness.

Outside of that, you’ve actually already hit all the major titles I would be talking about as of today; there are plenty more that I’m VERY happy to talk about, but none of them have been announced or released yet. I’ll be sure to spill the news as soon as I’m allowed to, though!

[sonicmega]

Bit of a weirdly specific question, this. You've mentioned Zenke as your favourite performance. What strikes me is that a lot of your really enjoyed performances seem to actually be quite one-note characters. Is there something more appealing about those sort of characters to voice, as you can just find one voice and stick with it, or is it simply coincidence?

I’ll admit that characters with less complexity can be a lot less stressful to voice, but that’s not necessarily a good path to follow as a developing actor.

More often, it’s just tends to happen that the character types I like (intense or exaggerated roles) often are written specifically to play up those quirks to the nth degree. Because that quirk is their character, essentially, it naturally leads to them being more simplistic regardless of whether or not they’re personal favorites.

Teba is also someone I enjoyed my performance for a lot, but he definitely wasn’t as cut-and-paste for me as Zenke; I just really liked the contrast he provided to Revali (and the fact that I understand him a lot more quickly and accurately than I thought would be the case for Ego Birb).

[sonicmega]

Do you have a favourite line (or set of lines) that you've had to act out in any of your roles? And if so, what is it and why? I know Zenke was/is your favourite role, (it's weird learning that you and Kaiji Tang were in two games as completely different characters in Fairy Fencer F vs. Trails of Cold Steel) but was there a particular "point" that made his role your favourite?

Zenke was my first true ‘personal reality’ opportunity where everything I had talked about as my inspiration for getting into voiceover - the chance to say/do crazy things and be really intense at times - was actually being put to use. Zenke is a bloodthirsty bastard and I could go as ham as I was capable of with the role (with the proper context behind it), so the entire recording process was a blast and his character sounded even better for it.

There’s a NEW favorite set of lines I have as a result of the videogame session I completed last week, but I can’t talk about that role yet for quite a while...it’s definitely going to be a personal/fan favorite though.

[aestheticallypleasinganimeboys]

Zenke - Fairy Fencer F

[sonicmega]

After watching someone play BotW, I just have to say that none of the characters you voice sound like it was the same voice actor. And I mean that as a complement. Any voices I try to do are very similar to my actual voice. The fact that you can make your voice sound completely different is really cool!

Although being able to be distinct with a wide range of voices definitely helps with marketing myself, an interesting fact to note is that the LARGE MAJORITY of work done by consistently working actors actually just involves minor changes and nuances to their EXISTING “core voice”. You can hear elements of this in my own “most popular” roles such as Revali (added arrogance, a hint of royal accent), Mishima (more “head voice” and a softer tone), Zenke (very loud/aggressive, but same general pitch as the other two), etc.

I do think surprising the director with my pitch range played a big part in why I was trusted to voice THREE different characters in such a monumental Nintendo game, and I am glad that folks like you feel like the trust was well-placed. Thank you!

[salad-mceyebrows]

another ship sets sail with @tempestuous-duke