Fans of Digimon have been following along with the franchise since the late 1990s. Recently, with the release of the new movie Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna, the stories of the original Digi-Destined, which have spanned more than two decades, finally came to an end.
To help promote the movie's home release, we spoke exclusively with two of the voice actors from the film; Joshua Seth (Akira, Power Rangers), who has voiced Tai since the beginning, and Robbie Daymond, who voices Joe in Digimon and Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon as well as hundreds of other recognizable roles.
While we shared our Akira conversation with Joshua on the site yesterday, we are now excited to bring you our interview with the voice actor about the main topic: Digimon. Seth talks with us about how he uses his voice as an instrument to help control his pitch and deliver different performances for different ages of Tai.
To listen to our chat with Joshua Seth, click the podcast player below. We have also included our interview with Joe's voice actor Robbie Daymond in the transcript.
1m 59s Literary Joe: I assume you started in the late nineties as Tai. How have you had to change your voice for the character, or how have you had to change delivering your voice as you've aged to get the same sound?
2m 30s Joshua Seth: I think I auditioned for Tai for Digimon in 1999. It's very rare for an actor to play the same character for 20 years, not just in animation, but in the theater and on television, anywhere really. But because this is voice acting and Tai is my voice, I just pitched up a little bit like this.
I can sound the same today as I did 20 years ago because it is still my voice, and the voice is an instrument. When you know how to play all the notes in that instrument and use it well, you can always go back and play the same song in the same way if you choose. So that's not a problem, but I have had the opportunity to play Tai at different ages, which is the answer to another question. I suppose.
I pitched it up for Tai in the original Digimon series. As I said, it's my voice, but I push it in a way, so he sounds young and gung-ho. At the beginning of the first movie, I played him even younger. And then several years went by, and we started making Tri, and the producers decided that they wanted to age up all the characters because the fan base has aged as well, which, at first, I was resistant to because I'm like, what about nostalgia? But it came out so well that they made the right choice.
And I went with my normal speaking voice pretty much for Tri. So there was no tweaking except for the energy level that the scene calls for. However, in Kizuna, because he's not a teenager anymore. He's Tai, and the kids are not kids anymore. They are adults. I did what I do today if I'm about to give a live show or a speech, which that's what I do now virtually, I do vocal warmups.
My background is in musical theater from when I was very young, and I was in all these touring Broadway cast productions, and I do vocal warmups as a singer would do. Breath support, diorama control, scales, that sort of thing. Once I've done that, then my voice is much more rich and resonant and present.
And that's all I did before the Kizuna sessions were the vocal warmups that allow me to access the full resonance and depth of my normal voice, especially in the last line. In the last scene of Digimon Kizuna, I wanted to make it feel present and final.
32m 35s Literary Joe: What do you think your defining role is? What do you feel is the most significant fan base that you've been a part of?
33m 0s Joshua Seth: It's gotta be Tai for Digimon. Not because it's so well known, but because it's the only role that I've played for all these years. It's for 20 years now. And it defines and bookends my career as a voice actor, from the beginning to the present moment.
It's Tai that gave me a career in voiceover as a real career where they were coming to me and offering me roles instead of having to pound the pavement and audition all day like many other actors. And also because it's my own voice. I can't escape it. I'm not putting a voice on. I'm tweaking it a little bit to sound younger, more energetic here and there, but it's me.
I'm fortunate that he's a good character representing a quality for which we should all strive, which is to be courageous. Therefore, as a father, I can point to that as a role model character that I have portrayed and hopefully come to embody my own life to some extent.
35m 36s Literary Joe: Is there anything else about Digimon or any of your other projects you'd like to plug?
35m 46s Joshua Seth: To thank the fans for sticking with the series for 20 plus years and hopefully continue in some form after this. It's because of your support that Digimon Kizuna exists, and I hope you like the movie. I know I did.
I love being a part of it. And if you want to stay connected to me in the post-Digimon Kizuna world, I'm active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*This interview has been edited for clarity. Sister sites writer Comic Brooks co-hosts audio.*
Tai is now a university student, living alone, working hard at school, and working every day, but his future is still undecided. Meanwhile, Matt and others continue to work on Digimon incidents and activities that help people with their partner Digimon. When an unprecedented phenomenon occurs, the DigiDestined discover that their relationship with their partner Digimon will come closer to an end when they grow up.
As a countdown timer activates on the Digivice, they realize that the more they fight with their partner Digimon, the faster their bond breaks. Will they fight for others and lose their partner? The time to choose and decide is approaching fast. There is a short time before "chosen children" will become adults. This is the last adventure of Tai and Agumon.
Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna is now available on both Digital and Blu-Ray/DVD!