Anyone familiar with anime has likely heard of My Hero Academia. Even for the genre's casual fans, the series' super-heroic aspects appeal to a wide audience, particularly comic book story enthusiasts.
The English dub of the newest film, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, launches tomorrow on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital, and to help build hype for the release, we spoke with two of the main voice actors! Both Justin Briner (Rurouni Kenshin) and Clifford Chapin (Attack on Titan), who play Deku and Bakugo, respectively, chatted with us about the new film and the series as a whole.
We learned some fun things like how they initially became involved in the series and which villains they believe provided the best character growth for each of their characters. Listen to our chat with Deku and Bakugo voice actors Justin Briner and Clifford Chapin via the podcast player below.
Anime fans will find our interviews with other legendary voice actors such as Joshua Seth (Akira, Digimon) and Robbie Daymond (Sailor Moon, Final Fantasy XV) embedded along with the transcript.
Literary Joe
You guys play two of the most prominent characters in anime right now. I was curious if either of your previous roles got you involved with the project Initially?
1m 27s
Justin Briner
I can't speak to any project in particular. I think what was lucky for me at the time was I was pretty fresh on the scene, and I was starting to get to work with other directors who were taking chances on me.
I believe when casting came around because I had never worked with our director Colleen before, I'd at least had some good faith and good word of mouth to back me up. I'm glad that up until then, I had been doing what they thought to be quality work, and I'm glad to be doing more of it.
1m 59s
Clifford Chapin
Similarly, I had started working at Funimation a few years before Justin. Like two or three years, not very long, but I did have the good faith that I had worked with Colleen once before. We had a good relationship between the two of us for working dynamic and understanding each other.
I don't know that there was necessarily any role that led to it more than any other, but your past work always builds you up to be ready to do your next work. That was with Mike McFarland. Colleen had directed a series called Tokyo Ravens, which I had been the lead on a few years prior.
2m 50s
Darth Lexii
For Deku and Bakugo, which villain has been the most valuable to your character's hero story arc?
2m 57s
Justin Briner
I think that for Deku's journey, the recent arc with Overhaul and how it centered so squarely around protecting someone, protecting a young girl from evil. The weight of having to protect an innocent or helpless child or something like that has never been on Deku's shoulders before. It's nice to see him living up to carrying the weight of being a hero for real.
3m 31s
Clifford Chapin
Thinking about it quickly, it might be the sludge villain from episodes one and two. If you consider it, Bakugo was always so skilled and talented, and everybody was like, you're great, you're amazing, but it wasn't until he encountered the sludge villain that he was challenged for the first time.
He couldn't get away from this thing despite his best efforts. It's the first time that Deku had a heroic moment, which might also be the first time Bakugo had to acknowledge Deku's actions. That sludge villain is the one that set all of Bakugo's character development into motion.
*This interview is edited for clarity. Darth Lexii and Comic Brooks co-host.*
The number one hero anime is back for a battle beyond anything fans have ever seen! Class 1-A visits Nabu Island where they finally get to do some real hero work. The place is so peaceful that it’s more like a vacation … until they’re attacked by a villain with an unfathomable Quirk! His power is eerily familiar, and it looks like Shigaraki had a hand in the plan. But with All Might retired and citizens’ lives on the line, there’s no time for questions. Deku and his friends are the next generation of heroes, and they’re the island’s only hope.
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is coming to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital on October 27th!