To help promote the recent home release of Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna, we've been speaking with a few of the Digi-destined. Because of the nature of voice acting, most popular voice actors are known for a number of roles, so that means we got to learn about a lot of fun things in the process!
When we began sharing our chats with Robbie Daymond (Marvel's Spider-Man, Final Fantasy XV) who voices Joe in Digimon, some of you had a few questions about his role as Goro Akechi in the Persona franchise, and we managed to get a few of those questions answered.
Robbie spoke to us about the three different versions of Goro Akechi that he has portrayed, and explained why he thinks the character resonates with fans. He also chatted a bit about the character of Prompto in Final Fantasy XV, and why it's easier for him to get into titles such as that and Ghost of Tsushima despite voicing the main characters.
We have also chatted with a number of his co-stars, and we have included our interview with Into the Spider-Verse director Peter Ramsey, fellow Avengers Assemble actress Julie Nathanson (Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay), and fellow Digimon voice actor Joshua Seth (Akira). To hear our interview with Robbie Daymond, click the podcast player below.
16m 24s Literary Joe: Which of your voice roles do you feel you're most recognized for?
16m 28s Robbie Daymond: Because I do conventions, that's an easier question than you think—definitely, Goro Akechi from Persona 5, that is my number one now. I would never have guessed. Also, Prompto from Final Fantasy XV, Sorey from Tales of Zestiria. That was my first JRPG. Jesse from Infinity Train has to be one of my most recent modern cartoon era favorites.
I say those recognizable roles, but let's be clear, the Japanese stuff reigns supreme in my recognition at conventions. It's bizarre because I have way more cartoons and western video games than I do Japanese stuff, but it's the way it is. People are wild for it, and I'm cool with them. I give them both equal care when I go into the studio regardless of how much they pay.
There used to be a stigma against people who did JRPGs and dubs. I think now we've moved past that a little bit. Some of the animation and video-game world people are still doing JRPGs and anime because we know that: A. It's fun, B. A lot of us grew up on it, and C. The fan following that comes along with it is worth its weight in gold. It's so much fun.
Nobody cares when I do 12 episodes on a preschool show, even though that might pay my rent for the year. It doesn't matter. But I could do anime for nothing, and if it hits and someone likes it, it's the most popular thing ever. It's a fun thing to do. I grew up on it, and I want to do well at it. I want to make the dubs V subs debate, and I'm going to squash it. I want to go, Hey they're both good, enjoy whatever you want to enjoy and get out of here.
19m 0s Literary Joe: Which of the video games you worked on did you get the most sucked into, as a gamer?
19m 9s Robbie Daymond: Most recently, Ghost of Tsushima. That was fun for me. I liked that kind of gameplay. I like that single-player run around from an objective to objective, Assassin's Creed style stuff, I'm good at that. I was able to play Final Fantasy without getting too separated from it.
Often, if I am in the game, and I play the main character, it's kind of off-putting for me. It's hard for me to give over to it, but that game didn't. I thought for some reason the dialogue was so natural that it didn't throw me off too bad. I have a couple of games coming up that I'm super excited to play, but I haven't been announced.
19m 55s Literary Joe: Well, that's okay. We'll bring you back on when you get these other projects going and then whatever else you've got.
20m 2s Robbie Daymond: Listen, it's always funny. People are always like, "is there anything that you want to promote?" I'm like, "I got paid for that three years ago. I don't care. I hope you'll watch it. I hope it's good." But now, there's stuff that's coming out in October and November. They are massive games. We don't get treated like regular actor people where the casts are announced two years before. It's very rare.
32m 16s Literary Joe: Can you tell us a little bit about the character you play in Persona 5 and why you think that resonates so much with fans?
32m 23s Robbie Daymond: He was a complicated character that has a multilayered-Somebody hollered at me on Twitter for spoilers. The show has been out for four years. How long do I have to hold the spoiler train for?- he has some moments where he isn't what he seems. And then he has this big reveal, and then his character shifts again for Persona 5 Royal.
I got to play three distinct versions of this character, all with their own complex motivations. What they get to show the world, what they're really feeling, and then who they are genuinely as the game progresses. I think that's a big part of why the character was so popular because they're complex, and they're flawed, and they do bad things, but maybe they are good at heart. Or perhaps not, perhaps they're not good at heart.
People like characters like that, and they gravitate toward them. You could still like that one-dimensional protagonist, of course, not from Persona, but from whatever. But if you get a complicated role and do it well, people will always gravitate toward those types of characters. That's why great villains, like the Joker, like Heath Ledger's Joker. People love him so much because they're dynamic and creative, and it's a bad person, but you still root for them in that anti-hero way. That's my guess as to why people like them, and it's a cute anime boy, too.
*This interview has been edited for clarity. Sister sites writer Comic Brooks and cosplay actress Darth Lexii co-host.*
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!