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Amplifying Black Voice Actors in Anime


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Dragon_Kaiser



Joined: 27 Aug 2018
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:09 pm Reply with quote
This is an awesome I love that y’all did this hopefully they will be recognized even more and be able to go do more prominent roles in shows.
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Jhechav





PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:15 pm Reply with quote
Loving this content!
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crazieanimefan1



Joined: 18 Feb 2015
Posts: 416
Location: Auburn, AL
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:22 pm Reply with quote
Beautiful piece!

Yet I do want to say, I think Beau also voiced Barret originally from Final Fantasy 7. I don't know if that was mentioned or not.
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minakichan





PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:33 pm Reply with quote
There's also Lee George, who plays Ikuya in High Speed!/Free!

https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Lee-George/#:~:text=Lee%20George%20is%20a%20voice,of%20the%20characters%20he's%20voiced.
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trunkschan90



Joined: 08 Aug 2002
Posts: 594
Location: California
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:36 pm Reply with quote
What about the guy who voiced Cyborg 008 in the 2001 version of Cyborg 009? He simply went by the name Mario in the credits.
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ZeetherKID77



Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Posts: 982
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:37 pm Reply with quote
Wonderful piece.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4830
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:37 pm Reply with quote
Thank you for this. Like most people I've loved Beau's work for years, but I didn't know many of the other faces behind vocal performances that I've enjoyed.
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John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1009
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:48 pm Reply with quote
I don't listen to the dubs, but I know plenty of people who say that these people do great work. Though I admit I do get confused why people get very upset at casting people of non-Japanese ethnicity in Hollywood live action versions of franchises that originated in manga or anime, yet do not insist that the English dub voice actors be Japanese-Americans (or at least of some East Asian descent.)

Luckily, while people dislike "blackface" and "yellowface," we don't have any objection to people portraying someone of a different ethnic background's voice, unlike when it comes to portraying the body of a someone of a different background. (Though certain ethnic backgrounds seen as "close enough" to our socially constructed concept of race are generally okay?)

How crazy it would be if we only restricted black voice actors to portray the voices of characters that appear to be of black ethnicity. We would miss out on so many of these portrayals.
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Dragon_Kaiser



Joined: 27 Aug 2018
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 1:06 pm Reply with quote
John Thacker wrote:
I don't listen to the dubs, but I know plenty of people who say that these people do great work. Though I admit I do get confused why people get very upset at casting people of non-Japanese ethnicity in Hollywood live action versions of franchises that originated in manga or anime, yet do not insist that the English dub voice actors be Japanese-Americans (or at least of some East Asian descent.)

Luckily, while people dislike "blackface" and "yellowface," we don't have any objection to people portraying someone of a different ethnic background's voice, unlike when it comes to portraying the body of a someone of a different background. (Though certain ethnic backgrounds seen as "close enough" to our socially constructed concept of race are generally okay?)

How crazy it would be if we only restricted black voice actors to portray the voices of characters that appear to be of black ethnicity. We would miss out on so many of these portrayals.


When it comes to shows that have characters that are BIPOC they are normally played by White voice actors because the reality is the majority of the English voice acting industry is White there are not many BIPOC voice actors In that industry. So with the majority of the actors being White, BIPOC don’t get casted as much even when it’s a character of color. No one is saying BIPOC only have to play BIPOC but if a show does have a character of color maybe cast an BIPOC because they’re already a small group of people getting over looked for work because the majority of that industry is White and directors have a bigger pool to cast from White Voice actors as opposed to BIPOC voice actors.
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delariean



Joined: 11 Nov 2002
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 1:14 pm Reply with quote
Would also add Dean Redman to the list. His voice work as Dutch in Black Lagoon was devine :)
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SpacemanHardy



Joined: 03 Jan 2012
Posts: 2511
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 1:16 pm Reply with quote
There's also Rick Keeling, better known as the voice actor for Panther Lily in Fairy Tail.
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Takkun4343



Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Posts: 1586
Location: Englewood, Ohio
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 1:17 pm Reply with quote
My personal shout-out for black dub VAs is Anthony "Antfish" Sardinha; I admittedly haven't heard much of his work in actual anime, but as a fan of his work on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Abridged, I feel it appropriate to vouch for him.
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LuckySeven



Joined: 02 Sep 2008
Posts: 587
Location: Georgia, USA
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 1:28 pm Reply with quote
Great article, seems there are more POC involved in anime on the production side than I thought.
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El Hermano



Joined: 24 Feb 2019
Posts: 450
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 1:56 pm Reply with quote
John Thacker wrote:
I don't listen to the dubs, but I know plenty of people who say that these people do great work. Though I admit I do get confused why people get very upset at casting people of non-Japanese ethnicity in Hollywood live action versions of franchises that originated in manga or anime, yet do not insist that the English dub voice actors be Japanese-Americans (or at least of some East Asian descent.)

Luckily, while people dislike "blackface" and "yellowface," we don't have any objection to people portraying someone of a different ethnic background's voice, unlike when it comes to portraying the body of a someone of a different background. (Though certain ethnic backgrounds seen as "close enough" to our socially constructed concept of race are generally okay?)

How crazy it would be if we only restricted black voice actors to portray the voices of characters that appear to be of black ethnicity. We would miss out on so many of these portrayals.


People do get upset about things like that all the time. There was a video game awhile back called Wargroove that got heat for it, and that was also the main drive behind the casting for the live-action version of The Lion King to correct the casting choices of the original 90s animated film, and of course the recent controversy surrounding Apu from the Simpsons being played by Hank Azaria. It's just not seen as controversial in regards to anime. It unfortunately ties into the misconception a lot of people have that anime characters are white rather than Japanese, so they don't take issue when non-Japanese actors are cast in Japanese character roles.
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TurnerJ



Joined: 05 Nov 2004
Posts: 483
Location: Highland Park, NJ
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:13 pm Reply with quote
Might also want to mention these two actors from ADV's dub of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
Billy F. Harden, Chief Engineer (http://www.crystalacids.com/database/person/1791/billy-f-harden/)
Maurice Moore, Ensign Fait (episode 15) (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0601602/)

Both were excellent fits for their characters IMO, and did really good jobs, especially Moore in his death scene.
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