Sunday, May 04, 2025

Music News

Music

Arch Enemy's Blood Dynasty Tour 2025 Has Begun

On April 16, Arch Enemy made their return to San Francisco in support of their newest album, Blood Dynasty.

Brian Lee - 18-04-2025

Music

DIR EN GREY Returns to America for Three Concerts in April 2025

Before last year, it had been a while since I saw DIR EN GREY. Pre-pandemic, actually, way back in December 2019. I figured, you know what, I'm going to Japan...

Brian Lee - 02-04-2025

Music

Aya Hirano Announces Solo Single “evolutions” Release May 10th

Aya Hirano is making her long-awaited return to solo music with the release of “evolutions,” her first new single in 11 years. Dropping digitally on May 10, 2025, the track...

Theodore Mak - 01-04-2025

Music

Lotus Juice Live Concert Coming to San Francisco in March

Anime and video game music fans are in for a treat as renowned vocalists Lotus Juice takes the stage at the Legends of Anime concert on Saturday, March 29, 2025...

Theodore Mak - 14-02-2025

Anime News

Anime News

BEYBLADE X at San Diego Padres Games

BEYBLADE X is going to San Diego, offering fans an opportunity to battle at Petco Park during two San Diego Padres home games. The event will take place on August...

Theodore Mak - 18-08-2024

Anime News

Shion Wakayama AVIOT Talk Show @ Anime Expo 2024

Anime Expo 2024 was brimming with excitement, and one of the standout moments was the talk session at the audio company AVIOT’s booth in the Entertainment Hall featuring the talented...

Administrator - 18-07-2024

Anime News

Warner Bros Anime Expo Panel - Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League and Suicide Squad Isekai

Warner Bros. Animation unveiled the Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League trailer at their recent panel at Anime Expo. This highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 film Batman Ninja gave fans a glimpse of what to look...

Salvador Mateos - 16-07-2024

Anime News

FAKKU Guest Spotlight Q&A: Karasu Chan

NOTE: This article is meant for those 18+. Discretion is advised. For this year, FAKKU's guest is none other than Karasu Chan, an artist from Taiwan. Karasu Chan is well known...

Brian Lee - 14-07-2024

Anime News

Studio Bones Gachiakuta Panel @ Anime Expo 2024 Report

Studio BONES held a panel on July 4th, 2024 at Anime Expo. Hosted by Joey Bizinger (aka The Anime Man), fans got to hear about the upcoming anime adaptation of...

Theodore Mak - 12-07-2024

Gaming News

Gaming News

Switch 2 Pre-Orders Begin in The U.S. on April 24

Just incase you missed it, Nintendo will be launching its new system, Switch 2 on June 5th with a wide variety of exclusive Nintendo only titles as well as some...

Ken Dubois - 18-04-2025

Gaming News

Goddess of Victory: Nikke 2.5 Year Anniversary Livestream Set For April 19

The ever popular hit mobile game Goddess of Victory: Nikke will be hosting a special anniversary livestream set for April 19 via the official Nikke youtube channel. 

Ken Dubois - 07-04-2025

Gaming News

Dying Light: The Beast Announced - Gamescom 2024

It's been some time since we have heard anything from masterminds over at Techland and what is in store for the Dying Light franchise. During Opening Night Live at Gamescom, Techland...

Ken Dubois - 20-08-2024

Gaming News

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage Ai Furihata and Mayu Yoshioka Talk About Being Idols In a Game - Anime Expo 2024

I have always been obsessed with rhythm games and Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage has been at the top of my list. At this year's Anime Expo, Sega brought a playable...

Ken Dubois - 04-07-2024

Despite all of the success Steve has achieved as a voice actor, he has remained humble and thankful for the support of family, friends and fans. Spending a part of his life working within the Hollywood film industry, Steve fell into voice acting as a fun hobby and soon decided to pursue it full-time after growing tired of “the constant backstabbing” within Hollywood. Finding inspiration from fellow voice actors, particularly Frank Welker, Steve continued to work hard and audition for whatever role he could land. Due to him being a part of the anime industry from the beginning, Steve found himself unwittingly caught in the middle of the war between subbers and dubbers; the hostilities he faced from some particular fans had lead to Steve changing his contact information due to death threats and had caused him to avoid conventions for a decade.

Though he was not seen, Steve was definitely heard as he began building a body of work for a generation that was growing up during the anime boom of the nineties. Ranging from kid-friendly anime such as Digimon, Zatch Bell! and Naruto to more adult roles inCowboy Bebop, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann and The Big O, Steve definitely was a part of the growing generation, but it wasn’t until Toonami that he felt that he had a hand in raising said generation. As T.O.M., the robotic host of Toonami, Steve felt personally invested in trying to impart words of encouragement and empowerment to viewers, especially since Toonami was watched by school-aged children and he felt as if he was helping “raise” them as his own. When Toonami ended in 2008, fans who had grown up with the series lamented the loss of the beloved character and had since been clamoring for the return of Toonami as well as T.O.M., due to feeling that the new generation of anime fans had missed out on something special. Even after Toonami had been off the air, Steve still kept busy by voicing many more characters in various games and anime.blum2

On April 1st, 2012, Cartoon Network had begun their annual April Fool's tradition of showing The Room, but something strange and wonderful had happened mere moments after the film began to roll. Viewers were treated to the familiar presence of not only the Absolution, but the return of their beloved T.O.M., who seemed edgier than his previous outing. At the same time, the Internet, the blogosphere and all sources of social media were buzzing with the triumphant return of Toonami. When all was said and done, longtime Toonami fans as well as those who became fans during that special presentation took up Steve's request to let Cartoon Network know that they demanded Toonami back. This became a successful endeavor as Cartoon Network recently announced Toonami’s return. Though the idea had been brewing in the heads at Cartoon Network higher ups, Steve was still unsure if Toonami would be as well-received now as it had been originally, but just as before, he's determined to make it the very best that he can. It is with this vision that Steve moves forward and feels he has more control over the project, and is vested in ensuring that the quality is just as good, if not better, than before. He and the team are "building from the ground up" this time around, and Steve's main wish for this incarnation of Toonami is that both new and old generations of anime fans feel at home with it and that good parenting will help foster even stronger bonds.

With as many roles that he has voiced over the years, one would think that Steve may feel like he has missed out on a coveted role to someone else. On the contrary, Steve has many friends within the industry and feels that if he's lost a role to someone else, chances are it's a good friend of his regardless and he supports them to his fullest. For example, Steve lost the role of Batman to longtime friend Troy Baker, but after hearing Baker's rendition of the iconic character, he knew that Baker was a better fit than himself. It is this thinking that pushes Steve to keep pursuing role after role and if he feels he's not a good fit, he'll often recommend someone he feels is better.

Regarding voice acting, Steve's only advice is to "just go." For him, as well as many others, voice acting is not something you can truly ever prepare for as it is acting in every sense of the word. Being able to think on one's feet and getting a bit 'schizophrenic' to handle whatever characters need to be voiced is a strength. Remaining grounded and having a great support net is also a big plus because for as many successes, there will be failures, though there is no sense in feeling sorry for oneself. Auditioning as much as possible and submitting demo reels is all part of the business, no matter if you are just starting out or are established in the industry. After all, if the man who's voiced 261 characters has to keep auditioning for roles every day, then everyone else has an equal shot of getting the job as well.

MORE STORIES

Apr.18

Music

Arch Enemy's Blood Dynasty Tour 2025 Has Begun

On April 16, Arch Enemy made their return to San Francisco in support of their newest album, Blood Dynasty.

Apr.18

Gaming News

Switch 2 Pre-Orders Begin in The U.S. on April 24

Just incase you missed it, Nintendo will be launching its new system, Switch 2 on June 5th with a wide variety of exclusive Nintendo only titles as well as some...

Apr.07

Gaming News

Goddess of Victory: Nikke 2.5 Year Anniversary Livestream Set For April 19

The ever popular hit mobile game Goddess of Victory: Nikke will be hosting a special anniversary livestream set for April 19 via the official Nikke youtube channel. 

Apr.02

Music

DIR EN GREY Returns to America for Three Concerts in April 2025

Before last year, it had been a while since I saw DIR EN GREY. Pre-pandemic, actually, way back in December 2019. I figured, you know what, I'm going to Japan...

Apr.01

Convention News

WonderCon 2025 Impression

This last weekend, I attended WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center in Orange County to check out the wide variety of activities the event had to offer. I was initially...

Apr.01

Music

Aya Hirano Announces Solo Single “evolutions” Release May 10th

Aya Hirano is making her long-awaited return to solo music with the release of “evolutions,” her first new single in 11 years. Dropping digitally on May 10, 2025, the track...

Feb.14

Music

Lotus Juice Live Concert Coming to San Francisco in March

Anime and video game music fans are in for a treat as renowned vocalists Lotus Juice takes the stage at the Legends of Anime concert on Saturday, March 29, 2025...

Feb.02

Music

Live Report: Phantom Siita Makes Their US Debut With the "Moth to a flame" World Tour

What can be said about Phantom Siita?  I had initially thought that the name was Phantom Theater but no, it is instead based upon the words "phantom,"  the scientific name...

Jan.05

Music

Hanabie. US 2025 Tour Announced!

Hanabie. will be making the rounds on another US tour for 2025. They've been going around the world at a frenetic pace, this time paired together with Kim Dracula as...

Dec.30

Music

Arch Enemy United States Tour 2025 Announced

The Arch Enemy Blood Dynasty Tour begins on April 14 in San Diego, CA, and winds its way north up the coast before traveling east and looping around towards the...

Dec.14

Interview

Fate/stay night 20th Anniversary - Interview with Ayako Kawasumi, Kana Ueda, and Noriko Shitaya!

The Fate/stay night 20th Anniversary Celebration brought fans from across the United States together for one momentous occasion. We had just finished with a talk show reminiscing about the past...

Dec.06

Convention News

Fan Expo San Francisco 2024 Impressions

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Fan Expo San Francisco returned to Moscone West Convention Center for its third year, reaffirming its place as a key event in the Bay Area's pop culture...

Nov.03

Music

Phantom Siita - Moth to a flame World Tour Announced

Phantom Siita is a relatively young idol group. Just a couple of years old, they will be embarking around the world. They are produced by the now legendary Ado, who...

Oct.15

Convention News

Bay Area Anime Impulse/K-Play! Fest/Collectors Expo 2024 Impressions

Returning for its second year in the San Francisco Bay Area, Anime Impulse arrived at the San Mateo County Event Center on October 12-13. If you're unfamiliar with Anime Impulse...

Oct.09

Music

Kenshi Yonezu Announces First-Ever Tour Across Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu has announced his first-ever U.S., Asia, and European tour dates. His world tour kicks off with two performances in Shanghai on March 8 and 9, 2025...