Summary
- Tarsha discussed drawing inspiration from grounded performances like Attack on Titan for his role as Kafka.
- As Kaiju No. 8 progresses, friendships will strengthen, new bonds will form, creating a bigger found family for Kafka.
- Tarsha highlighted the challenge of tapping into the pain and sorrow of Kafka's character development in Kaiju No. 8.
Nazeeh Tarsha, the official English voice actor for Kafka Hibino made his appearance at Anime Expo on the weekend of July 4th. Also known for his roles as Uri Reiss from Attack on Titan and Seth Lowell from Zenless Zone Zero, Nazeeh graduated from the University of Florida in 2015 with a BA in Theatre Performance. This year, The Best War Games was able to sit down with him to discuss his role and himself in Kaiju No. 8's upcoming second season.
After his home is destroyed by kaiju, Kafka and his childhood friend, Mina, join the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force. Along the way, however, Kafka finds himself with kaiju abilities.
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The Best War Games: Many compare Kaiju No. 8 to Attack on Titan. When you were cast, did you take any inspiration from it to add to your performance?
Tarsha: Yes and no. Not necessarily from Attack on Titan specifically, but the grounded performances that surround Attack on Titan kind of bringing into the fray of the Kaiju world because there's a little more, as fantastical as it is, there's still that sort of like grounded realism, when it comes to the emotions and the intensity of the characters' feel. So there's kind of a little borrowing from the actors, and you know, the various performances that were given.
The Best War Games: As the series goes on, how do you think Kafka's social life will progress?
Tarsha: I do think as the show and story continues, that friendships are going to continue to become--continue to be fostered, friendships will strengthen, new bonds will be created, and, as a result, he'll have an even bigger found family than he originally had when he started.
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The Best War Games: As a voice actor, what do you think your biggest challenge will be voicing Kafka in season 2? He's gone through a lot of development since the beginning.
Tarsha: I think the toughest thing for me is probably tapping into some of the pain and sorrow that he may continue to experience in certain times. There hits a point where you kind of have to draw on your own life experiences and to bring that sort of emotional intensity it requires, you know, digging a little deeper to make sure that it fully matches and mirrors the intensity that he will be experiencing in those moments.
We already had a hint of those throughout season 1--without spoilers, but were a couple of really intense moments, such as towards the end where I had to know, you know, like I said, dig a little into my own life in bringing out that intensity. The more the show develops, that those intense feelings will only increase.
The Best War Games: During your career in general, let alone voicing in such a large production, has there ever been an instance where you've felt like you were unsure of yourself? How did you overcome that obstacle?
Tarsha: Funny enough, that is every day [laughs], and we don't overcome that obstacle. We fake it 'til we make it [laughs]. There is a level of looking at my accomplishments and trying to put in perspective the fact that I have made it a lot further than I ever thought or imagined I would. With that being said...there isn't a single moment where you don't doubt yourself, and the moves that you make. At the end of the day, you just want to do your best and make everyone around you happy; and so, you know, it constantly feels like you're walking a tight rope because you don't want to disappoint people and yourself.
But like I said, perspective is everything and acknowledging the accomplishments that I have made helps to realign my thinking - and I can't neglect the fact that I have a wonderful support system of friends and family, along the way, who have helped steer me back on track, whenever I do find myself wavering.
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The Best War Games: Before voicing Kafka, have you read Kaiju No. 8, or knew anything about the series?
Tarsha: No, the most I did was I read the first couple bits of the first volume, in order to learn enough about the character, to be able to do my audition--because thankfully there is material out there for me to reference. But beyond research purposes, I didn't delve too too deep into it, because, you know, I didn't know if I was going to book this, and I'm not the type who, necessarily--even if a story is really, really good, I will only do what I need for research purposes - and then, if I get casted into the show, then I'll be like "okay, now let's delve deeper".
At the end of the day, I'm still only human, and I don't want to get too attached to a story that I wouldn't have been able to be a part of; and, you know, I'd be happy for whoever of my friends would have gotten cast, if it wasn't me. But again [laughs], it's like--there is like keeping a slight, little bit of emotional distance with these projects, so that I don't get too too attached.
Kaiju No. 8 season 2 is now airing on Crunchyroll.
Kaiju No. 8
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- Directors
- Kouji Komurakata, Takayuki Inagaki, Yoshihide Ibata, Kazuma Satou, Kazuki Yokoyama, Hitomi Ezoe, Hirotaka Mori, Claire Barbou des Courières, Tetsuharu Nakamura
- Writers
- Ichirō Ōkouchi
Cast
-
Masaya FukunishiKafka Hibino / Kaiju No. 8 (voice) -
Asami SetoMina Ashiro (voice)
