Anime Expo is North America’s largest Anime Event held in Los Angeles, California. This year, Crunchyroll hosted a panel with the English dub cast from the hit-anime, SPY x FAMILY. We interviewed Megan Shipman, the English voice of Anya Forger, as well as Natalie Van Sistine, the English voice of Yor Forger.
SPY x FAMILY
SPY x FAMILY is an anime that blends both the action-packed world of spies and assassins with the sweet, warm world of family life. Based on the manga by Tatsuya Endo, this story follows international spy, Twilight aka “Loid Forger,” who is on a mission for world peace. In order to do so, he must create a fake family. He adopts Anya, a child with secret telepathic powers. Then, he fake marries Yor, who is secretly an assassin who goes by the name of “Thorn Princess.”
Interview with Megan Shipman and Natalie Van Sistine
We asked Megan and Natalie about their initial reactions when they were cast for their roles on the show . Megan answered:
“I knew kind of how big SPY x FAMILY was…seeing things on social media. I was excited, because at the time you know, it’s one of those things where you know it’s big. But you don’t like, see all of this happening you know, as you’re getting cast. I knew it was a big deal, and I was like, ‘This is so exciting! This is going to be so fun!’ And now, I’m just like really grateful because it’s like, such a huge, like it kinda sinks in when you come here and you see how big things are.”
Natalie said:
“The way we found out was we basically got a call from the producers. And I had already kind of put in my head as like, ‘This is probably not going to happen, so I just need to move on and just, you know, get to whatever the next job is and focus on whatever else is coming up.’ And then I got the call. And I literally, I was holding the phone up in a way as I was getting informed of some details about the project and everything, and I was jumping. I was literally jumping up and down!”
This anime is incredibly heartwarming and exciting, and we asked if there is anything audiences can take away from the characters that make up the Forger Family. Megan said:
“They are all so focused on themselves and not wanting to do anything wrong for, you know, their own, each their own personal reasons. I think that’s so relatable. And I think it’s a good message because it really shows you, like, everyone has doubts about themselves, you know. So, it’s a really great show that is way more…it’s way more relatable once you start watching it.
Natalie said:
“I love that the show really reinforces the fact that family can look like a lot of different things. And that the more important thing is the communication, the respect you have for each other, and the desire to work together to be a good family unit that cares about each other.”
Audiences can watch the English dub of season 1, part 1 of SPY x FAMILY on Crunchyroll on July 8th!
