Anime Las Vegas took place at the World Market and Expo Center over the weekend of March 23 and 24th. Several voice actors were in attendance, including Derek Stephen Prince. We spoke with Prince about his career in voice acting. 

Derek Stephen Prince Interview

Derek Stephen Prince is known as the English voice for several anime characters, including Keitaro Urashima (Love Hina), Shino Aburame (Naruto), and most notably, Uryu Ishida (Bleach). 

Prince has voiced Uryu Ishida since the original Bleach anime aired in America in 2006. The character was introduced in the 11th episode, “The Legendary Quincy.” He is an enemy to Ichigo Kurosaki, though the two eventually become close friends.

Though the original anime ended in 2014, the final arc, The Thousand Year Blood War, was animated in 2022. It is currently available to stream on Hulu. Prince returned to voice the Quincy, alongside Johnny Yong Bosch (Ichigo), Michelle Ruff (Rukia), and other voice actors, both new and old. Though he couldn’t talk about what’s in store for his character, he did have this say about returning:

After I already knew that [the arc] was in the process of being recorded, I called up the casting director. I was going, “So, I hear that they’re recording again.” And he goes “Yeah, well, we don’t know when it’s coming” because they haven’t sent it to us yet. So, I knew it was coming; I just didn’t know when it was coming.”

Prince is also the English voice of Shino in Naruto, the bug ninja. Like Uryu, he is the strong, yet silent type. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the character will return for the reanimated episodes, which were announced ahead of the series’ 20th anniversary.

In addition, Shino is in Boruto. He does not play a huge role in Naruto’s son journey, aside from being a homeroom teacher and making a few appearances throughout the series.

“If you’re going to going to put somebody in there, at least do something with him,” Prince joked. Surely, Shino fans feel the same way.

You can hear Derek Stephen Prince in the original Bleach series, The Thousand Year Blood War Arc, Naruto, and more, available on Crunchyroll and Hulu.

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