Over the weekend of June 1st and 2nd, the third Anime Riverside took place at the Riverside Convention Center. The convention saw an incredible number of guests, including the English voice actors from the recently-released series, Kaiju No. 8. A Kaiju No. 8 panel took place on Day 1 with our very own Maddie Morrow acting as moderator and speaking to Nazeeh Tarsha, Katelyn Barr, and Adam McArthur.

Kaiju No. 8 Panel

During the panel, Maddie asked the cast many questions regarding the series and their characters, including their familiarity with the source material, created by Naoya Matsumoto and released in 2020. 

Nazeeh Tarsha, who voices Kafka Hibino, revealed that he knew that Kaiju No. 8 existed, but he wasn’t aware of the plot. 

“I had a lot of friends in the industry who were hyping it up when it was getting released, and once I landed the audition, I delved into that world,” he said.

Katelyn Barr, voice of Mina Ashiro, had a similar response. All she knew about the series was that it was one of the new animes coming out. Like Nazeeh, she read a bunch of the manga once she got the part, and now she’s almost caught up.

Adam McArthur revealed that he became aware of Kaiju No. 8 because of Alejandro Saab—who some may know as Miyamura in Horimiya. He was obsessed with the series and constantly tweeted about it. When McArthur got the audition, he started reading the manga. Now, he’s “all about the show,” praising the comedy and his fellow castmates.

Throughout the panel, Maddie also asked the cast how they related to their characters—they all love voicing older characters in their 30s—and if they would rather be on the Defense Force or Cleanup Crew. Though they would love to fight the kaijus, they all agree that they would probably be cleaning up the mess from the battles. 

The cast also took audience questions and offered incredible advice to aspiring voice actors. The panelists all recommended taking acting classes and checking out iwanttobeavoiceactor.com. This is a website created by voice actor extraordinaire, Dee Bradley Baker, who has an extensive resume. 

Kaiju No. 8 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. The dub and sub release simultaneously every Saturday at 7:00 AM PT.

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