Summary
The following interview took place during the GKIDSDANDADANPress Day event on Thursday, May 29. GameRant had the honour of sitting down with not one, not two, butthreevoice actors at the peak of their powers who are the main characters of one of the biggest anime of the 2020s,DANDADAN. Abby Trott, voice of Momo Ayase, A.J. Beckles, voice of Ken “Okarun” Takakura and Aleks Le; whom you might already recall from hisaward-winning performances asSolo Levelingmain character, Sung Jinwoo, voices the man of the moment in the second season ofDANDADAN, and naturally, in the theatrical compilation film,DANDADAN: Evil Eye.
We spoke to them about their experiences working on the series, and their thoughts on the upcoming second season, which is set to release on July 3. The questions posed during the interview were a mix of individual questions and questions posed to the three voice actors in a casual setting that let the trio’s personalities shine throughout.
You always learn something new on every project you’re on, and if you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by really great performers, you can learn a lot from them in their highest moments. It’s very rare – and that’s a compliment to these guys – it’s a really rare occasion when you hear an English dub and you’re like, “Wow, that’s damn good.”
– Aleks Le, in conversation with GameRant
GameRant: Abby, your performances as Momo stand out for how well they not only capture her personality, but appear to come to you quite naturally. Do you find yourself relating to her, and if so, how?
Abby Trott:First of all, thank you! (laughs) I love Momo and I think I relate to every character I’ve voiced in some way. With Momo, it’s the way she cares so fiercely about those she loves and wants to protect them. I could really relate to her fire[takes a moment to giggle at A.J.’s reaction to the answer]Sorry. (laughs) Her awkwardness is very relatable to me, and her trouble expressing her true emotions when it comes to her true feelings – aside from anger or something more abrasive – she has trouble expressing her more sensitive side. At that age, as an awkward teen, I definitely used to relate to that. I definitely had a hard time expressing myself, and I think that’s one of the things that drew me to acting because it wasan outlet for expression. It really gave me somewhere to put the emotions I didn’t know what to do with, at that age.
GR: A.J., you’ve been a host of different anime primary characters over the course of your career. How has being the voice of Okarun compared to your previous roles?
A.J. Beckles: I think Okarun is kind of an amalgamation of the other stuff I’ve done. Takemichi fromTokyo Revengers, I think, prepared me for some of Okarun’s nervousness, anxiety, awkwardness and things like that. Not a main character, but Michizo Tachihara fromBungo Stray Dogs. I think his coolness helped with Okarun’s demeanour in Turbo form. In general, I feel it’s all kind of been leading up to Okarun. I feel like every part of my career, and I don’t know, maybe all of us can attest to this, but each part of our careers helps us get to the next point. I don’t know what Okarun’s going to help me get later on, but I know that everything I’ve done until now has been to help make sure that I can be the best actor I can be whenever I’m reading Okarun’s lines.We’re a sum of our parts, so it had a lot to do with my performance, for sure.
GR: Aleks, you being cast as Jiji came as no surprise, as you’ve constantly shared your goofy side with your fans. What’s the most challenging thing about playing someone like that, considering that you also played Sung Jinwoo from Solo Leveling? How did you decide on the voice you went with for the role of Jiji?
Aleks:Well, for Jiji… his voice sits a little bit higher than my natural register, but I kind of tried to take into consideration that even though he’s very tall and super athletic, he’s still a teenage boy, so there’s a lot of that higher pitch, that very underdeveloped sound to him. My favourite thing about him is that he’s not necessarily supposed to be cool… or funny… He’s kind of like in the middle of both – he’s not cool enough for people to be like, “Whoa, that’s a sexy, cool guy” [everyone chuckles] and he’s not like, hilarious, he’s just in the middle-ground where it’s like, “That’s a good-looking guy who’s also very embarrassing to be around”.
I like that about him a lot, and the biggest challenge for me – but also the thing I have the most fun with – is giving him the natural, authentic sound of just a regular teenager. He has a lot of highs and lows in his performance, and we really wanted to do something that sounded realistic, like have very convincing, realistic reads that you don’t really hear in other anime. You can’t really expect what he’s gonna say next. That’s the thing we were trying to achieve, which is that, every time he talks, you can’t just be like,"…and his sentence is gonna end like this…“because that’s typically what other characters do. We always wanna throw you a curveball, so he could talk very slowly, andjusttalkreandasdfasfaswasfdgsdgweg[talk really fast and just say whatever] and sometimes he even just says gibberish, because that’s what we do.
I asked our director, Alex von David, like,“Hey, can we just speak gibberish on this part here?“and he said (imitating von David)“Yeah, I guess”. So a lot of it is nonsense, and that’s what I love about the role – there’s just so many opportunities for me to just be nonsensical, and that’s always the best when you may just come to work anddissociate.
I love Momo and I think I relate to every character I’ve voiced in some way. With Momo, it’s the way she cares so fiercely about those she loves and wants to protect them. I could really relate to her fire. Her awkwardness is very relatable to me, and her trouble expressing her true emotions when it comes to her true feelings – aside from anger or something more abrasive – she has trouble expressing her more sensitive side. At that age, as an awkward teen, I definitely used to relate to that.
– Abby Trott, in conversation with GameRant
GR: What was your initial reaction to the revelation that the plot of DANDADAN would be about finding what Momo describes as Okarun’s… uh,wang?
A.J.:Um, I had already read the manga beforehand, and I thought it was hilarious, I thought I had to read more. I thought it was arivetingstory. I guess it shows how impressive the writing is that that’s the case, but then there’s stillmoments where the story will have you cryingor deeply invested in what’s going on, but then, they’re also, like, finding balls, y’know?
AL:I think it’s great that they paid a great homage to the Dragon Ball series except, instead of seven balls, it’s two.
[brief lull as everyone, interviewer included, laughed]
AT: [fighting giggles] Yeah, I thought it was funny, but I won’t say any more than that (chuckles).
GR: How has working together on DANDADAN affected your craft on an individual level?
AL: You always learn something new on every project you’re on, and if you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by really great performers, you can learn a lot from them in their highest moments. It’s very rare – and that’s a compliment to these guys – it’s a really rare occasion when you hear an English dub and you’re like,“Wow, that’sdamngood.“Especially for other actors who are critical of not only their own work, but the work of everyone in the industry as a whole, we’re always trying to push for more quality, if you’re one of those people who aspire to be the best at your craft, so, when you sit down and you hear your co-stars do it really good, you’re like, “I’m gonna steal that”, y’know?
AT:Definitely, when you’re watching or you’re in the booth recording, we’re normally recording one-at-a-time, but if you’re lucky, someone else has recorded before you, and you get the benefit of hearing their performance. I hear things all the time that I’m like,“That’s funny, that makes me laugh, I wanna do that too!“So you get ideas from your peers, and yeah, this is a very funny cast (chuckles)
A.J.:Yeah, I think, iron sharpens iron. It’s one of those things. If I hear Aleks or Abby killing it, I don’t wanna be the one that slacks off, I don’t wanna be the one that’s not funny or doesn’t go for the thing. Obviously, you can’t force those things, but it makes you just want to work that much harder hearing how talented everyone is. I think there’ve been plenty of times where I’ve been like,“Damn, man. Aleks is just eating this scene up”(chuckles) But that’s the whole thing, it’s about trying to pick up on each other’s performances to grow ourselves. I don’t think there’s any other way than to copy from other folks and learn.
GR: What would each of you say the most important element of DANDADAN as a series is, and why?
AJ & Aleks:BAWLZ!
A.J.:I think at its core,DANDADANis a story about adolescenceand growing up in the world, and y’know, discovering yourself, especially as a teenager during that pivotal period where you don’t really know who you are, and you’re learning to communicate with other people. You’re finding that family, you’re dealing with these emotions, and all the emotions you’re feeling are the biggest they’ve ever been. Amongst all the craziness and the aliens and the ghosts, it’s a real story and there are a lot of real-life situations sprinkled in, so I just think it’s a story about growing up, and what that means.
AT:Yeah, that’s definitely what it feels like to me too, and what I love about the show is that you can see the characters grow so much even within the first season – there’s so much character growth. Like, Momo apologizes to her grandma – that was a long-standing thing between them. She is forced by Okarun to calm down and realize what’s happening in certain situations without just jumping to anger. She’s really learning a lot and its about those lessons; learning how to be a human in the world.
AL:You guys already stole all the good answers… BAWLZ. Alien bawlz, ghost bawlz…
I think iron sharpens iron. It’s one of those things. But that’s the whole thing, it’s about trying to pick up on each other’s performances to grow ourselves. I don’t think there’s any other way than to copy from other folks and learn.
– A.J. Beckles, in conversation with GameRant
GR: How have the desaturated visuals of theDANDADAN: Evil EyeArc affected your approach going into the booth?
AL:I think color is a huge part of the show. One of the most unique things about season 1 and what we’ve seen from season 2 so far is that some of the scenes are fully enveloped by one primary colour. Sometimes that’s red, sometimes that’s purple, yellow or even blue, and the artists and creators who work on the show use colour in a very effective way to tell the story and frame these moments.
Specifically forthe Evil Eye arc, I think there’s a lot of confusion, muddiness and uncertainty that’s happening, and that’s why there’s that desaturated yellow look for the first half of it, and I feel like that informs the hypnotic and dreary state until it all turns purple, and that’s when s*** gets really scary. So it does play a factor – visuals are always a huge factor in how we interpret the scene and the performance, because the atmosphere is one of the biggest driving factors of an actor’s choices.
AT:I think the desaturated look of the Evil Eye flashbacks when he’s alone in the room, it really emphasizes that stark loneliness. They’re really good at using colour to emphasize things. So I hadn’t seen the first three episodes until last night [at the DANDADAN: Evil Eye World Premiere] and the way they jump into that purple, hypnotic, the Evil Eye – it’s so cool–
A.J.:And it kind of envelops Jiji–
AT:Yeah! And that’s the supernatural element really coming through; that purple and blue, the greens that they throw in there but especially the purple for Jiji.
GR: A.J. and Abby, you voice the two main characters of the show, and they have a lot of chemistry in terms of their interactions – how natural-feeling those interactions are, and that carries on into the voice acting in both English and Japanese.
Why do you think it is that the two of you have such high levels of synergy, almost in the same way Hanae and Wakayama seem to click in the booth and in real life? What is it that makes your performances so synergistic?
A.J.: So kind!
AT:Yeah, thank you!
I think A.J.’s portrayal of Okarun is so perfect, I am a huge fan! So when he’s delivering those lines that are like, y’know, ADORABLE, I’m honestly just reacting to his beautiful portrayal of this character.[To A.J.]You make it easy to relate to this character. Also, one of my favourite things from the movie is (chuckles) when he’s going turbo and like, protecting Momo… what was the line?
A.J.:Was it the part with the kick?
AT:When you’re like, “The first mistake you made…” Basically he’s in Turbo Mode, and he’s like [deepens voice] “Nobody hits Momo!” and it’s just perfect. He makes it easy for me.
A.J.:Abby is amazing. Abby is so funny and there are so many lines that just pop up that she delivers in a way that I’d never expected, and I’m always laughing so hard! Abby, I owe a lot to you, when earlier on in my career, Abby recommended me fora show calledShaman King.
Abby’s always been looking out for me and I really appreciate her and, in general, she’s just an amazing performer. There’s not much I have to do in terms of trying to make it work or anything. If anything, it’s me trying to match up to Abby’s performance, and it’s always a treat whenever Abby records before me, because I get to read off of her and react to her in real time.
It’s a rare occasion, but it’s a beautiful thing when we get to do it, and on top of that, we have Alex von David to help make sure that we’re both on track. He gets a couple takes from us and makes sure that we sound good together too, so it’s a team effort for sure, but I don’t have to try that hard.
GR:What’s it like for the three of you to work so closely with a legend like Barbara Goodson?
AT: For me, just hearing her yell at me – because I watchedPower Rangersgrowing up – to hear Repulsa yelling at me… It’s a weird dream come true that I never knew I had! (laughs)
AL:I honestly think Turbo Granny steals the show, every scene that she’s in. Yesterday, at the premiere, I was like, “Wow, AJ sounds good, Abby sounds good, we all sound good together” and then Barbara shows up, and I’m like, “We’re all cooked.”
[Resounding choir of agreement and laughter]
AT:One of her best lines was like, “Who are these bit**es?” (laughs)
AJ:And it’s so funny because she’s 70 years old, and just this sweet older lady going into the booth and saying some of the stuff she [Turbo Granny] says is just so funny to me! I used to watchPower Rangerswith my mom when I was a kid, so hearing Rita and everything like that, I’m like “Oh my gosh, that’s so cool!” It’s awesome.
About the Interviewees:
Abby Trott started her careeracting in puppet showsin Japan before moving to the United States. She joined Bang Zoom! Entertainment after winning an online voice acting contest, moving to Los Angeles and working on various anime, animation, and anime. She has been a voice actor since 2015, with her first anime role being Veronica Liones inThe Seven Deadly Sins, but her more famous roles include Nezuko Kamado fromDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Yoh Asakura from the 2021 reboot ofShaman King, Kasey Ann in Bones' original net animationSuper Crooks, Shizuka Mikazuki inZom 100: Bucket List of the Deadand Tokiyuki Hōjō fromThe Elusive Samurai.
A.J. Beckles is Trott’s colleague at Bang Zoom! Entertainment, where he has worked on various anime, animation and videogames since 2017, with his debut role being Michizo Tachihara inBungo Stray Dogsseason 4. Beckles' first main character role would come in 2021, when he playedShiki Tademaru inKemono Jihen, but he has several other prominent roles under his belt, including Takemichi Hanegaki inTokyo Revengers, Jaxon Cross/Blader X inBeyblade X, Gremmy Thoumeaux inBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood Warand Griffin Arbalest inMobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom(2024).
Aleks Le is an actor and voice actor based in Los Angeles, California. Moving to the United States from Asia at the age of 10, Aleks had no concept of the English language. He used cartoons and video games to help him learn the language, which also inspired a passion for voice work that he later used to pursue his career. His most famous roles includeSolo Levelingprotagonist Sung Jinwoo, for which he won Best Voice Over Artist in English at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards; Zenitsu Agatsuma fromDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba; Yoichi Nagumo fromSAKAMOTO DAYS.
DANDADAN is available to watch onCrunchyroll. The second season is set to premiere on July 3.
