April 14, 2022 • 39 mins
Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation with Dani Chambers! This week MiLadyConfetti joins the conversation to deep dive into Dani's work in Anime, being a woman of color in entertainment, and the moments in Dani's career she is the most proud of.
Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/mNYy4Cpeb6
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
So I'm so gott I got a chance to talk
to you. Um when we were doing the setting recommendations
for the Boss Level podcast that people wanted to talk
to I. I was a person who put you on
the list, um um. And the reason why because we're
talking about people who are kind of like trailblazers in
various industries, you know, not just like streaming or content creation,
(00:26):
but you know, I think of like in many avenues,
in many lanes. Um. But the reason why you came
up was actually because this might sound very like fan
girly of me, but this is honestly my sincerious experience. Um.
When I had just got done watching The Ancient Magic Brian,
I was like, oh wow, like this is really cool.
(00:46):
So typically I look up the cast and I was like,
who is And I look it up and I was like,
she says a black girl. And I legitimately legitimately called
my mom, who knows no thing about anime outside of
you scare you're a MESHI who she can't even say
the name. I was like, Mom, she say, how it
(01:07):
is a black girl. She's like, okay, yeah, I'm so
happy for them, Like, no, not a clue, but I'm
like no, Like, I'm like, mom, there's a black girl
whose voice acting in anime. She's like, that is so great.
I'm hanging up now. So that's pretty much about what
(01:27):
sounds like. After that, I just found you on every
social med I was like, I have to because she's
like that is so cool, and maybe like it's just
like I know that was a couple of years ago,
but um, I was just like, I've never seen specifically
an anime, I no voice acting, Like there have been
many icons who have existed, but I was like an animal,
I'm like this, Yeah, yeah, Can you tell me a
(01:51):
little bit about your journey and how you got like,
you know, into your role of voice acting. Yeah. Yeah,
So I've always been a fan of anime. I grew
up with it and like cartoons and stuff, and as
a little kid, I didn't know what was specifically called
voice acting. You know, we're just like, oh, they make
the cartoons. Um, But like I love theater. I love
(02:11):
doing characters and stuff. And so when I when I
uh started this journey specifically for anime, I was like,
I don't see a lot of you know, poc or
or black people in anime voicing it, and I was
like I kind of want to I kind of want
to change that. So, you know, to the classes, worked
hard and and eventually the right people heard me and
they called me in and I started doing it. Is.
(02:35):
There's a ton of work, but it was a lot
of fun. I enjoyed it. It was it was. It
was rough for a little bit, but uh, getting in
there and and inspiring a lot of other like black
voice actors and and other people just to be able
to come to have a space to kind of talk
about it is it is really heart felt and I
(02:56):
love that. So like yes, yes, So like when I
hear stories like that, I'm like, yes, this is what
I want. I wanted to go and do it and
be happy that we can all share this medium. It's
not specifically for one one, Like community is for everybody,
and yeah show that, Hey everybody can do this. Yeah,
(03:17):
I think like for me because I I mean, I
don't know, I don't know what I want to be
when I grow up. I say that as I'm thirty
years old. Um, so I'm just kind of like like
winging it. But you know, the field of anime is
always something that like has been interested to me, but
it's like I had never seen myself there, or like,
you know, often their characters who are like portrayed to
(03:38):
be like darker brown skin. Often, like when you look
at the voice actors, that might not always match. So
like when I see that, like and I don't see
myself represented there, that can be really hard to swallow
because it's just like, is this but like when you
see you know, voice actors like yourself, or when you
see influencers who or content creators. I know, we're not
supposed to use the word influence, but you see that
(04:01):
becoming more normalized, that representation really does go oh yeah,
it's a it's a it's a big big deal because
you know, the only inspiration I saw, you know, I
grew up in the nineties, so it felt like, you know,
we like because I personally grew up in a very
diverse neighborhood and seeing you know, seeing more that on
television and stuff, like all the cartoons and stuff was
(04:24):
was awesome, but it felt like it was you know,
the same voice actors at the time, you know, like
Cree Summer, Phil Lamar and and you know all that,
which is good though they're fantastic and I love it,
but it's like, yeah, they're like, oh, but like I
wanted to see more because it's like it shouldn't be
just the I don't say token, but I don't want
to see the typical one black person for each show.
(04:45):
You know, there's more out there, and it's like I
feel guilty for not reached like seeking out who they
are and stuff. But there's more now, and I think
it creates better opportunities for us to see that and
and inspire people to want to do this, so that
way it's a big giant melting plot rather than you know,
one one flavor. I guess I think one thing, Like
(05:06):
in the world of content creation and streaming, I have
learned um because you know, I've had to like check
myself for this too, like when I'm like looking for
people for opportunities like to team up with or anything
like that. Like if you keep the same circle, even
if that same circle is full of minority is are
underrepresented groups, that often is not diversity because it's more
(05:27):
of a click so you're keeping it, you know, with
the same group. So often, like even I've had to
be like, Okay, I've worked with this person like seven times,
that's find somebody different. I still love you, but like
let's let's bring somebody else on um, which is something
that I really have to like even I'm guilty of it.
So you know, those things happen. But I think when
with a growing industry like anime, because it's always I
(05:49):
think it really like super boomed during the pandemic, like
just more and more people just got anime, which I love. Um,
we have more access to more talents. I hope that
now I see the industry is embracing sets, which is awesome. Yeah, no,
because like even now we got like legends coming up,
(06:10):
like Gabe Kunda who voices rock Blocking is doing the
trailers of movies, like, oh man, I love him so much.
Uh you have. I love Brandon on Twitter everywhere. He's
a he's a fantastic musical artist, music artist, like he
does like a lot of the lo fi music and
like if you ever, if you need ever talk to
(06:31):
him on a podcast, he's a oh my god, amazing.
Uh Yeah, Zina Robinson, Ken and a J. Beckel's Sear Kirby,
Joshua David King like so many now I can list
off and I'm like, yes, this is this is a
dream come true. This is one we wanted. You know,
(06:51):
there's different people you can pull from. Now it can
actually be diverse rather than just one, you know, one
POC person for their show. Yeah, you know, it's like
that's a lot of work. Like even then, I felt
like when I first started, I felt like I wasn't token,
I wasn't the diversity checkbox because I wasn't getting used
a lot because I'm like, I didn't want to be that.
(07:13):
I wanted to be a person to kind of help
lead the way for other people to come through. And
it's it's amazing seeing so many people now be a
part of it, and I'm like, we're doing it, guys,
we're doing it. You mentioned, like, you know, getting into
voice acting, the amount of like work that it takes
to get there and also being recognized by the right people.
(07:38):
I've often seen this question asked of voice actors, you
know from I know was his name, John Michael Tatum.
I know he gets his question on TikTok and like
the answer is always the same, but it's the amount
of work that you put into it. So I guess,
like for your journey specifically, and the amount of work
that you you know, had to put into it. I
(08:01):
guess I just want to know, like is it is
it more like what you put in what you get
out of get out of it, or is it just
like you know, more networking, Like what what does it
take to like kind of navigate a lot of those lanes,
because I feel like it's a lot that goes into
It's not just like the one classes. It's not just
like right person like getting lucky, like I don't I
don't know. Uh, well, man, it's it's a combination of both.
(08:27):
If I could be honest. Before the panorama, there was
uh you know you usually like take classes, you um,
get tutoring, you get your demo like all all that jazz. Uh,
And it was it was still hard because you know,
you had to make sure you networked properly, you had
(08:49):
met the right people and you know, audition in front
of the right people, make sure they hear you and stuff.
And that was hard in itself. But but now you know,
post pandemic panorama, there is uh it seems like it's
a little bit easier because of the ability of remote
recording and you know someone who's in like you know, uh,
(09:13):
Ohio can probably record for anime. You know now that
they have access to other UH actors who have home studios,
proper home studios and um, you know, classes and stuff
still help pushing yourself, making sure you know your demos
are up to date and you know you've got a
website people can contact you. I feel like it's a
(09:34):
lot more involved at this point, um because of remote recording.
I feel like anybody can kind of do it um.
But I think they don't realize how much work goes
into it. UM. Like I have a panel I do
a cons called how to get into how to get
started in voice acting, not necessarily how to get into it,
because that's a that's a whole another beast. But I'm
(09:55):
very honest with people because I don't think they realize
how much work that is. Because when I started, I
started in two thousand thirteen. I didn't book my first
thing until two thousand seventeen, so that's a four year
of like nothing or you know, a lot of practice
and hard working classes and money spent, and a lot
of people don't realize that it's it's it's hard, not
(10:17):
just hard work, but it's very draining emotionally and mentally. Uh,
and so I think you have to make sure you
go in knowing that, hey, I probably won't book anything
for three or four years, So let me work on
you know what I need to work on, get tutored,
get the right classes, and and get my demos together
(10:40):
and just start auditioning for for indie projects or uh
the YouTube things. Don't do fandoms because if you don't
do fandoms, I mean fandoms. If you want to do
like for practice with your friends and stuff, that's fine,
just don't post it like on on the internet or
like uh where you can possibly make money because that's
(11:00):
technically illegal. So yeah, that's yeah, because it's very frowned
upon in the industry because you know, if you do
something and you make money off of it and it's
already established property, that's kind of like a a big deal. Um.
Like yeah, like I had to stop doing my undertail dubs,
you know, comic dubs. When I and I started, I
(11:23):
was like, Okay, I did this for fun. Now that
you know I can get some money off YouTube, I
gotta stop. Um. So you know, it's it's fine for
practice and with your friends and stuff. Um, and you
know working off each other. But you know, don't put
that on your resume. But yeah, let me stret get
rid of fan dubs on webs So what was it like, um,
(11:51):
because I know you were doing uh, you know, different
roles before the Ancient Magic Bard, But what was it
like to land something like that? Oh? It was kind
of like a shock because, Um, I had started. I
took a class in two thousand sixteen and or yeah,
(12:13):
two thousand sixteen or fifteen, and um, I met a
director there and uh, he's like, hey, you can send
us your demos, you know, after the class or whatever.
Send him my demo. I didn't hear anything for like
a year, and then I yeah, And then I ran
into him again at a different workshop for just acting specifically,
and uh, he's like he saw me and he recognized me.
(12:34):
He's like, I did you didn't send me your demo?
I said, yeah, I did, and he's like what I said, Yeah,
I said to you. Like the next day he's like, oh,
you know, it probably went to my spam I having.
I know, He's like I was having issues with my
website blah blah blah. I was like, oh, and so
(12:55):
I sent it to him again. At his new email,
and he called me in like the next to do
like Walla for one piece and that was end up
two thousands sixteen, I think, uh. And then I actually
did Walla for another for another director and he heard me,
and then like the next week he called me in
for an audition for a show called The moros Maninokean.
(13:17):
And I was like, Oh, that's weird, because you know
they told you like once you're in there, you gotta
do Walla for like a few months or even years
before you get your first like you know, named role.
And I'm like, oh, okay, yeah cool. So I was
already doing like Walda for like three or four months.
So I got my first audition for The ros Maninokean,
and I wasn't expecting. I was like, oh, okay, sure
(13:40):
did it. Didn't even think I was gonna get anything.
They called me in the next uh, the next couple
of days, it's like, hey, you booked this supporting role
in the show. I was like, oh awesome. And so
when I got a chisay um. It was actually that
the director I was working on with the with the
Rossa Mononoke and got sick and Kyle Phillips, who's the
(14:00):
director of Ajamaga's Bright. He was assistant directing and after
he helped me with after that session, he's like, hey,
so are you busy the next twenty four weeks? I said, oh,
what is no? I guess if you need me for
like certain things like bits and stuff, yeah, I'm available.
He's like, okay, cool. My dumb self didn't even know
what he was talking about. And so I come in.
(14:21):
They scheduled me for like four hours for a session.
I'm like, four hours to do Walla. That's weird, but okay.
I come in and he's like, hey, so it was
great working with you. I think you're a good fit
for this role. Um, you're gonna be Chess saying in
our show in Jamaga's Bright. I'm like, cool, what did
she say? I got anything about the show? So like, okay, um,
(14:42):
he's like, yeah, she's our main character in our in
our show. And I was like what for real. He's like, yeah, yeah,
you're great and I wanted to see if you know
this wild will be good for you and yeah, we're excited.
I was like, thank you so much, and yeah, oh
my oh it was. It was so weird. Like, on
the side, I was like, yeah, thank you so much.
On the inside, I was just like, yes, yes, I
(15:06):
was so excited and I couldn't say anything because it
didn't come out yet. But when it came out, I
was like, you guys, I'm I'm an anime. I'm a
redheaded baby. Yes, So it was really cool. I was
really excited and I was like, yes, I'm paving the
way we're doing it. We're doing it. That is awesome.
And then like inspiring me to be like, Mom, I
(15:30):
just want I just want to sit her down and
just I'm like, just watch it. It's it's good. Okay.
She's like, no, I did one episode of that, Yuka haka,
I'm good. I'm like, okay, thank you, thanks Mom. Sounds
it sounds sounds like Mom's all right, she's trying. Oh good.
(15:51):
What were some of your favorite anime growing up? Oh,
Sailor Moon and Yasha you Hacke Show Big, Oh that
was I loved Ago, but it wasn't very popular and
I'm sad didn't nobody. Not a lot of people liked it.
Um Memeu Power, Gosh, what else? Um Dragon ball Z.
(16:14):
Of course? Uh, I think those are my main ones
because I love those I loved pretending to be stay
the Jupiter was my girl Mars damn me, but I'm
a spurioso. That kind of makes sense. There you go,
there it is. I'm like, you haven't got a word that, mate,
(16:34):
Yeah that's me. Oh it's great. Oh no, I love
I love the magical girl stuff. It's so cute. And
like when memeu Power came out, I was like, yes, yes,
and I'm so glad there's there's like a a reboot
but it's coming back and I'm so excited. I can't
wait till it comes out. Oh it's so exciting. So like,
(17:00):
what are someone like your favorite moments like so far
in your career? Oh man, going to cons and talking
to fans and fans like friends, I guess um, and
like hearing people talk about, you know, the shows that
they watched and speeking out over them. Like I had
one person come up to me she was so sweet.
Oh my god, She's like, oh my god, I loved
(17:22):
you and she made it writ you were so good.
I was like, thank you for watching it. Basically so
happy that people are watching it. It's such a good show.
Like even if I wasn't in it. I would watch
it and just gush about it because it's such a
it's such a good anime, like and now you are
a magical girl. Oh my god, it's full circle. I know.
(17:44):
Do you like have a wand you need? You need
the one that you say, has I do? I actually do.
I can go get it real quick if you want
me to. Okay, oh my gosh, that's so cool. Okay,
I have I actually have this on my my table
when I go to con. So if you come see
(18:04):
me in a con, you'll see this. So I have
my plush Elias right here. Uh. And then I also
and then here's the wand that is so cool. My
friend three D printed it for me and I was like,
oh my god, thank you so much. And then I
just carved the stick myself because I was like, I
have to do part of it because that's the thing
(18:26):
I got. That's what she did. So uh and little necklace.
I'm like, okay, I'm brewing that trying to find girl.
But like that is so freaking cool. It's no, that's
it's totally fine. I love it. I love it so much. Um,
it's it's it's a beautifully written anime that the music
is amazing, that I had the soundtrack, like I could
(18:49):
listen to that repeat all day. Juno, the girl who
sings the intro, the first intro. She she was eighteen
when she recorded that. I'm like the pie apes man,
bless pipes, Lord said, bless your throat, and yes, yes,
(19:09):
I want that, And I see your plush. You haven't
alives plush there, And then um, is that from the
is that remu? Yeah it is. I was. I was
at a card and I was like, remarru and uh
this this person was walking around with a plush bigger
than that, and I was like, man, I want one.
(19:30):
And I guess he heard me. And so about an
hour later he comes back. He's like here you go.
I was like it what this is for me? He's
like yeah. I was like I can't take this. He's like, no,
please take it. I'm like thank you, Like I was
like that's so sweet. Um yeah, there's and then there's uh,
(19:54):
this is Tina where I don't think the day became
a god m hmm. It's um. If you've seen clenad
or Angel beats, it's from the same creator. I am
so trauma. I was not expecting all that. I was like, uh, okay, yeah,
(20:17):
it's like and it just kept going. I was like, okay,
I know it's really quick. Oh my kind need a whoa,
I need a minute. Then you just to go yeah. No,
if you like Clenad and Angel Beats, you'll I think
you'll like this one. Okay. It's about a little girl
(20:37):
who can predict the future, and so she's trying to
help the main character, dude, get with his childhood crush,
and hilariousness ensues as as as one yes, the journey
does well, it's funny because um, I'll say this because
this just like a clip, but like there's a part
(20:59):
where they're trying to impress the crush with like movies,
and so they re enact like different parts of movies
like they do Rocky. They do not Space Odyssey, what
is it? Um some some space movie where they have
to go stop the comment from coming down to Earth
or something. Um. And they did like Edward Scissored Hands.
(21:22):
It was it was really funny random. It was like Rocky, Okay,
we got that Philadelphia. It was so funny, like it's
it's such a cute anime and then you know, when
you laugh, you'll cry, So I like, I won't spoil why,
but oh my god, it's really cute. I do like
(21:43):
feel good animals like I. I actually had this series
that um I just did between tiktoking YouTube about like
the best written like female characters. And I was speaking
about so it's best for female characters and shown in
and there was another black girl who answered and said, listen,
I understand because you know there is a lot of
like patriarchy and stuff that influences anime. And she had said,
(22:08):
please don't confuse the strongest character for the best written,
and I was like, you have a point. So then
for me, I said, Noel Silva from Black Clover, UM,
I feel like she's a very like balanced character. Her
motivations are solely her own. She stands in her own
two feet. I'm the type of person as a writer
if I can remove every single character from you and
(22:29):
you stand on your own. I feel like that is
I also feel like she say falls into that character
into that as well. UM. And then I also said
Soccero is not as bad as people make her seem,
thank you, She's really not. I'm definitely a person of
like self reflection because I used to be on the
soccer a hatrain and I'm like, wait a minute, do
(22:52):
I just dislike her because she doesn't do the same
things as Narto and Sask, but she has the most
talker control out of three. She's a medical ninja. She's
not going to always go on the front lines. And
the thing is, she's a genius. She comes up with
like pures and things and stuff. Right on the thing,
She's great. She is she is, and then she has
(23:13):
some character flaws, yes, but like no character is perfect.
All of our favorite protagonists have flaws. They have period
to say, believe it one more time, I would have
lost it, honestly, Like we all have our things. Yeah, no,
Like characters have to have flaws because then they wouldn't
be good characters, you know. Like I was actually talking
(23:33):
to a friend about this, um I felt like a
lot of the like my heir Academia girls are like
they had the potential to be really great and then
it's just over the seasons. It's just and I'm like,
what happened? Like, like Momo is a freaking genius, she
(23:55):
could do whatever, but I feel like she still hides
behind like oh my god, I'm still not good enough.
I'm like, right, what are you talking about? Yeah? And
the thing is like with Noel. With her, even though
she's gifted with such immense power and she is a
person of privilege, they don't ever shy away from that.
She's snooty, she's privileged. She looks down on a lot
of people, and it's like, ma'am, wait a minute, so
(24:16):
you're roll there. But even when she is faced with
a challenge and it's always a moment of growth for her.
I love that she always acknowledges. She's like, I am struggling,
Like this is hard for me. It doesn't matter that
I have all this magical power. I can't control it.
But the thing is, I'm still going to stand here
and fight because that's what I need to do. And
it's like every time she has one of those speeches,
at one of those moments, I'm like, yes, girl, yes,
(24:39):
she recognizes it. Instead of being like what must I
do to get more power to help me? Okay, I'm like,
you call for these these dudes one more time, But
she doesn't. She's just like, Okay, I gotta do what
I gotta do, or like she'll have like you know,
what would Assa do moment, but it's like it still
(24:59):
has to from her at the end of the day,
which is what I absolutely love. But I love like
we're heading into I think this era of anime when
it comes to um female characters just being more well
writ in and more well rounded, like when it I know,
Jujuicu KUIs and is kind of going on another hiatus,
which is really sad. But the female characters there, I
(25:23):
believe like they're just they're they're they're really good, and
I'm they have that potential. I think, like with my
hair academia, they're like right there, and I'm like, please
don't lose that. Yeah, I'm I'm hanging on if they will,
I'm crossing my finger. I don't think they will because
I feel like it's it's too it's too good of
a show for it too to not it's too good
(25:44):
of a show to flop. I think unless I do
something completely stupid, which I highly doubt. Oh like Tokyo cool, Um,
I'm sorry, I'm good, I'll behave I'm gonna look for
the audacity you found it. I always go say nothing,
(26:09):
but it's always that or you know, sometimes it's just
you know, I don't know production or just like you know,
the writing or the manga kind of year off. We'll tokyo,
we'll did that, do that too. But I also bring
up like Kirkano isn't her circumstances. It's a little bit
one slice of life. But the manga like is beautiful,
but the anime, I think they couldn't agree or something
(26:30):
happened and it just fell off, and I'm like, no,
this is what caught me. The high school come back. Yeah,
I was like, why do you cost late off? Yes?
I do. It's not super great, um, but you're still no,
(26:53):
you're still doing it though. We will suprecate here. Yeah, no, no, Um.
I have a couple of like I have a Cheese cosplay,
have a Gina cosplay, and I have oh what is it?
I actually have um from Pokemon Go Leader can't Candela? Yeah,
(27:17):
I have the jacket and everything, and I'm like it's
so it looks nice. I'm like, this is a nice jacket.
I actually might wear this so constantly? Is I just
wear out? That's actually a good idea because I'm like, yeah,
I'm tempted. I might as well do that because that's
a it's a really cool it's a nice jacket as
I got it at like those cheaper costplay stuff, so
and I was like, oh, this is probably gonna be bad.
(27:38):
It's actually pretty decent, and I was very shocked. Yeah.
And the thing is that you get the more you
wear it, like it gets its use out, so it's
not just sitting in your closet. So I went to
Target yesterday jess as the butterfly Hasha. And now that's
a little extreme, but I just don't feel like changing.
I don't blame you get what you get today. I
just I just need soap. I just need so that's
(28:04):
that's all I need. Come on, y'all. I just I'm
here my my local Wahua. I would go into like
after photo shoes. I would go in so often and
cause me. They're like, who are you today? I'm like,
I'm a vampire from resident Evil Village. They're like, okay,
here's your sandwich. You weirdo? Oh my god? Yes, Oh
(28:27):
that's so great though, energy and old vibe. Yes, yes. Uh.
This next to a costplay I want to try and
work on. Is Princess Tiana. Yeah, but it's so hard
to find a dress because I can't sell. So I'm like,
what do I do do? I just buy something and
then just kind of adjusted from there. Um, because I
(28:50):
made a uh what's her name, Iridessa from the tinker
Bell series the Yellow Fairy. Um, I have her kind
of thing because I made wing too, ah, and I gotta,
I gotta finish them. They're they're very like, they're pretty cheap.
They're okay wings, but I should use like, you know,
(29:11):
iridescent um. What is it called, like the film? Yeah,
the film? Yeah, not shrink rap, but you know what
I'm talking about. I'm working on that because I want
to do that on my TikTok of posting her. But
I gotta freaking work on it. It's just having the
time to do it right. That's a mood. There a
(29:32):
lot of people they ask me because I post pretty
much on everyone in my platforms every day. They're like,
how do you do it? I'm like, I don't sleep.
I need to sleep because if I don't then I'm
going to be dead. In the boy, I'm trying to
get I'm trying to get better. I I do drink
my water though, I am very good with that. So
if you're listening and not I'm telling your mother and
(29:56):
your grandmother, or drink water right now, do it right now,
pause this and go get you some water. We'll be here.
Not coffee, not carbonated water. Actual water will feel so
much better. Yes, what are some if you can share?
(30:18):
But what do you have like some exciting projects or
anything coming up? I know nds are horrible, so they are.
I'm sitting on one that's like for two years. Uh,
I know, I can't say that's the only one I
was holding onto. Well, one got released. If you play
Cookie Run Kingdom, I've always Caramel Arrow Cookie cool. She's
(30:41):
really cute. I love her. No, it's actually a mobile game.
It's a gotcha game kind of like kind of like
Get In, except it's it's cuter. Uh with their cookies. Um.
I recorded that like in November. I think of last year.
So if I it came out a couple weeks ago,
and I'm like, yes, finally I can talk about this.
(31:05):
Oh man, it's hard. It's so hard because I'm like,
I'm so excited. I want to tell people, but I'm
like I can't. I can't. I can't because I don't
want to get fired and lose it. So I have
like seven I'm sitting on and really this sucks. You're like, Companni,
what are you doing? I'm like nothing, It's like absolutely
(31:27):
nothing I wanted. I can't. I can't say anything because
you know what work and not being yes, that's a bit.
That's the one thing is definitely I gotta feed my cat. Yeah,
I like, I got a wedding to pay for. I
can't afford to congratulation. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
(31:52):
Um yeah, that's expensive. Oh my gosh, I can't imagine.
I was. I was Google. I was like, the average
wedding in US is like twenty grand. I'm excuse me, No,
I'm not trying to get married, and like if no,
I'm good. I'm just I'm gonna take my five thousand
dollars and come over here. That's what I'm gonna do.
(32:14):
What I would do, I would just run out chucky
cheese and be like, y'all work it out, work it out,
y'all got it. That's what they can't let you in though.
Without a kid though, that's the thing. Do cats count? No?
You know so, but my god, you know I got
(32:35):
a dog. Who's it? Wait, Piper, come here. I'm a
dog who acts like a kid. Your time, come here.
I don't know if she'll come over. She's she likes
to stare at the window. It's like, I've worked so
hard today, I know, ever, can I get a little job?
(32:57):
Ayb you're so cool. My cat wanders in. He just
he doesn't pay any bills, but this is his home,
so he'll just wandering when he feels like it. That's
how it goes. I named him Prince Zico, and people like,
why did you do that? I'm like, there was a
reason why I named him that, and he lives up
to the name. Okay, Prince, he heard his name, so
(33:17):
he's like, are you talking about me? Yes? I swear
cats will be like, excuse me, did you pay my rent?
That's that's the look that he gives me every morning.
I'm like, yes, Prince Zico, that's so cute. That's that's
(33:37):
stand by him. I love that sound on TikTok oh.
I gotta get off TikTok man, it's too dangerous. I yeah,
all they're like. My favorite sound so far is uh
Freddie you're supposed to be on Lockdown Vanessa. I did
(34:02):
that one when I was buying like way too many
skate decks because I have a lot of anime, like
I skate and I have a lot of animal skaks.
And it was like, Vanessa, you're supposed to stop, like
I didn't, like stop buying skate decks. And I'm like,
but I'm a material girl. Because Hypelin had came up
with the U Hockey show line Oh my gosh, and
they said skate decks and I'm like, well, of course
I'm gonna buy them, Like what do you expected to do?
(34:23):
Let it sit there, It has to come to me. Yeah,
like what am I do what I'm supposed to do?
And Karama and he did I get? Yeah, I got
all of them. Oh my god. I need everyone listening
to mind your business and leave me alone. I am
happy I have a problem. Leave them alone. Listen. Oh
(34:48):
so I know, like I kind of like talked about
this in the beginning, but because I know we're coming
up one time. But for a lot of like black
little girls like me out there, and like it does matter,
Like what advice do you have of any words of
wisdom or inspiration for who wants to get into anime
or that's invoice acting or just the industry at all. Uh,
(35:08):
don't let anybody tell you that you can't just because
of the way you look and sound. Um, because growing
up I got told that I sound sounded white and
it was so annoying. I'm like, what does that even mean?
Go ahead, yeah, I will get too, I will get
too ranting different it is. But I was like, this
(35:32):
doesn't make any sense because, you know, I feel like
color doesn't have a sound because we everybody grew up
in different different areas, you know, And I don't think
that's fair to place these, you know, stereotypes on anybody,
no matter what color they are. And for anybody trying
to get in here, especially at POC, if you sound
different or don't sound what they think you should sound,
(35:55):
f that, just don't don't listen to that. Just some
crappy bs that people say because they don't want to
see you succeed. And I would say, move that over
and and work on get you a good support system.
It doesn't have to be a lot, Just get you
like two or three people that know that you know
(36:17):
will back you up and never and if you start
beating up on yourself or if you start to sink
to a dark place, let them know because having that
good support system will help keep you, keep you going,
and we'll keep you from spiraling into you know, dark
areas in your life that you don't want to go
down on because this is a very mentally draining job.
(36:37):
You know, imposters, imposter syndrome is very prevalent in this
and you don't want to You don't want to sink
into that mindset because if you do, it'll affect your work. So,
uh yeah, don't let people. Don't let people keep you
from doing what you want to do. Uh and have
a good, good support system two or three people, and
(37:00):
I think I believe you can do it. Thank you,
especially the imposter syndrome thing. You didn't have to call
me out like that. I appreciate, but I'm sorry. I
was talking to myself. No, I was honestly having that
conversation in my head while I was editing a video.
I was like, like, it just it just hits you
like out of nowhere, and I was like, I don't know,
(37:20):
but honestly, like I feel very inspired from this conversation
and just thank you so much for taking the time
to talk to me, because I was like, no, I
know you're good. I know. I was like, we're missing
another person. No, it's no, it's so glad I got
to do this extra time with you because it's really good.
It's nice to have these conversations when people, especially in
(37:41):
this crazy world like social media where everything is prevalent.
Everybody's got opinion, which is fine, they have the right
to do that, but it's it's sad when you hear
most of the negative things and you're trying to look
for the positive, but when all you see is negative,
it's kind of hard to kind of hard to like
keep at it. Yeah, it does, because those are the
things on the social media and algorithms they pick up on.
(38:05):
And I I do believe that the same thing, like
having that support system like my mom, is that support system,
like I have like two friends who are like those
people like my spider. Since is tingling that you're in
your head and I'm like, leave me alone, you're right,
you're right, don't call me out like this. Oh my goodness. Well, Danny,
(38:29):
thank you so much for this time. I appreciate it
um of course. And also I know Daniel's being a ghost,
but thank you so much for arranging me. It's my pleasure,
not no problem at all. Yeah, me too. I was like, yeah,
I'll come back. Is great. It was good conversations all around. Thanks.
I'm gonna called my mom again to be like
So I'm so gott I got a chance to talk
to you. Um when we were doing the setting recommendations
for the Boss Level podcast that people wanted to talk
to I. I was a person who put you on
the list, um um. And the reason why because we're
talking about people who are kind of like trailblazers in
various industries, you know, not just like streaming or content creation,
(00:26):
but you know, I think of like in many avenues,
in many lanes. Um. But the reason why you came
up was actually because this might sound very like fan
girly of me, but this is honestly my sincerious experience. Um.
When I had just got done watching The Ancient Magic Brian,
I was like, oh wow, like this is really cool.
(00:46):
So typically I look up the cast and I was like,
who is And I look it up and I was like,
she says a black girl. And I legitimately legitimately called
my mom, who knows no thing about anime outside of
you scare you're a MESHI who she can't even say
the name. I was like, Mom, she say, how it
(01:07):
is a black girl. She's like, okay, yeah, I'm so
happy for them, Like, no, not a clue, but I'm
like no, Like, I'm like, mom, there's a black girl
whose voice acting in anime. She's like, that is so great.
I'm hanging up now. So that's pretty much about what
(01:27):
sounds like. After that, I just found you on every
social med I was like, I have to because she's
like that is so cool, and maybe like it's just
like I know that was a couple of years ago,
but um, I was just like, I've never seen specifically
an anime, I no voice acting, Like there have been
many icons who have existed, but I was like an animal,
I'm like this, Yeah, yeah, Can you tell me a
(01:51):
little bit about your journey and how you got like,
you know, into your role of voice acting. Yeah. Yeah,
So I've always been a fan of anime. I grew
up with it and like cartoons and stuff, and as
a little kid, I didn't know what was specifically called
voice acting. You know, we're just like, oh, they make
the cartoons. Um, But like I love theater. I love
(02:11):
doing characters and stuff. And so when I when I
uh started this journey specifically for anime, I was like,
I don't see a lot of you know, poc or
or black people in anime voicing it, and I was
like I kind of want to I kind of want
to change that. So, you know, to the classes, worked
hard and and eventually the right people heard me and
they called me in and I started doing it. Is.
(02:35):
There's a ton of work, but it was a lot
of fun. I enjoyed it. It was it was. It
was rough for a little bit, but uh, getting in
there and and inspiring a lot of other like black
voice actors and and other people just to be able
to come to have a space to kind of talk
about it is it is really heart felt and I
(02:56):
love that. So like yes, yes, So like when I
hear stories like that, I'm like, yes, this is what
I want. I wanted to go and do it and
be happy that we can all share this medium. It's
not specifically for one one, Like community is for everybody,
and yeah show that, Hey everybody can do this. Yeah,
(03:17):
I think like for me because I I mean, I
don't know, I don't know what I want to be
when I grow up. I say that as I'm thirty
years old. Um, so I'm just kind of like like
winging it. But you know, the field of anime is
always something that like has been interested to me, but
it's like I had never seen myself there, or like,
you know, often their characters who are like portrayed to
(03:38):
be like darker brown skin. Often, like when you look
at the voice actors, that might not always match. So
like when I see that, like and I don't see
myself represented there, that can be really hard to swallow
because it's just like, is this but like when you
see you know, voice actors like yourself, or when you
see influencers who or content creators. I know, we're not
supposed to use the word influence, but you see that
(04:01):
becoming more normalized, that representation really does go oh yeah,
it's a it's a it's a big big deal because
you know, the only inspiration I saw, you know, I
grew up in the nineties, so it felt like, you know,
we like because I personally grew up in a very
diverse neighborhood and seeing you know, seeing more that on
television and stuff, like all the cartoons and stuff was
(04:24):
was awesome, but it felt like it was you know,
the same voice actors at the time, you know, like
Cree Summer, Phil Lamar and and you know all that,
which is good though they're fantastic and I love it,
but it's like, yeah, they're like, oh, but like I
wanted to see more because it's like it shouldn't be
just the I don't say token, but I don't want
to see the typical one black person for each show.
(04:45):
You know, there's more out there, and it's like I
feel guilty for not reached like seeking out who they
are and stuff. But there's more now, and I think
it creates better opportunities for us to see that and
and inspire people to want to do this, so that
way it's a big giant melting plot rather than you know,
one one flavor. I guess I think one thing, Like
(05:06):
in the world of content creation and streaming, I have
learned um because you know, I've had to like check
myself for this too, like when I'm like looking for
people for opportunities like to team up with or anything
like that. Like if you keep the same circle, even
if that same circle is full of minority is are
underrepresented groups, that often is not diversity because it's more
(05:27):
of a click so you're keeping it, you know, with
the same group. So often, like even I've had to
be like, Okay, I've worked with this person like seven times,
that's find somebody different. I still love you, but like
let's let's bring somebody else on um, which is something
that I really have to like even I'm guilty of it.
So you know, those things happen. But I think when
with a growing industry like anime, because it's always I
(05:49):
think it really like super boomed during the pandemic, like
just more and more people just got anime, which I love. Um,
we have more access to more talents. I hope that
now I see the industry is embracing sets, which is awesome. Yeah, no,
because like even now we got like legends coming up,
(06:10):
like Gabe Kunda who voices rock Blocking is doing the
trailers of movies, like, oh man, I love him so much.
Uh you have. I love Brandon on Twitter everywhere. He's
a he's a fantastic musical artist, music artist, like he
does like a lot of the lo fi music and
like if you ever, if you need ever talk to
(06:31):
him on a podcast, he's a oh my god, amazing.
Uh Yeah, Zina Robinson, Ken and a J. Beckel's Sear Kirby,
Joshua David King like so many now I can list
off and I'm like, yes, this is this is a
dream come true. This is one we wanted. You know,
(06:51):
there's different people you can pull from. Now it can
actually be diverse rather than just one, you know, one
POC person for their show. Yeah, you know, it's like
that's a lot of work. Like even then, I felt
like when I first started, I felt like I wasn't token,
I wasn't the diversity checkbox because I wasn't getting used
a lot because I'm like, I didn't want to be that.
(07:13):
I wanted to be a person to kind of help
lead the way for other people to come through. And
it's it's amazing seeing so many people now be a
part of it, and I'm like, we're doing it, guys,
we're doing it. You mentioned, like, you know, getting into
voice acting, the amount of like work that it takes
to get there and also being recognized by the right people.
(07:38):
I've often seen this question asked of voice actors, you
know from I know was his name, John Michael Tatum.
I know he gets his question on TikTok and like
the answer is always the same, but it's the amount
of work that you put into it. So I guess,
like for your journey specifically, and the amount of work
that you you know, had to put into it. I
(08:01):
guess I just want to know, like is it is
it more like what you put in what you get
out of get out of it, or is it just
like you know, more networking, Like what what does it
take to like kind of navigate a lot of those lanes,
because I feel like it's a lot that goes into
It's not just like the one classes. It's not just
like right person like getting lucky, like I don't I
don't know. Uh, well, man, it's it's a combination of both.
(08:27):
If I could be honest. Before the panorama, there was
uh you know you usually like take classes, you um,
get tutoring, you get your demo like all all that jazz. Uh,
And it was it was still hard because you know,
you had to make sure you networked properly, you had
(08:49):
met the right people and you know, audition in front
of the right people, make sure they hear you and stuff.
And that was hard in itself. But but now you know,
post pandemic panorama, there is uh it seems like it's
a little bit easier because of the ability of remote
recording and you know someone who's in like you know, uh,
(09:13):
Ohio can probably record for anime. You know now that
they have access to other UH actors who have home studios,
proper home studios and um, you know, classes and stuff
still help pushing yourself, making sure you know your demos
are up to date and you know you've got a
website people can contact you. I feel like it's a
(09:34):
lot more involved at this point, um because of remote recording.
I feel like anybody can kind of do it um.
But I think they don't realize how much work goes
into it. UM. Like I have a panel I do
a cons called how to get into how to get
started in voice acting, not necessarily how to get into it,
because that's a that's a whole another beast. But I'm
(09:55):
very honest with people because I don't think they realize
how much work that is. Because when I started, I
started in two thousand thirteen. I didn't book my first
thing until two thousand seventeen, so that's a four year
of like nothing or you know, a lot of practice
and hard working classes and money spent, and a lot
of people don't realize that it's it's it's hard, not
(10:17):
just hard work, but it's very draining emotionally and mentally. Uh,
and so I think you have to make sure you
go in knowing that, hey, I probably won't book anything
for three or four years, So let me work on
you know what I need to work on, get tutored,
get the right classes, and and get my demos together
(10:40):
and just start auditioning for for indie projects or uh
the YouTube things. Don't do fandoms because if you don't
do fandoms, I mean fandoms. If you want to do
like for practice with your friends and stuff, that's fine,
just don't post it like on on the internet or
like uh where you can possibly make money because that's
(11:00):
technically illegal. So yeah, that's yeah, because it's very frowned
upon in the industry because you know, if you do
something and you make money off of it and it's
already established property, that's kind of like a a big deal. Um.
Like yeah, like I had to stop doing my undertail dubs,
you know, comic dubs. When I and I started, I
(11:23):
was like, Okay, I did this for fun. Now that
you know I can get some money off YouTube, I
gotta stop. Um. So you know, it's it's fine for
practice and with your friends and stuff. Um, and you
know working off each other. But you know, don't put
that on your resume. But yeah, let me stret get
rid of fan dubs on webs So what was it like, um,
(11:51):
because I know you were doing uh, you know, different
roles before the Ancient Magic Bard, But what was it
like to land something like that? Oh? It was kind
of like a shock because, Um, I had started. I
took a class in two thousand sixteen and or yeah,
(12:13):
two thousand sixteen or fifteen, and um, I met a
director there and uh, he's like, hey, you can send
us your demos, you know, after the class or whatever.
Send him my demo. I didn't hear anything for like
a year, and then I yeah, And then I ran
into him again at a different workshop for just acting specifically,
and uh, he's like he saw me and he recognized me.
(12:34):
He's like, I did you didn't send me your demo?
I said, yeah, I did, and he's like what I said, Yeah,
I said to you. Like the next day he's like, oh,
you know, it probably went to my spam I having.
I know, He's like I was having issues with my
website blah blah blah. I was like, oh, and so
(12:55):
I sent it to him again. At his new email,
and he called me in like the next to do
like Walla for one piece and that was end up
two thousands sixteen, I think, uh. And then I actually
did Walla for another for another director and he heard me,
and then like the next week he called me in
for an audition for a show called The moros Maninokean.
(13:17):
And I was like, Oh, that's weird, because you know
they told you like once you're in there, you gotta
do Walla for like a few months or even years
before you get your first like you know, named role.
And I'm like, oh, okay, yeah cool. So I was
already doing like Walda for like three or four months.
So I got my first audition for The ros Maninokean,
and I wasn't expecting. I was like, oh, okay, sure
(13:40):
did it. Didn't even think I was gonna get anything.
They called me in the next uh, the next couple
of days, it's like, hey, you booked this supporting role
in the show. I was like, oh awesome. And so
when I got a chisay um. It was actually that
the director I was working on with the with the
Rossa Mononoke and got sick and Kyle Phillips, who's the
(14:00):
director of Ajamaga's Bright. He was assistant directing and after
he helped me with after that session, he's like, hey,
so are you busy the next twenty four weeks? I said, oh,
what is no? I guess if you need me for
like certain things like bits and stuff, yeah, I'm available.
He's like, okay, cool. My dumb self didn't even know
what he was talking about. And so I come in.
(14:21):
They scheduled me for like four hours for a session.
I'm like, four hours to do Walla. That's weird, but okay.
I come in and he's like, hey, so it was
great working with you. I think you're a good fit
for this role. Um, you're gonna be Chess saying in
our show in Jamaga's Bright. I'm like, cool, what did
she say? I got anything about the show? So like, okay, um,
(14:42):
he's like, yeah, she's our main character in our in
our show. And I was like what for real. He's like, yeah, yeah,
you're great and I wanted to see if you know
this wild will be good for you and yeah, we're excited.
I was like, thank you so much, and yeah, oh
my oh it was. It was so weird. Like, on
the side, I was like, yeah, thank you so much.
On the inside, I was just like, yes, yes, I
(15:06):
was so excited and I couldn't say anything because it
didn't come out yet. But when it came out, I
was like, you guys, I'm I'm an anime. I'm a
redheaded baby. Yes, So it was really cool. I was
really excited and I was like, yes, I'm paving the
way we're doing it. We're doing it. That is awesome.
And then like inspiring me to be like, Mom, I
(15:30):
just want I just want to sit her down and
just I'm like, just watch it. It's it's good. Okay.
She's like, no, I did one episode of that, Yuka haka,
I'm good. I'm like, okay, thank you, thanks Mom. Sounds
it sounds sounds like Mom's all right, she's trying. Oh good.
(15:51):
What were some of your favorite anime growing up? Oh,
Sailor Moon and Yasha you Hacke Show Big, Oh that
was I loved Ago, but it wasn't very popular and
I'm sad didn't nobody. Not a lot of people liked it.
Um Memeu Power, Gosh, what else? Um Dragon ball Z.
(16:14):
Of course? Uh, I think those are my main ones
because I love those I loved pretending to be stay
the Jupiter was my girl Mars damn me, but I'm
a spurioso. That kind of makes sense. There you go,
there it is. I'm like, you haven't got a word that, mate,
(16:34):
Yeah that's me. Oh it's great. Oh no, I love
I love the magical girl stuff. It's so cute. And
like when memeu Power came out, I was like, yes, yes,
and I'm so glad there's there's like a a reboot
but it's coming back and I'm so excited. I can't
wait till it comes out. Oh it's so exciting. So like,
(17:00):
what are someone like your favorite moments like so far
in your career? Oh man, going to cons and talking
to fans and fans like friends, I guess um, and
like hearing people talk about, you know, the shows that
they watched and speeking out over them. Like I had
one person come up to me she was so sweet.
Oh my god, She's like, oh my god, I loved
(17:22):
you and she made it writ you were so good.
I was like, thank you for watching it. Basically so
happy that people are watching it. It's such a good show.
Like even if I wasn't in it. I would watch
it and just gush about it because it's such a
it's such a good anime, like and now you are
a magical girl. Oh my god, it's full circle. I know.
(17:44):
Do you like have a wand you need? You need
the one that you say, has I do? I actually do.
I can go get it real quick if you want
me to. Okay, oh my gosh, that's so cool. Okay,
I have I actually have this on my my table
when I go to con. So if you come see
(18:04):
me in a con, you'll see this. So I have
my plush Elias right here. Uh. And then I also
and then here's the wand that is so cool. My
friend three D printed it for me and I was like,
oh my god, thank you so much. And then I
just carved the stick myself because I was like, I
have to do part of it because that's the thing
(18:26):
I got. That's what she did. So uh and little necklace.
I'm like, okay, I'm brewing that trying to find girl.
But like that is so freaking cool. It's no, that's
it's totally fine. I love it. I love it so much. Um,
it's it's it's a beautifully written anime that the music
is amazing, that I had the soundtrack, like I could
(18:49):
listen to that repeat all day. Juno, the girl who
sings the intro, the first intro. She she was eighteen
when she recorded that. I'm like the pie apes man,
bless pipes, Lord said, bless your throat, and yes, yes,
(19:09):
I want that, And I see your plush. You haven't
alives plush there, And then um, is that from the
is that remu? Yeah it is. I was. I was
at a card and I was like, remarru and uh
this this person was walking around with a plush bigger
than that, and I was like, man, I want one.
(19:30):
And I guess he heard me. And so about an
hour later he comes back. He's like here you go.
I was like it what this is for me? He's
like yeah. I was like I can't take this. He's like, no,
please take it. I'm like thank you, Like I was
like that's so sweet. Um yeah, there's and then there's uh,
(19:54):
this is Tina where I don't think the day became
a god m hmm. It's um. If you've seen clenad
or Angel beats, it's from the same creator. I am
so trauma. I was not expecting all that. I was like, uh, okay, yeah,
(20:17):
it's like and it just kept going. I was like, okay,
I know it's really quick. Oh my kind need a whoa,
I need a minute. Then you just to go yeah. No,
if you like Clenad and Angel Beats, you'll I think
you'll like this one. Okay. It's about a little girl
(20:37):
who can predict the future, and so she's trying to
help the main character, dude, get with his childhood crush,
and hilariousness ensues as as as one yes, the journey
does well, it's funny because um, I'll say this because
this just like a clip, but like there's a part
(20:59):
where they're trying to impress the crush with like movies,
and so they re enact like different parts of movies
like they do Rocky. They do not Space Odyssey, what
is it? Um some some space movie where they have
to go stop the comment from coming down to Earth
or something. Um. And they did like Edward Scissored Hands.
(21:22):
It was it was really funny random. It was like Rocky, Okay,
we got that Philadelphia. It was so funny, like it's
it's such a cute anime and then you know, when
you laugh, you'll cry, So I like, I won't spoil why,
but oh my god, it's really cute. I do like
(21:43):
feel good animals like I. I actually had this series
that um I just did between tiktoking YouTube about like
the best written like female characters. And I was speaking
about so it's best for female characters and shown in
and there was another black girl who answered and said, listen,
I understand because you know there is a lot of
like patriarchy and stuff that influences anime. And she had said,
(22:08):
please don't confuse the strongest character for the best written,
and I was like, you have a point. So then
for me, I said, Noel Silva from Black Clover, UM,
I feel like she's a very like balanced character. Her
motivations are solely her own. She stands in her own
two feet. I'm the type of person as a writer
if I can remove every single character from you and
(22:29):
you stand on your own. I feel like that is
I also feel like she say falls into that character
into that as well. UM. And then I also said
Soccero is not as bad as people make her seem,
thank you, She's really not. I'm definitely a person of
like self reflection because I used to be on the
soccer a hatrain and I'm like, wait a minute, do
(22:52):
I just dislike her because she doesn't do the same
things as Narto and Sask, but she has the most
talker control out of three. She's a medical ninja. She's
not going to always go on the front lines. And
the thing is, she's a genius. She comes up with
like pures and things and stuff. Right on the thing,
She's great. She is she is, and then she has
(23:13):
some character flaws, yes, but like no character is perfect.
All of our favorite protagonists have flaws. They have period
to say, believe it one more time, I would have
lost it, honestly, Like we all have our things. Yeah, no,
Like characters have to have flaws because then they wouldn't
be good characters, you know. Like I was actually talking
(23:33):
to a friend about this, um I felt like a
lot of the like my heir Academia girls are like
they had the potential to be really great and then
it's just over the seasons. It's just and I'm like,
what happened? Like, like Momo is a freaking genius, she
(23:55):
could do whatever, but I feel like she still hides
behind like oh my god, I'm still not good enough.
I'm like, right, what are you talking about? Yeah? And
the thing is like with Noel. With her, even though
she's gifted with such immense power and she is a
person of privilege, they don't ever shy away from that.
She's snooty, she's privileged. She looks down on a lot
of people, and it's like, ma'am, wait a minute, so
(24:16):
you're roll there. But even when she is faced with
a challenge and it's always a moment of growth for her.
I love that she always acknowledges. She's like, I am struggling,
Like this is hard for me. It doesn't matter that
I have all this magical power. I can't control it.
But the thing is, I'm still going to stand here
and fight because that's what I need to do. And
it's like every time she has one of those speeches,
at one of those moments, I'm like, yes, girl, yes,
(24:39):
she recognizes it. Instead of being like what must I
do to get more power to help me? Okay, I'm like,
you call for these these dudes one more time, But
she doesn't. She's just like, Okay, I gotta do what
I gotta do, or like she'll have like you know,
what would Assa do moment, but it's like it still
(24:59):
has to from her at the end of the day,
which is what I absolutely love. But I love like
we're heading into I think this era of anime when
it comes to um female characters just being more well
writ in and more well rounded, like when it I know,
Jujuicu KUIs and is kind of going on another hiatus,
which is really sad. But the female characters there, I
(25:23):
believe like they're just they're they're they're really good, and
I'm they have that potential. I think, like with my
hair academia, they're like right there, and I'm like, please
don't lose that. Yeah, I'm I'm hanging on if they will,
I'm crossing my finger. I don't think they will because
I feel like it's it's too it's too good of
a show for it too to not it's too good
(25:44):
of a show to flop. I think unless I do
something completely stupid, which I highly doubt. Oh like Tokyo cool, Um,
I'm sorry, I'm good, I'll behave I'm gonna look for
the audacity you found it. I always go say nothing,
(26:09):
but it's always that or you know, sometimes it's just
you know, I don't know production or just like you know,
the writing or the manga kind of year off. We'll tokyo,
we'll did that, do that too. But I also bring
up like Kirkano isn't her circumstances. It's a little bit
one slice of life. But the manga like is beautiful,
but the anime, I think they couldn't agree or something
(26:30):
happened and it just fell off, and I'm like, no,
this is what caught me. The high school come back. Yeah,
I was like, why do you cost late off? Yes?
I do. It's not super great, um, but you're still no,
(26:53):
you're still doing it though. We will suprecate here. Yeah, no, no, Um.
I have a couple of like I have a Cheese cosplay,
have a Gina cosplay, and I have oh what is it?
I actually have um from Pokemon Go Leader can't Candela? Yeah,
(27:17):
I have the jacket and everything, and I'm like it's
so it looks nice. I'm like, this is a nice jacket.
I actually might wear this so constantly? Is I just
wear out? That's actually a good idea because I'm like, yeah,
I'm tempted. I might as well do that because that's
a it's a really cool it's a nice jacket as
I got it at like those cheaper costplay stuff, so
and I was like, oh, this is probably gonna be bad.
(27:38):
It's actually pretty decent, and I was very shocked. Yeah.
And the thing is that you get the more you
wear it, like it gets its use out, so it's
not just sitting in your closet. So I went to
Target yesterday jess as the butterfly Hasha. And now that's
a little extreme, but I just don't feel like changing.
I don't blame you get what you get today. I
just I just need soap. I just need so that's
(28:04):
that's all I need. Come on, y'all. I just I'm
here my my local Wahua. I would go into like
after photo shoes. I would go in so often and
cause me. They're like, who are you today? I'm like,
I'm a vampire from resident Evil Village. They're like, okay,
here's your sandwich. You weirdo? Oh my god? Yes, Oh
(28:27):
that's so great though, energy and old vibe. Yes, yes. Uh.
This next to a costplay I want to try and
work on. Is Princess Tiana. Yeah, but it's so hard
to find a dress because I can't sell. So I'm like,
what do I do do? I just buy something and
then just kind of adjusted from there. Um, because I
(28:50):
made a uh what's her name, Iridessa from the tinker
Bell series the Yellow Fairy. Um, I have her kind
of thing because I made wing too, ah, and I gotta,
I gotta finish them. They're they're very like, they're pretty cheap.
They're okay wings, but I should use like, you know,
(29:11):
iridescent um. What is it called, like the film? Yeah,
the film? Yeah, not shrink rap, but you know what
I'm talking about. I'm working on that because I want
to do that on my TikTok of posting her. But
I gotta freaking work on it. It's just having the
time to do it right. That's a mood. There a
(29:32):
lot of people they ask me because I post pretty
much on everyone in my platforms every day. They're like,
how do you do it? I'm like, I don't sleep.
I need to sleep because if I don't then I'm
going to be dead. In the boy, I'm trying to
get I'm trying to get better. I I do drink
my water though, I am very good with that. So
if you're listening and not I'm telling your mother and
(29:56):
your grandmother, or drink water right now, do it right now,
pause this and go get you some water. We'll be here.
Not coffee, not carbonated water. Actual water will feel so
much better. Yes, what are some if you can share?
(30:18):
But what do you have like some exciting projects or
anything coming up? I know nds are horrible, so they are.
I'm sitting on one that's like for two years. Uh,
I know, I can't say that's the only one I
was holding onto. Well, one got released. If you play
Cookie Run Kingdom, I've always Caramel Arrow Cookie cool. She's
(30:41):
really cute. I love her. No, it's actually a mobile game.
It's a gotcha game kind of like kind of like
Get In, except it's it's cuter. Uh with their cookies. Um.
I recorded that like in November. I think of last year.
So if I it came out a couple weeks ago,
and I'm like, yes, finally I can talk about this.
(31:05):
Oh man, it's hard. It's so hard because I'm like,
I'm so excited. I want to tell people, but I'm
like I can't. I can't. I can't because I don't
want to get fired and lose it. So I have
like seven I'm sitting on and really this sucks. You're like, Companni,
what are you doing? I'm like nothing, It's like absolutely
(31:27):
nothing I wanted. I can't. I can't say anything because
you know what work and not being yes, that's a bit.
That's the one thing is definitely I gotta feed my cat. Yeah,
I like, I got a wedding to pay for. I
can't afford to congratulation. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
(31:52):
Um yeah, that's expensive. Oh my gosh, I can't imagine.
I was. I was Google. I was like, the average
wedding in US is like twenty grand. I'm excuse me, No,
I'm not trying to get married, and like if no,
I'm good. I'm just I'm gonna take my five thousand
dollars and come over here. That's what I'm gonna do.
(32:14):
What I would do, I would just run out chucky
cheese and be like, y'all work it out, work it out,
y'all got it. That's what they can't let you in though.
Without a kid though, that's the thing. Do cats count? No?
You know so, but my god, you know I got
(32:35):
a dog. Who's it? Wait, Piper, come here. I'm a
dog who acts like a kid. Your time, come here.
I don't know if she'll come over. She's she likes
to stare at the window. It's like, I've worked so
hard today, I know, ever, can I get a little job?
(32:57):
Ayb you're so cool. My cat wanders in. He just
he doesn't pay any bills, but this is his home,
so he'll just wandering when he feels like it. That's
how it goes. I named him Prince Zico, and people like,
why did you do that? I'm like, there was a
reason why I named him that, and he lives up
to the name. Okay, Prince, he heard his name, so
(33:17):
he's like, are you talking about me? Yes? I swear
cats will be like, excuse me, did you pay my rent?
That's that's the look that he gives me every morning.
I'm like, yes, Prince Zico, that's so cute. That's that's
(33:37):
stand by him. I love that sound on TikTok oh.
I gotta get off TikTok man, it's too dangerous. I yeah,
all they're like. My favorite sound so far is uh
Freddie you're supposed to be on Lockdown Vanessa. I did
(34:02):
that one when I was buying like way too many
skate decks because I have a lot of anime, like
I skate and I have a lot of animal skaks.
And it was like, Vanessa, you're supposed to stop, like
I didn't, like stop buying skate decks. And I'm like,
but I'm a material girl. Because Hypelin had came up
with the U Hockey show line Oh my gosh, and
they said skate decks and I'm like, well, of course
I'm gonna buy them, Like what do you expected to do?
(34:23):
Let it sit there, It has to come to me. Yeah,
like what am I do what I'm supposed to do?
And Karama and he did I get? Yeah, I got
all of them. Oh my god. I need everyone listening
to mind your business and leave me alone. I am
happy I have a problem. Leave them alone. Listen. Oh
(34:48):
so I know, like I kind of like talked about
this in the beginning, but because I know we're coming
up one time. But for a lot of like black
little girls like me out there, and like it does matter,
Like what advice do you have of any words of
wisdom or inspiration for who wants to get into anime
or that's invoice acting or just the industry at all. Uh,
(35:08):
don't let anybody tell you that you can't just because
of the way you look and sound. Um, because growing
up I got told that I sound sounded white and
it was so annoying. I'm like, what does that even mean?
Go ahead, yeah, I will get too, I will get
too ranting different it is. But I was like, this
(35:32):
doesn't make any sense because, you know, I feel like
color doesn't have a sound because we everybody grew up
in different different areas, you know, And I don't think
that's fair to place these, you know, stereotypes on anybody,
no matter what color they are. And for anybody trying
to get in here, especially at POC, if you sound
different or don't sound what they think you should sound,
(35:55):
f that, just don't don't listen to that. Just some
crappy bs that people say because they don't want to
see you succeed. And I would say, move that over
and and work on get you a good support system.
It doesn't have to be a lot, Just get you
like two or three people that know that you know
(36:17):
will back you up and never and if you start
beating up on yourself or if you start to sink
to a dark place, let them know because having that
good support system will help keep you, keep you going,
and we'll keep you from spiraling into you know, dark
areas in your life that you don't want to go
down on because this is a very mentally draining job.
(36:37):
You know, imposters, imposter syndrome is very prevalent in this
and you don't want to You don't want to sink
into that mindset because if you do, it'll affect your work. So,
uh yeah, don't let people. Don't let people keep you
from doing what you want to do. Uh and have
a good, good support system two or three people, and
(37:00):
I think I believe you can do it. Thank you,
especially the imposter syndrome thing. You didn't have to call
me out like that. I appreciate, but I'm sorry. I
was talking to myself. No, I was honestly having that
conversation in my head while I was editing a video.
I was like, like, it just it just hits you
like out of nowhere, and I was like, I don't know,
(37:20):
but honestly, like I feel very inspired from this conversation
and just thank you so much for taking the time
to talk to me, because I was like, no, I
know you're good. I know. I was like, we're missing
another person. No, it's no, it's so glad I got
to do this extra time with you because it's really good.
It's nice to have these conversations when people, especially in
(37:41):
this crazy world like social media where everything is prevalent.
Everybody's got opinion, which is fine, they have the right
to do that, but it's it's sad when you hear
most of the negative things and you're trying to look
for the positive, but when all you see is negative,
it's kind of hard to kind of hard to like
keep at it. Yeah, it does, because those are the
things on the social media and algorithms they pick up on.
(38:05):
And I I do believe that the same thing, like
having that support system like my mom, is that support system,
like I have like two friends who are like those
people like my spider. Since is tingling that you're in
your head and I'm like, leave me alone, you're right,
you're right, don't call me out like this. Oh my goodness. Well, Danny,
(38:29):
thank you so much for this time. I appreciate it
um of course. And also I know Daniel's being a ghost,
but thank you so much for arranging me. It's my pleasure,
not no problem at all. Yeah, me too. I was like, yeah,
I'll come back. Is great. It was good conversations all around. Thanks.
I'm gonna called my mom again to be like
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.