Ultraman Z Dub: Comments from the Cast and Crew Part 2

Ultraman Z Dub: Comments from the Cast and Crew Part 2

This weekend, Ultraman Z’s fantastic english dub dropped on the Official Ultraman Youtube Channel, and folks were reintroduced to the story of STORAGE in a whole new way. To celebrate the dub, at the beginning of the weekend we brought fans some comment from the cast and crew, which you can read here. To keep the celebration going, we’ve brought even more comments from the absolutely titanic — and terrific — cast and crew to share their feelings with you, the fans!

Sean Schemmel, Playing Ultraman Zero (Twitter: @SeanSchemmel, @TheRealSeanSchemmel)

What do you have to say about your role?

I grew up watching Ultraman on a farm in Iowa in the 70s and used to watch a TV station that played a block of Japanese television shows. Ultraman was one of my favorites. I was immediately smitten with the costume design, characters and story. What blew my mind about it was how out there and far-reaching it was, and the production values and creativity at the time were like nothing like I had ever seen. For me, my love of Japanese television started with Speed Racer and Ultraman, and I’m honored to play Ultraman Zero in a new legacy of Ultraman. It was the thrill of my life to meet Bin Furuya at a convention as he was the Ultraman I used to watch on TV! 

Any other comments?

Fun fact, at my first convention - San Diego Comic Con in 2001ish, I bought an Ultraman figure that I keep in my studio. The batteries still work and it makes Ultraman noises from the show. (Picture included!)

Rawly Pickens, ADR Director & Mixer (Twitter: @SirRawly) 

What do you have to say about your work on the show?

Ultraman Z has been an absolute dream to work on. I quickly fell in love with the character and tone of the series. The chemistry of the STORAGE crew is undeniable, and I love recording any scene where Saburo is yelling, but hands down my favorite character has to be Yuka. She has to handle so much information and exposition but always makes it fun. I can't wait for fans to hear all the hard work we've been doing, and I hope Ultraman Z finds some new ultra-fans along the way. Okay, let's goooooooooo!

Christopher Sabat, Executive Producer and Narrator (Twitter: @JustChrisSabat)  

What do you have to say about your role?

It is an honor to work on another iteration of the legendary Ultraman series at Okratron5000.com! 

Mike Dent, Playing Storage AI (Twitter: @Mach_Dent) 

What do you have to say about your role?

The Support AI has been so much fun to play, being a high energy, peppy voice amidst the chaos at times. Being a fan of Ultraman Z going in, it still feels unreal to hear my voice coming out of the comms for both the team and my boy, Sevenger. (Even moreso since I’ve basically had toys of all the mecha sitting literally across from my workspace all this time!) Every session so far has been an absolute delight and the team has been great to work with

What is your favorite episode or scene of the series?

Favorite episode so far has been Episode 2. I had a blast going between background voices and the Support AI, but the moment for me was getting the chance to say one of the most iconic lines of the Ultraman Series - “FOURTH GATE OPEN!” (I can neither confirm nor deny my being a total nerd about it during the session.) 

What’s your favorite memory of Saturday Morning TV?

Saturday mornings for me were waking up at 6AM with makeshift breakfast to watch all the out-there syndicated gems before the big networks started their show lineups. That’s where the real gems were at most of the time!

Any other comments?

Being cast in Ultraman Z was one the best surprises of the year, not only as an actor, but also a longtime fan of the Ultraman Series! It’s a huge honor that I am so incredibly thankful for, and I’m so stoked for everyone to see what we’ve been cooking up!

Brittany Lauda, Playing Kanegon, Casting Director and Line Director (Twitter: @BrittanyLaudaVO)

What do you have to say about your role?

I've absolutely loved getting to work on Ultraman Z - we have a dream team here of some of the best writers in the business, under the fantastic helm of Rawly as director! It's been so much fun to see my casting choices come to life - every new episode I get to watch dubbed is so exciting! I also have been having so much fun as Kanegon, getting to play off of Zeno Robinson is always a blast!

What is your favorite episode or scene of the series?

I think my favorite episode is 5 - when we get to see the other side of Hebikura…I just love his character and was so excited to see Mick bring it to life! Kanegon's only episode is ep 13, and it's been an outrageous time to record.I love the Redman reference!

What’s your favorite memory of Saturday Morning TV?

There was nothing like waking up and watching all my favorites on Saturday morning with my younger sibling. Sometimes we got lucky and got pancakes to go with it! We still sing some of those 4Kids opening songs together. I remember being really into Power Rangers and Beetleborgs as a kid, but hardly remember the shows nowadays. Digimon, MewMew Power, Shaman King, Pokemon, Sonic X, Kirby Right Back Atcha - I remember those ones well! Didn't realize they were all anime at the time, though, haha.

Any other comments?

We've been working so hard the last few months of this show and hope you enjoy!

Howard Wang, Playing Shinya Kaburagi (Twitter: @TheHowardWang)

What do you have to say about your role?

It's been awesome working on Z! Shinya is such a strange and mysterious character, and I can't wait to see what's in store for him!

What is your favorite episode or scene of the series?

I like the part where Shinya uses the Z Riser. It's super surreal and cool for me to see.

What’s your favorite memory of Saturday Morning TV?

All of my favorite shows and stories as a child happened on Saturday mornings, haha. I think the sense of excitement and anticipation was one of a kind. You just had to be there.

Any other comments?

It's an amazing experience to be part of such a classic like Ultraman and I hope you all enjoy it!

Kamran Nikhad, Playing Gilvalis (Twitter: @KamranNikhad)

What do you have to say about your role?

As someone not familiar with Ultraman, I found the breakdown of Gilvalis quite fascinating.  It's essentially a machine created for preserving peace, and its twisted sense of logic deduces that the only way to preserve peace on the planet is by wiping out the human race.  So settling on a voice with Rawly that got across how threatening Gilvalis was without going full mustache-twirler on it was a lot of fun.

What is your favorite episode or scene of the series?

My favorite scene to work on so far was Gilvalis' flashback scene.  It only showed up briefly in that moment, but I loved the subtext Rawly wanted to get across in that scene; that this thing is the stuff of nightmares, essentially the big bad from the previous movie, and having to capture all that in just a few brief lines.  Also, the Walla scene during the sparring match episode was hilarious.

What’s your favorite memory of Saturday Morning TV?

Rule of thumb in my house growing up was "No TV before your homework was done."  So I was always excited for Saturdays because the weekends were the only times I could just watch whatever I wanted to watch (after my grandmother was done watching Family Feud and a few other game shows of the late 80's).  I couldn't name half of the few cartoons I actually watched as a kid, but I remember being really into them and eager to see what would happen next each Saturday morning.

Any other comments?

 Getting to work on this dub was tons of fun, and I hope that you all enjoy what's to come!

Ben Phillips, Playing Director Saburo Kuriyama (Twitter: @benaphil) 

What do you have to say about your role?

I play Saburo, director of Global Allied Forces Japan and the guy who gives STORAGE their marching orders. He can be tough, but also provides the team with words of support and encouragement from time to time. It has been so much fun exploring all his different sides. Can't wait to see what comes next!

What is your favorite episode or scene of the series?

It's hard to pick just one, but I loved his first scene, where he gave the gang a good chewing-out, suffered an upset stomach, got startled, and then muttered his way out of the room. It really provided a taste of what an unpredictable character he could be from the very beginning!

What’s your favorite memory of Saturday Morning TV?

So many fond memories of watching so many shows with my brother and sister: Captain N, Muppet Babies, The Smurfs, Garfield and Friends, Fraggle Rock, Saved by the Bell... That last one is especially relevant since, in a way, I kind of feel like I'm playing the "Mr. Belding" of Ultraman Z!

Kent Williams, Playing Kojiro “Bako” Inaba

What do you have to say about your role?

What a treat to voice Kojiro! So much personality. “Taste my tuna” is my new catchphrase for sure. And how warm and fatherly he can be as in his bonding scene with Yuka, also over fish, and really setting a “family” tone. Action-scientist, chef, surrogate father…he’s got it all. 

What is your favorite memory of Saturday Morning TV?

Saturday mornings are the perfect time slot for this show, reminding me of my brothers and I waking to watch wide-eyed in our PJs with oversized bowls of cereal. Good times!

Jim Fordona, Playing Ultraman Taro

What do you have to say about your role?

I grew up with the English dub of the original Ultraman series, broadcast every Saturday morning on our local UHF station. When I joined the cast of Shin Ultraman earlier this year, I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of the very thing that sparked my love of Japanese pop culture! But boy howdy, when cast as Ultraman Taro, I was floored. I knew of the other Ultras but my experience with them was limited, so I totally fell into the Ultra rabbit hole when researching Taro. It may seem silly, but I love that we were both born the same year! I'm really, truly honored to give my voice to Ultraman Taro. 

Any other comments?

I visited Japan in March and one of the first things I did was get my very own Taro Spark Doll at Yodobashi Camera. Then later in the trip, I came across an antique store with a *giant* Taro in the window...but unfortunately the store was closed!

Ben Balmaceda, Playing Additional Voices and Production Assistant (Twitter: @benbevoicing)

What do you have to say about your work with the show?

I'm a production assistant with the dub of Ultraman Z, and I also provided some additional voices in later episodes! Part of my job involves doing the final check of the video to make sure everything's look good. I had known about Ultraman for years now but never got the chance to really watch one of his shows until now. After the first episode, I was an instant fan!

What is your favorite episode or scene of the series?

Getting to watch the first Zestium Beam happen was super exciting, and that was the moment that got me onboard with the whole franchise.

What’s your favorite memory of Saturday Morning TV?

I primarily watched cartoons growing up, and since I traveled a lot when I was younger, the shows that were available changed pretty often. but on the rare occasions that I caught stuff like Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers on TV, I definitely enjoyed it a ton, and wish I could see more shows like it. I think watching Ultraman Z now is definitely letting me fulfill that wish in a way!

Any other comments?

To all the fans, I'm grateful to be helping Ultraman Z reach more audiences. And to non-fans or people that haven't heard of Ultraman before, absolutely give this a look as soon as you can, you won't be disappointed!

Bryson Baugus, Timecoder (Twitter: @BaugusBryson)

What do you have to say about your work on the show?

I was brought on to assist with timecoding scripts for the show, which was a good time on it's own, but then to find out they had cast me as one of STORAGE's loveable goofballs, Seiji Siose, was the cherry on top! Some of my favorite episodes are the ones involving a silly alien family named Barossa! They're such silly, yet intimidating characters, and I always enjoyed it when one of them would show up. It's been a blast getting to be a part of this production, and I can't wait for everyone to see just how much fun we had when making this dub!

That was… a lot of people! This dub is absolutely enormous, isn’t it? With that many people, how can you not want to check it out? The first two episodes are available right now on the Ultraman Official Youtube Channel. And for more news about Ultraman Z and the Ultraman Series as a whole in both Japanese and international spaces, stay close to Ultraman Connection!