An Incomplete Japanese cast for Mass Effect “Shepard vs. Reapers” Trilogy
Chapter One Crimson Eyes
Verse Three Galaxy Quest Givers
Now the people our good commander would meet after he, she or they finally got the command of the spaceship shaped hub: a villain works well both as a mastermind and boss enemy; the commander’s love of their life as far as yours truly is concerned; a not so ancient voice that asks the commander to get some shit done; a very ancient voice that asks the commander to get the shit done. Space opera finally hit its crescendo here.
Agent
Sho Hayami as Saren Arterius
For the final boss of the first game, yours truly would give up the pitch thing and go for symbol. Sho Hayami is pretty much the Japanese counterpart to Sean Bean, and it’s not only because of the voice pronounced through nostril both men cable of. Fate Zero and Hellsing Ultimate are two action-packed dark fantasy anime ended in 2012. Mr. Hayami took part in both and his characters were, let’s just say “cut down at his prime before shit really hit the fan” like how Mr. Bean usually plays the destined to dead characters.
One of the more memorable dead men in Mr. Bean’s resume surely must be Alec “006” Trevelyan. Saren Arterius in Mass Effect is a rouge agent with a super weapon as well, to hear a voice matching Bean in smoothness, gravitas and manliness is some wishful thinking I can shake.
Mother
Sayaka Ohara as Matriarch Benezia
There is no other way to put, Sayaka Ohara is who you call when you need someone to play “mom”. She even had a “putting ‘bit’ into ‘bit player’” part in Cyberpunk Edgerunners as someone’ mom, that poor lab assistant who got shot by David when he went crazy. Whenever a show with ensemble of teenagers, you can immediately take bet on which of those little shits’ mom would be voice by Ms. Ohara.
Ms, Ohara and upcoming Ms. Saori Hayami had played an estranged mother and daughter combination in 2018’s overlooked A Place Farther Than Universe, that’s a fun one. She also played villains in league with aforementioned Mr. Hayami in the Japanese language puppet fantasy action drama Thunderbolt Fantasy. Get Benezia is simply combining those 2 together.
Doc
Saori Hayami as Liara T’soni
Liara T’soni is the love interest I would go for as Commander Shepard regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Though the only time the good commander remain faithful throughout the trilogy was my Legendary Edition run as a Katarina Shepard. Ali Hillis’ naturally husky and haunting just did me in.
Of course in the Japanese dub, I am going with the naturally husky and haunting voices and there are actually 2: the 1980 born Mamiko Noto and the 1991 born Saori Hayami (no relation to the aforementioned Sho Hayami, kanjis are different.). The two of them actually played a mother-daughter combination in 2012’s Tari Tari, a show about high schoolers’ feeling that is usually lost in the sea of that same genre. Mr. Hayami won out for being younger and a cast member of Shinning Renounce. Her parts in the early 2010s usually are the Fridged One in some sci-fi show like Mobile Suit Gundam Age and Sword Art Online. It’s nice to have her as someone who would not get Fridged in a piece of science
Admiral
Kazuhiko Inoue as Steven Hackett
So from the Fridged One to the one affected by that Fridging, Kazuhiro Inoue played the man who a boy became after witnessing a girl’s death in Mobile Suit Gundam Age. Other than that Mr. Inoue’s output yours truly noticed can be boiled down to the following 4 words: comic book super villain.
The listeners of Jeff Jeff’s Bizarre Adventure podcast might heard him as Kaz if they watched along with sub. Then he played Moboro, a henceman in Gintama. He is Goto in Parasyte, someone who started as henceman and did not stop being a threat even after the mastermind deceased. The most recent one is Cyberpunk Edgerunners’ Faraday.
All is to say that I think Mr. Inoue can be heard as the counterpart to Lance Henriksen. If you need a disembodied voice to give side quests to do, one can do worse than Mr. Inoue. Besides that voice would match the scar face Bioware would eventually gave the admiral in the sequels.
Ancient
Koichi Yamatera as “Prothean”
This is less about that VI voice before the final battle but more about that Javik fellow in Mass Effect 3. Koichi Yamatera is a Japanese voice actor who are iconic enough that Rooster Teeth cast him in the English language web-toon Gen:Lock. Mr. Yamatera was quite an onmi-present in the so-called “for adult”, but not porno mean you, anime. He was the lead of Ninja Scroll. He played Ryoji Kaji in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Last but not least since it’s a favorite of yours truly, Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop.
Mr. Yamatera’s range includes the stoic but nice monk, which would be fitting for that Prothean VI in the first Mass Effect. He practically played a fish out of water in Gen:lock, being a Japanese speaker among English speakers. Being an militaristic ancient alien had to be nice to species he used consider as food is a source of comedy in Mass Effect 3, Javik is quite the voice of ancient aliens. Mr. Yamatera’s given name can be heard as “Ancient One” in Japanese, maybe he can lend voice to that whole species.
(To be continued in Three heads of Cerberus, two ladies in power and one beat cop )
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