At Otakon 2016, Gemstone Assistant Editor Carrie Wood was able to sit down for an interview with voice actor Robbie Daymond. Daymond has been doing voiceover work for several years now in western cartoons such as Avengers: Ultron Revolution, where he voices Bucky Barnes, and Star Wars Rebels, where he voices the Eighth Brother. His anime work includes the role of Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask in the Viz re-dub of Sailor Moon, Mumen Rider in One Punch Man, and Joe Kido in Digimon Adventure Tri. 

Scoop: Let’s talk a bit about one of your latest releases, Digimon Adventure Tri, which is a franchise that a lot of people grew up watching. What’s it like to jump into a show like that?
Robbie Daymond (RD): Whenever I get into a show that already has a built-in fan following, I’m always cautious to try and treat it with a little bit more care. I’ll typically go back and listen to what’s been done before, and decide how I’m going to honor that or deviate from it.

The great part about Digimon is that the voice director has been doing all of Digimon forever. So I’m really lucky with this that I didn’t have to do too much research. I knew I would be walking into a situation where there would be somebody there who knew more about it than I ever could, who cares so much about it, and that’s one of the best parts about it.

Scoop: Is the process of doing a film series like Adventure Tri any different from doing a television series?
RD: Nah. It’s packaged like films, but it’s structured like a series. Every film is basically four episodes. So they’re just built-in arcs. Any good show anyway is going to be built like that. So you’re doing the arcs of a series that are being packaged and presented in film form. I think there’s six movies that are planned, which means four episodes per movie, which means 24 episodes, which is a standard full season, just spread out over a few years. From my standpoint, the episodes never really matter to me, it’s just the story arc.

Scoop: So – Sailor Moon, you’re Tuxedo Mask – when they announced the re-dub there was some chatter and controversy amongst the fan base regarding whether it was really necessary. Did you consider that at all coming into the role, or was this just another job?
RD: Not just another job. I definitely understood the importance of it because of the fandom and because of what they were trying to do. But the difference between ours and the original dub is that we have one, solidified, cohesive cast for the entire 200 episodes, films, and we’re doing Crystal. Plus, the show has never been fully released before. There’s bootlegs and old VHS tapes, but you’ve got three to four different casts and a ton of missing episodes, especially in the first two seasons, and you don’t have Stars at all.

So how do you do it? You’re not going to get all those people back, and even if you do some of them aren’t going to fit those roles anymore because it’s been 20 years. Not to say that they couldn’t – most of them definitely could – but they’re also in Canada, which is another problem. From a production logistic standpoint, I totally understand why this recast was done. And what you’re getting in return for that is a whole new group of actors who are really passionate about it and can promote it, and also a completely uncut, uncensored, unchanged, un-Americanized version of Sailor Moon, as it was meant to be seen, with an English cast that was approved by the creator. She literally hand-approved everyone who was cast in the main roles. So from that standpoint, we weren’t really too worried about it. So much care went into producing it that at this point, we’re just cruising.

Scoop: Let’s talk a little bit about One Punch Man. Another series that, by the time it had aired in Japan, it had a huge American following. And now it’s airing on Toonami for Cartoon Network.
RD: Yeah, the show has a bigger following in America than it does in Japan. I think that’s from the nature of that it’s a parody, but it’s also just so good by itself. I’m not surprised at all that it’s such a hit in the states. It’s intrinsically just good. To be in that midnight block of Toonami, for me, is awesome. For someone who started doing anime just two years ago, that’s awesome.

Scoop: Anything else coming down the line for you?
RD: Yeah! In that same Toonami block, I’m in Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, right after One Punch Man at 12:30. We’ll have season two of Seven Deadly Sins at one point or another. I’ve got a bunch of video games coming out that are western releases of Japanese RPGs, but I can’t really say what they are… let’s just say there’s a couple of big, big JRPGs. I’m doing three new shows, one for Nickelodeon, one for Disney, and one for Cartoon Network. All of which I can’t say anything about.

[Editor’s note: it was announced shortly after this interview was conducted that Daymond will be voicing Prompto, one of the main characters in Final Fantasy XV.]

Scoop: You actually have already done some work for Nickelodeon, right?
RD: Yeah, and I still am. Since 2012 I’ve been on a show called Breadwinners, which is a ton of fun. Kids love it. I was on Star Wars Rebels and Avengers Assemble, so I’ve done a lot of western animation. That’s kind of where I started. Even though anime is new for me, I’ve been doing voiceover for a long time. I’m excited to do some more leading roles in other kinds of cartoons as well.