Yzak Joule On Deck!
With a love for old school animation serving as a constant source of inspiration, Daman Mills has blazed onto the voice acting scene in recent years, bringing to life numerous modern anime and video characters along the way, not to mention the occasional classic icon. Thankfully, inbetween his contributions to acclaimed shows such as Yuri on Ice, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Super, Tsukigakirei and Gundam SEED, Mr Mills found time to chat with us about his motivations and career thus far!
First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to let us probe your brain!
“It’s a pleasure to be asked; thanks for having me! I was so excited when you reached out and wanted to do this interview.”
Before we start off with your roles, can you talk about how Dragon Ball Z helped inspire you to pursue a career in voice-acting?
“Of course! Before I started voice acting, I was a fan of anime and video games. Honestly, I’m still a bit of a fanboy today. I was one of those kids who grew up playing Pokémon games, collecting Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and dueling it out with my friends. I’d watch Toonami every week on TV, and it was always for Dragon Ball Z. I began with the Cell saga and just remember thinking, “Wow! This is so cool!†All the characters were so exciting, unique, and bombastic. I fell in love with it immediately.
As I got older, I became more interested in Dragon Ball’s voice acting. I looked up who the actors were for the characters, and was enamored with the idea of trying my hand at it for fun. I wasn’t serious about it at first, but the more I practiced and studied acting, the more I grew to love it. It’s a bit funny because I was such an introverted kid, and acting helped me break out of my shell. I became fixated on voiceover and looked into it as a career: gathered info and studied, practiced constantly, got demo reels made, and auditioned for small projects. Eventually, I moved to where the work was at and auditioned there. I kept at it and soon started booking and working in the industry!” Â
As a result, getting a part in Dragon Ball Super must have been something of a dream come true!
“It was, without a doubt, a huge milestone for me. The folks at FUNimation and Okratron 5000, (the studio that records the Dragon Ball franchise), have been such an incredible, kind, fun, supportive, and welcoming crew. Any time I get to record with any of them, I always know it’s going to be a blast! When I first got auditions for Dragon Ball Super, I was over the moon to be able to even try out for it, but I couldn’t have predicted being cast! I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to work with people that I admire greatly.”
Monaka is a deeply complex and misunderstood individual. Which aspect of his character do you think fans should be made aware of?
“He’s such a good boy. He does his best. Obviously, the most complex aspects of his character would be his large and shapely nipples. No one knows how or why they are quite so large and shapely, and these are the answers that we must seek…”
You are certainly no stranger to the world of SMITE. Out of all the deities you have voiced, do have a particular favorite?
“While all of them are quite fun, my most memorable one to record was Swashbuckler Susano. He’s just this silly, over-the-top drunken pirate sloshing his way through the seven seas. I always love any excuse to use an accent, too! The folks from Hi-Rez come on the line with the director/engineer and myself during recording sessions. For this one, Hi-Rez liked what I was doing but definitely wanted it to be “more drunk.†This resulted in a lot of stumbling around in the booth and a tad bit of drool.”
What would you say was most appealing part about playing Tanaka in One Piece Film: Gold – acting as the slimy henchman or knowing he was going to get taken out in such a spectacular fashion?
“I adore playing villainous characters, especially when they’re of the super crazy variety! Tanaka was a treat all around, and I loved getting to face off against the Straw Hats with such a dazzling crew of baddies on my side. His power was fun, but the most appealing part of playing him was being able to get such a fantastic laugh. “Su-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu!†It’s just so catchy!”
Gundam SEED’s Yzak may not have had the iconic rivalry with Kira like Athrun did, but in many respects his character arc was still just as significant. Did you prefer portraying the hot-headed coordinator or the more melancholy war veteran?
“Yzak is my angry child and I love him so much. He and Kira have some serious beef, and the former’s rage definitely isn’t something to trifle with. From the destroyed civilian shuttle to Nicol’s death, their relationship is fueled by so much bloodshed, ferocity, and screaming… Lots and lots of screaming, at least on my end. Haha! He is a very tactical and prideful person, skilled as a pilot and faithful as can be to ZAFT, but his biggest downfall is how often he lets his anger get the better of him. When it comes to how I preferred portraying him, it’s hard to choose because a character, like a person, has so many different facets to them that all make up who they are.”
In every good love story there’s always at least one poor soul who ends up getting their heart broken, and in Tsukigakirei’s case it just so happened to be Hira. Do you think this was a pivotal learning point for him or just a metaphorical kick to the ol’ love thumper?
“It should absolutely be something for him to learn from. Hira’s main problem stems from him being much too thoughtless to Akane. There were so many instances during recording where we stopped and went, “Man… He’s being kind of awful to her, isn’t he?†Maybe if he were nicer and more honest about his feelings from the start, he could’ve ended up with her.”
Ginshi Shirazu: monster in the making or someone you’d introduce to your parents?
“Out of the entire Quinx Squad, Shirazu is potentially the most loving and caring member there. He probably often gets mistaken for a thug because of his intimidating appearance and intensely pointy teeth, and he can be a bit of a meathead to boot. Despite that, he’s got a strong sense of leadership and loyalty among his squad. He treats them like his family and puts them and their safety first above all else, even his own. The reason he joined the CCG in the first place was such a pure, selfless reason; you can’t not love him! So yes, of course he can meet my parents.”
Juuni Taisen gave us no shortage of bizarre contenders, but by far the biggest mystery of them all was Nezumi. In your mind, what do you think became of him following his wish?
“The entire time we recorded, I wondered what his power could possibly be. Everyone else was so specialized and lethal, while Nezumi was so passive that you could forget he was there (which is what I think lead to some of the contenders’ demise). He dismissed so much of what was happening with a wave of his hand, some snacks, and a nap or two. It blew my mind when I found out his ability! I think after his wish, he went on to live a normal life… Unless a second Juni Taisen came about. It’d be hard to avoid if he wanted to forget about the entirety of the first one, and they could easily recruit him again and take advantage of knowing his power the second time around. But who knows? Maybe he got lucky.”
Out of Mustard and Moonfish, which do you think would make for the worst college roommate and why?
“Moonfish, no contest! He’d try to eat you! At least with Mustard, you wouldn’t wake up to him gnawing on your legs. He just might be a bit gassy at night… Never go with him for take-out.”
Daman, thank you so much for your time! If fans want to message you and ask where they can find Monaka’s green vest, where can they find you?
“Again, it’s my pleasure! You can find me on my website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.”
And finally, as an honorary member of WatchMojo, if you could choose a subject for a top ten list, what would it be?
“Can we do Top Ten Anime Coffee Drinks? I really, really, really want a coffee anime like… Now. Pls.”
04:07
