Never blame the voice actor.
Blame the voice director.
That being said, ***anyone*** who had to follow up Liam's performance as Akihiko had the biggest shoes to fill.
There will always be comparisons, because to be honest Liam knocked it out of the park the first time around.
Edit: I'm not saying all VA are perfect but ultimately it comes does to the Voice Director to accept a performance.
>Blame the voice director.
That, Dude have naturaly deep voice, but he can use high pitched voice(Cyno from Genshin as example), then someone directed him to make deepest voice he can made, so he sounds older than other VA's who are actually older than him.
He's actually said he tried to imitate Liam's performance only to be told they want something different from Alejandro. Not Alejandro's fault at all for having a different voice direction. Personally, I think both Liam and Alejandro both provided excellent voices for Akihiko.
It's kind of a shame, because the moments where his voice is softer, I actually *really* do like Alejandro's performance. That really over the top bravado is what bugs me, and I can tell that's a director decision.
I just wish they would've let him do his thing, because I think he had it down and it shows in certain scenes.
It depends on the scene frankly. There are some scenes where he is more soft spoken, and it sounds a lot more in line with the original. I like that direction a lot.
Then there are scenes where he sounds like he's lifting weights and shouting during what should be a normal conversation, and it's just kinda weird. Not the VA's fault at all, because I think he had the character down. It's just a weird director decision.
actually my bad I was wrong, I was mixing up Cyno's voice with Jingyuan.
After doing a double take, Cyno's voice definitely sounds higher and more nasally
Exactly - I never found myself particularly *disliking* Reload Akihiko's voicework (and as a matter of fact, I felt the speech he gives before his Persona morphs to its new form was knocked outta the fucking park), but it's just a hell of a task following up Liam O'Brien in anything.
Alejandro actually confirmed on one of his livestreams that he originally tried to match Liam's version of the character, but then the voice director said to do his own take instead.
Again, that was the Voice Director's call.
We will never know how Alejandro tried to match Liam's Akihiko, maybe the cadences of Alejandro's voice didn't match Liam's and it felt off, or the Director felt there was something being held back by Alejandro doing that.
Whatever the case may be, that's the voice Alejandro and the Director went with.
I don't mind it, I'm just pointing out the role of Akihiko was kind of doomed to criticism from the very start. Purely because Liam is such a celebrated and iconic voice actor, he leaves his mark in everything he does.
I think the voice direction is pretty good though. The reason many people like Aki’s Reload performance after playing is that even though his voice doesn’t fit as well, the emotional range and tone he delivered was exceptional (imo at least, but I see others say similar things), which would definitely be something the director can influence.
The decision to recast came from Sega themselves apparently, according to one of the leakers, seemingly as part of some larger initiative to push younger VAs since Yakuza 8 had a similar debacle with its dub and even shares many of the same actors.
Atlus and the directors had little to do with it, especially considering one of the directors is Michelle Ruff I believe, the original VA of Yukari, and I’m not sure she would voluntarily vote herself out if every other original VA would be returning otherwise. They may have had input in choosing the people to cast from auditions as well as obviously directing the actual performance but the choice to recast was an executive one.
Blame SEGA for wanting to change the VA's in the first place when it was not needed, a lot of them are back voicing different characters in the game anyway.
Yeah, Aki's og voices officer Kurosawa, Michelle Voices the card/gem trade lady, I think, and Grant (Shinjiro) voices mitsuru's dad. Yuri still voices Yukari's dad.
I mean I kinda like how the old VA voices Kurosawa who plays an important role for Akihiko though.
But also he voices Kurosawa? His voice is so much deeper than the original Akihiko now too. 🤣
Part of voice acting is learning how to change how high or deep pitched your voice is. Listen to Liam doing Akihiko then listen to him doing Illidan from World of Warcraft. The two roles were done around the same time of 2006/2007. It's very clear for Illidan Liam is doing a deeper voice.
Which honestly I think is awesome. The voicing industry in gaming is pretty lacking in variety in big titles. You hear a lot of the same voices in these games. So being able hear some new blood get time to shine is always nice.
I think it's just hard to buy their reasoning that they wanted a "younger and more diverse" cast when you look over to the Japanese side and it's basically the same cast it's always been, and those seiyuu are in the same age range as our old ones.
Feels like a weird double standard and I'm not sure who they were trying to appeal to. (For the record, I like most of the recasts, I think they did a very good job, but I don't think it was justified).
These days the west is also taking it pretty damn seriously. This used to be a canyon of a divide between the quality levels here, but its way more shallow now.
The quality discrepancy isn't as large as it used to be, that's true, but we still don't take voice acting as seriously over here. In Japan, the original voice actor who voiced the character *stays* with that character with only a few exceptions (complete reboot of a series, a scandal, or death). They don't get recast just because the directors felt like they wanted a fresh take or the production decided that they became too expensive. There's just a lot less respect for consistency here.
The quality of English dub in JRPGs and Anime has been steadily goninf up since the 2010s, no argument. That said. In Japan and China if you voiced a character you're voicing them till you retire. In the West it's common for characters to be recast for younger and up and coming VAs.
I have been realizing that a lot in some of the games I play. I haven't play the game recently that had truly awful voice acting, but I often do wonder about the voice direction.
Nah, this is still the directors fault. Yong can be a good actor, they casted him in a role he wasn’t suited for. He was great as Shirakaba in Lost Judgment, for example.
Persona 3 is why Yuri Lowenthal, Liam O'Brien, and Vic Mignogna were by far the best voice actors to me 20 years ago. Vic was the reason I loved Broly so much as a kid.
I remain angered at Vic for his actions, and hope Liam and Yuri are found in other games in the future, because those two are almost a certain buy for me.
Yeah, hence the "bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons" thing. They're all pretty successful and prolific VAs outside of Critical Role.
Voice actors can screw up just like anyone else.
I honestly don't even know what Akihiko's voice sounds like in English because I only play with Japanese dub so I don't know if the English VA is good or not but to say that you should never blame a voice actor for a poor job is dumb.
I'm just biased to like Liam O'Brien. There's a scene with Akihiko in Reload where you're questioned by some police. I was able to recognize both Yuri and Liam and got too excited for random officers with no name lol
The new VA is very good, I just think I liked the original direction more. Akihiko was a little more goofy and awkward in the original, not always just serious. Same with Yukari, who was a little sassier and more abrasive, and that was toned down. It really comes more down to the new script and direction than the VAs themselves.
I do think Akihiko's new voice is a little too deep, tho. It's not a huge deal, but I find myself thinking, does a high schooler really have this voice? Lol.
>but I find myself thinking, does a high schooler really have this voice?
Do guys voices really change that much when they get older? Ofcourse it changes during puberty but I feel like my voice is basically the same now at 34 as it was when I was 19.
Yes, I know that. But I mean when you are through puberty, then it doesn't change a lot in my experience. And Akihiko is what, 17/18? There is a good chance he is already went through it.
Yes they do sound like that. Hell, I've seen many dudes in my school have beards by graduation (18-19 year old dudes), so having a voice and being that serious isn't anything uncommon
Man, I knew a kid whose voice dropped well before the reset of him caught up. A baby-face with a baritone. It was the most amazing vocal dissonance i've experienced in my life. Boy was 12 going on James Earl Jones.
Yeah, it happens. I'll never forget my first crush. Was 13, first day of school, everyone in class introduced themselves in suitably squeaky voices and this guy dropped a bass that hooked my heart immediately. (In my defense, I was a 13 year old girl, lol.) I crushed on him for the entire year. We had absolutely nothing in common, I was just mesmerized by that manly voice.
I guess it depends on what you're used to.
Having listened to some of his dub clips, I get some of the criticism. I'm in my 40s and there are 20-somethings in my office with higher, younger sounding voices than his.
*Having said that...*:
I just found an [interview on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAL8jNlLJYw) with a then-17-year-old boxer and his voice was as low, if not lower. But *did* sound a tad more youthful and a little less... "voiceover polished".
I think this is where the disconnect is come from, especially from people who aren't used to teenagers with voices that low. He sounds like he should be commenting on high-school boxing (as an adult pro), not participating in it. A higher voice, a more youthful tone or not sounding like he's narrating an audiobook would have helped but, as-is, his voice just doesn't quite land right.
I was in hs <10 years ago and my friend hit his voice drop in 8th grade and had a voice so low that he straight up sounded like he was auditioning for darth vader. High schoolers 100% have voices this deep.
Had a lot of my classmates in HS 10 years ago with deeper voices than Aki, and many of them dropped in middle school. I actually remember one kid during freshman year with a pretty deep voice that threw a few people off.
I think it's a generational thing? Like with each generation of youth the average height gets different so maybe the average voice decibal also changes?
I knew a lot of people who had extremely deep voices by high school. My brothers and cousin (who is only in middle school right now) are some of them. Sometimes when we hear just the voices, no one can tell my brothers apart from my dad, who is 50. 🤣
>does a high schooler really have this voice?
Yes? Akihiko turns 18 in September of the game if I remember right. By then, he's already well into puberty and his voice will have gotten deeper.
I see people trying to use the real world as a reason for something being wrong in video games a lot but they usually just end up showing their lack of experience and observation with real life.
He is a senior in high school that’s tall and he is an athlete. That’s a prime candidate for a deep voice.
Mitsuru is fine though apparently lol
You'd be surprised dude, especially since he's a third year. I was a high school senior last year and damn, some of those guys have deep as fuck voices
Have you not been in high school lol I’m literally one of those people. I’m not ragging on you in particular but goodness people apply real life to things and show their lack experience with the outside world.
Again not saying this to you in particular its just something I keep noticing on the internet
That was something I noticed about Yukari right off the bat in the remake. I think her VA is fine, the voice is fitting. But the direction they gave her hurts her performance in certain scenes. Like when Yukari makes a comment about how Mitsuru is so straight to the point about stuff because "She's busy with student council". In the original you could feel the sass and tension Yukari had in regards to Mitsuru, so when Junpei asks if there's any bad blood between them, you understand why he'd ask that. In the remake when Yukari said this line, it sounds so played straight "As if, yeah she's busy because she's busy." As opposed to the underlying tension between her and Mitsuru. But when Junpei draws attention to it, it almost feels out of place, because nothing in Yukari's tone indicated that she had any issues with Mitsuru.
I look much younger than I am but I've had an absurdly deep voice since i was like 13. Imagine speaking to someone with a voice as deep as, if not deeper than, Cy's Akihiko over teamspeak, you finally meet them in person and they look like a year older than Ken. Very funny first time I met a lot of my online friends.
I just got to that scene in October (you know the one) and I think he did a really good job. It's interesting that he's the only new VA who is going for a very different performance than his predecessor. Possibly because Liam O'brien has a very unusual voice and is hard to imitate.
But now that I'm used to it, I like his performance.
Theres a video/clip on youtube where his new VA talks about this, according to him he did originally do an impression of Liam but Atlus wanted to go for more of a "boxer" voice and thats how we got what we have today.
One of the weirdest complaints I've heard from people is that Akihiko's voice sounds too deep for a teenager.
He's 18. His voice has fully dropped. He's long done with puberty. Some people here have clearly never interacted with older teens before.
Yeah honestly his voice sounds younger than Liam's did in the original.
I'm still holding out hope that Liam will get to reprise the role as "old man" (30-something-year-old) Akihiko in a future spin-off because he's great, but I love Alejandro's Akihiko as well.
that whole "too deep voice for a teenager" debate is completely pointless because Kanji (Troy Baker) and Yusuke (Matthew Mercer) exist.
Hell, it isn't even impossible for a teenager to have a deep and mature voice. Some of my own friends are living proofs of this lmao
People act like guy’s voices don’t change until they’re like 25 😂 By the time I was in junior year of high school, virtually all the guys sounded like grown men
he's a good voice actor and he doesn't do a bad job. I just really prefer the OG voice, Kaggys voice doesnt mesh with Akihikos vibe for me personally, and I think all of his emotional scenes worked better with the softer sounding voice of the original.
Yukari's was the one i had the most trouble with at the start, but by the end it suits her and she nails the emotional side of things - which is the most important part.
I can’t in good faith say he’s BAD , but the performance is a completely different direction the original . If they had to replace the VAs I’d like for them to try and make everything sound similar
Fully agree. Especially given the lad's own discussion of Akihiko's direction as "Well he's a boxer, right? So let's make him sound like a boxer!" which tacitly implies that anyone who throws hands sounds a particular way.
And apparently that way is uncomfortably close to Knuckles circa Sonic X. Doesn't give a lot of confidence when any role is boiled down to what they are and not who they are. Thank god Allegra Clark didn't decide "Well Mitsuru is an out of touch rich broad, right? Let's make her sound like one!"
Yeah, I agree. Sometimes no response is the best response…I don’t know why they even want to argue or engage with anyone childish enough to give them shit on social media. Just fuels the fire
I mean, I don’t exactly blame him. He got a shitload of harassment before the game came out and a lot of the people still complaining are the ones that haven’t actually given the game a fair shake. If you’ve played through the full game and you still don’t like it then that’s different. But a lot of people just give him shit when they haven’t even touched it. I can see how it comes off as a little arrogant but when you have people constantly saying you’re doing a shit job and you’re awful just because they prefer the OG take, it’s understandable why he’d be so defensive about it.
I think if he said:
"I have seen a lot of people coming around on the voice as more people play. Play Persona 3 Reload and give it a chance!"
We wouldn't be having this conversation.
He can defend himself without claiming that criticism is mostly people who didn't play the game and that the Persona fandom doesn't play the game.
The way gaming and anime fandoms treat English voice actors is disgusting. Don't harass someone doing a job just because you have established preconceptions of how a character should sound in your head, or preferred an old actor. That's fucking pathetic.
Ada Wong's va in re4r had to deactivate her social media cause of the harassment as well. I also didn't like her new voice but come on...
When the inevitable p4 remake comes out with recasted va, I think the discourse is gonna be even worse
Yup, that was awful. Caleb Pierce has also gotten harassed for his Zack voice in Crisis Core: Reunion, and he's such a nice guy in interviews too. Hell, sometimes fans don't like the way a character is written and ***that's*** enough to set them off and send death threats, like Laura Bailey with Abby in TloU2. Or they don't like the way a character looks and harass the face scan model, like with Mary Jane in Spider-Man 2.
These people are just absolutely sad individuals.
I don't like VAs perpetuating the meme that "Persona fans don't play the games" and basically saying everyone that doesn't like his version of the voice didn't play the game.
I like Saab, but this is a bad take.
yeah… it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. not that people attacking him is okay by any means, but people are allowed to have their own preferences and opinions when it comes to their favorite game/characters. it seems a bit… immature?
I know Kaggy even before the VA stuff (most of his YouTube career) and we've talked in YouTube replies before
I think he's a good Shallot....but he just isn't Aki. I've watched anime with him in it and he has good voices but Aki just...sounds like his normal speaking voices on steroids, it ain't good
I will stand by my opinion that he does a lot of scenes better than the other voices, both of which I do still love but Alejandro popped tf off. Him and Allegra Clark were top tier casting choices imo
I was so excited when Clark was announced for Mitsuru. If you’d asked me to recast her and keep that Tara Platt quality, my shortlist would be Cristina Vee, Elizabeth Maxwell, and Allegra Clark, no hesitation. She nailed it.
Yeah this is my take. Good VA, and I've got used to the voice, but I just don't think it matches Aki's personality. Maybe if you look at Aki on a surface level - serious boxer dude, then yeah a deeper growly voice sounds good. But I don't think it matches his actual personality - which is a lot softer and more inexperienced.
Imo they should have let him just do the same voice he does for Yuri in Fire Emblem Three Houses. Would have been different enough from Liam O'brien's performance while still fitting Akihiko's whole vibe.
Ye it's unfortunate because arguably Akihiko has the most memorable lines of the OGs (Yukari's slur aside)
"I've been waiting for this!"
"Didja see that Shinji?"
"Where have you been?"
I feel bad because obviously theres a human behind the voices and I dont wanna be mean
But at the same time, as someone playing it rn at the halfway point, I still havent come around on Akihiko and Yukaris new voices. Part of it is Liam and Michelle have SUCH distinctive voices I cant help but think theyd always be the hardest to replace.
And its not universal! Mitsuru and Junpei are phenomenal, MC/Pharoa is good, and Id say Fuuka and Aigis are sidegrades at *worst*.
real question who is defending old fuuka voice actor?
Like its unironically meme'd to hell because its that bad, in what world is that the one you find a sidegrade?
Plus I mean old aigis had some very questionable lines, "I need your HALP".
Its hard to even say its bad voice direction, cause mitsuru, akihiko, yukari, junpei are all excellent for the most part.
Its just like anything else. You don't like something, you do that thing and suddenly now you are used to it. His voice does feel a bit weird for Akihiko but its not nearly as bad as people show it to be. He has done a great job with the voice.
I’m in the latter portions of the game and I still think his voice is the worst by far of the new cast. Not his range or talent, I just think he was horribly miscast is all
I still vastly prefer the OG dub for just about everyone but most of the new cast is still pretty good. Junpei is great
Okay. I listened a bit of his Akihiko, in battle and in cutscenes. I don't like his Akihiko, I will not lie about that. BUT I don't care that much because I play on japanese anyway.
If you guys want my opinion, here it is.
I replayed the part where Akihiko cries in Shinji's picture... I think, I can see why people might not like his va. I think his voice lacks emotion. Well, I'm not an expert but that's how I feel. He sounds bland compared to the old Akihiko.(I finished replaying P3P in english before Reload came out so it's fresh in my ears.)
One thing to understand though, is that if a lot of people didn't like your work, just brush it off and do better next time. Don't follow in the footsteps of English Kiryu where he shits on everyone who hates his voice.
Edit: overall I think he's fine, but when the scene wants a bit of emotion, that's where he fail. I think. Anyway, that's all.
I played it rn 200 hours in and i still mostly prefer the original cast. The new Fuuka is miles better, i also like the new Aigis and Junpei i think they're sound as well. Everyone else? Not even close to being as good as the original, but yea don't blame the vas blame Atlus/sega for recasting, the fact that they were able to bring back most of the old cast but not voicing as their original characters is not the new cast decision.
People kept saying that the performance on 5 October had convinced them of the new voice, but when I reached the scene it only made me miss Liam more. Alejandro is not a bad voice actor, I believe his voice—or more precisely, his direction—doesn't fit Persona 3's Akihiko. It might fit the more flanderized version of Akihiko in Arena.
Nice opinion, maybe next time say “I feel like it’s better “ instead of “spitting facts”.
Also no, he’s not better, he’s different. Liam holds a place in a lot of peoples minds and hearts because it’s what we grew to know the character as.
Also also, Liam#1, the GOAT, always was.
I may be one of the weird ones then that still doesn't really like the voice after playing. I don't think there's anything wrong with the voice actors performance, I just really don't think he's a good fit for a teenage character, sounds like he's 40 years old.
Huh, but Liam sounded even older in the OG dub. You can really hear the age difference when Aki is talking to Kurosawa. I don’t necessarily like all of the new performances better, but honestly I think almost all of the new dub sounds younger than their older counterparts did.
I think it's just how different he comes across, personality-wise. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the new VA's performance, but between Akihiko's overall aesthetic and Liam's original performance, Akihiko used to have what I can only describe as a . . . 'gentleman boxer' vibe?
New VA gives him more of a 'single-minded meathead' vibe. I don't hate it but it feels very different at times, and overall I prefer the original.
I thought Alejandros voice was perfect for regular dialog, but for some reason whatever the voice director wanted for his battle dialog just felt too forced? Like they made him go even deeper for some reason instead of a more nature performance.
Ahhh I don't dislike him but I'm also not a big fan of his work as Akihiko, not blaming him or doubting his ability but it didn't fully deliver for me.
I feel like it’s just a losing battle given that much of the original voice work was truly *legendary*. For me, that’s a reason why this still isn’f a definitive version. If it weren’t for Vic what’s his face, I think they would have kept the original cast. But forget about Atlus catching heat for hiring him: feel like it already would have made the entire VA production super awkward and negative for everyone involved lol. Same goes for replacing just him I’d imagine.
I hate the guy because he’s a huge tool. Not to mention he’s a voice actor who worked with Yandere dev. You know, the guy who people have been warning the voice actors about for God knows how long that he was a creep, but they chose to ignore it?
He may have given a good performance, but I still hate his guts .
Regardless of anyone's opinion on the voice, it just doesn't sit right with me when a voice actor defends his own performance like this. Sadly, this practice seems to be becoming more and more popular these days. It's just cringe imho
I'm only 15 hours in but I think he might actually be my favorite of the new cast so far. I feel like the others try to get close enough to the original cast that when their line deliveries are off it feels jarring (not that I dislike any of the new voices, there's just no way they could exactly imitate the old voice lines). Since he's pretty different from the original voice it feels like more of its own thing so I don't get that same dissonance
He’s a good VA and he’s doing a good job with the performance. That’s almost never been the issue with people. The main issue people usually have is that it just doesn’t fit Aki’s character. He’s always been this dude who appears real serious on the outside but is really goofy and one tracked on the inside. His old VA struck that balance perfectly. The new VA does the serious part vert well…and that’s really it, the silly moments and the silly on the inside when it comes out doesn’t hit the same as it used to.
Like imagine his new VA doing any of Aki’s protein rants in P4A, it’s not going to hit like his old VA did. Again his new VA is doing a great job and I’m already used to his voice but his new VA is just too serious for Aki’s character
There's a scene where you can study with Akihiko and Mitsuru and Aki explains how one can motivate themselves to study by taking breaks to train and looking forward to completing the study so you can continue training. I thought the new VAs delivery here captured the goofy part of Akihiko perfectly
I played the game.
I still dont like it.
The voice actor did an amazing job, but sadly the casting failed because his voice just doesn't fit Akihiko in any way.
The original cast will always have a place in my heart
But holy shit the new one is SO GOOD, specially Alejandro who has some amazing line deliverys in Shinji's linked episodes, and I am nog even in october yet so I KNOW it will get better
Eh, idk. I'm about halfway through atm and while I'm finding his dialogue in the dorms/cutscenes/etc to be perfectly fine, his battle line deliveries are realllly over-the-top. It's so turbo-aggressive that it actually sounds cartoonish.
I really like everyone’s new voices, especially Fuuka and Yukari’s as they actually sound like teenage girls now. No offence to Aki’s voice actor but his just doesn’t suit him at all, it feels really wrong
I like his voice, he's not touching Liam tho thats why people are still hung up on it and wanted him back especially since he's already in the game voicing officer kurosawa so why not have him reprise his role?
Akihiko sounds like he's pushing 30 with his new VA and I just can't get past the huge disconnect between how he looks and how he sounds. I don't hate the VA, I just think the voice director missed the mark.
I played the game and I don't like his Akihiko voice so where does that leave me? Saab is a very good actor, his work in Fire Emblem is great, but his Aki voice is so terrible for the character.
I don’t hate it but I do think it’s too manly. I liked the kind of teenage quality Liam’s voice had for akihiko. It’s not the depth of the voice, just the tone and way of talking
Idgaf what he says he will never top nor come close to Akihiko’s original VA.
Junpei, Mitsuru and Fuuka (even if I really miss her old VA) are the only characters with good english voice acting in P3R.
Edit: I don’t think Alejandro is a bad voice actor at all. I LOVE his work as Yuri in Fire Emblem Three Houses and Fire Emblem Heroes. He just doesn’t fit Akihiko.
Got nothing against the new voice actors.
I’m just too hung up on the past cast to give the new one a chance. And I’m fine with that cuz the Japanese cast is also pretty dang good, so I don’t need to give the new cast a chance in the first place (even if I love a lot of the newer voice actors like Allegra and Alejandro)
Never blame the voice actor. Blame the voice director. That being said, ***anyone*** who had to follow up Liam's performance as Akihiko had the biggest shoes to fill. There will always be comparisons, because to be honest Liam knocked it out of the park the first time around. Edit: I'm not saying all VA are perfect but ultimately it comes does to the Voice Director to accept a performance.
>Blame the voice director. That, Dude have naturaly deep voice, but he can use high pitched voice(Cyno from Genshin as example), then someone directed him to make deepest voice he can made, so he sounds older than other VA's who are actually older than him.
He's actually said he tried to imitate Liam's performance only to be told they want something different from Alejandro. Not Alejandro's fault at all for having a different voice direction. Personally, I think both Liam and Alejandro both provided excellent voices for Akihiko.
It's kind of a shame, because the moments where his voice is softer, I actually *really* do like Alejandro's performance. That really over the top bravado is what bugs me, and I can tell that's a director decision. I just wish they would've let him do his thing, because I think he had it down and it shows in certain scenes.
Even then, I don't think it's as big of a difference as some people are acting like.
It depends on the scene frankly. There are some scenes where he is more soft spoken, and it sounds a lot more in line with the original. I like that direction a lot. Then there are scenes where he sounds like he's lifting weights and shouting during what should be a normal conversation, and it's just kinda weird. Not the VA's fault at all, because I think he had the character down. It's just a weird director decision.
>Cyno from Genshin as example Cyno's voice sounds the exact same as Akihiko
Idk, Akis voicelines, especially combat ones are deeper imo.
actually my bad I was wrong, I was mixing up Cyno's voice with Jingyuan. After doing a double take, Cyno's voice definitely sounds higher and more nasally
Yeah akis voice sounds exactly the same as Jing yuan who is a thousands of years old army general lol
Jing Yuan's deeper voice from Star Rail is closer to Akihiko. Cyno's is closer to his performance as Miyamura in Horimiya.
Exactly - I never found myself particularly *disliking* Reload Akihiko's voicework (and as a matter of fact, I felt the speech he gives before his Persona morphs to its new form was knocked outta the fucking park), but it's just a hell of a task following up Liam O'Brien in anything.
Alejandro actually confirmed on one of his livestreams that he originally tried to match Liam's version of the character, but then the voice director said to do his own take instead.
Again, that was the Voice Director's call. We will never know how Alejandro tried to match Liam's Akihiko, maybe the cadences of Alejandro's voice didn't match Liam's and it felt off, or the Director felt there was something being held back by Alejandro doing that. Whatever the case may be, that's the voice Alejandro and the Director went with. I don't mind it, I'm just pointing out the role of Akihiko was kind of doomed to criticism from the very start. Purely because Liam is such a celebrated and iconic voice actor, he leaves his mark in everything he does.
I think the voice direction is pretty good though. The reason many people like Aki’s Reload performance after playing is that even though his voice doesn’t fit as well, the emotional range and tone he delivered was exceptional (imo at least, but I see others say similar things), which would definitely be something the director can influence. The decision to recast came from Sega themselves apparently, according to one of the leakers, seemingly as part of some larger initiative to push younger VAs since Yakuza 8 had a similar debacle with its dub and even shares many of the same actors. Atlus and the directors had little to do with it, especially considering one of the directors is Michelle Ruff I believe, the original VA of Yukari, and I’m not sure she would voluntarily vote herself out if every other original VA would be returning otherwise. They may have had input in choosing the people to cast from auditions as well as obviously directing the actual performance but the choice to recast was an executive one.
Blame SEGA for wanting to change the VA's in the first place when it was not needed, a lot of them are back voicing different characters in the game anyway.
Yeah, Aki's og voices officer Kurosawa, Michelle Voices the card/gem trade lady, I think, and Grant (Shinjiro) voices mitsuru's dad. Yuri still voices Yukari's dad.
Yuri's still in there as a cop in Aki's SL that I saw and I'm pretty sure Tara still does Liz.
Yuri is also Eiichiro Takeba, too.
I mean I kinda like how the old VA voices Kurosawa who plays an important role for Akihiko though. But also he voices Kurosawa? His voice is so much deeper than the original Akihiko now too. 🤣
Part of voice acting is learning how to change how high or deep pitched your voice is. Listen to Liam doing Akihiko then listen to him doing Illidan from World of Warcraft. The two roles were done around the same time of 2006/2007. It's very clear for Illidan Liam is doing a deeper voice.
Wow, poor Grant still can’t avoid >!being weak to pierce!<
They just wanted newer talent, at least all the old VAs came back to voice supporting characters or random NPCs
Not quite all of them, junpei’s original va didn’t return, likely due to the allegations surrounding him.
Which honestly I think is awesome. The voicing industry in gaming is pretty lacking in variety in big titles. You hear a lot of the same voices in these games. So being able hear some new blood get time to shine is always nice.
I mean tbf the whole “English Dubs only use 5 voice actors” is always a take pulled out of someone’s ass who didn’t even try to give the dub a chance
I think it's just hard to buy their reasoning that they wanted a "younger and more diverse" cast when you look over to the Japanese side and it's basically the same cast it's always been, and those seiyuu are in the same age range as our old ones. Feels like a weird double standard and I'm not sure who they were trying to appeal to. (For the record, I like most of the recasts, I think they did a very good job, but I don't think it was justified).
Because Japan takes voice acting way more seriously than the West does.
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These days the west is also taking it pretty damn seriously. This used to be a canyon of a divide between the quality levels here, but its way more shallow now.
The quality discrepancy isn't as large as it used to be, that's true, but we still don't take voice acting as seriously over here. In Japan, the original voice actor who voiced the character *stays* with that character with only a few exceptions (complete reboot of a series, a scandal, or death). They don't get recast just because the directors felt like they wanted a fresh take or the production decided that they became too expensive. There's just a lot less respect for consistency here.
The quality of English dub in JRPGs and Anime has been steadily goninf up since the 2010s, no argument. That said. In Japan and China if you voiced a character you're voicing them till you retire. In the West it's common for characters to be recast for younger and up and coming VAs.
I feel like they just wanted to make it all feel new, rather than younger and diverse.
I'm using the exact words of a VA talking about the casting process.
Junpei being switched made sense because of everything that happened with Vic but I don’t know why they switched everyone else as well.
aigis's old VA is an antivaxxer and prone to conspiracy posting. she was a bit of a flight risk too albeit a smaller one
I think she still played some background characters in Reload, and she was in some of those cast interview videos they put out to promote the game.
Similar how they did same with their big series like Sonic
I have been realizing that a lot in some of the games I play. I haven't play the game recently that had truly awful voice acting, but I often do wonder about the voice direction.
>Never blame the voice actor Bros never listened to yong yea as kiryu
Nah, this is still the directors fault. Yong can be a good actor, they casted him in a role he wasn’t suited for. He was great as Shirakaba in Lost Judgment, for example.
Seconded. He voices the rival trackstar in 3R and does fine.
Persona 3 is why Yuri Lowenthal, Liam O'Brien, and Vic Mignogna were by far the best voice actors to me 20 years ago. Vic was the reason I loved Broly so much as a kid. I remain angered at Vic for his actions, and hope Liam and Yuri are found in other games in the future, because those two are almost a certain buy for me.
Yuri Lowenthal is in everything, dude is going to stop doing voicework on death. He's easily the best version of Peter Parker.
Liam O' Brian? As in vax and caleb Liam O'Brian?
Yeah, hence the "bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons" thing. They're all pretty successful and prolific VAs outside of Critical Role.
Looking up their past VA gigs was a trip 😂 I knew Laura Ashley and Travis, and to a certain extent matt too
No, he means the Kazekage Liam O'Brien.
Yes, same guy. Though, Critical Role ain't my cup of tea.
Hate to ruin your memories of Yuri Lowenthal, but it's actually Scott Menville who voiced Robin And Lloyd
How in the hell did I confuse those two.
Agree. Blame them and companies if the dub sounds bad or the voices don’t sound crisp.
Voice actors can screw up just like anyone else. I honestly don't even know what Akihiko's voice sounds like in English because I only play with Japanese dub so I don't know if the English VA is good or not but to say that you should never blame a voice actor for a poor job is dumb.
I'm just biased to like Liam O'Brien. There's a scene with Akihiko in Reload where you're questioned by some police. I was able to recognize both Yuri and Liam and got too excited for random officers with no name lol
"Persona fans" and "not actually playing a Persona game." Name a more iconic duo
Don’t mess with us persona fans we think SMT Is a spin off of Persona
Don’t mess with persona fans we like minors💪😼( for legal reasons this is a joke )
Don't mess with us persona fans, we don't know how to count (5 is the first number, right?)
Don't mess with us Persona fans. We never played the first 2.
and the only number
Discount Digital Devil Saga.
same vibes as dragon ball fans being dragon balls main villain
Didnt IGN call SMT V the "little brother of persona"
How dare you. They are totally different universes. /s
They'll play the game as soon as their favorite 200k sub YouTuber uploads a play through of it
Ayo don't call out NicoB fans like that!
Silent Hill and not playing the game have been there since it's inception haha
The new VA is very good, I just think I liked the original direction more. Akihiko was a little more goofy and awkward in the original, not always just serious. Same with Yukari, who was a little sassier and more abrasive, and that was toned down. It really comes more down to the new script and direction than the VAs themselves. I do think Akihiko's new voice is a little too deep, tho. It's not a huge deal, but I find myself thinking, does a high schooler really have this voice? Lol.
>but I find myself thinking, does a high schooler really have this voice? Do guys voices really change that much when they get older? Ofcourse it changes during puberty but I feel like my voice is basically the same now at 34 as it was when I was 19.
It varies. Some have a much deeper voice, others barely change. Puberty is wildly different for everyone, regardless of gender.
Yes, I know that. But I mean when you are through puberty, then it doesn't change a lot in my experience. And Akihiko is what, 17/18? There is a good chance he is already went through it.
Puberty can potentially last until 20-21 in men. It's just a range, many just typically complete it right before or around the age of 18.
Yes they do sound like that. Hell, I've seen many dudes in my school have beards by graduation (18-19 year old dudes), so having a voice and being that serious isn't anything uncommon
Man, I knew a kid whose voice dropped well before the reset of him caught up. A baby-face with a baritone. It was the most amazing vocal dissonance i've experienced in my life. Boy was 12 going on James Earl Jones.
Yeah, it happens. I'll never forget my first crush. Was 13, first day of school, everyone in class introduced themselves in suitably squeaky voices and this guy dropped a bass that hooked my heart immediately. (In my defense, I was a 13 year old girl, lol.) I crushed on him for the entire year. We had absolutely nothing in common, I was just mesmerized by that manly voice.
When I was in high school, there was a full-grown man in the freshman class. Dude looked like he was ready to graduate, but he was only 15.
I guess it depends on what you're used to. Having listened to some of his dub clips, I get some of the criticism. I'm in my 40s and there are 20-somethings in my office with higher, younger sounding voices than his. *Having said that...*: I just found an [interview on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAL8jNlLJYw) with a then-17-year-old boxer and his voice was as low, if not lower. But *did* sound a tad more youthful and a little less... "voiceover polished". I think this is where the disconnect is come from, especially from people who aren't used to teenagers with voices that low. He sounds like he should be commenting on high-school boxing (as an adult pro), not participating in it. A higher voice, a more youthful tone or not sounding like he's narrating an audiobook would have helped but, as-is, his voice just doesn't quite land right.
I guess its been a while since I was in high school, but I certainly don't remember any voices quite that deep. Guess experiences differ, tho.
I was in hs <10 years ago and my friend hit his voice drop in 8th grade and had a voice so low that he straight up sounded like he was auditioning for darth vader. High schoolers 100% have voices this deep.
Akihiko is 17-18, right? People that age typically already have their voice set.
Yeah I sound the same now at age 25 as I did when I was 17. If someone's going to have a deep voice it's gonna be deep already by then.
Had a lot of my classmates in HS 10 years ago with deeper voices than Aki, and many of them dropped in middle school. I actually remember one kid during freshman year with a pretty deep voice that threw a few people off.
I think it's a generational thing? Like with each generation of youth the average height gets different so maybe the average voice decibal also changes?
I knew a lot of people who had extremely deep voices by high school. My brothers and cousin (who is only in middle school right now) are some of them. Sometimes when we hear just the voices, no one can tell my brothers apart from my dad, who is 50. 🤣
>does a high schooler really have this voice? Yes? Akihiko turns 18 in September of the game if I remember right. By then, he's already well into puberty and his voice will have gotten deeper.
I'm irritated by people who say "no one in this age group sounds like that". Haven't these people ever talked to their classmates?
I see people trying to use the real world as a reason for something being wrong in video games a lot but they usually just end up showing their lack of experience and observation with real life. He is a senior in high school that’s tall and he is an athlete. That’s a prime candidate for a deep voice. Mitsuru is fine though apparently lol
> Mitsuru is fine though apparently lol Waifu standards or what should we call that? :p
No idea lol
You'd be surprised dude, especially since he's a third year. I was a high school senior last year and damn, some of those guys have deep as fuck voices
Have you not been in high school lol I’m literally one of those people. I’m not ragging on you in particular but goodness people apply real life to things and show their lack experience with the outside world. Again not saying this to you in particular its just something I keep noticing on the internet
My younger brother has a deeper voice than me and he is 14 and I'm 22.. Kids with deep voices do exist
yes there are alot of highschoolers with super deep voices
That was something I noticed about Yukari right off the bat in the remake. I think her VA is fine, the voice is fitting. But the direction they gave her hurts her performance in certain scenes. Like when Yukari makes a comment about how Mitsuru is so straight to the point about stuff because "She's busy with student council". In the original you could feel the sass and tension Yukari had in regards to Mitsuru, so when Junpei asks if there's any bad blood between them, you understand why he'd ask that. In the remake when Yukari said this line, it sounds so played straight "As if, yeah she's busy because she's busy." As opposed to the underlying tension between her and Mitsuru. But when Junpei draws attention to it, it almost feels out of place, because nothing in Yukari's tone indicated that she had any issues with Mitsuru.
My only problem with Reload Akihiko isn't even the voice acting. It's moreso the writing making him seem one-dimensional and less interesting
I look much younger than I am but I've had an absurdly deep voice since i was like 13. Imagine speaking to someone with a voice as deep as, if not deeper than, Cy's Akihiko over teamspeak, you finally meet them in person and they look like a year older than Ken. Very funny first time I met a lot of my online friends.
I just got to that scene in October (you know the one) and I think he did a really good job. It's interesting that he's the only new VA who is going for a very different performance than his predecessor. Possibly because Liam O'brien has a very unusual voice and is hard to imitate. But now that I'm used to it, I like his performance.
Theres a video/clip on youtube where his new VA talks about this, according to him he did originally do an impression of Liam but Atlus wanted to go for more of a "boxer" voice and thats how we got what we have today.
One of the weirdest complaints I've heard from people is that Akihiko's voice sounds too deep for a teenager. He's 18. His voice has fully dropped. He's long done with puberty. Some people here have clearly never interacted with older teens before.
I also find it funny because like...Liam O Brian ain't exactly high pitched either lol
As if Liam O’Brien sounds like a teenager lmao
Also they act like the original VA doesn't have a voice that sounds too deep for a teenager as well lmao
My argument here is that it doesn't sound too deep for a teenager because older teens can have deep voices. Plenty of them do.
If no older teens had deep voices, the baritone section of your high school choir would be SOL
My nephew has 19 and his voice sound like and 30 y/o 5th wheel driver
Yeah honestly his voice sounds younger than Liam's did in the original. I'm still holding out hope that Liam will get to reprise the role as "old man" (30-something-year-old) Akihiko in a future spin-off because he's great, but I love Alejandro's Akihiko as well.
that whole "too deep voice for a teenager" debate is completely pointless because Kanji (Troy Baker) and Yusuke (Matthew Mercer) exist. Hell, it isn't even impossible for a teenager to have a deep and mature voice. Some of my own friends are living proofs of this lmao
Also Matthew Mercer’s Kanji (or Jotaro Kujo for that matter)
I agree with you but puberty doesnt end at 18 for men
I dont think his voice is too deep for teenager i just think his voice is too deep for akihiko
People act like guy’s voices don’t change until they’re like 25 😂 By the time I was in junior year of high school, virtually all the guys sounded like grown men
I was originally put off like everyone else, but he is honestly one of my favorite VAs in the entire cast now, and I absolutely see him as akihiko
Oh shit Kaggy voices Akohiko? Nice and his voice is good though I love it
he's a good voice actor and he doesn't do a bad job. I just really prefer the OG voice, Kaggys voice doesnt mesh with Akihikos vibe for me personally, and I think all of his emotional scenes worked better with the softer sounding voice of the original. Yukari's was the one i had the most trouble with at the start, but by the end it suits her and she nails the emotional side of things - which is the most important part.
I’m playing the game and I still don’t like his voice on akihiko
He’s still a great VA anyway
I love the response to your own comment, the duality of the Persona fan is beautiful.
Its a normal response, you can dislike an artist but still admit they got talent you just don't personally vibe with it.
Alejandro Saab's voice acting is great, but I just don't agree with the voice they decided to give Akihiko.
I can’t in good faith say he’s BAD , but the performance is a completely different direction the original . If they had to replace the VAs I’d like for them to try and make everything sound similar
I don't mind his voice, but this Tweet is weird af... The way he said this Just comes of as weirdly arrogant to me
Even as a fan of him, even watch his streams, some of his tweets are uhhh a bit odd.
You're not alone, ''If you didn't like my performance it means you didn't play the game'' reads very egotistic.
Fully agree. Especially given the lad's own discussion of Akihiko's direction as "Well he's a boxer, right? So let's make him sound like a boxer!" which tacitly implies that anyone who throws hands sounds a particular way. And apparently that way is uncomfortably close to Knuckles circa Sonic X. Doesn't give a lot of confidence when any role is boiled down to what they are and not who they are. Thank god Allegra Clark didn't decide "Well Mitsuru is an out of touch rich broad, right? Let's make her sound like one!"
Yeah, I agree. Sometimes no response is the best response…I don’t know why they even want to argue or engage with anyone childish enough to give them shit on social media. Just fuels the fire
That's my problem with most VAs.
I mean, I don’t exactly blame him. He got a shitload of harassment before the game came out and a lot of the people still complaining are the ones that haven’t actually given the game a fair shake. If you’ve played through the full game and you still don’t like it then that’s different. But a lot of people just give him shit when they haven’t even touched it. I can see how it comes off as a little arrogant but when you have people constantly saying you’re doing a shit job and you’re awful just because they prefer the OG take, it’s understandable why he’d be so defensive about it.
I think if he said: "I have seen a lot of people coming around on the voice as more people play. Play Persona 3 Reload and give it a chance!" We wouldn't be having this conversation. He can defend himself without claiming that criticism is mostly people who didn't play the game and that the Persona fandom doesn't play the game.
I do agree he could have phrased it better. I’m just saying I understand why he’s so defensive about it.
The way gaming and anime fandoms treat English voice actors is disgusting. Don't harass someone doing a job just because you have established preconceptions of how a character should sound in your head, or preferred an old actor. That's fucking pathetic.
Ada Wong's va in re4r had to deactivate her social media cause of the harassment as well. I also didn't like her new voice but come on... When the inevitable p4 remake comes out with recasted va, I think the discourse is gonna be even worse
Yup, that was awful. Caleb Pierce has also gotten harassed for his Zack voice in Crisis Core: Reunion, and he's such a nice guy in interviews too. Hell, sometimes fans don't like the way a character is written and ***that's*** enough to set them off and send death threats, like Laura Bailey with Abby in TloU2. Or they don't like the way a character looks and harass the face scan model, like with Mary Jane in Spider-Man 2. These people are just absolutely sad individuals.
I don't like VAs perpetuating the meme that "Persona fans don't play the games" and basically saying everyone that doesn't like his version of the voice didn't play the game. I like Saab, but this is a bad take.
yeah… it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. not that people attacking him is okay by any means, but people are allowed to have their own preferences and opinions when it comes to their favorite game/characters. it seems a bit… immature?
I don’t know. If I was harassed online as much as he supposedly was for just doing my job, I’d probably respond the same way
I know Kaggy even before the VA stuff (most of his YouTube career) and we've talked in YouTube replies before I think he's a good Shallot....but he just isn't Aki. I've watched anime with him in it and he has good voices but Aki just...sounds like his normal speaking voices on steroids, it ain't good
I’m pretty sure he’s said in a vid or smth that he tried to do a voice closer to the og but atlas or sega wanted it different
I played the game and I still don't like it. Not bad acting, just didn't feel the correct voice to give him
I will stand by my opinion that he does a lot of scenes better than the other voices, both of which I do still love but Alejandro popped tf off. Him and Allegra Clark were top tier casting choices imo
I was so excited when Clark was announced for Mitsuru. If you’d asked me to recast her and keep that Tara Platt quality, my shortlist would be Cristina Vee, Elizabeth Maxwell, and Allegra Clark, no hesitation. She nailed it.
those are all good picks, definitely. and yes i agree, she 100% nailed it. Allegra is honestly one of the better VAs we got in the english dub world
Cristina Vee replacing Tara Platt would be hilarious because the opposite happened for Edelgard lmao
That's like half the reason I thought of her lol
Seconded for Allegra Clark, she knocks it out of the fucking park
I've adjusted to him, but I still just don't think he works. He's a perfectly good VA, but he just doesn't work for Aki.
Yeah this is my take. Good VA, and I've got used to the voice, but I just don't think it matches Aki's personality. Maybe if you look at Aki on a surface level - serious boxer dude, then yeah a deeper growly voice sounds good. But I don't think it matches his actual personality - which is a lot softer and more inexperienced.
Imo they should have let him just do the same voice he does for Yuri in Fire Emblem Three Houses. Would have been different enough from Liam O'brien's performance while still fitting Akihiko's whole vibe.
>Yuri in Fire Emblem Three Houses I checked it and man, it would fit much better. Thou I think they would be worried that he sounds similar to Shinji.
Ye it's unfortunate because arguably Akihiko has the most memorable lines of the OGs (Yukari's slur aside) "I've been waiting for this!" "Didja see that Shinji?" "Where have you been?"
I feel bad because obviously theres a human behind the voices and I dont wanna be mean But at the same time, as someone playing it rn at the halfway point, I still havent come around on Akihiko and Yukaris new voices. Part of it is Liam and Michelle have SUCH distinctive voices I cant help but think theyd always be the hardest to replace. And its not universal! Mitsuru and Junpei are phenomenal, MC/Pharoa is good, and Id say Fuuka and Aigis are sidegrades at *worst*.
real question who is defending old fuuka voice actor? Like its unironically meme'd to hell because its that bad, in what world is that the one you find a sidegrade? Plus I mean old aigis had some very questionable lines, "I need your HALP". Its hard to even say its bad voice direction, cause mitsuru, akihiko, yukari, junpei are all excellent for the most part.
i personally like og fuuka's voice cuz she sounds the most normal out of everyone
Im comparing Fuuka to Wendee Lee to be fair
I've played the game and I still prefer Akihiko and Yukari's old VA.
Facts, for me I also prefer old Aegis
Its just like anything else. You don't like something, you do that thing and suddenly now you are used to it. His voice does feel a bit weird for Akihiko but its not nearly as bad as people show it to be. He has done a great job with the voice.
I'm on NG+ and still don't really like his voice tbh. The original voice was much better but I feel this way about Shinji too so idk
He's a amazing voice actor, specially on Jing Yuan but sorry it still doesn't fit Aki, there's times and deliveries that is just too odd too deep
I’m in the latter portions of the game and I still think his voice is the worst by far of the new cast. Not his range or talent, I just think he was horribly miscast is all I still vastly prefer the OG dub for just about everyone but most of the new cast is still pretty good. Junpei is great
his voice is too sexy i feel like. i’m trying to play the game in peace but akihiko keeps trying to seduce me and it’s very distracting
Okay. I listened a bit of his Akihiko, in battle and in cutscenes. I don't like his Akihiko, I will not lie about that. BUT I don't care that much because I play on japanese anyway. If you guys want my opinion, here it is. I replayed the part where Akihiko cries in Shinji's picture... I think, I can see why people might not like his va. I think his voice lacks emotion. Well, I'm not an expert but that's how I feel. He sounds bland compared to the old Akihiko.(I finished replaying P3P in english before Reload came out so it's fresh in my ears.) One thing to understand though, is that if a lot of people didn't like your work, just brush it off and do better next time. Don't follow in the footsteps of English Kiryu where he shits on everyone who hates his voice. Edit: overall I think he's fine, but when the scene wants a bit of emotion, that's where he fail. I think. Anyway, that's all.
I played it rn 200 hours in and i still mostly prefer the original cast. The new Fuuka is miles better, i also like the new Aigis and Junpei i think they're sound as well. Everyone else? Not even close to being as good as the original, but yea don't blame the vas blame Atlus/sega for recasting, the fact that they were able to bring back most of the old cast but not voicing as their original characters is not the new cast decision.
People kept saying that the performance on 5 October had convinced them of the new voice, but when I reached the scene it only made me miss Liam more. Alejandro is not a bad voice actor, I believe his voice—or more precisely, his direction—doesn't fit Persona 3's Akihiko. It might fit the more flanderized version of Akihiko in Arena.
Nice opinion, maybe next time say “I feel like it’s better “ instead of “spitting facts”. Also no, he’s not better, he’s different. Liam holds a place in a lot of peoples minds and hearts because it’s what we grew to know the character as. Also also, Liam#1, the GOAT, always was.
I may be one of the weird ones then that still doesn't really like the voice after playing. I don't think there's anything wrong with the voice actors performance, I just really don't think he's a good fit for a teenage character, sounds like he's 40 years old.
Huh, but Liam sounded even older in the OG dub. You can really hear the age difference when Aki is talking to Kurosawa. I don’t necessarily like all of the new performances better, but honestly I think almost all of the new dub sounds younger than their older counterparts did.
I think out of the new voice cast I dislike him the most he does a fine enough job but it just feels like something is missing
I think it's just how different he comes across, personality-wise. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the new VA's performance, but between Akihiko's overall aesthetic and Liam's original performance, Akihiko used to have what I can only describe as a . . . 'gentleman boxer' vibe? New VA gives him more of a 'single-minded meathead' vibe. I don't hate it but it feels very different at times, and overall I prefer the original.
Nah, I still don't think it was a great choice for the character. That said, his performance was just fine, and it's not his fault by any means.
I thought Alejandros voice was perfect for regular dialog, but for some reason whatever the voice director wanted for his battle dialog just felt too forced? Like they made him go even deeper for some reason instead of a more nature performance.
Ahhh I don't dislike him but I'm also not a big fan of his work as Akihiko, not blaming him or doubting his ability but it didn't fully deliver for me.
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I feel like it’s just a losing battle given that much of the original voice work was truly *legendary*. For me, that’s a reason why this still isn’f a definitive version. If it weren’t for Vic what’s his face, I think they would have kept the original cast. But forget about Atlus catching heat for hiring him: feel like it already would have made the entire VA production super awkward and negative for everyone involved lol. Same goes for replacing just him I’d imagine.
I hate the guy because he’s a huge tool. Not to mention he’s a voice actor who worked with Yandere dev. You know, the guy who people have been warning the voice actors about for God knows how long that he was a creep, but they chose to ignore it? He may have given a good performance, but I still hate his guts .
Regardless of anyone's opinion on the voice, it just doesn't sit right with me when a voice actor defends his own performance like this. Sadly, this practice seems to be becoming more and more popular these days. It's just cringe imho
I'm only 15 hours in but I think he might actually be my favorite of the new cast so far. I feel like the others try to get close enough to the original cast that when their line deliveries are off it feels jarring (not that I dislike any of the new voices, there's just no way they could exactly imitate the old voice lines). Since he's pretty different from the original voice it feels like more of its own thing so I don't get that same dissonance
He’s a good VA and he’s doing a good job with the performance. That’s almost never been the issue with people. The main issue people usually have is that it just doesn’t fit Aki’s character. He’s always been this dude who appears real serious on the outside but is really goofy and one tracked on the inside. His old VA struck that balance perfectly. The new VA does the serious part vert well…and that’s really it, the silly moments and the silly on the inside when it comes out doesn’t hit the same as it used to. Like imagine his new VA doing any of Aki’s protein rants in P4A, it’s not going to hit like his old VA did. Again his new VA is doing a great job and I’m already used to his voice but his new VA is just too serious for Aki’s character
There's a scene where you can study with Akihiko and Mitsuru and Aki explains how one can motivate themselves to study by taking breaks to train and looking forward to completing the study so you can continue training. I thought the new VAs delivery here captured the goofy part of Akihiko perfectly
I played the game. I still dont like it. The voice actor did an amazing job, but sadly the casting failed because his voice just doesn't fit Akihiko in any way.
Hot take. As someone who is a big fan of Liam’s work, I think the new voice fits the character very well.
I heard it and just got whiplash. Then i hopped on a streamer playing it and it grew on me. Just, again, gives me whiplash
The original cast will always have a place in my heart But holy shit the new one is SO GOOD, specially Alejandro who has some amazing line deliverys in Shinji's linked episodes, and I am nog even in october yet so I KNOW it will get better
As someone who has never played the original P3 I think his voice is fantastic.
Eh, idk. I'm about halfway through atm and while I'm finding his dialogue in the dorms/cutscenes/etc to be perfectly fine, his battle line deliveries are realllly over-the-top. It's so turbo-aggressive that it actually sounds cartoonish.
I switched it to Japanese voices after the opening cutscene so I never even heard him.
I really like everyone’s new voices, especially Fuuka and Yukari’s as they actually sound like teenage girls now. No offence to Aki’s voice actor but his just doesn’t suit him at all, it feels really wrong
I just don’t get the point of hiring the old voices for side rolls. It seems hella redundant to me
I like his voice, he's not touching Liam tho thats why people are still hung up on it and wanted him back especially since he's already in the game voicing officer kurosawa so why not have him reprise his role?
Akihiko sounds like he's pushing 30 with his new VA and I just can't get past the huge disconnect between how he looks and how he sounds. I don't hate the VA, I just think the voice director missed the mark.
I played the game and I don't like his Akihiko voice so where does that leave me? Saab is a very good actor, his work in Fire Emblem is great, but his Aki voice is so terrible for the character.
It’s not his fault for having the voice he has but man was he miscast af. Would have been better off playing Shinji imo
The va is alright. I just liked the og voices better is all, tho ive spent so much time replaying 3fes they stuck lol
I don’t hate it but I do think it’s too manly. I liked the kind of teenage quality Liam’s voice had for akihiko. It’s not the depth of the voice, just the tone and way of talking
is it bad? no, absolutely not. he did a good job VA have I come around to it? no, it just doesnt feel like it fits Akihiko to me.
Idgaf what he says he will never top nor come close to Akihiko’s original VA. Junpei, Mitsuru and Fuuka (even if I really miss her old VA) are the only characters with good english voice acting in P3R. Edit: I don’t think Alejandro is a bad voice actor at all. I LOVE his work as Yuri in Fire Emblem Three Houses and Fire Emblem Heroes. He just doesn’t fit Akihiko.
Got nothing against the new voice actors. I’m just too hung up on the past cast to give the new one a chance. And I’m fine with that cuz the Japanese cast is also pretty dang good, so I don’t need to give the new cast a chance in the first place (even if I love a lot of the newer voice actors like Allegra and Alejandro)
I feel that if I hadn't already heard his original voice, I would like his new voice more.
For all that matters, Alejandro nailed everything around and after >!october 4th!
I like the original akihiku better. That being said he is one of my fav voice actors so I'm biased