An Incomplete Japanese cast for Mass Effect “Shepard vs. Reapers” Trilogy
Chapter Two Dirty Dozen in SPACE
Verse Two The not entirely human crew of Normandy SR-2
Yours truly did not watch the Search for Spock, that third Star Trek movie until May, 2012. You know, the one with Enterprise going down, really down. It’s also a plot point in Beyond. Though in the 2016 flick, real adventure did not begin until the iconic ship sunk. The reason I mentioned Star Trek movies here is to say that I did not see any ship down moment elsewhere when I first booted up Mass Effect 2 merely days after its launch. The bombastic destruction of Normandy SR-1 sure blew away 20-year-old away.
OF course unlike Star Trek where new ship did not appear until sequel, Commander Shepard got Normandy SR-2 and its new crew only after 2 shooting galleries. The piece is mainly about this crew and the ghost in ship her or them self. For editing reason, the 2 originally sold as DLC squad mates are here as well. After all, one does not have to shoot lots of people to recruit those two, they started like NPC in a Hub just like other non-combatant crew members on this list.
Secretary
Nana Mizuki as Kelly Chambers
I had stated in 2 separateoccasions that I wanted to hear Nana Mizuki as Miranda Lawson, but that was a couple of years ago before realizing that Psycho-pass had became a science fiction classic. But like I said before, Ms. Mizuki is my favorite voice actor from Japan in a quantifiable way, so I cannot see myself doing this list without her on it.
Ms, Mizuki did dubbing for two pieces starring Lea Seydoux but not dubbing the French actor twice. She is the Japanese voice of Fragile in Death Stranding (Likely would return for the sequel.), but not the one behind Madeline Swann in No Time To Die. Instead she voiced Paloma, the Ana de Arma character who is just chilled to work for CIA and with James Bond. The vibe is most identical to Kelly Chambers’ enthusiasm for Cerbures and Commander Shepard, with description of all squad members on top. There is still heavy lifting to do.
Real-life couple play an odd couple
Maaya Sakamoto as Gabby Daniels
Kenichi Suzumura as Kenneth Donnley
Maaya Sakamoto and Kenichi Suzumura to yours truly are practically the Japanese counterpart of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. (I got someone else entirely for Vega in mind). Both pair went through the progress of from acting partners in teen slashers to married couple in real life. Ms. Sakamoto and Mr. Suzurmura just started in mid to later aughts and their output are teen slashers in other genres’ skin.
There is the 2004 to 2005 Mobile Suite Gundam Seed Destiny, a teen slasher disguised as sci-fi action blockbuster with mechs. There is all that bullshit Tetsuya Nomura cooked up after Final Fantasy VII, the teen slasher trying to be fantasy epic There is Garden of Sinner, a series of slasher movies based on a novel way too poetically written for the genre by Kinoko Nasu. The couple also appeared in Legend of the Galactic Heroes New Thesis, as the sister of imperial reformer and the reluctant saver of a interstellar republic respectively.
Thing about about this couple when they act with each other is Mr. Suzuki usually plays the simpler one of the duo while Ms. Sakamoto plays the smart one. The pattern that can be mapped neatly upon the engineer duo Gabby Daniels and Kenneth Donnley. With Suzumura’s LOAGH character Yang Wen Li being a weirdo always take tea over coffee, Donnely’s thing about scorch over bourbon in Mass Effect 3 should be interesting and maybe the only thing to make up for the fact that one cannot do Scottish accent in Japanese. No, Kanseibe ain’t no counterpart for that.
Getaway Driver 2.0
Nao Toyama as EDI
Now the “not entirely human” part of the crew and one yours truly would try not to lose their shit over. In a quantifiable way, the 1992 born Japanese voice actor Nao Toyama is the second favorite of yours truly in that filed. I’m a fan of both her endeavor in voice acting and J-pop. What I like about her songs is the different kinds of singing voice she can do, haunting is my favorite among those.
Speaking of haunting, the short of it is Ms. Toyama played a robot lady with haunting yet seething voice named Lacia in 2018’s novel turned anime Beatless. (Those snubs at Production IG! They should have handled this but instead of they did Legend of the Galactic Heroes New Thesis. Winner of the Best Novel at Seiun Awards over a mere nominee, huh?) I mean it’s not like Bioware cast Tricia Helfer merely for her voice and ignored the fact that she was the sensual Six in Battlestar Galactica.
Ms. Toyama usually plays the archetype I would call “Damn! She was close” as opposite to “the male lead’s future wife” in those so-called Harem stories. Along with two aforementioned ladies actually. Saori Hayami (Liara) in My Youth Love Comedy Snafu and Asami Seto (Ashley) in Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. Funny enough Ms. Toyama played “future wife” against Kana Hanazawa(Miranda)’s “close one” in Nisekoi, that comic adaption is practically canceled before the story got to the point. So, I cast her here as someone not available to the player character, but instead spoken for by the grumpy ship pilot. The two of them would pull Shepard’s sorry ass out of several fires before they realize that they should kiss already, like Chitoke and Raku
(Koki Uchiyama, someone I cast to dub Seth Green)
in Nisekoi.
A Wrathful Mercenary
Kazuhiro Yamaji as Zassead
Two one-time Hideo Kojima collaborators coming up!
Kazuhiro Yamaji dubbed Mads Mikkelsen in Death Stranding. With how the story went in Death Stranding and Mr. Mikkelsen not confirmed for the sequel, I am assuming that it’s a one-time deal. Mr. Yamaji was also in Psycho-pass and Legend of the Galactic Heroes New Thesis, played a more experienced psychologist in the formed and was recast as an imperial admiral defected to the republic in the latter.
Mr. Yamaji is someone to be called to play “sad dads”. The saddest of the bunch being the one in Symphogear, the man had to pose as a father figure to his half-sister because his own terrible daddy er, fucked his bride…Anyway, I quite like his performance as the scenery chewing secret police chief Kenny in Attack on Titan third season despite how low I regard AOT as while.
Okay, I know that Zassead is almost a non-character in Mass Effect 2 and 3, Mr. Yamaji’s talent might be wasted here, but still I said I would cast all squad members and this is just one box has to be checked.
This one might be tricky
Yu Kobayashi as Kasumi Goto
How to handle stereotypical Japanese character in English media when translate said media to Japanese can be very tricky. But here is just another squad member box has to be checked here. For the almost foul-mouthed thief Kasumi Goto, I present to you Yu Kobayashi, mainly because she played the foul-mouthed masochist ninja Saruta in Gintama. Ms. Kobayashi was also in Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, as one of many Anime Usual Suspects in the PSP game to boast sale.
Kasumi Goto is also the closest one among the squad member to be a crew member as well. During the final suicide mission of Mass Effect 2, she can be seen managing the Ezzo Core of Normandy SR-2 since all other crew was taken by the Collectors. So I leave her here before getting into the livelier bunch of the dirty dozen.
(To be continued in The Remaining Half Dozen and a couple of their descendants)
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