With the release of Tower of God's English-language dub, the hit anime opens itself up to an even wider audience than before. Heading up the cast for the Crunchyroll Original is Johnny Yong Bosch, a household name for those in the anime community. Bosch's career, spanning over three decades now, encompasses more than a few of the medium's most well-known protagonists, like Code Geass' Lelouch Lamperouge and Bleach's Ichigo Kurosaki. Power Rangers aficionados, meanwhile, remember him as one of the franchise's Black Rangers, where he became a reoccurring fixture across several series'.
In Tower of God, Bosch takes on the voice of another iconic hero: Bam, the meek-mannered Irregular with hidden potential who enters the tower in pursuit of his close friend, Rachel, aiming to follow in her footsteps all the way to the summit. Along the way, he encounters trials and terrors that will test him -- and the friends he makes -- like nothing before. Adapted from the hugely popular manhwa by SUI, which has been serialized on WEBTOON since 2010, the animated adaptation has enough mileage to become another substantial feather in Bosch's cap.
CBR spoke to Bosch recently about what makes Bam a different kind of action hero, his storied career as a voice actor and his reaction to the news of the Bleach anime's return.
CBR: So, from the Black Ranger to the “black turtle”... Is this you coming full circle? (Sorry for the terrible wordplay.)
Johnny Yong Bosch: Yes. Well played...
Tower of God seems to be really clicking with anime fans already. Is it exciting to be part of it?
Absolutely. I’m excited to find out where it goes.
What was your level of familiarity with Tower of God before starting work on the show? Or webtoons in general, for that matter?
I had no knowledge of it prior to booking the role but [I] did a bit of research before my first session.
Bam strikes me as quite a different kind of hero to voice than, say, Ichigo in Bleach. He’s initially a lot timider and more unsure of himself than the typical protagonists you get in shonen manga/anime who tend to be pretty confident from the outset. Was this something that drew you to the part?
That’s certainly something I like about Bam but I was drawn to the story and the approach, which felt somewhat poetic.
What do you think it is about the more unassuming, quieter protagonists that strike a chord with people?
I think most viewers are similar and can relate. Sometimes [it] makes us sympathetic to the character's plight.
Without going into possible spoiler territory, Bam and Rachel’s relationship is quite contentious in the fandom. What’s your view on their dynamic?
I feel exactly [the same way] as the fandom [does]. What the heck’s going on? I need to find out!
Tower of God has been going strong for a good decade now as a webtoon and, from speaking to the director of the anime, I know plans for more seasons are on the cards. Do you see yourself being in this for the long haul?
I do.
I understand that you and the rest of the crew for the dub had to shift to remote working to get the production completed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. What was that like? Have you ever had to work that way before?
I’ve had a couple [of] work from home sessions prior to COVID-19 but [those were] just simple pick-up takes not complete episodes.
It’s hard to pull out just one performance from a career as long as yours to talk about, but I really enjoyed your recent portrayal of Nine in My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising; he’s got a lot of classic, supervillain gravitas to him. It kind of harkened back a bit to your performance as Lelouch in Code Geass, too, who is -- to put it mildly -- on the melodramatic side. Is it true what they say, that playing a villain is more fun than playing a hero?
Typically, villains can be more enjoyable but it really depends on the series and how they’re written.
From Akira to Tower of God, you’ve been an integral part of so many classic gateway anime over the years. What do you look out for in roles these days? Is there a certain archetype you keep coming back to, or do you like to switch it up as much as possible?
It’s probably more like this... I’ve been dealt a hand of cards and I’m just trying to play them right. You never know when the next game is or if there’s going to be another.
And lastly, I’m sure you must know that the Bleach anime is returning to adapt the Thousand-Year-War arc from the manga. Are you hoping to reprise your role for it?
Of course!
Based on the web manhwa of the same name by SUI, Tower of God is the first co-production between Crunchyroll and WEBTOON and launched as part of the anime brand's inaugural Originals slate in April. New episodes of Tower of God are released every Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. PT on Crunchyroll.