Interview With Josh Grelle

Prepare For Epic Speeches!

Titan Killer, Figure Skater, Lord of The Fries. His titles are many and his accolades numerous, for he is the one who sailed across the chaotic ocean that is the harem genre, survived its intense fanservice, only to go on to voice some of the most socially relevant and impactful characters in all of modern anime!

Who could accomplish such a feat?  None other than Armin Arlert himself, Josh Grelle!

Joking aside, the voice behind Attack on Titan’s awesome orator has made quite the name for himself in the industry. While he is a master of soft spoken sidekicks, he’s also given us quite a few unconventional protagonists throughout the years as well: time-travelling samurai, the literal Prince of Darkness, a martial arts prodigy, even a rich kid who just wants to embrace his hobby as a crossdresser. Oh, and he was totally Yuri from Yuri on Ice.

Luckily for us, he managed to skate on by for a quick interview where we discussed the importance of his roles, and how they didn’t only affect him but also the community as a whole!

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to let us probe your brain!

“My pleasure! Thanks for reaching out to me. This is really cool!”

Before we start with your work as an actor, I would like to start off with your career as an ADR Script Writer. How has working in such a crucial role outside of the booth affected your performances inside it?

“I’ve been writing scripts for about half as long as I’ve been voice acting, so it’s affected it in many ways. I think the biggest impact it’s had is that, no matter what show I record on, I have a LOT more confidence in my deliveries. Japanese actors have an almost universal cadence they use to perform with, and as writers we have to lock in on that. Once you have that cadence down, you never lose it. 

It’s also given me the ability to help re-write on the fly. Sometimes we’ll run into a line that just isn’t working in the adaptation, or that doesn’t have enough ‘oomph’ to it. In this wild new world of SimulDubs, time is a precious commodity, so being able to help re-write problems in a script is a godsend.”

Out of all your undertakings as a writer in the industry, do you have a series that you feel proudest about being able to successfully adapt?

“Overlord. By a mile. I specifically requested to write the adaptation for the Overlord dub and it was one of the first shows I was made Lead Writer for. I’ve been a gamer since childhood, an MMO junkie since 2001, and an avid Role-player on top of it. Getting the chance to adapt a show about an MMO gamer who’s thrust into a fantasy world and essentially Role-plays the villain made my nipples hard.”

One of your earliest and most famous roles was of course Kenchi. Just as he learned to become a much greater fighter, what did your time on that show teach you as a voice actor?

“By the time I landed Kenichi I had been recording Anime for roughly 3-4 years. I was still living in Houston, so I had to drive 5 hours to Dallas and stay for two weeks at a time, recording 10am-10pm. It was the fanboy dream come true! I got to record at a studio I was a fan of with actors I had grown up listening to, many of whom were Kenichi’s martial arts masters. 

Kenichi put all the experience of cutting my teeth at ADV Films to the test. I started to perfect my comedic timing, my foley (screams, fighting reacts, etc), and really finding my voice as a young hero (Up till that point I had played mostly bits and villains, with the exception of Kyohei from the Wallflower). It took us 2 years to record all of Kenichi, and I learned a TON about voice work, and what I had to offer it. The voice I used for Kenichi would be the basis for many of future roles, including Armin from Attack on Titan and Yuri from Yuri On Ice.”

Ox Ford from Soul Eater speaks to all of us as the nerd desperate to win the girl of his dreams. Aside from the brilliant comedy he brought to the series, could you relate to his never-ending quest to woo?

“Yes, because I suck at it just like Ox! I only found the love of my life when I stopped trying to woo. Go freakin’ figure.”

How cool is it to go to work knowing you get to play Satan? Though as we all know, Mao from The Devil is a Part Timer isn’t a typical take on the Prince of Darkness.

“Who wouldn’t want to be the Lord of the Fries? Part-timer came along near the tail end of my fight to leave organized religion behind (no small feat), so being the Prince of Darkness was, if you’ll pardon the pun, cathartic as hell. I loved every minute of it. And I really appreciated how the show broke the mold. I was expecting it to be another harem romcom with gravity defying bewbage around every corner, but instead it turned out to be this incredibly well written sitcom with bits of magic and mayhem thrown in for flavor. Delicious!”

Shiomenta was an…interesting series for sure. Can you describe your experience playing Tanukichi during the rather infamous scenes involving Anna? Were you prepared for that much “love nectar?”

“I just reacted honestly to what was happening. I was as disgusted as Tanukichi. And no, I don’t think anyone is prepared for that much love nectar. Unless it’s their fetish. Even then…”

You’ve always excelled at playing timid yet determined characters such as Toriko’s Komatsu and Freezing’s Kazuya. That being said, how much fun was it to let loose as the violently awesome Toyohisa in Drifters?

You just said it yourself; VIOLENTLY. AWESOME!!! Getting to work on a title by Kouta Hirano was super cool as a Hellsing fan, and Drifters was like freakin’ therapy. I got so much rage out.  I felt like a hardcore bad-ass from moment one, and I did so much screaming I didn’t talk from Friday night to Monday morning of every weekend for the three months we recorded just to preserve my voice for more epic bad-assery. My wife and I communicated solely through finger snaps, whistles, and mouth farts.  Also, screaming I WILL BE YOUR DOOM makes for great foreplay 😉 

Armin from Attack on Titan has become a beloved character to many. Were you aware of just how much of a fanbase he had before you started voicing him? And did you expect to have to make that many epic speeches?

I wasn’t exactly aware of Armin’s fanbase, but I knew the show itself was immensely popular. I was fortunate in that I got to be a fan of the show before we even got the rights to it, and Armin was my favorite character. I knew I wanted to audition for him if I ever got the chance, and then FUNimation got it! And I got the part! 

As for his speeches, I knew about them (and the scream) well in advance thanks to knowing the show, but I was NOT aware that Armin was the narrator until we actually started recording. I’m hoping that means he lives all the way to the end.

You have played two very significant characters over the course of your career. Not only in how they contribute to their respective anime, but as beautifully written representatives of the LGBT community. How special was it to voice the likes of Yuri Katsuki in Yuri on Ice and Kuranosuke Koibuchi in Princess Jellyfish?

“Kuranosuke came at a time when I was struggling with my own gender identity and thoughts of transitioning. Getting to portray his inspiring level of self-love and fabulousness was incredibly therapeutic. Princess Jellyfish was another show that broke the mold, with wonderfully relate-able characters that were very HUMAN instead of fantastical. And Kura was special in that he was the first cross-dresser or gender fluid character I had seen that was the ROLE MODEL of a series instead of being the butt of a joke or fetishized. Crossdressing is his hobby. It brings him joy, and he teaches Tsukimi and the other members of the Sisterhood that they can love their respected hobbies AND themselves at the same time. 

As for Yuri, while I can’t speak for the creators or their intent with the characters relationships, I see his relationship to Victor the way many fans do: As the most healthy portrayal of a gay relationship we’ve ever seen in an anime. Like Kura, they were not overly sexualized or fetishized. Their relationship is treated the same as any heterosexual relationship, and it’s about damn time. On top of that, Yuri was also an incredible story about finding perfection in art, and fighting crippling self-doubt/anxiety. I think every artist, whether they draw, paint, write, perform, or build has gone through what Yuri does. And it takes the incredible love and friendship of Victor for him to find the passion in his art again.  I relate to Yuri in almost every way comparatively, and getting to go through those feelings with him helped me to combat those doubts and fears as well.”

Josh, thank you so much for your time! If fans want to get in contact and swarm you with Yuri/Victor fanart, where can they find you?

“This has been a blast! Thanks so much for talking with me. I can be found on Twitter and Instagram @JoshGrelle or through my website JoshGrelle.com which will be undergoing some overalls in the near future.”

And finally, as an honorary member of WatchMojo, if you had to choose a topic to be turned into a top ten, what would it be? 

“The Top Ten Magical Mayhem Moments of The Slayers”