One of the biggest anime debuts of the year, Chainsaw Man is based on the bestselling manga series of the same name by Tatsuki Fujimoto. The series follows Denji (Ryan Colt Levy), a teenager who bonds with his Chainsaw Devil Pochita and gains incredible powers that allow him to battle nefarious Devils that threaten Japan. Enlisted by an elite government squad, Denji finds himself paired with Aki (Reagan Murdock), a more socially reserved Devil Hunter who immediately takes a disliking to Denji even as he is forced to share his small apartment with him in between bouts of bloody devil hunting around the country.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Chainsaw Man’s English-language voice cast stars Ryan Colt Levy and Reagan Murdock spoke about blending the show’s humor and heart. The pair revealed what they appreciate about their respective characters and shared their own love for Chainsaw Man as the anime series unfolds on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
CBR: Let’s start with the big question, and there’s no delicate way to ask this, but how was it recording an extended scene where Denji is pulverizing Aki’s sensitive bits?
Ryan Colt Levy: I don’t know what you’re talking about, that was the Testicle Devil! [laughs] It was one of the most fun days of my life. [laughs] Just getting to do scenes like that, it doesn’t matter what medium you work in, stuff like that is so rare to come by and [to] play with that it is such a gift. When someone gives you the best slice of cake, you don’t throw it in the garbage — you eat that thing. [laughs]
Reagan Murdock: I was working with Mike [McFarland], the director, and Manny [Sanchez], the audio engineer, and we were just cracking up the whole time we were doing it. [laughs] Like Ryan said, you really don’t get to do a scene like that very often, so just getting to stretch a little bit is always so refreshing.
Levy: I remember the first time I saw it in full. The sounds that Reagan made were so genuine that I felt it. It’s one thing doing it and another thing hearing it. I was like, “I’m so sorry!” [laughs]
That scene goes on a little longer than you’d think it would.
Levy: Yeah, they were like, “We’re going to give this all the time that it deserves.”
You mentioned Mike McFarland, who comes from the Dragon Ball Z school of voice acting. How was it working with him in the booth as the voice director for Chainsaw Man?
Levy: Incredible. He’s amazing. He’s so sensitive, caring, kind, and really precise and nuanced — doesn’t let stuff slip and really cares as much as we do. We’re always meeting in the middle over things, like if this line feels right or if we should go at [something] again. If I ask him for another take, he knows that I have an idea for something, and [it’s] not just “we got it” [from him]. I feel so safe having him direct the thing. It’s been so much fun.
Murdock: In so many ways, it’s wonderful working with a guy like him who has such a wonderful creative vision. He doesn’t really let you go until he gets what he knows he can out of you, and that’s so refreshing because you don’t walk out the booth going, “I should’ve done that differently back there.” You’ve done it all the way that you know you can, and that’s always such a gratifying feeling as an actor.
How did you find the voices for your characters? Was it a matter of looking at the artwork, hearing the Japanese voice cast, finding it on your own, or some combination of the three?
Levy: It is kind of a little bit of everything but ultimately, what I think it comes down to with the audition itself, for me, it was being a deep fan of this for a long time, getting those sides and going, “I know this scene by heart, in my heart, how I would already play it, so I’m just going to be genuine with who I think Denji is at this specific moment.” That was really the foundation of it all.
Murdock: Tatsuki Fujimoto just did such a phenomenal job of writing and drawing these characters, especially with a character like Aki, who is so guarded and non-expressive. The little tiny emotions that Fujimoto gets were really all I needed to read into what was going on in Aki’s head at the time. Pulling that little subtlety out of that very guarded guy is difficult as an actor, but the way that he’s drawn, especially in the manga, is just so helpful.
To double down on that, Aki is such a funny character. How do you find those moments of humor underneath that baseline of stoicism?
Murdock: You just have to play everything completely straight. He’s somebody who has constructed this idea about himself, and watching that be challenged by characters like Denji and Power is both a source of so much comedy and, down the line, it’s going to be a source of watching him grow as a person and seeing the way that they influence him by their interactions.
Everything is new for Denji. He appreciates all the things we take for granted, from peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches to warm beds. Ryan, how is it playing a character with that perspective?
Levy: That is exactly it and what I love so much about him. I’m inherently a very optimistic person. I’m a realist, but I also like to hope for the best from people in circumstances, and I’ve always had a genuine excitement and enthusiasm for seeing other people having awesome experiences, finding happiness, or feeling creatively fulfilled. I think I just really deeply resonate with Denji’s understanding of how valuable these simple things are, where so often we can take things for granted.
I’ve lived some pretty hardship years and have gone through my own version of a Denji lifestyle to some degree where I was really able to value the simplest of things in ways that I wouldn’t have been afforded that mentality otherwise if things had been smooth. I think that there is something really important about everybody realizing so much about our day-to-day life. If we could just slow down to appreciate it more, I think our mental health would be better. I think he’s incredibly healthy-minded because of his approach. He’s just new to processing all of it.
In addition to having a healthy mindset, Denji also has a healthy libido.
Levy: As many 16-year-olds should, I think a doctor would tell you! [laughs]
That’s fair! How is it capturing the energy and humor in his randiness?
Levy: It’s similar to what Reagan was saying. I think the beautiful thing about how Fujimoto has designed all of these characters is that the humor, the sadness, and all the big feelings come from very true moments and very relatable things for all of them. I think it’s just about playing them as real and genuine as you can. Even though some of these lines seem really funny, to him, it’s a really deep and important thing.
Even if we’re giggling while we’re saying some of these things when I’m in the booth, I’m not going, “Isn’t that so silly.” I’m really channeling the value that he has on this, that he thinks will fulfill him emotionally or as a person, which is even more to the point of it all. He’s missing elements of himself. He’s not sure what that is, and now that he’s out in this world. This is his form of trying to discover that and complete himself.
Reagan, as someone with special insight into the character, what do you think is the main source of friction between Aki and Denji?
Murdock: I think it’s that Denji is so raw, and Aki is so refined. Denji is just cards on the table, “This is who I am. I don’t care what you think.” Aki is, “I’m in control. Everything I do is done with precision and grace, and this is how a person should live their life.” The way that those two clash at the beginning is hilarious — and the way that Denji really challenges Aki’s worldview and the way that they influence each other over the course of the series. They have such a wonderful and beautiful friendship that develops over the course of the series that I really look forward to everybody seeing.
The first time I met you guys was at New York Comic Con right after you premiered the first episode at the show, and Chainsaw Man has become one of the biggest anime shows of the year on Hulu and Crunchyroll. How has the fan response been?
Levy: It has been incredible! Even leading up to the first episode coming out, people were already every day rolling in with support, kindness, enthusiasm, rooting for us, and wishing us good luck. Now #ChainsawTuesday is like a national holiday, it feels like. It comes out on Tuesday, and within half an hour, there are memes, comments, and people coming out from everywhere, and it lasts almost the entire week until the next Tuesday.
It is just so cool seeing people excited over this story and these characters and the enthusiasm that they have. People experiencing it for the first time, it’s so exciting seeing them taking this in and processing it in real-time.
Which is your favorite Devil of the ones we’ve seen on the show so far?
Levy: I’m going to say the Fox Devil out of the ones that we’ve seen because what a beautiful, badass, and incredibly powerful idea, especially disappearing into smoke. It’s just so cool.
Murdock: Yeah, I’ve got the same answer. The Fox Devil is just so wonderfully designed and has got such a presence. She just snaps onto the screen and commands everyone’s attention. She’s voiced by a very dear friend of mine, Natalie Van Sistine, who I’ve known for years.
Levy: I had no idea you guys were that close! That’s amazing!
Murdock: I was jumping up and down when I heard it was her in the recording booth.
Levy: That’s so awesome! She sounds amazing!
Murdock: She does! She has such an amazing voice.
The Fox Devil was Sarah Wiedenheft’s favorite too. I’m partial to the leech with teeth, if only for the nightmare quality.
Levy: When we were recording, me and Mike kept talking about how much it freaked us out. [laughs]
Now that we’re four episodes deep, what can you tease about the next several episodes of Chainsaw Man?
Levy: Even just episode-to-episode, I think people can just strap in for an emotional rollercoaster that’s just going to take them to places that I don’t think they’ve quite been to before.
Murdock: Have a tissue box handy. You’re going to need it down the road. [laughs]
Based on the manga series created by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man is directed by Ryu Nakayama and Masato Nakazono. New episodes are released Tuesdays on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
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