With the second season of Spy x Family underway, fans are talking about the newest character, Bond. The veteran military dog is becoming a fan favorite for his unique abilities and bravery against villains, but fans are also loving his simple “Borf” speech that adds even more charm to his character. Behind the scenes, this anime doggo is voiced by Kenichiro Matsuda, a voice actor who in recent years is only growing in fame.
Aside from adding to Bond’s charm in Spyx Family, Kenichiro is also praised for his work as the series’ narrator, among other roles. He began his career around 2009, but a few voice-acting roles within this past decade have put him on the industry map. Kenichiro began his career with a few minor side roles in the series Naruto Shippuden. According to his blog, he also did voice acting work for American series like the cartoon Camp Lazlo. With luck, he was able to break into a main character role right away with the series Examurai Sengoku, though that series isn’t as popular as many of the other anime he’s worked on.
Ghost in the Shell: Batou’s Rage Shakes Up the Battlefield
In 2013, Kenichiro Matsuda was given the breakout role of Batou in the film Ghost in the Shell: Border 1 – Ghost Pain. With experience as a military ranger and witnessing the worst of battle, Batou is a bit rough around the edges, but his advice is often sound as he works with Motoko to resolve their cases. At his worst, he’s hot-headed and trigger-happy, but he also knows when to hold back fire and take a more defensive strategy.
In this role, Kenichiro captures Batou’s rough personality and does especially well with expressing the character’s rage. Though the film’s reviews wound up being average, with how big the franchise is in the anime community and how well Matsuda did voice acting, it helped to lead him to even bigger roles.
Vinland Saga: Thors’ Voice Booms With Compassion
After the success of Ghost in the Shell, Kenichiro landed more supporting roles in famous anime like Blade Runner, Black Clover, Fairy Tail and Mob Psycho 100, but his next big role would be in the acclaimed series Vinland Saga as Thors, the father of the protagonist Thorfinn.
As the leader of his small village, Thors manages all matters big and small, from the livestock that keeps them alive to diplomatic matters between other villages. He’s also the fiercest fighter, wiping out dozens of enemies by himself, though it’s his compassion that defines his character. Kenichiro may have not had many lines with Thors since the character is a man of few words, but the voice actor managed to balance Thors’ strong appearance with his massive compassion, using a deep masculine voice with soft undertones.
Spy x Family: Bond Forger’s ‘Borf’ Is Bigger Than His Bite
Kenichiro Matsuda is currently on fans’ radars with his work in Spy x Family. On top of being the narrator, Kenichiro also handles the voice of the new top dog of the Forger family, Bond. At the end of Season 1, the dog’s importance within the series was teased with the dog’s glimpse of a future life with the Forger family, revealing his ability to see into the future. Sadly, this old dog has had a hard life of being caged as a lab experiment, which led to his future vision, followed by him being sold on the black market to be used as a weapon. However, with the help of Anya’s mind-reading abilities, this cautious but caring canine’s premonitions are put to good use when they save the day together in Season 2.
Not much had to be added regarding voice acting this character since, as a dog, he doesn’t have much dialogue. His actions, body language and unique ability to see into the future are what tell his story and shape his character. However, when it comes to how the dog sounds when he does open his mouth, Kenichiro adds a nice, subtle layer of charm to this gentle giant with his iconic “borf” speech.
For the most part, it appears as though Kenichiro Matsuda is the ideal voice actor to play the strongest-looking characters, even though they may be complete softies on the inside. He nailed the aggressive nature of Batou in Ghost in the Shell, found the perfect balance of strength and kindness for Thors in Vinland Saga and currently adds the right amount of goofy charm to the lovable Bond in Spy x Family. With these impressive voice-acting roles under his belt, Kenichiro Matsuda is sure to have a promising career for years to come.
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