For over three decades, Bang Zoom! Studios has been one of the defining forces behind English-language anime dubbing. From helping establish modern localization standards to introducing audiences to countless voice actors, the studio has quietly shaped how anime is experienced outside Japan. While the company does not solely do anime dubbing, that’s one area where you’ve almost certainly heard their work. Popular series like Demon Slayer, Sword Art Online, DAN DA DAN, and many more had Bang Zoom! involved in the creation of their very strong English dubs. A lot of work and effort has gone into making the studio a veritable powerhouse in the creation of good localization and pleasing English dub works.
At the heart of that effort (alongside the talented voice actors, of course) are CEO Eric Sherman and Co-President / Casting Director Mami Okada, whose backgrounds in filmmaking have informed an approach to dubbing that treats every production with the same care as an original film. That philosophy extends beyond the recording booth. Through Bang Zoom!’s long-running convention auditions — including Anime Expo’s popular open auditions — the studio has become one of the industry’s most recognizable entry points for aspiring voice actors.
Ahead of this year’s convention season, I spoke with Sherman and Okada about how Bang Zoom! evolved from a small localization studio into an industry leader, why acting matters far more than having a “cool voice,” and why discovering new talent remains one of the most rewarding parts of their work. If you’re planning on taking part in this year’s Anime Expo open auditions there’s even some advice for you in there, right from the same people who will be evaluating your performance(s).
From Filmmaking to Anime
Neither Sherman nor Okada originally expected to build careers in anime. Sherman spent time living in Japan during his twenties, developing an appreciation for manga, anime and Japanese pop culture while pursuing work in film. While he had already been reading manga for years, this was a distinct entry point into interacting with manga and anime from the business side. When an opportunity arose through friends starting a localization company, he found himself entering an industry that was still relatively young in North America.
“Just like a lot of things in life, I guess you could say I kind of fell into it.” Sherman explained. “I had lived in Japan for a while in my 20s and made friends there. I just loved pop culture of any sort. And so it was instantly that I loved manga, I loved anime. I had some friends that I met in Tokyo that moved to New York and then started up with this company. For me, getting into anime happened when some stuff I was working on in the film industry sort of fell through. And right at that moment, this opportunity opened up. And that’s how I personally started working in anime. I had already been reading manga and stuff for years before that. And then, as it started to take off, things started to get busier.
Okada arrived through an equally unexpected path. After moving from Japan to study filmmaking in the United States, she joined Bang Zoom! as its first intern, moving up the ranks in the company to where she sits today, as Co-President and Casting Director.
“I came from Japan to study filmmaking in the States” Okada explained. “I realized that this localization process is very much like filmmaking because we have a script process, auditions, directors, and then there’s a post. So I really understood what was happening. I actually never watched anime before, before joining Bang Zoom!. But I felt that I could understand this and then found creating something together. So that’s how I joined, and then never left.”
That shared filmmaking background ultimately became central to the company’s philosophy. Sherman was happy to explain how that background evolved from a shared experience to something more foundational.
“We both went to film school. We both love film, making movies and making creative stuff. So both of us instantly just had that same passion. And it didn’t matter that it was anime or not anime. It just so happened that anime fell in our laps because they needed us to do it. But it quickly became clear that, like Mami said, the process was really similar to just any kind of filmmaking. We approached dubbing as if we were making an original production. And I think that was, at the time, I mean, hate to use this word and sound all grim and whatever, but I think it was kind of revolutionary. I think up until then it was dub, get it in, get it out. We can even change the names of the characters or change the dialogue. And we were like, ‘Oh my, no, let’s be completely faithful .Let’s respect these creators in Japan. Let’s create a religiously faithful dub.’ And also let’s make the viewer forget that it was ever not in English for the English language dub.”
Starting Open Auditions
Bang Zoom! has offered open auditions at a variety of conventions over the years, and brought in now well-known voice talent through that process. Successful voice actors like Abby Trott, Zach Aguilar, and many more got their start as contestants in the voice acting open auditions or contests offered by Bang Zoom! at various times. I wanted to know how the addition of these contests as a finding strategy came about and what sort of mindset company leadership had at the time they started endeavors like this one. Sherman answered first, speaking to the origins of the contests.
“When we first started doing it, Anime Expo asked us to do it. Something called AX Idol. Our first reaction was like, ‘Ew, no way. I don’t like the sound of that. It’s just American Idol, but just for anime.’ And that maybe it wasn’t even looking out for the participants’ best interest because what could you do for them? What are you offering them, right?”
“We got to produce it ourselves and make it real. And we made sure that it would be something of value for the participants. And in fact, that’s where we started really discovering talent. And we loved being able to find new, fresh voices and then nurture them and be able to offer that opportunity to come into the studio on a regular basis and just learn from being in the booth and working with real directors.”
Okada explained how the earliest forms of the casting took place, often right from the Bang Zoom! booth itself, distinct from AX Idol.
“AX Idol was something that Anime Expo was hosting as a main event, and then we were there to help. And then there was a voiceover competition and singing competition. But these open auditions started up at our booth. Because we were helping with all these main events for Anime Expo, in exchange, they gave us a little booth space on the exhibition hall. But we had nothing to really sell other than the one DVD that we produced back then. We had all these open times. So I figured, you know what, just to fill up the time — I usually as a casting director do what’s called a general audition. We bring actors in and then we just see what they can do.”
“I was like, ‘Well, why don’t we just do that at our booth? But open to everyone.’ It was just a very little booth experience. I think we had a microphone and the people just come up. It started like that. And then every year people kept coming back and started to form a line. And then they started to give us bigger space because of it. That’s how it kind of evolved. But also at the same time, I did realize all these people that are coming up, they’re actually very talented. Some of them do have training and are someone we can work with right away.”
“One of our producers at the time, Aniplex, I brought up to them an idea like, ‘Oh, what if we promote a project together? We’ll cast someone from the convention”
“It became official. And then we promoted the project at the same time. It just became a large, large event. And that’s how it evolved.”
Okada also noted that is isn’t always the case that an audition is for a specific role, nor is it the case that a successful audition stops at just one role. Last year and this year’s Anime Expo open auditions are not for a particular role.
“Some of the open auditions we’ve done before had a specific title attached to it. So once you audition and you win the contest, you can be someone in the series. But I think for me in voice acting, it’s not just a one time thing. So we always consider them for any other role. And that is the truth for even the professionals. The professionals audition for the main character and they don’t get the role, but we are always thinking of them for other roles. It’s always evolving.”
What Does Good Look Like?
Beyond understanding how the auditions started and how they work, I felt it made sense to ask what the auditions look for from aspiring voice actors. Okada was happy to go into detail, both for what she looks for from a contestant and some common mistakes people make when doing their auditions.
“First thing first is acting. A lot of people think ‘Oh, I have a cool voice. I should be a voice actor. I can do funny voices. I should be a voice actor.’ But that’s not the case. Everyone already has a beautiful voice, and they are already unique. What we are looking for is the acting and emotion and how authentically they can own the character and how believable they are. So that the script that they are reading doesn’t sound like a script. It should sound like they’ve never ever said those words before, but it’s coming from their heart. There are a lot of technical things that we look for from voice actors, but I think that’s the biggest thing .It is the acting and emotions and feelings.”
“Obviously a lot of people have seen anime before or they’re a fan of anime. So they have in their head ‘I love to sound like so-and-so and I love to play this kind of character. I love this show and I want to be this character.’ That’s what they think they are good at would be a perfect fit for. So let’s say you want to be a hero, but maybe you’re actually a really good villain. Sometimes people already have an idea in their head, but that’s why it’s really good to get professional opinions or feedback so that you might actually realize ‘Oh no, I thought I have a young voice, but actually I have a little bit of a deeper voice,’ things like that.”
Okada also noted that this career is a continuous one, with different moments of progression.
“It’s an audition, but it is one of many, many auditions that they will do if they are pursuing a career of voice acting or any other acting. An audition is the job, and that’s their work, right? Sometimes people come to the competition thinking it’s live or die. Like if they don’t make this one, that’s it, their career’s over. Like they don’t have any chance. But it’s not like that at all. This is just one of many that they will do. I just want people who are participating to know that, you know, just use this as an experience. That’s why we do it. But it is very competitive. As you can see, all these people gather for the event. They all want to be a voice actor. But it’s very competitive, and it is like a way of life almost.”
“A lot of people look social media again and feel like success is overnight. But it really is not. [ . . . ] Maybe by getting this taste of auditioning, maybe it sparks something in them that they really want to do it. So that’s why we are there. It’s not that we are trying to make someone an overnight star.”
Sherman added some additional color, reinforcing how important it is to have acting skills.
“As we started to do more and more anime production at Bang Zoom! over the years, we started to notice that there was typecasting going on. So we thought it would be really fun to sometimes take actors who normally they play villains and say ‘No, you’re going to play the lead in this one’ or ‘You’re going to play the damsel in distress.’ That was a huge challenge for them and they loved it.”
“It’s not about that you love anime. It’s not about that you love this voice actor or this character or that you can do a great voice or funny voice, but that you can act. And so that’s the first thing. People don’t want to hear that a lot, but taking acting classes and getting your acting chops up is the first thing.”
Growth of Dubbing
As Sherman mentioned previously, the anime dubbing world has gone through a lot of changes over the last several decades. Anime dubs used to take massive liberties during localization, changing lines and optimizing toward a much different (and sometimes less faithful) adaptation of the original work. Lately though, dubs are more faithful than they were, say, 30 years ago. More work goes into making every lip flap count and contain dialogue that better aligns with the original Japanese. Names aren’t changed (as often). Both Sherman and Okada commented on this shift and how Bang Zoom! helps lead the charge in it.
Okada talked about how the accessibility of anime has markedly changed the space.
“Since streaming came into place, I think that changed the industry and how fans watch anime as well. When Eric started, and when I joined Bang Zoom!, you could only watch it on VHS tape or what very little was airing on TV. And that’s all we got. But now it’s at our fingertips. Almost all of the anime that comes out of Japan, you can watch it here. And you can watch it in Japanese, English or Spanish. You can just switch it back and forth. So it’s very easy to see what was original and what was dub. So fans are definitely more thirsty for the true, honest localization. But, like Eric said earlier, we had that in our mind from the very beginning.”
One thing I personally see a lot of on social media is complaints from fans that a particular actor is chosen too often and voices characters in every show. I wanted to hear perspective from industry professionals about choosing actors often for multiple roles and balancing that with embracing newer talent. Okada explained how the company works to both incorporate newer voices and utilize proven ones.
“We really advocate for newer voices. But that said, this whole process of localization recording is not easy. And then it takes certain skill and certain person to be able to play a lead and express all the emotions and basically bring a show into life. Of course, as a casting person, not only the creativity, we have a schedule up against us and a budget up against us. So, yes, it is a risk to have someone new that we don’t know how they’re going to perform into the lead role. So I think there are a lot of reasons why you hear the same voice, because they do have all of the understanding. They can work with the director well. They can take directions well so that we are not doing one take over and over and over. They can work against the lip sync and timing and all that stuff. So that definitely comes with experience, right? So I think it really depends on the budget, the schedule, how much we have room to be able to bring on a new actor as a major character. But for us, if it’s not a major lead character, we are always trying to find a way to work with a new actor all the time.”
Sherman added to that, emphasizing how impressive it is that one actor can fill so many roles.
“I understand that if people are hearing the same voices, then that’s too much. But I think that the amazing thing about really talented actors is that they can play all these different roles. And if they can and they do it well, what’s the problem? I think it’s good for everyone. But we really are just passionate about giving people chances and getting people in that haven’t done it before, or newcomers. It’s a balancing act, I would say.”
Bang Zoom! is holding open auditions at Anime Expo this year, with pre-registration for the event filling up in roughly 2 minutes, showing the level of excitement. Auditions are taking place Saturday, July 4th, at the Novo from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Bang Zoom! will also be at even more conventions in the coming years, being even more available for aspiring voice actors to make their mark. We’d like to thank Bang Zoom! for speaking to us ahead of Anime Expo about the open auditions and voice acting writ large.
Participate In Discussions