At New York Comic Con 2024 we had the wonderful opportunity to sit down in conversation with the English dub cast of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon (also known as Danmachi for short) Season 5, including Bryson Baugus , who voices Bell, Juliet Simmons who voices Syr, and ADR Director Kyle Colby Jones. We asked the trio about their experience recording Season 5, which at that point had yet to fully air, their perspectives on the series’ characters, and how it feels to be a part of such a long running and beloved anime project.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity.
Q: To start, can you each talk about how you first got involved with the project and what drew you to it?
Jones: Well, I guess I’ll start. It came to me first. Geez, when was Season 1? Anybody have a date on that?
Baugus: That was 2016 we worked on it, and then 2017 it released.
Jones: Okay, so in 2016 this came across my desk as the director. I worked with a writer at the time. I think that was Caitlin Barr doing Episode 1. And watched it. It was very fun. We first saw it — with a name like Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon you don’t have a whole lot of high hopes, but it’s fun. I watched it in Japanese. You know, this is a really fun story, so let’s see if we can plus this up as much as we can. Then we went through and did a rewrite, and then it was time to hold a few auditions and see who these people were going to be, especially Bell and Hestia. They were your big heavies at the time. And well, that’s how we wound up with this guy right here (gestures toward Baugus).
Baugus: Yeah, and like he had mentioned, they held the auditions. That was my first time auditioning for anything at Sentai [Sentai Filmworks] where we did the dub for it. Up to that point, I had done a few extra voices and minor characters and supporting roles here and there. But I was super nervous. But I was also excited because I felt like Bell was exactly in the range of the type of character that I felt the most confident playing. And so I remember doing the audition and being like, “Okay, cool, this feels nice.”
And I remember you guys had already auditioned a few Hestias, and you had left Luci’s audio in there for me.
Jones: I think we were feeling her pretty good early on.
Baugus: And so that helped me to feel more confident in the flow of the scene and all that stuff. And I had heard of the show from a few friends of mine who had watched anime. At that point, I hadn’t watched as much in a while. But the fact that I had friends that were like, “Oh, yeah, this is a really good show.” I was like, “Oh, shoot, even more pressure to do a good job.” So it’s been a while, but it’s been a long journey. And I love Bell. Not just because he was my first main character, but because I feel like he’s been a landmark character for me, especially nine years into this. It feels like every time I come back to playing Bell, he’s developed over the years.
Jones: And you fell right into that category of — we’re doing auditions. And then once you hear it, you just kind of know it all falls into place. You go, oh, “There’s our Bell. I would cancel everyone else, but that would be rude.”
Simmons: I think at the time I had been at Sentai for maybe a couple of years. I feel like this was one of the first things I ever worked with Kyle on. And first year, you know, I walked in. They said, “You’re going to be, you know, basically working at a bar.” And I said, “You betcha.” And, yeah, that was basically it. I think every few years I come back in, I’d be like, “Okay, we’re back with Syr and we’re at the bar. We’re going to make Bell some lunch. And we’re going to be like, go do your best, bud.”
Jones: Yes, she was not a character that you read for or we looked at and go, okay, this is a pivotal person. We need to really send this one through the ringer. But this Juliet gal, she’s doing great. This voice fits really nice. And, yeah, let’s throw her in there. And boy, you know, I’m glad we did because now she’s — this season especially is going to be heavy on Syr. And, yeah, we’ve got someone well up to the task to pull off a big heavy, even though that’s not where the character started. We had no idea this was coming.
Simmons: Exactly. But I’m excited.
Q: And my second question, looking back at all the different years, what’s been the biggest challenge of dubbing Danmachi? And are there any particular scenes from early Season 5 that we’ve already seen that have been the most challenging?
Jones: To me it hasn’t been a huge challenge. I guess the biggest part is since the cast keeps growing and growing each year, keeping that filled up with really talented people. Sometimes when you’re in that deep into it, Haikyuu!! is another example of when I worked on that. It’s like, oh, and that has to be all boys too. This one basically we keep adding girls. And go, “Okay, we need another great girl.” And then, so COVID came along and got everyone to do — not everyone, but home studios became a thing. But it really broadened our reach as far as the actors we can work with. And so that helped alleviate that big challenge right there. And then as far as the new stuff goes, we’re not as deep in as you might think. We’re chasing right behind them. And so for us right now, it’s just been fun to kind of get the band back together and let’s do this.
Baugus: I would say that Danmachi is one of those shows that it’s always just felt natural to slide into. I couldn’t think of any particular moments that felt like, “Oh, man, this is rough to get through.” I feel like throughout the entire series, I have felt very natural. And I feel like any time I go in there, I’m just like, “This is what I’m going to do. This is what I’m going to set out to do.” And then it happens. I would say maybe if we have like a very heavy action series, like a series of screams back to back and blah, blah, blah. Like that’s just natural technical — like, oh, I got to scream a lot. And so by the end of it, you’re kind of tired. But for the most part, the show hasn’t felt particularly too challenging to work on in my experience.
Jones: It’s a pleasure. It’s a treat.
Simmons: I have the easiest job in the world here. Because for four seasons, I came in and I was like, OK, cool. We’re going to be Syr. We’re going to be, you know.
Jones: Make another sandwich.
Simmons: Make another sandwich. And I guess my challenge is obviously the upcoming season. Because when I got the news off of Twitter, because some fan was like, “Hey, is that Syr on the poster?” And I was like, “Oh, no, no. That can’t be right. That cannot be right. Because she’s just a girl.” And so I went back. We rewatched all of it. And I even picked up the light novel. And I started furiously going through it being like, “What’s happening? Oh, my God.” So I set out to become an expert on the new season.
Jones: And that you are.
Simmons: I’m doing my best.
Jones: I’m asking her questions.
Simmons: You got it. You can always ask me.
Baugus: I didn’t quite become an expert or anything like that. But I remember I had done — I was checking out the wiki for a few things just to do some stuff. Because I had AD’d a little bit on Season 3 back with the Xenos and all that. I had assistant directed. And I think I was looking up Syr’s stuff for some reason. And I’m not going to say anything for the interview. But I found some spoilers that the fans were not shy of including on the wiki. Don’t read the wiki before watching the show. So I’ve been spoiled on a few things for a couple of years now.
Q: So when it comes to having roles like this, is all of your preference to have some foreknowledge of the events that are going to happen or to not have any?
Baugus: I think for every actor it’s different. I’m the kind of person that doesn’t like reading that much. So if we have the chance to watch the episode in Japanese before going in, I like to have that level of preparation. I don’t quite go into reading the light novels and all the manga and stuff like that ahead of time. But usually I’ll give myself, if I have the time before a session, the chance to at least check the episode out before going in. If it’s something I’m more of a major player in, like a Danmachi or something — and I know that some actors, they’re like, oh, I don’t want to know anything because I want to have a completely natural, immediate reaction to things. And that works for them and what works for everybody, I think, is good. But I personally like to have whatever information I can reasonably fit in.
Jones: I do kind of my own version of that. I don’t read ahead. I am going to watch it before a whole lot of people. And so I make sure I don’t know much going into that first watch. Because I want to watch it like the viewer is going to watch it. This is going to be the first blush for anyone seeing this episode unfold. But by the time we’re recording, I’ve seen it a thousand times.
Simmons: And I would say this was a very specific situation. I immediately — I saw the poster. I said, that can’t be right. I went to the wiki. I said, oh my God, what does any of this mean? I’m so confused. And so I was like, “I feel like I need to know what is happening.” Especially because we were getting ready to go to Anime Expo. And I was like, “I need to be the foremost expert on my character.” But otherwise, obviously I’m going to watch the anime beforehand. For my own self-desires as a nerd, I will look into things. I would say this was a special situation. But yeah, I like knowing everything.
Q: And how does it feel to be part of such a long-running series like this?
Jones: It’s fun. Of course, we enjoy having shows that never end. And I enjoy, as I said earlier, the getting the band back together sort of feeling. Where people can jump back in and just go. We pick up right where we started. It all feels the same. And people are excited to be there. They know what it is. They know. And everyone’s just a little more excited as you get another and another and another season.
Baugus: Yeah. And I think, like I mentioned earlier, Bell has been very much like a landmark character for me. Where I can see where he is in the show, like coming back to a new season. And it gives me a chance to reflect on how far I’ve come since starting on the show back in the day. Because, like I said, he was my first main character. And I feel like every new season I come back, I can look back and say, “Okay, what have I done since last season?” And it gives me a chance to just, I don’t know, relate to Bell and his growth in the show as well in a very similar way.
Simmons: And obviously, I come in, I do a little bit every couple years. And, I don’t know, it’s always fun. Because, yeah, you get to be back in that character. You get to revisit, you know, Kyle. You say hey. A delight. And, yeah, it’s also fun because my sister’s in it [Genevieve Simmons, who voices Ryu Lion]. And although when it started we were living in the same house together. We don’t live in the same house together anymore. It’s probably for the best. But, I’ll come in and I’ll be like, oh my gosh, that’s my sister.
Baugus: I didn’t even think about it until just now, but she was the focus girl last season. And now you’re the focus girl this season.
Simmons: Yes! And I’m like, oh, that’s weird. Who did it better?
Jones: And obviously we did not have that planned nine years ago.
Q: And you mentioned Bell’s growth just now, so I wanted to ask you — obviously Bell’s growth and evolution is a key part of the story. How do you incorporate that into your voice acting, especially as his character changes?
Baugus: Yeah, so I think one of the things that I always try to keep in mind when working on something long term is to try and keep a central element of their personality still there. I feel like Bell has a very genuine earnestness in how he treats the characters around him and his familia and even the new people that he meets. He’s very much a be nice and kind to somebody until they give you a reason not to be type of person. And I think as for how Bell changes, I feel like it’s just a confidence level.
I think after a certain point he becomes — he comes into his own and he becomes very confident and knows that he can protect those around him. And I think by the time Season 4 rolled around, it felt almost like he was this, like, okay, I’m unstoppable, I can protect everybody, no problem. And then when Season 4 hits, they hit an even bigger brick wall than they haven’t encountered before in the Juggernaut and a bunch of stuff that I won’t spoil for anybody who hasn’t seen Season 4 yet.
But I feel like he’s grown from this kid who’s very like, “Oh, I know what I can do, but I’m still not sure of myself.” But I think by this point in the series, he’s very much like, “I know what I’m capable of, I know what I can do to protect the people that I care about,” but he also has the wider understanding of like, oh, the dungeon has a lot more in store for it than he ever expected, that he still needs to continue on the path that he started off. Because I think by the time, like Season 2, Season 3, he’s already got that confidence to him, but he hasn’t yet experienced some of the even rougher stuff that’s yet to come.
Jones: And he always seems to have this feeling of there’s always more to learn, there’s always a new thing around the corner.
Baugus: And I respect that about him and like anybody in real life, because I feel like if you’re the kind of person that thinks you’ve got it all figured out, then you don’t. You’re just wrong.
Q: That makes sense. And you mentioned before that you initially had some confusion seeing Syr on the poster. I assume many fans do as well. So looking at the early episodes, how do you incorporate that sort of mystery into how you portray the character?
Simmons: So I think it’s really funny because obviously, yeah, I was very confused because this has been, at least in my opinion, kind of, you know, one of the girls — because obviously Bell has a lot of girls — but she’s always been very reserved. She’s, you know, maybe she’ll tease, but she’s just kind of a nice girl to come home to. And so when I saw her on the poster, yeah, that confusion, the fact that I always thought she deserved more character growth, character development.
I always thought, at least in the first season, I was like, oh, she’s something, right? Like she’s a, what do you call it? A sly, devious girl.
But then like four seasons pass and you’re like, well, she’s there to give like sage advice, but nothing more. I think coming into the character, I think I’m interested to see how the anime goes about it. I don’t want to get into spoiler area, but knowing what I know happens, I think I’m going to try to be true to who Syr has been, but also hopefully bring in some more of maybe some conflict.
Jones: Yeah, we are in a place where, because people really haven’t gotten to meet Syr yet. And this is what this is all about. Everyone’s going to be learning a whole lot about her, including me and Juliette.
Baugus: I feel like you mentioned in the first season, they did give a lot of screen time, not like whole episodes wide, but they gave a decent amount of focus on her pretty early on.
Jones: It gives you that she’s something.
Simmons: Something’s about her. And you know, we’re going to get into that. And hopefully I can bring that depth to the character.
Q: And for you, as they’re kind of getting into their characters, and you’re bringing the band together, what’s top of mind for you in terms of direction?
Jones: Top of mind is, A, to bring the characters back to life, but that gets easier and easier with each season. And to not, along those lines of keeping it fresh and not spoilery and whatnot, is to not spoil things. As I learn things, and so does the viewer, I want that to happen when it’s supposed to. And you can’t lay in hints and weirdness, especially when we all know some things that are coming that we’re going to have to deal with later. And so you don’t — that’s one of the biggest challenges for me, is to, every now and then while we’re in recording, go, wait, we don’t know that yet. We don’t know that yet.
Q: You both touched on this a little bit, but has any major thing changed from how you voiced your characters in this season versus prior seasons?
Baugus: I mean, Episode 2 has some fun moments where Bell has a little bit of a change in his character that I won’t go too far into detail of. It’s a temporary change, seemingly, but it’s definitely a fun episode for sure. Sorry if I’m being a little bit vague, just because I’m, again, trying to avoid spoilers, but I’ll just say it has something to do with his unique hairstyle that they’ve been advertising a lot.
Simmons: I have to say, the second episode might, and I’m biased, but it might be my favorite episode of Danmachi. I think it’s actually really difficult because now, knowing what I know, I’m really tempted to bring different things to the character. And I know, again, as Kyle said, like, no, no, no, no, no. So I’m going to do my best to stay Syr as she’s been Syr thus far. And as bits come, as scenes come, I’m hopefully going to just bring the depth. Because I really do think this whole time she’s had more to her. As a biased person, obviously, she’s had a lot more to her. And this is just like a rare, exciting moment where you’ve just kind of been in the background the whole time. And you can be like, yeah, I am a person. But yeah, I think that’s going to be my approach is to try to really just stay at the main core of the character. And as things happen, they’ll happen.
Q: In all of your opinion, what do you think it is about Danmachi that makes it so compelling for readers, watchers, players, all the different forms it takes?
Baugus: I think it’s really just how well fleshed out the characters in the world are. And then also there’s just like an earnestness. I mentioned Bell has an earnestness to himself, but I feel like there’s an earnestness to the story itself as well. It doesn’t feel quite as cut and dry or copy-pasted.
Jones: There’s not some convoluted, “Why would anyone do that?” Everyone has a reason for their things.
Baugus: Yeah. And there’s, he mentioned this in another interview, but they do play to some of the tropes here and there that you tend to find in a lot of like fantasy, comedy, romance, anime, and adventures and stuff like that. But I feel like they don’t dwell too, or they don’t use that too much as a crutch as a lot of other fantasy shows tend to do. And so I think seeing a show that is able to stand on its own without having to rely too much on a lot of the stage stuff has been a relief for a lot of viewers and watchers who were looking for just like a good story that’s in a fantasy setting.
Jones: Yeah, the original writing material, it’s keeping people interested, you know? Me included. As each new season, each new episode comes along, I’m going, oh, cool, right on. I didn’t know we were going there, but let’s do it.
Baugus: It feels very much like they have an idea of where they want the story to go from as early as Season 1. Hermes was hinting at a lot of stuff that was like intrigue.
Simmons: And as a girl, you know, the female in the room who does really like romance anime, I do think, at least on behalf of my romance lovers, it’s got good relationships that whether or not you bring things to fruition, I think it’s like, at least for me, who’s read a lot, I like that Bell isn’t…
Baugus: Sleazy?
Simmons: I was going to say gross. I’m so glad Bell’s not gross. He’s likable, he’s charming, and he’s got goals. Girls love that. His goals are not the girls. And I think it just makes it really endearing. At least from my perspective. And obviously all the characters are people.
Jones: It’s that word genuine that Bryson used. Yeah, you can get behind almost each person’s reasoning in there. You don’t have to take a bunch of leaps into making it make sense in your mind.
Baugus: It’s like a natural progression. I don’t even realize how much the party and the familia has grown. If I were to just jump back into Season 1, it’s literally just Bell and Hestia. And then looking at Season 5, they’ve got a house full of people now. I think everybody that’s in the Hestia familia now has had their moment to shine and had their introduction. And it’s just been a very natural accrual of friends and stuff like that.
Q: And has the increased focus on the dynamic between Bell and Syr affected the way that you two play off of each other?
Baugus: So far, we haven’t had a ton of moments together. We had a few moments in Episode 2, but most of them have been relatively separate. I don’t know yet. I love being able to play off of scene partners. You record before me so I can play off of you (laughs).
Simmons: And I’ve been trying to get in after people so that I can play off of them.
Baugus: So our dynamic is we’re going to argue over who records first.
Q: My last question is kind of a two-path question. I was going to ask what your favorite moment from recording this season so far has been. But that goes in the spoiler territory. So what’s been your favorite moment recording so far? Whether it be an actual scene or a recording moment.
Baugus: Yeah. I love just any moments where Bell is freaking out. He’s making a bunch of silly noises.
There was a good number of those in the first season. Honestly, there have been a good number of them in all of the seasons at certain points. But I feel like Season 2 had a lot of really great ones.
Jones: And Bryson is a master at making goofy noises. In fact, they don’t have to be in the script. We call it a Baugus bonus. Those are wonderful. All the little things that come out of Bryson’s mouth are lots of fun. Let me see. Oh, well, in this second episode, because it’s fresh on our minds, it’s going to be a blast for everybody. It was very fun to record different parts of it. I remember really liking the — it’s where we meet Haruhime in the red light district, but the madam, the big, gross, kind of froggy lady. I really enjoyed kind of going head first into that one and just making her as just disgusting as possible. That was a treat for me.
Simmons: Yeah, I feel like obviously not going into spoiler territory. I really like the second episode that’s going to come out. I really, really do. I feel like Kyle let me really just go hog wild, and I appreciate it. I think it’s just…I want to say so many words, but it is just more…when you watch it, you’ll see more of, I think, my personality. The depths of my heart. And I think you should look forward to it.
Q: Lastly, any closing words for the fans?
Jones: You’re in for a great ride here. This is a great season, and it’s kind of keeping right at pace with what it was. I know the last one was a little darker. This one brightens up a little bit.
Baugus: I just wanted to say thanks to the fans for watching it so far. The reason it’s gotten a fifth season is that so many people love it. I hope they look forward to another amazing season.
Simmons: I also want to thank the fans. I think everyone who’s worked on this dub has done an amazing job. It’s such a big cast. I’m honored to be a part of it. I really like this new season.
I’d like to thank Bryson Baugus, Juliet Simmons, and Kyle Colby Jones for taking the time out of their busy schedules to speak with us during New York Comic Con. All seasons of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon are available to stream on HIDIVE.
Images via HIDIVE
©Fujino Omori-SB Creative Corp./Danmachi5 Project
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