When given the opportunity to interview one of my favourite anime shows of all time, I had to take it. CGMagazine had the opportunity to speak with two of the English voices behind the main characters of Dr. STONE, Senku Ishigami and Gen Asagiri. If you have been following the series, Senku is a prodigal 15-year-old student who knows almost everything there is about modern-day science.
Whereas Gen starts out as an antagonist to Senku and the Kingdom of Science when he initially sides with Tsukasa Shishio, aka “the world’s best high schooler fighter.” But like almost everyone in the show, Gen ends up joining Senku’s side because of Senku’s scientific vision. Gen has a penchant for being a world-class liar and manipulator, but Senku calls him “a mentalist.” He also does practical magic that adds to the mentalist persona.
We wanted to know more about the voices behind Senku and Gen, so Crunchyroll was able to put us in touch with Aaron Dismuke (Senku) and Brandon McInnis (Gen). Both Dismuke and McInnis have been in the voice-acting industry for a while, with Dismuke beginning his career with his first booked role in Fruits Basket at the age of nine. Dismuke has gone on to voice iconic characters, such as Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Hyoma Chigiri in Blue Lock, Gen Narumi in Kaiju No. 8 and more.
We learned McInnis did not start out in the voice acting business but went on to also voice many integral characters, like Gyutaro (the Upper Six demon) in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Sir Nighteye (RIP the GOAT) in My Hero Academia, Dellinger in One Piece, and over 180 other roles! Dismuke and McInnis happily shared what it meant to each of them to play these characters for almost seven years, and through a pandemic to boot.
Dr. STONE has been on the air for almost seven years since it first began airing. What were each of your reactions to learning about your characters in Season 1, and how has that evolved?
Brandon McInnis: First of all, it’s such a fun show! I remember when Cliff (Clifford) Chapin cast both of us, and I remember being in the booth and having lovely conversations with Cliff about the script and some cool vocal things that Gen does—his Pig Latin and things like that. And I loved the morally gray appearance of Gen because that means that the character is interesting, has depth, and we’re clearly going to go places. It was just this, ‘Oooh, this will be a fun one!’ I remember that feeling.
Aaron Dismuke: With Senku, I think the first thing that won me over and got me excited was [a specific part of ] the story. It was the bit where we have this montage of us trying and trying different things to try to make a petrification cure with these swallows, and we just keep getting it wrong. We struggle at every step of the way, making alcohol and then getting the right amount of liquid bat poop and the right blend.
Then, I say to Taiju, “There are rules that govern everything that happens in this world. Science is just what we call the pain-in-the-butt process of finding out what they are.” It’s been really cool to see that and some other things come full circle because I was completely reminded of the swallows whenever we started making our rocket ships. And then, they started to go up majestically, and then teetered and collapsed into the ocean.
It’s that trial-and-error spirit, that determination, and that ability to learn from every failure that I think makes Senku relatable and aspirational. I can’t aspire to have his omniscient knowledge, but I can aspire to be just as determined and persistent.
Definitely. Senku always has a way to amp people up. Now, not to get too sappy, but how does it feel for each of you to finally say goodbye to Dr. STONE—along with Senku and Gen?
Brandon McInnis: It’s so bittersweet. Of course, we’re very excited to see how it culminates in the anime, but it’s also very bittersweet to say goodbye to a character that’s been with you for so long or that you’ve been with.
Aaron Dismuke: Yeah, I’ve never spent this much time with the character that I’ve voiced. I’ve spent more time with Senku than any other character, so it will be sad as an actor to say goodbye at the same time. Everything has been leading to this, you know; we’ve had all this foreshadowing with these big shots of the moon.
Senku’s been following his father’s footsteps, his father, Byakuya the astronaut, and it’s never been more life or death. The stakes and existential [moments]; I can’t picture a place where the series would go after this. I think it’s ending how it needs to.
Yes! I remember reading the manga thinking, ‘Alright, who is Why-Man actually going to be?’ Throwing the bittersweet question away to a more fun question: If you were petrified and brought back to life, what special skill or expertise would you bring to the Kingdom of Science? But you can’t say anything voice-related.
Brandon McInnis: Oooh, I would say problem-solving. The previous industry that I was in before being an actor involved a lot of problem-solving, dealing with systems, and figuring out problems that didn’t have a straightforward answer. So, I think I would contribute that to the Kingdom of Science.
Aaron Dismuke: I’ve been learning a lot about foraging and gardening these past few years, so probably that would be my most useful skill.
I’m kind of curious, is that a skill that you want to learn because of how much science you’ve consumed through Senku, or is that something you just picked up?
Aaron Dismuke: I mean, it’s not unrelated. My scientific interest has always sort of leaned towards living things. Senku’s whole survival arc when he first hacks out of the stone, and he’s on his own, was very compelling to me.
Yeah, definitely. And just remembering the Pig Latin with Gen, was it hard for you to throw out those lines, Brandon?
Brandon McInnis: There’s a really interesting cultural component to that we pay homage to in the dub. Pig Latin originated in the jazz entertainment sphere and among comedians and TV personalities in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.
So the native Japanese ear will hear that and think, ‘Oh, that’s someone who worked in television or entertainment, which is really cool.’ Now we don’t have that exact cultural 1-to-1 thing in English, but we decided to pay homage to it, and it’s very easy to do. It’s written out very nicely for me in the script, so most of the time it’s easy to do.
For sure, and for Senku, as a boy who has to be 10 billion percent into everything, how do you maintain that energy in the booth?
Aaron Dismuke: Senku’s excited when it matters. I think every problem in his life is a puzzle to be solved, and the more harrowing and life-threatening the puzzle, the more exciting that puzzle is. He gets excited at weird times, but when it comes to other stuff, sometimes he’s the chill one.
He’ll throw something out there like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re just gonna make a little jet fuel out of poop, and everyone else will be like, what?’ He’s actually often the straight man from an emotional beat standpoint, and the times that he gets big are strategic and fewer and further between.
Yeah, I get that. Like when he’s explaining things versus when his social skills go off the rails. But yeah, thank you both for bringing these characters off the page in the most ridiculous and thoughtful ways with Dr. STONE.
All episodes of Dr. STONE are available to stream on Crunchyroll now!
