Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is a series steeped in history, featuring a tapestry of cultures and beliefs that, at times, make for a volatile mix, but one that ultimately creates one of the most unique anime experiences of 2026. Cgmagazine had the pleasure of sitting down with co-stars Cristina Vee, the voice of Sitara and Yussef Benelbar, the voice of Muhammad, to discuss their journey thus far in localizing the still-budding series.
With fewer than a dozen episodes out at the time of this writing, Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is still fresh out of Science Saru, with the English dub following closely after, making it the perfect time to probe the lead cast in their involvement with the historical fiction anime
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia follows the exploits of Sitara, a young slave girl brought up in a scholarly house, with her time tragically cut short after the start of the Mongol invasion, forcing her to join their ranks. What was the process for bringing Sitara to life, particularly regarding the many masks she has to wear in the show?
Cristina Vee: That’s so interesting. I was just telling Yussef that I do something similar in my everyday life. We call it Christina V. Hours in my home. So, Sitara has really learned how to survive by putting on this personality that she’s very demure and kind of just like sweet, a little bit clueless.
She even raises her voice a little bit higher. And it’s all part of the part that she’s playing. But I love that we get to see her internals with the narration, but also her inside thoughts. And you’ll even see, like, her inside voice is a lot deeper and more calm. So it’s been really fun to play that kind of duality that’s always seeping there underneath the surface.
Despite Sitara and Muhammad only sharing brief screen time, their relationship is one of the key pillars of the entire series, and traditionally, voice acting is generally done in isolation — did this separation help in bridging the gap?
Yussef Benelbar: Yeah, for sure. So I recorded first, I think, before Cristina, so I really relied on my guidance from the director, Shawn Gann, who is fantastic, by the way. But even though I didn’t have too much time with the character, Sitara, from the get-go, I thought it was very, very special. I was rooting for them the whole time. know, Muhammad is really driven by the pursuit of knowledge and imparting that to Sitara and seeing her reaction to it live was so special, and it’s so amazing.
And so as the episode progresses, you can see how close they get through their love of that. And yeah, I just think it’s, you know, a very, very important relationship that’s established and kind of has an impact throughout the plot. And so, yeah, I just think it’s, even though I’m there for mostly the first episode, I feel like my impact on Sitara kind of sits with her as the series progresses.
Jaadugar’s unique historical backdrop features a lot of personal stakes. For you both, what did you find personally exciting in adapting the material for the English dub?
Cristina Vee: For myself, it’s been something unlike anything I’ve ever worked on before. And I loved just how adorable almost all the designs of the characters are, juxtaposed with the sometimes extremely serious subject matter. That’s very interesting. I love the stylised ways that they bring the 13th century to life.
Yussef Benelbar: For me, picking back off Cristina’s answer, I do love the duality, that dichotomy between, you know, serious values and then how cute the characters look. But for me personally, I had so much fun injecting my essence into the character. Like towards the end of the first episode, Muhammad says, Salaam alaikum, which is like peace be upon you. And that meant the world to me growing up as an Arab person. So I felt so special being able to kind of put that into the character of Muhammad and having, you know, English-speaking audiences around the world hear that.
Jaadugar is grounded in realism — how does that change the way you both approach your characters versus your typical fantasy anime?
Cristina Vee: I feel like the performance is just a little more intimate, if that makes sense. It’s as if there aren’t as many peaks and valleys, not many zany moments. There are a couple, though. We do get some of that over-the-top humour at times, but mostly it just sits in a really grounded place when we’re performing it.
Yussef Benelbar: I think for me, like again, it’s a historical drama piece, right? Set in 13th-century Persia. So, you know, as Cristina said, it’s sometimes hard to find, like, the really zany, very comedic moments in those series, especially since my character particularly only shows up for the first episode or so. But for me, you know, I knew that there was going to be places where we could, like, play around with it. There are moments where I want to be more mature.
At certain times, I go like, hey, that’s not cool, right? And I get to have those fun moments and see my character get to be poked fun at. And, you know, I got to be like, hey, hold up, hold up. So that relationship is really fun and awesome to do.
But in general, you know, I knew going into this that, you know, since I also read the manga ahead of time, I kind of knew where the plot was going. And a general idea of what the vibe was for the whole project. So it came a little natural to me to just be like, okay, this is what the plan is for this scene and so forth.
Do you have any closing remarks or thoughts regarding your time with the Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia dub?
Cristina Vee: I think we’ve only recorded up to episode eight, so I’m still discovering what’s gonna happen in the story. I’m not watching ahead anymore; I just wanna experience it. I genuinely just love the show, so I’m so excited to see what happens.
Yusef Benelbar: Yeah, I mean, I’ve been watching it as the series has been dropping every Saturday, and it’s, oh man, it’s… Amazing. It’s simply just astounding to see where the plot takes us. Sitara is, you know, full of ideas and plans for how she interacts with different characters. You really grow to build a connection with Sitara and Shira and all the other characters that are introduced throughout the plot. And I think it’s a real treat for the fans, you know, to see how that all kind of culminates. And I’m excited for the future of the show.
