A Comic Conversation Ep 32 - Demon Slayer Jackie Lastra Michelle Marie - Animedford 23

[00:00:00] Good morning, good afternoon and good evening! This is Comic Con Radio! Comic Con! Coverage of pop culture events from around the globe. Amazing interviews with celebrities. Daily recaps and reviews of popular television. Movie reviews. Everything fandom from around the globe.

[00:00:18] Comic Con Radio! Get ready to enter our universe! Let's go! Now I know we have some anime fans out there, especially Demon Slayer fans. So when I say we have a treat for you, I really mean it in this episode of... A Comic Conversation!

[00:00:49] We have double trouble with friend of the show Jackie Lastra and fellow Demon Slayer alum Michelle Marie. We talk some career, get them to tell some fun stories, but also they have a voice acting exercise with the audience that is just completely fun.

[00:01:02] So brush up on your breathing techniques, sharpen your sword and put down some demons. It's time for a new... A Comic Conversation! A voice acting. Sumi Nakahara from Demon Slayer, Kamitsuno Yabuya. Azusa Nakajo from a regular at Magic High School. Visitor arc. Chi Hiroosuka from...

[00:01:51] Ooh I'm bad right now. Gleif Fear and Luna from Record of Great Press War. Guys please welcome Jackie Lastra and Michelle Marie! Music. I got it typed up! Oh yeah, you know what this is? It's a remixes any two spin. Remixes.

[00:02:28] Those trap remixes that the kids are into these days. The kids into their trap music. Yeah. Alright welcome welcome. Hi! Do you need a jacket or anything? I know it's a little chilly up here. I'm melting. So does that make you the...

[00:02:48] Stop it. I don't even know, I feel like, okay go ahead. Wizard of Oz joke? I mean... Okay I thought you were going Shield Hero since her name is Melty. You know that's something I probably could have done but... I'm disappointed in you. I know right.

[00:03:04] I expected more. Yeah I tend to disappoint a lot so... Welcome Jackie how are ya? Good! Good! Happy to be here. And welcome home. Yeah yeah. Michelle Marie? Yeah I'm a native Oregonian born and raised. Nice! Shout out to Oregon right here. Well not right here.

[00:03:25] No I'm from the coast, Newport. Newport. Okay very... Oh look at that we got some people from Newport here. We got Newport fans, Newport celebrities. This is amazing. This is amazing. Alright now there's going to be a lot of demon slayer questions.

[00:03:41] By the way every con we go to there's always so many demon slayer cosplays. It's a great anime everybody loves it. It's so cool. How could you not? We had this whole conversation at dinner about how good demon slayer is.

[00:03:55] And like I'll tell you guys but it took me years to finally watch demon slayer even though I was in it. But it took me like three years and then I watched it all like in one sitting it was amazing. And I was like I've been slacking.

[00:04:08] This is amazing. Yeah it's awesome. That's awesome. Alright Jackie you know the drill we have a segment on our show called growing up geeky. What did you geek out on as a kid? I geeked out over everything.

[00:04:20] Anything that there was to geek out on anime especially Sailor Moon. I mean to Nami I was there every day at 4.30 watching it. Actually I think it started at 4 o'clock but Sailor Moon was 4.30 so that's all I cared about.

[00:04:36] And then of course Lord of the Rings all of that I'm anything nerdy I am full into. Yes I'm sorry it's hot my brain is melting. It's okay. I've been up here the entire time I know how to feel. I can't even imagine how hot you must be.

[00:04:50] Not at all. And like all the emotion and… Hot as far as heat but not as like looks. Like how you mean how moist. No not that moist. Do you guys not like the word moist? People love the word moist. No? Okay let's keep going.

[00:05:07] I think you may have like made the whole audience cringe. You make these people leave. I apologize for the moisture. Michelle Marie tell us about what you geeked out on as a kid because it seems like you have a similar story.

[00:05:19] Yeah so I also grew up with TUNAMI. Inuyasha was my very first anime and it's kind of weird to actually be a part of the series like 18 years later. So it's like a really weird like coincidence kind of a thing so that's really special.

[00:05:34] Um what else did I really like? I don't know it's kind of maybe it's the heat but my brain is also… Yeah I was like I have words. Yeah but they're just not coming. I was like inuyasha and then I don't have anything else.

[00:05:45] Did you also cry during your first recording session? Like I did? No but during when I was recording for Inuyasha because the cast hadn't been confirmed yet like for the for Yasha Hime. And so I didn't know if like the OG cast was coming back.

[00:06:00] And so what they do in the booth is they play the Japanese preview so you get like a feel for your scene and then you get three beeps and then you come in with your English line.

[00:06:08] Well there's pre-pre-roll so you can hear the English and I heard Kelly Sheardon's voice and I almost cried in the booth and almost missed my cue because I was like she's back. I did cry.

[00:06:19] I heard Gome and it was just tears and I was like I'm sorry I just I just need a moment. I am having a freak out. Oh yeah that's the other thing so in we're together in Demon Slayer but we're also in Yasha Hime together.

[00:06:32] We play like sisters. And a meme? Yeah oh maybe yeah. Yeah oh yeah that's right we're also together yeah we're in a lot of things together. You guys are like like anime sisters or something like that. Yeah yeah. They're anabuddies. Anabuhaha. I think it's quite a term.

[00:06:48] I think it's fascinating that you know when I grew up I watched cartoons and stuff like that. I never thought it was possible to get into voice acting whereas like you two grew up on anime and you're like oh I'm gonna be voice actor.

[00:07:03] I can't be an actor in anime because I'm not animated so. No I like to think that I couldn't escape my fate. I tried to run from it. I tried to be responsible and get a degree and go after a solid stable job

[00:07:20] and it just pulled me right back in. I didn't have a chance. Yep I actually worked at a preschool for a while so I was a preschool teacher. I can see that. Awwww. But you know and I have a newfound patience for teachers like bless teachers. Yes.

[00:07:37] Because you have to have a lot of patience and energy because you're really tired at the end of the day. But then I moved back home to Oregon and I was like I think it's acting. Like I can't escape.

[00:07:47] That's what I wanted to do since I was six after seeing my first musical and I was like you know I'm hooked so. That's cool. You're a creative person. You can't get away from it. You have to express yourself.

[00:07:58] You'll find some way to bring it back into your life. So did you start off like stage acting? Yeah actually my background is in theater like with musicals and I didn't like all the plays you do like Beauty and the Beast and all that. That's interesting.

[00:08:11] What's your favorite play to be in? Okay it's gonna be really weird. There is this play called Fiddler on the Roof. Yes. And I actually was the dead grandma. I was the dead grandma! Oh my god! I swear they're the same person. They're the same.

[00:08:28] I'm telling you they're the same person. The new name of this panel is Two Dead Grandmas. That's our band name. That is totally a band name. Uh trademark. Two Dead Grandmas. There we go.

[00:08:45] So the question now is is it just a guitarist and a bassist and both of you guys sing together? Yes! You sing don't you? I do. Should we sing like the grandma though in our bands? We could do a remix.

[00:08:59] You guys can just be garfunkel like just like the both of you just sing and play acoustic guitar together. A trap remix of these. A trap remix. I'll make trap remixes of your songs so that the kids like them.

[00:09:12] Whenever you interview us you have to play it as us come back up. So that way the kids like them? Yes. So to answer the question. There's a question I don't remember.

[00:09:22] Grandma's Idol was the weirdest role because I had to be dead but what's funny is that on the very last day I actually got a cold and so I couldn't really sing

[00:09:32] and then everyone at the end of the show was like oh you did amazing it was so realistic I was like well that's cause I wasn't acting I didn't have a voice So it was really funny. I kid you not. No! Jackie no!

[00:09:43] I kid you not I lost my voice on the last one. What is happening?

[00:09:46] I kid you not and even I was just talking to my mother last week about it cause she brought it up cause I had forgotten and she's like yeah remember you lost your voice for the whole last thing? It's the curse of the Dead Grandma.

[00:09:57] Are we the same person? I don't know maybe. Oh my goodness what is that? The curse of the Dead Grandma. The curse of the Dead Grandma. The curse of the Dead Grandma. Oh my gosh. Okay let's keep going. That was like what question three? Michelle.

[00:10:13] Michelle okay you took your love for anime to the next level and you went to go live in Japan. I did yes. So before we hear about that Jackie did you live in Japan? I did not live in Japan. Okay we're different now. We're different people.

[00:10:25] Just a question I can get away with. But yeah I actually lived in Japan for two years.

[00:10:31] One year was I was a Rotary Youth exchange student and I lived in Yamagata and then I went back for my junior year of college in Tokyo so that was really fun and actually up until that point I hadn't spoken any Japanese other than like self study but when I lived in Yamagata I kind of you know you're thrown into you know a language that you don't know

[00:10:54] and so I learned all of the language like about three months because your brain actually like goes into survival mode so that it can absorb stuff. Like immersed. Yeah like it's fun so but the funny thing is is that when I came home I actually forgot English. Wow.

[00:11:09] Like I spoke English but I'd be like oh mom I'm going back to school in ninth month right and she's like you mean September? I was like oh yeah that's the word. That's cool. Oh that's so funny.

[00:11:19] That's kind of like you know young Phil over here speaks Spanish it's kind of like Spanglish you know you gotta go back and forth. The Spanglish is hard sometimes like I can't get out of speaking Spanglish. Yeah. Right.

[00:11:31] Spanish I mean like I'll get right back into English and it won't be a problem but it's like yeah I know if I get into Spanglish it becomes a thing. Okay let's get back to you guys. Let's get back to you guys being the same person.

[00:11:42] Who are some of your like anime inspirations or voice acting inspirations growing up? Um. You guys just answered together. Great to know. Next question. My voice actor inspiration has always been Jodie Benson the little mermaid Thumbelina. Oh that's great that's great. I adore her. Still working today.

[00:12:04] Yes I came so close to being at a con with her and then it fell through. Oh my goodness. That would have been the dream. That would have been mind blowing for you. Oh my. I think I would have passed out.

[00:12:15] I honestly I think I would have hyperventilated. I saw you getting nervous with Grey Delilah around. I did. I could imagine if you were around Jodie Benson just plop. I need a stretcher for sure.

[00:12:26] In fact she's got I think the Lego Princess new movie that comes out this coming week they brought her back to do the voice. I have two young girls that's why I know this. Oh sure. Not that I'm also a big Lego. I'm a big Lego.

[00:12:41] I'm a big Lego. I'm a big Lego. He watches them. I mean Bluey's his favorite show. Exactly. I love Bluey. A lot of adults like Bluey though. A lot of life lessons from Bluey. Don't knock it. Okay. For you.

[00:12:53] My voice acting inspirations are Sandy Fox which I got to meet at Anime Expo back in 2016 I think. I was really nervous but I really looked up to her because she has a higher pitched

[00:13:09] voice and I usually I was teased for having like a sounding like a baby when I was growing up. So to hear that she was successful in voiceover I was like oh I can do it too.

[00:13:19] So I really looked up to her also Laura Bailey like she's Laura Bailey and then Kira Buckland I got to meet. That's a good one. She is so amazingly supportive of everybody no matter where you are in your journey she's just an amazing person. That's super cool.

[00:13:35] So here's a fun question. I know Jackie does but because we've never met Michelle like do you remember your first audition experience? So this is not typical at all because well I guess everyone's voiceover journey is not typical because it's different for everyone.

[00:13:53] But I moved to LA a week after I got married because I was like I'm going to be a voice actor let's go. And then I got an audition within one week of being there because I had good timing I guess.

[00:14:08] That's the other thing about voice acting is a lot of it's luck and being in the right place at the right time and being prepared with the right skills to rise to the challenge.

[00:14:15] But I got an audition for this thing called Cutie Cars which is with like Shopkins and I booked it. So and what's weird is before I moved to LA I was like okay Michelle are you going to be prepared

[00:14:27] to not book anything for a whole year and people around you are going to be getting auditions are you still prepared to move? And I was like yes this is my dream. And then it all got destroyed because I booked something the first week of moving.

[00:14:38] I was like I am invincible! Yes! But that's not how it went. But yeah I was so nervous and I think I don't... It's so funny you can hear it maybe but when I did my first session I was so nervous

[00:14:55] and they told me that I could change the volume of the headphones. And I was like okay sure thank you and I was like I'm not going to touch it I'm going to break it and they're never going to...

[00:15:04] And I was like whatever volume it's at sorry ears. But then I was so nervous there was a line where I was talking about like a storm and I was supposed to say huge and they wanted me to say hooch because it's cuter

[00:15:15] and I messed up and went hoo-woosh. Ho-loosh! Ho-woosh! And I was like oh no but yeah it was just... Did they keep that take? No they didn't. Aw! But I was just so overly zealous and I can hear it in the actual final thing I'm like really hyper!

[00:15:31] Woo! And I've toned it down a little bit but I was like I was just going ham So that's what it was like. That is adorable. Just for posterity here Jackie let's hear your story here. My story it's not as exciting. Well I decided to...

[00:15:46] Kind of I mean Sailor Moon's involved so... It is! That's exciting? The big audition like actual audition was at a convention it was called Anime Expo and this one studio does open auditions almost every year Bang Zoo.

[00:16:04] And so I practiced for an entire month every single day leading up to that convention and had to wait in line for three days because the line was so long and that was the year that Sailor Moon Crystal was being released

[00:16:21] and so there were all these panels and all these things to do with Sailor Moon and I missed every single one of them because I was dedicated to doing this and that's a big deal. I know y'all don't know this but that is a huge deal for me

[00:16:35] but it all worked out because I got in with that studio and the rest is history. It was worth it in the long run. It was worth it but at the time I was like no I'm missing everything but it was fine.

[00:16:49] So Michelle I've got a pretty fun question for you here. Okay. So you play my melody in Hello Kitty. Yes I do. What's it like being a part of one of the world's largest franchises?

[00:17:00] Okay so when I got the email that I was my melody I actually cried because at that point I think I had only been professionally voice acting for like two years maybe and so I was like oh they're going to give it to somebody else.

[00:17:15] They're going to give it to someone more popular celebrity. They're going to give it to someone that has more credits. Like they're not going to pick me and I actually didn't even get the audition my roommate at the time gave it to me because he got the audition

[00:17:25] and asked if he could give it to me and they said yes. He was auditioning for my melody? No he just got it because sometimes agents send stuff out and they don't like you know flag it as like specifics.

[00:17:36] They just send the same audition out to everybody even if you don't qualify for it. So he got it and asked if he could send it to me and that's what happened and then I got the email and I started crying because I was like

[00:17:48] I'm chosen like because I felt so connected to her. Yeah that's awesome. Like I was like I'm going to audition for all the characters like you know if it's meant to be it'll be you know meant to be

[00:17:58] but I'm really hoping for my melody because I've loved her from like forever. So you have to get the character you wanted. Yeah yeah that's it I just really felt like my heart was connected to her

[00:18:08] and I was like I can't like you can't pick who you want to be but I was like universe please. And then being a part of it like oh my gosh it's so fun so it's pre-lay so that means we record the voices before the animation

[00:18:23] so we get as the actors we get to make all the decisions within reason because the producer is there and the director has their own idea of what to do but it's really fun to be a part of a series like that

[00:18:34] because you feel more in control of making the character yours and like your representation of acting like I love puns and I love kind of saying lines weird if that makes sense like because when we get pre-lay we just have all the scripts

[00:18:49] and normally we don't record although with pre-lay you can sometimes record with other people but for my melody it's her show for Hello Kitty we don't record in like a group and so we just have the script there

[00:19:02] and so you kind of have to see it in your head and imagine everything but like for example there's a line one episode that's like the line was I have a mech and then in parentheses it says laugh

[00:19:14] and so I was like okay and so what I did was I have a mech ha! God that's adorable. So that's what I mean by weird I like making my lines weird. Yeah, yeah, that's good. And then that led into Choco Cat right? Yeah so Choco Cat.

[00:19:33] He is like completely different in terms of like energy level he's like more studious and like calm and even he doesn't really freak out too much so from my melody in Choco Cat it's like a huge like difference

[00:19:45] and even during the sessions like even the people who know I do that their faces kind of go oh because it's weird it's like a complete octave shift so you got to range. Hey real quick I have three little kids eight five and five

[00:19:57] and I told them I was going to the convention like bring us back something and I'm like hey what do you like Dragon Ball Z they're like what? Well Demons there wait I'm not gonna let you watch that quite yet

[00:20:08] but alright you know and I named all this other stuff they're like yeah I'm like well I am gonna meet my melody they're like Oh! What? See that's another thing like I love being a part of like shows where kids can watch it

[00:20:21] because for me growing up those were the things that I watched those were the things that inspired me and made me want to be an actor and just be a creative person and so knowing that I can influence kids

[00:20:31] and be like oh I watched this it's so cute I'm like oh my gosh thank you like it's so heartwarming and I really love being able to do that been watching on YouTube so we're right there

[00:20:41] okay real quick we have a fun thing we want to do yeah we also want to give a little bit of time for some questions so if you got questions raise your hand we got a mic somewhere I'll figure it out we'll figure it out

[00:20:54] so if you have questions come on up and we can go from there yeah so let's get into some demons there right and dance there everybody's trying to excited here right so demons there yes when you guys worked on the show itself right

[00:21:09] did you know that it was gonna be as big of a success as it was you never know I mean Genshin Impact they were just like oh it's just gonna be the small mobile game no one's really gonna know it and that blew up

[00:21:22] and then demons there it's always hit or miss you never know going in whether it's gonna be a big I mean sometimes well some shows it's like yeah like some shows are lightening in a bottle yeah but like some shows are lightening in a bottle you know

[00:21:33] like recording it you're like this is gonna be something yes you know so like did you guys have that feeling with demons there at all was it just kind of like yeah no you know

[00:21:42] I mean a little bit I knew that it had some sort of following already I didn't know it was going to be quite as large as it was right but you know you can kind of tell like if it's got good marketing

[00:21:54] if people are already talking about it before it even comes out yeah you go to a restaurant and you see nothing but the characters yes it's probably gonna be okay right right when did you guys know that it was gonna be something special hmm

[00:22:08] when did you realize that this like this is something that is probably going to cons or something and uh no I think like I think when I when we recorded this the first game when I realized okay well there's gonna be a game

[00:22:21] which means there's gonna be a lot more so this is actually gonna turn into something a lot bigger than I thought for me I don't know when you um it was kind of gradual for me because I kind of don't really pay attention too much

[00:22:34] because I I don't know I try to have lots of things I want to do and I don't know I just wasn't really paying attention but the thing was is that I went out and then I saw a collaboration with like cura sushi and I was like oh

[00:22:45] oh okay now it's big like for me that was what made it like oh this is big is that they were doing collaborations with local stores and like you saw it showed up in hot topic oh yeah I was like oh it's a thing the money

[00:22:57] the money there's money behind it yeah there's a sushi restaurant that mean James go to every now and there's that sushi yeah and they for a while for like a good like year they had nothing but

[00:23:09] demon slayer like kind of like toy motions and toys and stuff all over the place there's there is demon slayer every yeah and the kicker was you had to eat five plates of sushi and you put in a little slot and for like every five

[00:23:23] you get a little animation or you get a toy he would eat so much sushi just trying to get as many toys as we could yeah so they gamified eating sushi it was great

[00:23:33] it's led the problems in my life yeah okay we have a we have a game yeah yeah are there rules to this game what we got to do do we need okay do we need money for this game are we gambling yeah you allowed to gamble

[00:23:47] okay so this is a really weird improv game we have written down all of the breathing forms and attacks from demon slayer and so we kind of want to give you guys a chance to do some acting if you're interested so what you'll do is

[00:24:03] you'll pull one of these papers out and then you'll read it however you see fit sure sure do you want to give me a direction okay so let's get y'all a direction or have well we'll choose the first couple just so you can see

[00:24:17] what's going on and then you guys can choose how you want your your attacks right let's have some fun let's get some I'm gonna start I'm gonna go into the audience get some yeah participants so this is just like an example of how it

[00:24:29] will be I'm just throwing this out there right now you're grabbing Tanjiru that's that's that's Tanjiru is gonna do this so we have this breathing form and so I'm going to tell Jackie to pretend that you ate something really spicy and you have to perform this line okay

[00:24:52] eighth form moon dragon rain tail that's it rough that's you want to do one oh boy be nice to me please we will not be mean I promise okay alright how am I supposed to say it Jackie

[00:25:07] um I have now blanked on all the ones that we had already pre-written but I'm going to say oh I know one so say it as if you're holding back a sneeze okay like this you got this I believe in you

[00:25:31] yeah this is a no judgment zone yeah like an emotion or a situation or an animal or an anything like that I like that check my check my check okay there we go Mike's working we're gonna get you a

[00:26:14] Mike family member died someone died I don't know first form dark moon yeah I felt the intention because that's the thing with voiceover is that I think a lot of people think it's some fun voices but really what's important is the

[00:26:34] intention behind why you're saying it even a laugh or like some saying someone's name it depends on how you feel about that person how you feel you know though about the intention a mouse yes it form clean storm win tree I know

[00:27:02] you want to do another get back in line yeah anything like an emotion or an animal or like a situation okay you have one ready I heard somebody say it while laughing really hard well that's a good one you are a seagull

[00:28:18] translate or anybody speak seagull we need direction right this is actually a good exercise yeah right here we need more direction who's got some direction no more seagulls oh wait no more seagulls all right first

[00:29:14] form a no in the visual aid as well please don't sue us for slipping anybody else want to give a shot voice acting some lines from deep okay really like a nerdy real on his shirt let's go to your real is calm everybody go to Lucha real is

[00:29:41] calm get your distance nerdy real that was way too big way all right this form lunar dispersing miss yeah you got to do want to I don't have a choice what's my direction oh that's fun I have a space suit on. Fifth thing, crazy cutting over.

[00:30:21] Yeah, that was good. Need more direction. Flurry. Fifth form, slithering serpent. That's good. That is. I'm a slithering snake. I think you invented like a new party game. This is like a new demon slayer party game. This is great.

[00:30:54] Well, I used to not really like improv, but once I started doing it, I was like improv is super important because the thing is that with voice acting, we get the script right when we see it and we have like three seconds

[00:31:05] to know how we're going to say it before the beeps like come in. It's not like theater acting where you memorize the script and you perform it multiple times. It's like that's what you perform right then and there. So improv helps. See people are getting into this game.

[00:31:19] I like this. Exactly, and you walked up here voluntarily. Don't put the blame on me. You're having fun with that cast of demon slayer. Oh yeah, that would be good. I was actually thinking about doing something else

[00:31:32] like as I was picking up the mic, I was like no. Okay, we need direction. There are so many times where I have an idea in my head because you can do it. I hear the beat and I go a complete river.

[00:31:44] Yeah, I'm going, I'm flying the plane. All right, so the direction is fourth of July. Okay. Sixth for Perpential Night. Lonely moon in Sunset. Beautiful America. Yes. Oh wait, we need a direction. Nice form. Planing moon swan. Going off mic was good. I like that, that was good.

[00:32:21] Yeah. All right, direction. You got direction? Gooby-doo scared. And you got the shirt, that's good. They're four. They're like dance. Nice. You want to do it? You called somebody else out. You're the director, okay. Here, firing awkward. Yeah! Come on up, stand right here. What's your name again?

[00:32:45] Oh, you're James too? James too. I'm James too apparently. You're James with a better voice. Okay, your direction is you are trying to lift 500 pounds. Not that because his arms are big. Yeah. I don't know what this one is. No matter, you just got to do it.

[00:32:59] Yeah, imagine yourself lifting 500 pounds while you're saying the line. All right. Constant flux! I'm going to call you better James because that was a lot better than what I could do. How much time do we have? We're having so much fun. Okay.

[00:33:19] The other fun thing about improv is that because you're put on the spot, you don't have time to think and so you just go with your gut reaction and a lot of the times your gut reaction is going to be better than when you get inside your head

[00:33:29] because that was really good. Anymore? Demon Slayer fans, where are you? One more. We could. We have a couple of wrap up questions, we want to make sure we shout you out and everything. Direction! Who's got direction? That's actually what I was thinking. Nice. Same brainwave.

[00:33:46] Look at Floor! Bro, flower move dizzying! Nice. Awesome. This is so much fun. So good. All right, you want to get the wrap up questions? Yeah, let's get into the wrap up questions. You guys got to get going, right? Yeah.

[00:34:02] And thanks to everybody who participated and had some fun. This is your con, so I'm super happy you guys did this. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you so much for coming. All right. And I actually will be here till five. Jackie is the one who is leaving,

[00:34:17] but I will be here till five. So, bye Jackie. All right. I'll see you back home. I'll see you back home. You ready to talk tacos? We got some wrap up questions? Oh yeah, we got some wrap up questions.

[00:34:26] So again, Jackie, you're familiar with the way we do this, right? Yes. This is more so so we can find out some new stuff here. Right? Also because you're completely adorable and it's hilarious. Thank you. So, favorite kind of taco or what's your favorite taco spot?

[00:34:40] And so this yesterday, but so sorry if y'all are hearing this again. But brick and flower in LA is really tasty and I really like their carne asada tacos. Yeah, los tacos. Tacos. Michelle, what you got for tacos? Oh, I'm trying to think. Why is that cold?

[00:34:58] I cannot. What's the animal? My favorite kind of taco, I guess. Oh, I like either, I like chicken tacos. Pretty standard. That's okay. Chicken is good. But I will say that I like Del Taco's french fries. That's why I go to Del Tacos for the french fries.

[00:35:15] Del Taco french fries are super underrated. They're like the best. They're crunchy like a crinkle cut. They're like the best. They're so good. The ketchup. It's good.

[00:35:27] I think the only reason I go to Del Taco is because I'm like craving tacos and french fries at the same time. Yeah. I don't go to Del Taco. It's very rare that I go to Del Taco. That's okay.

[00:35:38] What's some advice you guys might have for anybody trying to get into the industry? So with voiceover, it is a long run. It's like, I think it was best explained to me that it's not a sprint. It's a relay race.

[00:35:52] So you kind of have to pace yourself and be patient with yourself. And things are going to be kind of tough here and there, but that doesn't mean that your career is over or that you're not going anywhere.

[00:36:03] It just it takes a long time for anything to happen. And actually like a lot of the people that are new have actually been working at this for like 10, 15 years, but it's just they finally got something and now people know their name.

[00:36:17] So I'd say keep at it and just have faith in yourself. If this is something you really want to do, then you might as well try for your dream. It's not necessarily guaranteed, but why not spend your life focusing on the goals that mean a lot to you?

[00:36:31] Good advice. Good advice. My advice is definitely going to be persevere, stay optimistic. There was something earlier that you mentioned that I'd hold on the brain. It's farting. It's farting. Yes, no it is. Oh my gosh, what did you say? I said a lot of things.

[00:36:52] You said a lot of things that one thing that you said at the very beginning of the panel. You don't remember everything you said. No, it wasn't that it's a relay, not a race. You know what? I'm just going to go off on another thing.

[00:37:04] So I can't improvise. No, I like to say, you know, oh, I remembered. Yes, it was the preparation. The preparation, you know, you never know when that moment is going to come.

[00:37:18] So be taking classes, be practicing every single day, not even for like, you don't have to like go crazy. I'm talking like 15 minutes a day. Just pick up a book, read the page, you know, your favorite book.

[00:37:31] Try to have the same, either the same voice, whatever you're working on or the same level, the same amount of character the entire time. It's much harder than you think it is.

[00:37:44] But if you can get that and just stay fresh, then when that moment comes, you are ready. The time to study is not when you get that audition. It's months before so that when you get that audition, you are prepared and this is your moment to shine.

[00:37:59] And then you become my melody. Or you become Jackie Lastra. Or you could be a dead grandmother. A creepy grandmother. Dead grandmother for the win. All right, so. All right, so you guys are both in Pokemon Masters. Yes.

[00:38:20] And an encounter in which your respective gym leaders have a battle. Who would win that battle? So Serena versus Lee Face, please, what I'm saying. I don't know. I'm not super familiar with like. What's your Pokemon? Do you know your main Pokemon? Yeah, it's Eevee. Oh, normal type.

[00:38:40] Okay, well. I don't know. My Fennekin is pretty cool. I like to think Serena could at least put up a fight. Yeah, I feel like Leaf is she. She's energetic, but I feel like even if she loses, she's like, that's okay.

[00:38:58] You know, like I don't think she'd be heartbroken if she. I think we'll just not have a battle and just go out for ice cream. We'll just be friends and just have a picnic instead. Yep. And then Team Rocket walks in and screws it all up. All right.

[00:39:12] Team battle. There you go. So team battle against, I shouldn't even ask that. Team Rocket lost. So what's next for you guys? Any upcoming projects you can tell us about things that are not under NDA. Things that are not, you know, stricken or anything like that.

[00:39:27] Like, are there any projects you guys are working on that you can talk about that you can kind of tease for everybody? You want to? Sure. I'm actually going to be a guest at KamoriCon later this year. I'm super, super excited.

[00:39:39] Hey, show us the KamoriCon right down there. That's the first con I ever went to when I was a baby anime fan. So I'm really excited to go to that. I guess sort of a, the other thing I'll say is that I wrote a book.

[00:39:50] It is a YA dystopian novel. I have a couple copies at my table. And if you're interested in it, it is online on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you don't want to get here or can't. Yeah, I think that is what I want to say. All right.

[00:40:06] I will be at Yumekan at the end of October, which is in California. Also, if you have Netflix, you can watch Wake Up Carlo just came out. It's a wacky show. I highly recommend it. It's really funny. Crunchyroll.

[00:40:22] You can watch Misfit of the Demon King Academy season two just started over. So the dump should come out very shortly. Rising of the Shield Hero comes out in October. And Grand Blue Fantasy Relink game comes out at the end of this year sometime.

[00:40:40] I don't think there's a date yet, but it's a really cool open world RPG. So if you like that type, I would definitely recommend you check it out. Super awesome. Well guys, let's give it a round of applause. So much for you and Jackie Lastra. Thank you.

[00:40:55] Thank you. And soon followed two dead grandmas on Instagram, right? Yes. Okay, good. We will be announcing our new album shortly. That's going to be on YouTube and it's going to be hilarious. It's so good. Thank you so much. Well, we hope you enjoyed this week's comic conversation.

[00:41:16] This was the production of the Distance Serving podcast in Time for Tacos Media. For more content, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok all at Distance Nerdy.

[00:41:25] If you enjoy our content, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks and keep nerding together. Comic Con Radio taking the world one listener at a time.