- Interview Date: 4/4/2026
- Interview Location: Anime Boston 2026
- Interview Format: In-Person, Round-Robin
Anime Herald: What was it like working with Shigeru Chiba? What is the backstory behind the name he gave you, “Kujira?”
Kujira: Starting with what it was like working with Shigeru Chiba, he’s a man with a lot of talent in him. He was the one who suggested I work with him in acting. That’s how I joined his company.
As for the backstory behind the name “Kujira,” it started in a show that was sixty minutes, focusing on a lady. A female reporter would go through different experiences and report about them. The producer of the show asked me to appear on it. My name is Wakako Matsumoto, which lacks impact. The producer said he needed a name with more impact. “Please think of a stage name with more impact.”
I wasn’t sure what to do. I asked Chiba-san what to do. He said, “I think ‘Kujira’ would be great!’”
When I first talked with Chiba-san about my name, I had just started doing voice acting. He mentioned that if you write “Kujira” in hiragana ( くじら ), it will stand out in the credits. It will be easy to spot, and even kids will understand it.
He said there’s also, there’s a double-meaning to it. “Whales are sea creatures that can traverse the brutal rolling waves of this world. Because you can traverse this tough world, I believe ‘Kujira’ will be a fitting name.”
When people saw the name ‘Kujira’, they wondered “who is that?” The name ‘Kujira’ is androgynous. My voice is also androgynous. You don’t know if I am male or female. Even the people who hired voice actors wondered what kind of person ‘Kujira’ was. “Let’s try using them.” Everybody in the industry usually hires at least once. I got a lot of offers just for using this name.
Anime Herald: (Laughs) Good name.
Kujira: (Laughs)
Manga Mavericks: How did you get your start as a voice actress? What encouraged you to continue voice acting as a career?
Kujira: My start came from Chiba-san. I had known him through a stage acting company. There was a time when he was a director for a PC game. He asked me to voice a character in the game. I tried it out. After that, a lot of different directors and producers heard my voice and found it to be unique. They decided to try me out. I got a lot of offers to be a voice actor. Because I got so many offers and roles, I decided to continue doing it.
On top of that, as I was getting all of these offers, because my voice is so low, when it came to re-dubbing Western movies… compared to Japanese people, Westerners have somewhat lower voices… because of that, my voice was sought out to match the Western voices. Those offers started coming in. I thought, “I am getting all of these offers to do voice acting in various different aspects, I should keep working as a voice actress.”
Anime Herald: Welcome to Boston. Do you have any fun stories from your trip or fun plans for your time here?
Kujira: When I first arrived in Boston, we went on a tour of Fenway Park. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I would keep hearing the name “Babe Ruth” or “The Bambino.” I heard about the “Curse of the Bambino” and 1986. It was an interesting and intriguing story. Also, the stadium is very old and has a lot of history.
Shohei Ohtani is very popular in Japan. I would see him play in all of these stadiums on TV. Sometimes, Fenway Park would show up. I walked around thinking, “I saw this on TV.” Also, the chairs are really old.
At the end of the tour, there’s a gallery, almost like a museum, of the old players and the bats and balls they used. There’s a lot of history. I guess Boston has a lot of places that have a lot of history.
In Boston, there are a lot of places where you can compare new and old buildings, side-by-side. That’s scenery I don’t get to see often. I thought it was interesting. The firehouse was kind of cute. It didn’t look like a firehouse. It was kawaii. When I looked inside, I could see the firetruck in the garage.
Tomorrow, I definitely want to eat some clam chowder.
Manga Mavericks: What is your approach to giving androgynous vocal performances?
Kujira: It’s a little weird to explain. I try to be as natural as possible. Initially, I’ll focus on creating a voice that isn’t obviously male or female. Then, I try to focus on making it sound natural.
I do a lot of roles where the character was originally male and became female, or was originally female and became male. There are a lot of roles of mine that fit into that category. I also get roles to dub characters from reality shows that have gone through those transitions. I get those offers quite often.
Anime Herald: What knowledge have you gained over the course of your career that you would like to pass along to the next generation of voice actors?
Kujira: Every voice actor has their own personal technique, so I won’t delve into those aspects. What I feel most important is that acting is a job that expresses and transfers information. Feelings are information. Words are information. I think that it is important that actors focus on communicating and transferring that information to the viewers.
Manga Mavericks: You are well known for your performances of tough older lady characters. How did you discover that niche for yourself as a voice actress?
Kujira: I have a very strong outgoing voice. That matches the tougher, old lady characters. From getting all those offers for the same kind of roles, I thought, “I guess, that’s my niche.”
More recently, I’ve gotten some other types of roles. I can’t talk about the specific project. The character I am playing is more timid and reserved. However, despite that timid nature, they are still aiming for the top. Seeing all these offers for different kinds of roles, I find it interesting that people are seeing different possibilities for my voice.
Manga Mavericks: I look forward to hearing you in that role.
Kujira: Thank you. It’s in the Summer.
Anime Herald: Do you have any questions for us?
Kujira: Now that you have met me in person, what is your impression of me?
Anime Herald: There’s a sake called Suigei, Drunken Whale. I’ll be thinking of you the next time I drink it. It’s a very good sake. I imagine it appearing in a slice-of-life anime like Wakako-Zake, going out to have some food and drink.
Kujira: (Laughs) I’m glad to hear that. Oishii!
Manga Mavericks: My impression is you are warm, energetic, and bubbly. It’s the opposite of some of the sterner roles that I know you as. I agree with Seth’s opinion, you would be a great person to have drinks with or at a party.
Anime Herald: No doubt.
Kujira: About those stern, coldhearted, evil roles. The thing that the directors always say to me is “you sound too friendly.” Any time I relax a little bit, that friendliness just comes out. They always point it out.
When I am at the recording studio, I like to fool around and joke around with everyone. When I get these sterner roles, I was told that I was not allowed to fool around and joke around.
Whenever I get those dark evil roles, it’s like a spell I have to cast on myself. “Evil, dark, dark, evil! I” I have to be menacing. If I don’t do that, I mess up on those roles.
Anime Herald: Thank you.
Kujira: Arigato!