Anime Herald: For my first question, I need to make it clear that I knew the two of you would be here (Natalie Rial, Gabriel Regojo), but I did not know you would be here (Shannon D. Reed). You will understand how that is very relevant to the question.
Natalie Rial: I’m excited.
Anime Herald: Every working environment is a little bit different. What is the working environment like for Call of the Night under Shannon D. Reed’s direction and with sound engineer David Lascoe?
Natalie Rial: OMG! This is the best question ever! It’s the worst! I’m kidding. It’s the best. It really is.
Shannon D. Reed: I would also like to know the answer to this question.
Natalie Rial: Recording Call of the Night with Shannon is such an incredible experience. Shannon is such a fantastic director who wants to get the best take for everything, even if that means, and I’ve told this story a thousand times, even if that means he comes into the booth and holds up his hands and tells me to punch him until I become angry enough to deliver the line right. Shannon cares about everything he touches. Because of that, it allows us to thrive.
Dave is such a genuine, kind human. It takes a little bit to break his shell, but once you break his shell, Dave is so much fun to be around. He’s so sweet. I consider Dave and Shannon to be my friends.
When we go in there, we’re recording, we’re being serious. But we’re dropping jokes at each other the entire time, too. There’s a moment in season one, where Nazuna goes in to pretend to kiss Kou. Then she goes, “You thought I was going to kiss you, didn’t you?” Then she leaves. The first time we did that I leaned into the microphone and said “Hey, baby (bay-bay)!” (In a very low voice.)
Shannon went, “No, no, no! We can’t do that!” Dave turns to Shannon and goes, “But why not?”
We are all bouncing off each other. It really is just being around friends and getting to do something we all love.
Gabriel Regojo: Echoing that sentiment. Shannon is one of the most prepared directors I’ve gotten to work with and one of the most collaborative as well, which I think is integral to making something that people care about. Like Natalie said, as we’re recording we’re laughing, but we’re problem solving. If we come across a line that doesn’t fit right, we’ll take the time to get it right. We’ll do several takes of it. The entire process is work, but it’s so much fun that it feels like a joy. I’m always a little sad when I have to leave at the end of my two hours. It’s so much fun. I love getting to work with both of them. Shannon is one of my favorite people to get to work with. You didn’t know that until now.
Natalie Rial: Aw, we’re all so cute. So much love.
Shannon D. Reed: Now it’s your turn to spill the tea on them.
Natalie Rial: Goodbye! It’s been nice meeting you.
Shannon D. Reed: So, after three cups of coffee…
I am always excited to work with the both of you. At the beginning of my day, when we’re booked and scheduled to work, I genuinely feel excited because of y’all’s energy and y’all’s presence. I do consider y’all friends as well. It doesn’t feel like work. It feels like we’re going to be able to hang out and have fun.
And yes, of course there is the job and the seriousness when it gets down to it. We are putting in the work and finding the right voice. We’re finding the right tone in the situations for the characters. It just feels natural and fun and the collaborative process. Going through the episodes, it just feels fun. It doesn’t feel like work even though what we’re doing is technically work. I think both Gabe and Natalie are a joy to work with. And Dave is absolutely amazing.
The director and the audio engineer, it’s like a whole second language. We’re looking at the technical, as well as the natural feel of the tone. Dave is just as crucial. This is a whole team that is putting this together. The focus that he has, the dedication to his craft, this all makes the process go very well. Going through seasons one and two, like I said, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like we are having fun and going on an adventure.
Anime Herald: You specifically have worked on a number of different shows. How does Call of the Night compare to other shows you’ve worked on?
Shannon D. Reed: I feel like working on a new project is kind of like its own journey. When I’m working on a new show, my brain locks in. “This is this.” You’ll have your own dedicated cast for the show. It’s its own little adventure.
The genres do change and switch up. Some shows are more comedic. Some are a lot heavier and serious. It’s just shifting gears into that tone, feeling out the vibe. The seriousness, the approach to it, breaking down the characters. You have to be aware of the environment in the room.
For example, Sword of the Demon Hunter. That’s a very heavy and very serious topic. With that, going in and setting the tone for the audience. We have to change the mood and the approach to the characters and the situations. It’s not going to be as joke-cracking. Understanding where we’re getting at, here. So, the vibe will change, but keeping things very informative and making sure things flow well. But, we still have fun. We enjoy the company. Just being aware of the topics, the situations. How we need to approach this.
Different shows, they’re all their own adventures. We’re here for that ride. It’s always sad when we get to a conclusion. The wonderful thing for Call of the Night is that it’s not a “goodbye.” It’s a “I’ll see you later.” Being able to come back, all those emotions and the fun that we had in the first season. We get to come back to that and make new memories and have a new adventure.
Anime Herald: Very nice. Great answer. This one is for Gabriel. Back in 2022, you were still learning how to do conventions. What did you learn from Anime NYC 2022?
Gabriel Regojo: As I’ve been coming to more conventions… I’m a fairly private person. I didn’t expect that people liked my work. I was just getting to enjoy working with y’all (Reed and Rial). It’s one of those things where I’m really enjoying getting to meet people and engage with them and their passions. It’s been one of the most fun things, just getting to chat with folks.
Anime Herald: Following up, is there anything in particular you are looking forward to this year?
Gabriel Regojo: I’m thinking I’m just going to let the wind take me. Call of the Wind. In the way anime fans are here at Anime NYC, I’m starting to grow into that. I’m discovering what my likes and dislikes are. Engaging with it that way and letting it naturally occur.
Anime Herald: This one is for Natalie. It’s going to be a bit melancholy. What is some of the wisdom that Chris Ayres has passed along to you?
Natalie Rial: Oh gosh. That one is really melancholy. I was really lucky in my career that I got to spend as much time with Chris as I did. I started in the industry when I was seventeen years-old doing Girls und Panzer. Then I had a hiatus for about three years and I reached out to HIDIVE, Sentai at the time, and I said, “Hey, I still exist and I want to continue doing this.”
Then, for about four or five years, I only worked with Chris. He gave me a shot in this industry. He’s really who I attribute a lot of my career to. Of course, my sister (Monica Rial) helped me get Girls und Panzer. I credit Chris with propelling my career forward.
He’d schedule me for three hours, and we’d usually only record for one of them. The rest of the time, we’d sit outside talking. He would talk to me about everything in this industry, from how to find new voices, to finding characters, and understanding who a character is. The fans, conventions, presenting yourself the way you want to be seen. He talked to me about a lot. He’s known my family for a long time. We talked about stories with him and my sister, and Greg (Ayres), and the adventures they went on with my dad. My dad was crazy.
I lost my dad around three years ago. So I lost both of them pretty close to each other. Chris was very special. He taught me a lot. He would tell me how special conventions are. How, they are the most special places in the world. Because it is one of the few places where everyone can be themselves, and no one is going to judge you. If anyone has come to my table, they’ve probably heard me say that. Because that’s 100% what they are. He helped show me that. He was an incredible human. I love him very, very much. I was very blessed to spend as much time with him as I did. It was never enough. Love and laughter always.
Anime Herald: I run into his brother Greg in Winnipeg at Ai-Kon. I’ve heard some stories.
Natalie Rial: Greg’s incredible. Greg has the best stories.
Anime Herald: Shifting gears now, I don’t know if any of you are football fans. Bill Parcells and Bill Walsh, two of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, both have shared the same idea that each season is unique and different from the last. Even if many of the same people are returning, you are new people now. You are a different person than you were last season. How is that for Call of the Night? How is working on and recording season two different than working on season one?
Shannon D. Reed: I would say for season two, the stakes are a lot higher. There is a countdown. In season one, we were getting to know these characters and establishing things. We get to know Kou’s wants. In season two, with Nazuna and Mahiru, there are a lot of obstacles in their way. The decisions are important to the outcome. The intensity and adrenaline for season two is much higher.
On the technical side of things, for me coming into season two as opposed to season one, and this is for any show that is coming for a later season, I like to critique my work. You always want to go into the next project and do a better job. Sometimes you analyze, sometimes you over-analyze. There are things going into season two that I want to address. I want to make sure I’m on top of these little details. I want to do my best overall to make everything in season two that much better.
Gabriel Regojo: Exactly that. I always like to go back and listen and think, “what can I improve upon?” Getting to come into season two, what was the time difference from when we first started recording?
Natalie Rial: Three years.
Gabriel Regojo: I think, in those three years, I hope my bag of tools in the booth had gotten bigger. When we first started recording I think I was maybe a little more timid, because we were meeting these characters for the first time. Now that I’ve got them under my belt, in those three years I’ve been thinking about their intentions. Hopefully that comes across in the final product. Having that time to improve myself. Now, when we’re recording, I’ll hear something and go “that’s not right,” or “that’s the line!”
I’m able to be sharper about that because I know the character. I have a sense of what they are feeling.
Natalie Rial: 100%. I noticed that so quickly in recording this season. There are moments when I deliver a line and I’ll know, “That’s the line. That’s how I needed to say it.” Because, for the most part, I know who Nazuna is. This season we’re dealing with “Who is Nazuna?” Because there are a lot of things Nazuna doesn’t know about herself.
I think this season, the approach has to be a little different. Nazuna is going through a lot this season. At the beginning of the season, she has made the decision, “I am going to let Kou fall in love with me and I am going to do what I can for Kou to fall in love with me.” That’s already a huge difference between season one and season two.
She still struggles. She still has her breakdowns when she tries to talk about love. But then there are moments where she says it outright. There’s a moment in episode two where she says to Kou, “For you to fall in love with me…” Kou has an internal dialogue “She just said that. She said the L-word.”
So, we’re seeing that growth from Nazuna. But we’re also seeing her go through these struggles of understanding who she is to her core. Because she doesn’t remember her past. She only remembers a couple of years, when in reality, she has a lot more time than that. We’re uncovering things as we go. Understanding her to the extent that I can, but also trying to put in that she wants to know, but also doesn’t want to know. Trying to layer that together in a way that is understandable.
Anime Herald: Do you have any questions for us?
Natalie Rial: Us as in the fans?
Anime Herald: The fans, or Anime Herald. However you want to take it.
Natalie Rial: I’ve never been asked that.
Gabriel Regojo: I’ve never been asked a question to ask a question.
Natalie Rial: I know.
Gabriel Regojo: You broke my brain.
Natalie Rial: I just short circuited.
Gabriel Regojo: I’m drawing a blank.
Natalie Rial: I want to know what people want to see from Nazuna. What do you want to see from her that I can provide?
Anime Herald: We don’t know. Want to be surprised. We don’t want to know going in “this is how it is going to go.” We want the scene to go in a different direction that we weren’t expecting. To be engaged. You’re alive when you are out of your comfort zone.
Natalie Rial: Okay.
Shannon D. Reed: Wow.
Gabriel Regojo: Shannon, do you have anything?
Anime Herald: It’s time for the director to step in.
Shannon D. Reed: Breakfast for breakfast, or breakfast for dinner?
Anime Herald: Breakfast for breakfast, my man.
Natalie Rial: I agree.
Anime Herald: You can always run it back for dinner. You don’t want dinner for breakfast. It’s a good question, though.
Gabriel Regojo: In that surprise that we want, we’re discovering the show as we’re going through it. Where do people think it’s going to go?
Anime Herald: Let me give you an example from Kengan Ashura. It was a violent combat show, and there was a tournament arc. There was the defending champion and he was the clear favorite to win. He faced the other strongest candidate in the semifinals and lost. The mangaka didn’t even know that is how it was going to go until he wrote that chapter. Sometimes, the surprise can be internal. But if you know how everything is going to go, it’s easy to fall asleep. That’s true for writers, viewers, readers, and whatever else. The surprise is part of the show.
Thank you.
Header Image: ©2025 Kotoyama, Shogakukan / “Yofukashi no Uta” Production Committee
The Call of the Night Dub Cast Talks With Anime Herald – Seth Burn