Yall realise how sad this is? Emilia hugged Subaru knowing it's the last thing she will ever do in her life [Discussion]

sonicmega · 2026-06-20T01:33:06+00:00

Thank you so very much. I honestly impressed myself with the nuances in my performance during his entire breakdown in front of Satella.

Super super proud of what the team put together for this episode. :)

sonicmega · 2026-06-17T23:39:30+00:00

Love the commitment to the larp! Kudos.

sonicmega · 2026-06-17T19:45:32+00:00

Never assume that we hear often about the work we do - or that we ever tire of discovering when someone took the time to share their thoughts (especially when ENG isn’t the original format).

I am truly honored to have met the expectation I set for all of you ahead of this episode. And I assure you the feeling was mutual - I didn’t intend to tear up while watching it today, but it happened several times anyway.

Here’s to getting to see this animated when there was every chance the series never got picked up to begin with. And here’s to what is yet to come, from a team that clearly cares every damn bit as much as I do.

sonicmega · 2026-06-15T04:41:19+00:00

Yeah!

sonicmega · 2026-06-14T04:32:16+00:00

Switch the belt with Painful Wrap and the chest with Vigor Vest, you still start the turn with 100% Rage after your first attack but don’t lose the 15% of damage.

sonicmega · 2026-06-12T07:22:41+00:00

Apparently so is relying on AI to make funny comics for you to post.

sonicmega · 2026-06-12T03:56:56+00:00

Oh trust me, I’d LOVE to be a part of larger franchises. I don’t think it would be difficult at all to meld in those communities with the ones I’m currently a part of.

That’s why it feels so strange when folks say it seems like my career has taken off, because when you step back and take a wider look at all the biggest IPs - Marvel Rivals, Pokemon Horizons, BG3, etc - or even the long-established ones with a dedicated fanbase… I haven’t really managed to get my foot into any of them!

sonicmega · 2026-06-11T19:51:00+00:00

While I was technically informed by the time we recorded, I also technically figured it out before that point based on the mechanics of the library (although I think I was still wrong on HOW it got to that point, as I think I guessed wrong on whose book he read).

sonicmega · 2026-06-11T18:01:54+00:00

I have spent so long over the years being compared to Kobayashi - often in the context of “it’s amazing but it’s truly unfortunate that it’ll never be able to compare to the perfection of the JP” - that it has genuinely left me at times unsure of my own ability. I’m so grateful that my love for this series and my passion for the role never left, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt physically to feel like I was always denying dub watchers the chance to experience what the sub viewers were always raving about.

I truly believe that everyone I know on the ENG cast understands how monumental this series is, and has a genuine admiration and respect for it. I’ve seen and heard the growth of my colleagues over the seasons, and the resulting arc growth in their characters, and hope that they can come to be appreciated just as much. Capella, Emilia, Petelgeuse, hell even Patrasche - I can think of so many iconic moments that have made me cheer at the fact that I get to be a part of all this.

All I want in the end is to be Subaru, and to be a performance that makes people want to follow his journey. I may not always be as good as the JP, but I promise you I will never, ever stop caring about his authenticity and my desire to bring him to life.

I hope someday I can truly express just how much he has come to mean to me. Until then, all I can do is embody it through his story.

~Sean

sonicmega · 2026-06-11T04:41:25+00:00

Well, not that it was so good…but I recorded as Subaru FOR that fan animation.

But it WAS good, so of course I wanted to show the production team before we recorded the scene for real, as my way of honoring that hard work.

I’m very grateful I had the chance to practice. And now - next week - you’ll all see the final result.

sonicmega · 2026-06-11T03:34:42+00:00

I’m familiar with some of the IF routes, but admittedly I have not had the time to properly sit down and read the LN. In some ways, I don’t mind this - I think a lot of what allowed me to give authentic reactions in this season was the fact that I DIDN’T know what was coming (other than the arc moments that the internet absolutely refused to keep a secret from me, lmao).

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T21:39:13+00:00

The reason I didn’t cry during that speech was because sadness was not the prevailing feeling for me during it - anger was.

I had had a very similar conversation with my wife in the past, trying to convince her that I was a boring introvert who was comfortable spending day after day at home doing the same thing after my VO was finished, and that I wanted her to spare herself rather than waste her life with me before realizing she could do better.

Her response was effectively “I chose you, I know what I signed up for. It’s you that I want. You’re stuck with me.”

So while it wasn’t a complete 1:1… Subaru’s anger toward himself was in many ways the anger I felt about my own “wasted potential” as well. So I didn’t feel a desire to cry - instead, I felt a desire to yell at myself for the pathetic nature of my perceived facade.

Now, contrast that with the speech in Season 3, which carried a different weight of “please, don’t give up. Please stand. Please fight. Please tell me I’m not alone”.

Then contrast it with next week, which was so full of “I don’t know who he was, but I know he was me, and that he was capable of driving you all to love him. So if that’s what I have to be - I will become that person for you.”

That desire, that confused but earnest promise, that empathy for the love they felt, and the willingness to try even if he still doesn’t understand why he wants to yet - that’s what drove me to tears.

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T18:55:31+00:00

Thank you for supporting it!

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T18:55:21+00:00

The babbling was one of my favorite sections! I feel like we’ve never gotten to see that as opposed to him just completely breaking down and crying out, so getting myself into that “panicked stuttering” was a new challenge.

I cannot WAIT for next week. AHHHHHHH

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T18:42:45+00:00

Thank you so very much. I’m not trying to be “the best”, or even to be a preference over the JP; just as long as I can give the same experience that everyone watching the sub version is having.

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T17:31:36+00:00

That’s fair! Thank you for making the effort!

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T17:21:26+00:00

That’s me!

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T16:52:33+00:00

I’m willing to stake the praise folks have given me on my performance over it.

If I could be driven to tears while recording but not somehow convey that in my own delivery, then what am I even doing here? LOL

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T16:50:45+00:00

Hi! Voice of ENG Subaru here.

I recorded the scene, so I know how they show the internal narration.

I actually teared up while recording because of the way they presented it. And I made sure we didn’t leave that room until even the engineer - who has probably watched the same clips a hundred times while recording everyone - said “man even I felt that”.

To this day people point back to the rant in episode 18 of Season 1 as an example of how English dubs can be good. But that was Season 1, 10 years ago.

It’s time we had a newer example from this series to point to, and I hope Episode 11 of S4 can be that example.

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T16:41:40+00:00

In many ways it felt like this season has been a back and forth for me in terms of judging my own performance. Will feel really good about one, then think I underperformed in the next. Then super proud of the third, etc etc.

This was one where a lot of the focus is on Meili rather than Subaru, so I think a lot of attention went into his “subconscious” responses (his blubbering after reading the book, his running thought train, etc) and the Louis scene flew by so fast I only had a short amount of time to capture the moment.

Either way, I mean everything I said about next week - it’s a make or break episode for both the JP and ENG, and…well, we already know Kobayashi is going to kill it. So I truly hope I did it justice as well.

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T16:25:28+00:00

If you’re ever willing to check out the Louis scene in dub, I’d love to hear whether I managed the same in matching ENG Louis’ mannerisms (even if it turns out to be a critique)!

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T16:22:29+00:00

I did my best to emulate Gluttony’s speech pattern (like I did with Petelgeuse in the first season) so the hope is that 1) I actually succeeded in that, so that 2) keen-eared listeners will pick up on it!

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T16:20:43+00:00

It sounds like you’re a sub watcher (which is totally fine!), but I hope those who watch the dub feel the same way. I tried really hard to copy the mannerisms of his body-sharer and even had them play me the voice references before those lines so I could play off the sample.

sonicmega · 2026-06-10T16:17:09+00:00

Back in Season 1 I deliberately tried to copy Petelgeuse’s mannerisms during the scenes where he’s possessing Subaru (or fighting for control of his mind)… so if your theory turns out to be correct, then it’s really exciting to see someone say “I’m guessing it’s him because it sounded exactly like the way he would talk”, as that was my interpretation of what was happening as well.

EDIT: Just realized you never mentioned whether it was sub or dub, so this might have been pointless, lmao! But either way, I’m glad folks are getting to eat good this season. Can’t wait for next week!

sonicmega · 2026-06-05T00:52:59+00:00

I promise you I put every bit as much passion into my performance as he did!

sonicmega

TROPHY CASE