FEATURE: BLUELOCK Voice Actor Aaron Dismuke Shares His Emotional Breakthrough With Chigiri

 

Article written by guest author Aaron Dismuke, the English voice of Chigiri in the BLUELOCK anime.

 

“If it tears, so be it.”

 

Those are the words that’ll always stick with me from my time as the English voice of Hyoma Chigiri in the genre-bending sports anime BLUELOCK: a show that elevates the stakes and stratagems of soccer to *Anything* Slayer levels of intensity.

 

I’ve been voice acting in anime since I was nine. Most people who know me, know me from the work I did as Al in Fullmetal Alchemist when I was 11, and I’m 30, so that isn’t weird at all, and I definitely didn’t spend my early twenties feeling like a washed-up has-been pseudo-child star. In truth, I’m one of the lucky few in this business who’ve had something approaching job security thanks to my getting cast in a number of awesome shows that keep coming back for new seasons. 

 

However, while trying to knock out one of those shows on a tight schedule, I pushed myself too far and developed a condition that made conversation painful, and screaming very painful.

 

So y’all are gonna notice my absence in anime for a little while. 4-6 weeks is the long prognosis.

I did not practice good vocal care y’all. For those of you who are newer voice actors, screaming might not seem taxing yet, but it will. It w i l l.

— Aaron Dismuke (@Aaron__Dismuke) April 21, 2022

 

I was told to take a break from voicework, so I did. I stepped back from every role I had, asking the relevant studios to find actors to replace me. I spent six weeks on vocal rest, communicating almost solely by means of a digital typewriter. I informed fans and colleagues via Twitter, and was heartened by the deluge of well-wishes and thoughtful advice that came my way. 

 

I didn’t get better.

 

At a friend’s suggestion, I went to LA to see a specialist doctor who works specifically with voice actors. From her, I learned my condition was called Muscle Tension Dysphonia, and I gained a treatment plan plus an assurance my vocal chords themselves were not damaged. Thanks to that, I eventually reached a point where normal conversation was no longer painful… so, whistling innocuously, I used a foot to edge my hat back into the ring as an actor.

 

Almost immediately, Jonathan Riggs cast me in BLUELOCK. My first thought was relief that the character was quiet. Short sentences. Vague moodiness. This I can do.

 

 

But Jonathan didn’t cast me for my super cool emo voice. He cast me because he’d noticed something that a lot of casting directors have in the last few years… actors often do their best work when the experiences of the characters they play parallel their own.

 

And hohhhh boy. Chigiri and I have some parallels.

 

Chigiri was a genius soccer player who could outrun anyone. But just as I injured the one thing a voice actor doesn’t want hurt, he tore the one thing a sprinter doesn’t want hurt: his ACL. Chigiri spends the first six episodes of BLUELOCK holding himself back out of fear that he might reinjure himself.

 

And then, in Episode 7, he lets go. He breaks the metaphorical chains that are literally drawn around his wounded knee and he sprints for the first time in years. “If it tears, so be it,” he says. “One final time, I will dream.”

 

 

And then, after he scores his first goal, he yells… I yell “HELL YEAH” at the top of my lungs. It felt amazing. Cathartic. Chills went up my spine (though the show’s soundtrack could’ve done that on its own).

 

Then, driving home afterward, I felt like I was being gently choked by a hot rope. 

 

Art imitates life. Art is also larger than life. The concept of breaking past your limits is inspiring but it’s also dangerous. My Hero Academia’s Izuku Midoriya can break his arms against villainous faces almost as much as he wants because he has Recovery Girl (and Eri) to make it better afterward, but even heroes have their limits, and we quirkless mortals can make mistakes that permanently limit our options.

 

This brings me to Isagi and Chigiri’s conversation in Episode 5 of BLUELOCK: “If you’re not ready to sacrifice everything,” Isagi says, “you’ll never fulfill your dream.”

 

I couldn’t help but picture his English VA: Ricco Fajardo, who’s down one kidney and had a polyp (gained through excessive yelling) cut out of his throat a few years back, as the guy telling me this, telling me that life is full of pain and danger but the best parts are on the knife’s edge… so get out here anyway.

 

 

A fan reached out to me just a few days ago. After years of therapy, she very recently regained the ability to walk. To me, that felt far larger than my own struggle, yet she told me my story inspired her. 

 

VAs are told that we “inspire” people fairly often, but we’ve come to understand that what fans mean is “this character, who you are lucky enough to be part of, inspires me.” This wasn’t that. This was someone recognizing what I, Aaron, had been through, empathizing and drawing strength from the fact that someone else was going through — and getting through — a situation they related to. Hey. You inspire me too.

 

The story of Chigiri’s chains alludes to the line between rational caution and trauma-induced fear. All of us will eventually be hurt in a way that forces us to find that line for ourselves and not all of us will be able to sprint in the aftermath. 

 

But to borrow another term from BLUELOCK, and another recent accomplishment of Chigiri’s, all of us can keep evolving. We can toe that line forward, or skirt our way around it, or even paint over the bastard. We can and should, because that’s where we’ll find our joy.

 

 

Watch BLUELOCK on Crunchyroll now!