Attending anime conventions is for us our mission on steroids. They’re huge gatherings where we have the opportunity to develop relationships with voice actors, other industry professionals, and attendees, while expressing our own passion for the anime and cosplay. As such, we visit many each year, and no two are the same; each has its strengths and weaknesses. Some have become favorites for our staff, though no one could have envisioned, me least of all, that an 18+ convention would make that list.
At Ecchi Expo, an adult anime convention in the Austin, Texas area, I connected with so many lovely and passionate people (watch our short reel from the con). I also had the opportunity to discuss conventions with the con’s owner and to chat with a few of the guests, including one who’s become a great friend to Beneath the Tangles, Christina Kelly.
You probably know Christina as a rising star in voice acting. She made her mark with roles in popular series like Food Wars (Alice) and Akame ga Kill (Mine), as well as in BtT favorites like Golden Time (Kouko) and Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki (Mimimi). We did a feature with Christina several years ago, but with her career taking off since then, and particularly in recent months, we wanted to again visit with her to talk anime.*
Twwk (Charles): Hey, Christina! It was so good seeing you again at the convention!
Christina: it was great seeing you too, Charles!
Twwk: I’ve been to Ecchi Expo twice now, and it’s been a surprisingly encouraging experience. I think the con is run very well. What was your experience like? From a guest’s perspective, do you find this 18+ convention to be very different from other cons?
Christina: I had an amazing time! Josh Wilson and his wife Megan run great events. They take really good care of all the guests at their shows. We’re very spoiled! Haha!
I think this kind of show is successful because the attendees here just want to let loose and have fun and no one here wants to ruin that. No one’s being weird and awkward. The people here are here to let their freak flag fly without a care in the world. I think that’s awesome.
Twwk: I wanted to follow up, in part, because you had a lot of things in the works around the time of the Expo, and now so many have resulted in roles you’ve won. Let’s chat about some of them, like Akiba Maid War…
Christina: Ah, yes! Akiba is such a bad a** show. How I’d describe it is that it’s like a Quentin Tarantino movie with killer maids! It’s so different than anything else I’ve done, especially because it’s an original work. This was my first show to work on like that. And Shiipon is a fabulous character. She’s all sass and so am I, so it was perfect casting!
Twwk: Yeah, that’s definitely you, and it’s definitely an unexpected, crazy series. Speaking of crazy, you can’t really put that word together with “anime” these days without mentioning Chainsaw Man. Tell us about your role as Michiko Tendo on that huge show.
Christina: Chainsaw Man was so unexpected. I feel so grateful to be part of such a popular show and franchise. Mike McFarland (the director) wanted to play it like a film when we were recording. Really quiet and contained and then insanity with the fight scenes. No in-between. Michiko was also a little different than a lot of roles I’ve done in the past. She’s much more subtle and serious. I’m very thankful Mike gave me the chance to play her.
Twwk: It’s great to see your range as an actor in what ended up as one of our favorite series of 2022. Another show I really liked last season was The Eminence in Shadow. Congratulations on getting the part of Alpha!
Christina: Alpha is so cool. She’s a killer, beautiful elf who’s the leader of the Shadow Garden. She’s very authoritative, but also sweet. She’s secretly in love with the main protagonist Cid and I’m really interested to see how their relationship grows and if any feelings come to fruition.
Twwk: This is from a little while back, but I also loved your work on another of our favorite series from 2022, Call of the Night. I hope we get a second season!
Christina: Call of the Night! Great show! I love the manga also. Seri was a wild role for me. I really got to let loose and go crazy with her. She had this big fight scene with the main character, Nazuna, and wow! If you haven’t seen the show yet, I highly recommend it. The animation is killer.
Twwk: I’m sure you have lots of other things you’re working toward this year as well. What are you working on that you can tell us about and what are you looking forward to in 2023?
Christina: Well obviously Akiba Maid War and Eminence in Shadow are streaming on HIDIVE. If you don’t have the HIDIVE app yet, GET IT! We have so many amazing shows coming out there this year. I have a few more projects in the works coming**, but I can’t talk about those just yet. I’m really excited about them though.
Twwk: Awesome. It’s always a happy thing for us to see someone who works so hard and is so skilled get roles in excellent shows. Thanks for sitting down with me, Christina! Let’s talk again soon!
Christina: Yes! Thank you so much for having me back, Charles. Can’t wait to chat again!
We encourage you to keep track of Christina’s life and career through Twitter and Instagram. Give her a follow on her accounts! You can also follow Ecchi Expo on Instagram.
* This interview occurred as a follow-up after Ecchi Expo.
** One of those roles, just announced, is as Tiana in Ningen Fushin, another series we’re hyped about this season.
Thanks so much for doing these interviews and for showing the love of Jesus to these convention-goers. I’ve had more than one friend say something along the lines of, “You wouldn’t witness about Jesus at an [adult club],” and I think to myself (this was long before we even met and was in a different context entirely), “I’ve known friends who did much more unexpected things than that and beautifully did it for the glory of God.” Thank you for showing through your actions that there is no environment God’s love cannot enter into. Prayers and blessings. ♥
Thank you so much for the encouragement! I receive similar advice and then criticism afterwards. While there are lot of things we need to consider when going into such spaces, I think that so many forget that to love others, we must go to them rather than expect them to come to us. Prayers and blessings to you, too, friend!