Catching Up with Voice Actor Marisa Duran

One of our very favorite people in the whole world is Marisa Duran, a voice actor who burst onto the anime dub scene in 2021 as the voice of Kyouko Hori in Horimiya and has continued to land roles in popular and acclaimed series like Hell’s Paradise (Sagiri), Remake Our Life (Eiko), and Shadows House (Lou/Louise).

This past weekend, we found a chance to catch up with Marisa at Anime Frontier, where she was attending as a guest. We chatted* about her work this past year, holiday plans, and of course, Horimiya!

Twwk: As the year draws to an end, what are the highlights of 2023 for you?

Marisa: Oh my gosh, 2023 was so good to me! I had like a shonen protagonist role on my bucket list, which I always imagined would be a young boy, for some reason. But then I got an email that said, “Hey, Mike McFarland is interested in casting you as Sagiri in Hell’s Paradise,” and I was like, what?! So that was a huge blessing.

And then even just attending conventions, actually, was something that I guess was a goal I didn’t even realize. I know so many people kind of set out with that in mind—the financial aspect of it and how beneficial that is. But for me, I always set out with the expectation of just wanting to connect with people. And so the financial aspect of it has definitely been helpful, but just having the chance to connect with fans in person and hearing what these stories mean to them has been an incredible blessing.

Twwk: On that topic of connecting with people, I feel like there’s no one in the voice acting community as good at it as you, especially on social media with liking, replying, and encouraging. Where does that come from? What’s the drive for that continual encouragement?

Marisa: Oh, that’s a good question. I think it stems from just remembering what it was like when I was in a dark place and wanting so desperately to reach out to people and not knowing how. And so even now with social media, there are posts where I can kind of read the subtext and be like, this might be a cry for help. But it’s hard because there’s a line between being super personal in someone’s DMs and just replying to a comment. And as someone who’s now, somewhat of a public figure, I have to pick and choose who I can reply to individually, which sucks. But I do have to kind of find that balance. And so it stems from wanting to encourage people but without crossing that boundary. But if I can just put out a statement like, “Keep up the faith” or “Don’t give up” and someone sees it, it might be received like, “Wow, this voice actor believes in me.”

Twwk: Do you ever get hurt by encouraging people on social media? When you put a lot of positive energy out there, it can maybe sometimes suck the energy out of you or people might take it wrong and in turn, hurt you.

Marisa: For sure. There’s a delicate balance there. My mental health also has to come first. So I prioritize that. And sometimes that means I need to take a break from social media, I don’t post or reply, or I delete the app from my phone. But it is hard because our social media presence is really important at this point. And it can be really hard to keep positive, especially when so much that’s on my timeline that is not good news. But I don’t want to ignore what’s happening in the world. I want to understand and kind of pray about it, and maybe just try to put out a positive message without it being “false positive.” Because I definitely don’t want to get caught in that web. And hopefully saving some spoons for myself in the process so that I’m not giving, giving, giving until there’s nothing left for me.

Twwk: Shifting gears, Horimiya: The Missing Pieces came out in 2023 and completed that series. What did it mean to you for that second season to be made?

Marisa: It was so unexpected and the biggest blessing. The first season focused so much on Hori and Miyamura’s relationship, which is great because everything kind of revolves around it in the storyline, but there were a lot more dramatic moments not animated. And so then, with Missing Pieces, we got to see more about the friendships and the people they met along the way that helped them become who they are. And I loved that we got more of the background between Hori’s parents, and then we learn more about her little brothers, Souta, and just the comedy that can happen when all of the friends get together. And really tender moments, too, like them helping Akane at the bus stop. I thought all of these little moments that made their lives so special was really beautiful.

Twwk: You know, January will be three years since the original Horimiya premiered. What would the current Marisa Duran tell the Marisa Duran from January 2021?

Marisa: You’re gonna see these veteran voice actors in your cast, and you’re going to look them up on Twitter. And you’re going to be overwhelmed and intimidated by their following counts. But they are going to be some of the most wholesome, genuine friends you could ever have. And followers aren’t the be-all and end-all. Don’t let that be a factor for whether or not you think they’re going to be real, genuine humans that you can interact with. You’re going to learn from them. You’re gonna grow. And you’re gonna end up with real friendships out of it that aren’t just surface level. It’s not, “Okay, we’re peers.” It’s no, “We’re friends.” Now we hang out. So it’s gonna get better. Don’t be scared.

Twwk: That’s awesome and encouraging, almost like it’s something out of Horimiya! I want to end with a couple of questions. With us now in the holiday swing, does your household have any holiday plans or traditions?

Marisa: Oh my gosh, that’s so fun! Okay, so almost a year and a half ago, my grandparents on my dad’s side moved closer to us. So now it’s kind of to the point where everyone comes over to our house for Christmas. So we always make French toast on Christmas morning. It’s very fun! And we hang out in our PJs all day. We’ll probably watch football (I can’t remember if there’s a bowl game that day). And then I think some of my family from California is going to come over the day after. So that’ll be exciting, too! So yeah, just a big old party at the Duran house.

Twwk: Speaking of football, you’re a TCU alum and huge fan of Horned Frogs football.. How are you holding up with TCU’s down season?

Marisa: It’s so funny because we’re like in Fort Worth for this convention, which is so bizarre to me because I’m looking around and I’m like I remember some of these places, but also some of these places are new! Last night we were driving to get dinner and Alejandro was like, “How do you know where everything is?” And I was like, Cause I lived here, bro. It was so funny.

But I’m holding up. I’m hanging in there. I keep telling myself it was a growing year right, a rebuilding year because we did lose a number of starters to the NFL, which is exciting for them! Our new quarterback is doing well. I think he’s going to improve. He’s got a lot of talent for a freshman. So yeah, we’ll see. I think next year will be good. It is hard, though, to go from national champ runner-up to not even being bowl-eligible, but it happens.

Twwk: As a UT fan, I know how it is for your team to be up and down. And on that note, that’s it for us!

Marisa: That was too quick! It was good to see you again!

Twwk: You, too!

We encourage you to follow Marisa on Twitter and Instagram. She really is a light in sometimes volatile communities filled with people who need encouragement. If you want to check out Marisa’s current work, go watch I’m in Love With the Villainess on Crunchyroll.

*The original transcript was edited for length and clarity

From ‘Lowest Low’ to Horimiya, Marisa Duran Rises from Depression to Acting and Life Success
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