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Kira is quickly becoming a high-demand voice actress in the video game industry. You have probably heard her work on many Flash games on Newgrounds.com such as, Meryl in "Metal Gear Awesome", Announcer in "Super Smash Flash", All Female Voices in "Brawl Taunts" and Zelda in "Four Swords Misadventures". Most recently she did all of the voices for the princesses in Xbox Lives latest hit, Castle Crashers.

I had the pleasure in meeting Kira at this past E For All where I got to sit down and talk to her for a bit for the GamePro cameras. Later I asked her for an interview for all the readers here at GameGirl.com and this is what she had to say about video games and working as a voice actress.

How long have you been providing voices for video games?
The first official game I recorded for was in the spring of 2008.

How did you get into voice acting? What was it that made you realize that this is what you want to be doing for a career?
I started voice acting online when I was in high school after some friends of mine showed me voice acting clips of theirs. I thought it sounded like so much fun and researched how I could get into it. I always wanted to go pro, but I lived in Alaska at the time, so I had to stick with doing things online and taking acting classes when I could. I flew down to Anime Expo in 2007 to enter their Voice Actor Idol contest and ended up winning first place, which helped me get my foot in the door after I moved to California.

What was your favorite character you have provided a voice for?
I had so much fun doing the princess voices for Castle Crashers.

If you could voice any character from any video game, which character would you choose and why?
Princess Peach. I dress up as her, I play her in Brawl and Melee, and she has such a cute little voice that's so fun to imitate.



What is your favorite thing about being a voice actress?
When someone you don't even know or just met is watching/playing something you're in and you tell them you did the voice and they don't believe you. People quote the Brawl Taunts videos at tournaments I go to, and when I went to E For All I got to hear myself in the Castle Crashers demo.

Do you do most of your voice recording at home?
For online work like flash animations and machinimas, yes. When I have the chance to do professional work, I go to a studio.

To date, how many different character voices have you provided in the past?
Thousands---I've done so much over the past four years that I can't keep track of them all anymore. I'm still just barely breaking in to doing official (paid) productions, however.

Do you cosplay at all as well?
I sure do. I don't know how to make my own costumes, but I have a lot of fun wearing them.

What is your favorite cosplay costume?
Probably Ashley Graham from Resident Evil 4.



What are some of your favorite video games?
First and foremost, Super Smash Bros.! Some of my other favorites are Soul Calibur, Street Fighter III, Capcom vs. SNK, Tekken, DDR, Phoenix Wright (I've played and beaten all installments of it), and anything related to Mario, Zelda, or Metal Gear.

How long have you been gaming?
Not that long, actually! I didn't become a gamer geek until my best friend (who's a huge gamer) made me start playing a lot more games with him and it didn't take long for me to become addicted. I recently became a competitive Brawl player and I love it so much---I go to one or two tournaments every week.

Any conventions coming up you plan on attending?
The only one I know of for sure is Anime LA---I'm going to be a guest there.

Any tips or tricks to others interested in getting into the voice-over industry?
Take classes, and don't be afraid to start small. I really do recommend doing work online for things like Flash animations because even though you don't get paid, it's really good practice and experience. Always accept constructive criticism and take advantage of opportunities to learn new things and make connections. Also, have a practical skill you're good at because it's very, very hard to make a living doing voice over. I've been a barista for the past couple of years and I also got a degree in Japanese. Having that day job is a lifesaver because it's so difficult to get any form of regular voice work.

Do you have any upcoming projects you are working on that we can look forward to seeing from you?
Right now you can get Away: Shuffle Dungeon for the DS---I do the voices for quite a few of the female NPCs. I got it soon after it came out and it's actually a pretty fun game, too! I'll also be voicing as Karen in the upcoming Luminous Arc 2.

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