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During San Diego Comic-Con 2024, I got the opportunity to speak with voice actresses Deneen Melody and Kimberly Woods.
Toonami viewers might know the two best as the voices of Ronye and Tiese in Sword Art Online, and we discussed that alongside other Toonami roles, including Kimberly voicing Naho in Demon Slayer. Both Deneen and Kimberly were attending SDCC as panelists in the “Breaking into VO with anime and video games” panel, so we discussed a bit about that alongside the then-ongoing SAG-AFTRA video game strike that lasted from July 26, 2024 – July 9, 2025 including the ongoing concerns of AI in media.
You can listen to the interview on either the embedded media player, on Apple Podcasts, and/or you can read the interview below.
Daniel: What’s up, Toonami Faithful? My name is Daniel Limjoco. Also known as @AnimeSavior. And today I’m hanging out once again, with Deneen Melody. And this time with her friend, Kimberly Woods.
Deneen: Yay!
Daniel: How are you two doing?
Deneen: We’re good. Yeah, we just did our panel, which was “Breaking into VO with anime and video games.”
Kimberly: Yeah, it was awesome.
Deneen: You did awesome. Thank you for joining us.
Daniel: Last time we talked, we were talking a little bit about how you two were already BFF, so to speak, around the time when you two were cast as Ronye and Tiese [in Sword Art Online].
Kimberly: That’s one of our first, one of my first anime roles.
Deneen: Yes.
Kimberly: And we got to do it together so it’s very special.
Deneen: I think it was both of our first, like, bigger anime roles. And yeah, I knew Kimberly, and neither one of us knew who the other character[‘s voice actress] was until it came out. And then it was like, I was so happy it was you.
Kimberly: Me too. It was really cool.
Deneen: Yeah.
Daniel: Of course, my media outlet is Toonami Squad, we talk about Toonami and its many shows. So, what’s your experience, what’s been your experience with the block?
Kimberly: I love it! Right now, Demon Slayer‘s on the block and I’m voicing Naho and Hinaki. And um, so yeah, I love being a part of it. I love watching it before I did anime voiceover, and I think it’s great.
Daniel: How does it feel to be in such a big franchise?
Kimberly: Amazing, pretty surreal. Yeah, I love it.
Daniel: I like the three girls Naho and her, probably sisters or BFFs (Sumi and Kiyo) and like these they seem like pretty sweet and…
Kimberly: They’re really positive. They’re really like, cheerleaders [for Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inouske].
Deneen: Yeah, we love them and it was so exciting to have it be on Toonami, but also like it’s just out there now, so people can just like, watch it. So, if you can watch it on Toonami, you can check out Sword Art Online or Demon Slayer. And then I was on JoJo[‘s Bizarre Adventure]: Diamond is Unbreakable, which was on Toonami. So yeah, we got our little, our Toonami bits in.
Daniel: So, since you two were just on a panel talking about getting into voice acting. How did you two get? Basically, “get in”, in the shortest way you can because we’re running short of time.
Kimberly: Ultimately, it was through taking workshops and meeting casting people, and having friends recommend me to casting people. That was kind of how I got in and just stepped at it.
Deneen: Yeah, very similar. I took classes and then I think my break, so to say, was actually getting to read for Mami [Okada]. I had an opportunity where I got to read for her directly, and from that I got, you know, stuff at Bang Zoom! And because of that, I was able to start getting into other things. Because, you know, it’s all about connections and putting yourself out there. So, yeah, very similar, classes and workshops.
Daniel: I want to talk a bit about Ronye and Tiese. Basically, [the] two girls are very sweet but they, as we’ve seen from through Alicization, like they’ve had some really tough…
Deneen: Yeah…
Daniel: The, the thing happened, and…
Kimberly: They’re strong. They’re really sweet, but I like them because they have an inner strength. Which I love.
Deneen: Yeah, it shows you that you don’t have to be like some super skilled warrior to have strength. And like you kind of said, they’re the cheerleaders [for Kirito and Eugeo] and I think that’s what helps the other characters. And I think they give a lot of their strength to everybody else. which I love too because I think it’s important for everybody to realize that there’s more than just one type of strength. Yeah.
Daniel: I remember when you we learned, you two [were cast as] Ronye and Tiese, I remember seeing people [on social media] were like “oh, I’m really sorry for you…” given that event in [Episode 10 of] Alicization, and I don’t know I should talk about it…
Deneen: Just in that scene like it was, it was okay for us. Because we had been given a heads up [of the events during that episode], and you don’t always get that. So, we knew that it was coming and we actually got to watch…Did you get to see the scene beforehand?
Kimberly: Yeah, she sent it to us.
Deneen: And we had wonderful Directors and Engineers who walked us through everything and did not. Like, I didn’t have to do it more than…
Kimberly: No…
Deneen: Yeah. It was just like; we did it and that was it.
Kimberly: I was like “I only want to do this as many times as we have to.” He’s very sensitive about the whole situation. So, ultimately it felt very safe and yeah.
Daniel: Yeah. Props to Alex [von David] and Mami [Okada].
Daniel: How do you have to adjust to, [for lack of a better term] trying to make the best out of a tough situation?
Deneen: Well, you just have to remember that it’s not real. And while you can pull, um…real life experiences, and stuff in it. At the same time, you’re an actor and you’re playing a role. And I think that’s what really helped me get through it. It is just knowing that it’s just, it’s part of the process. You’re playing a character and… yeah. And for me, I’m not somebody who’s a method actor. Like, I can really get into it, but I’m not gonna put myself in a dark place. I just play the character and then as soon as it’s done, I’m out of it. But that’s how I do it.
Kimberly: I mean, I love to act. There are many different parts to humanity. Not everything is happy, happy all the time. So, you got to be able to go sometimes [to] those dark places, and we’re there to serve the story. Whatever way we can.
Deneen: Yes.
Daniel: Perhaps in the future, we’ll see more of uh the two characters.
Deneen: I actually have a feeling that, while they may not come back as Tiese and Ronye as we know [them], I do think that there’s a possibility…you know. Maybe…
Daniel: Yeah, fingers crossed.
Daniel: Of course, uh yesterday (when we recorded this interview) SAG-AFTRA just announced they’re going on strike against the video game industry. From your perspective, tell us some of the issues, or at least what you can talk [about].
Kimberly: I mean, we’re fighting for AI protections. Right? And not just for us, for the next generation of voice actors. We’re at a critical point right now with AI. So, we need the companies to get on board and yeah, that’s the process. They’re trying to use our data just to give it to generative AI. And they’re not trying to cover all performers and so we went off of Columbus for AI protections.
Deneen: Yeah, and as Kimberly said. It’s not just for us who are currently working. It’s for everybody who’s interested in VO and pursue this as a career. If we don’t kind of take care of this now and really address the issue, it’s just going to get worse. So, it’s so important that we all band together. in people who just love what we do, whether you love anime, video games, animation in general. And you’re a fan of that, it’s important that you support, you know, the union. And you support us during this time because, it’s just, we want the best for everybody.
Daniel: Yeah. Like I’m hearing it could probably lead to exploitation on a massive scale.
Editors Note: Following this interview, SAG-AFTRA reached a deal with game publishers a year later on June 9, 2025, with the union ratifying the deal a month year effectively ending this strike.
Daniel: Anything else you’d like to say before we head out?
Kimberly: Um, yeah, right. Right now, I’m in uh the show called Ishura on Hulu. You can watch me play Lana the Moon Tempest. So, check that out. Um, and Deneen?
Deneen: What are we?
Kimberly: We’re talking anything else you want to say things that we have going on?
Deneen: [Zoe Lee in] Miraculous Ladybug, um check that out. I can’t really say much, but we all know that there is a new season coming soon. And yeah, I’m currently working on something but those NDAs won’t let us speak about it. So, you’ll just have to keep, you know, in touch.
Daniel: All right. All I can say is on behalf of the Toonami Faithful and my colleagues at Toonami Squad, thanks for talking with us, power to your union, and we’ll see you again next time.
Deneen: Thank you so much.
Kimberly: Thank you.
If you missed it, also check out our interview with Michelle Ruff, the voice of Rukia in Bleach. And look forward to our report from SDCC 2025 coming tomorrow.
