For more than 25 years, Isshin Chiba has been the voice behind one of gaming’s most recognisable figures. As Jin Kazama in the long-running Tekken franchise, the Japanese actor has given life to a character defined by conflict, strength and restraint.
Chiba will be in the UAE for the first FNDM Dubai, a pop culture festival bringing together fans of anime, gaming and film for two days on October 4 and 5. The event is organised by the team behind the long-running Middle East Film and Comic Con. Chiba will be joined by other celebrities including Makoto Tamura, the voice of the character King in the anime One Piece.
Speaking to The National ahead of his visit, Chiba reflects on the craft that has shaped his career.
Each role, he explains, begins with a careful study of who the character is meant to be. “Once I’ve studied the character’s visuals, I start working on reading any setting notes to absorb his background,” he says.
“If there aren’t materials, I sit with the script and look for clues. I go one by one carefully to figure out who this person is, where he has come from, and what experiences may have shaped him. From there I choose the direction for the performance, and we lock it in with the director during the session.”
This process has been particularly important for his most popular and beloved character, Jin, who Chiba has revisited for more than two decades. “Jin wrestles with pain and conflict every time I meet him,” he says. “When creating his voice, I’m always making sure not to form him as too mature or too cool or overly gruff. Jin has only aged a few years across the series, while I’ve aged many more. So, keeping his youth and tension alive is another thing to keep in mind.”
The global reach of Japanese games and anime means Chiba is acutely aware of the audiences beyond Japan listening in. His performances often serve as the master track before characters are dubbed into multiple languages. “There is a huge responsibility to deliver the character from my side,” he says. “I don’t want anyone to be disappointed, especially after listening to the dubbed voice and switching back to mine.”
Chiba has witnessed first-hand how international fandom has grown. He recalls an appearance at a convention in Shanghai, where organisers told him that most attendees could understand Japanese due to being exposed to media from the country for so long. “Roughly 70 per cent of the audience, they said, understood the language. That truly surprised me. What a great way to learn.”
The Middle East’s own community of anime and gaming fans has been expanding in recent years, with major conventions, esports tournaments and even Arabic-dubbed anime entering the market. Chiba sees this as part of a wider globalisation of Japanese entertainment, but he also stresses the importance of cultural sensitivity as new characters and stories emerge. “Respect for each country and its culture is absolutely essential,” he says.
Despite his many credits, which include popular anime such as Detective Conan and Cowboy Bebop, Chiba still has unrealised ambitions. Chief among them is voicing Date Masamune, the famed samurai warlord from his home region of Tohoku.
Known as the “one-eyed dragon”, Masamune was a formidable military leader who also looked beyond Japan’s borders, sending an embassy to Europe in the early 1600s. “For me, he’s not just a historical figure in a textbook,” Chiba says. “He’s deeply tied to the place I grew up. To give voice to such a figure, someone who embodies both the pride and the ambition of my home region, would be a real honour.”
Chiba says he is also open to international collaborations to “see where that journey leads”.
For fans in Dubai, meeting the man who has shaped gaming’s most enduring franchises will highlight not only Chiba’s enduring popularity, but also the growing place of Japanese popular culture in the UAE and wider Middle East.
FNDM Dubai will take place at Concourse Convention Centre at Dubai Outlet Mall on October 4 and 5. Tickets start at Dh65 for a day pass
