Regular CartoonClack readers will remember that I previewed the first two episodes of Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters last month. This story of a boy who discovers he has the power to command creatures from another dimension was enjoyable, but I was confused about some aspects of the story and overall just wanted to see more. Well, two things cleared up some of these questions. The first was re-watching the first episode when it officially premiered this past Saturday. The other was getting to speak with Scott Wolf, the voice of Kaijudo‘s protagonist Ray.
Scott — probably best known from his roles in Party of Five and V — was excited to talk about this new project, especially since he was finally able to watch the completed first few episodes this past week. Scott described Ray as a kid who is still trying to figure out who he is, but who has this huge potential. When Ray discovers that he has this power to connect with these magical creatures, he begins his journey towards discovering what his potential can bring. “He’s sort of like Neo from The Matrix,” Scott chuckled. I actually suggested that Ray is a little like Neo, Harry Potter and a dash of Pokemon‘s Ash Ketchum … Scott confirmed that was a pretty accurate description.
When I previewed the first two episodes last month, I wondered why the Masters are so adamant about duelists not connecting with or even touching the creatures they use. Scott shone some light on that aspect of the show: “The Masters are really first and foremost just trying to keep the peace between the two dimensions. They’re trying to keep the status quo and that goes into their rules of not touching the creatures and somehow not disturbing the creatures.” While their former ally and current enemy The Choten wants to control the creatures of the other dimension for his own gain, the Masters are just trying to avoid conflict and protect the Earth any way they can … although the second episode already suggests that Ray knows a better way. In Scott’s words, “Here are these so called masters who think they know everything about these creatures, and here comes Ray who just knows there’s more to them.” That compassion and connection to these powerful creatures is one of Scott’s favorite things about Ray.
Scott is also passionate about how Kaijudo deals with bullying through the experiences of Ray and his two best friends Allie and Gabe (voiced by Kari Wahlgren and Phil LaMarr). Allie is considered popular at school, but she doesn’t let peer pressure from other popular girls keep her from being friends with Ray and Gabe. Gabe is bigger than his classmates, but he’s a target for bullies because he’s smart, thoughtful and timid. Ray is picked on not only because he’s shorter (something Scott mentioned he could relate to when he was a kid), but also because he’s of mixed race. In the pilot, some bullies mock him with some pretty nasty Asian stereotypes, only to have Ray tell them that he’s proud to be both Japanese and Caucasian. Allie then calls out the bullies for their racism. The way the show puts a light on bullying was one of the things that drew Scott to the role, especially since he and his wife recently announced that they’re expecting their second child: “As a father whose kids will be that age someday, I do think about the kind of shows my kids will watch. And while cartoon will always be entertainment first, I’m glad this show has such a great message.”
I was curious about the dynamic between Ray, Gabe and Allie — one of my favorite parts of the pilot — as well as the dynamic between Scott, Phil LaMarr and Kari Wahlgren. Scott calls the trio “the core of the series” with help from the great chemistry between the three actors. He actually sung the praises of all the great voice actors in the cast, including John DiMaggio, Freddy Rodriguez and Grey DeLisle. This is his first jump into voice acting and Scott stressed how glad he was that he was able to bounce off the other actors when recording; “I’m sort of the newbie in the cast when it comes to voice work, so working beside these really, really gifted voice actors has been a joy.” Scott also noted the common misconceptions about voice acting: “Some people might think it’s easy because you’re just using your voice, but it is challenging!”
Looking towards the future of the series, Scott was quiet on specific details, but I did ask about Ray’s recently passed father and his role in Ray’s special powers … Scott stayed vague, but admitted, “I can say that his dad does fit in to the overall story.” He was also excited about the whole 26 episode first season and how dark the story was going to become; “Every character gets taken in a direction that is completely unexpected. I think the audience will get taken on a ride. Your favorite character might do something that you don’t understand or that you hope they find their way back from.” Scott’s enthusiasm for the show makes me very optimistic for where it can go, so I’m definitely going to keep an eye on this one. Check out Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters every Saturday on The Hub.
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Jun 04, 2012 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
OMGOMGOGMOMGOMG I didn’t realize this when you talked to him on my phone, but I went to Scott’s IMDB and found out he was Billy in Double Dragon. That movie was Awesome to me as a kid. Me and my friend Anthony would watch dumb marshal arts movies like that all the time and then play the movie out in the backyard. Then later, we got into Power Rangers, but it still started with me being billy in the backyard and on the playground.