Jay Hickman (Food Wars) serves up a hot plate of Reddit AMA Answers!

Jay Hickman might be a less well known name in anime voice acting, but he’s been working in the industry since the early 90’s, playing smaller parts for over 100 titles. He’s played in previous Toonami shows like Akame ga Kill as Dr. Stylish and in Parasyte – the maxim as Shiro Kuramori. He returns as Joichiro Yukihira in Food Wars!

On roles he’s had the most fun with:
Gosh, lots of them have been so fun to voice! Dera from Tamako Market was huge fun, Mechazawa was also a blast for many of the same reasons. But in terms of just scenery-chewing delight, probably Kagetane from Black Bullet or Dr. Stylish from Akame Ga Kill!

On what food from Food Wars he’d want to eat:
I’d really like to try the fried rice that both Joichiro and Soma make in Ep. 1! I mean, this is a dish that you can get almost anywhere, and it’s usually consistently good. What is it that made theirs so special? I want to know!

On the proudest moment in his career:
Tough to answer, tbh. There are so many moments over the years that have made me so happy that I get to do what I do. I probably can’t pick an ultimate moment of pride, but any time I get to talk to fans, and they tell me how much a certain show meant to them while they were growing up, or some performance of mine made them laugh so hard…those moments are way up there!

On favorite convention experiences:
I DO go to conventions, and always love them! Meeting other industry professionals (that I haven’t worked with yet) is always a treat, but easily the best part is getting to visit with the fans at a booth or Q&A. Getting to experience the joy of these shows, vicariously, is always rewarding, and they almost always tell me something about one of my characters that even *I* didn’t know! Love that.

Favorite Pokémon & Digimon:
Snorlax, Myotismon

On notable recording stories:
There’s nothing that stands out in particular, but there is usually some fun to be had when my phone rings while in the booth. (And I should preface: I don’t allow this happen just any old time, but for certain directors that I’ve gotten to know well and become friends with, they have pretty lax policies about letting us have our phones on, because there is some downtime, and I can usually pop out a text in 15 seconds without it disrupting flow…) Anyway, occasionally a call will come in, and I’ll look at the caller ID and say: “I’m so sorry, but I really need to take this… just a sec.” And they’ll say okay. And then… the blank looks that director and engineer give me while they listen to one side of my call are just delightful. Usually followed up with some wry comment like: “So…. trouble with the missus, huh?” Endless fun!

Food Wars airs Saturday nights on Toonami.