Summary
Steve Blum brings intensity and versatility to his roles, setting the tone for the series and delighting fans. From comedic characters to classic villains, Blum’s performances are always nuanced and memorable. Blum’s most iconic role as Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop solidified his status as a legendary voice actor in the industry.
Steve Blum is a legendary voice actor with decades of experience in the industry, and many of his most notable roles have been as anime characters. Fans in the West may also recognize him as the voice of Toonami’s host TOM, where he brought many classic anime series to the masses, giving many fans an anime experience. Firstly.
Steve Blum has taken on a wide variety of roles over the years, from serious, no-nonsense types to goofy comedic leads. He has played the main characters in their series as well as fan-favorite supporting characters. Whatever the role, Steve Blum is sure to perform to the best of his ability and fans are often delighted when his role is announced. Here are Steve Blum’s 10 best anime performances over the years.
10 Eikichi Onizuka was a tough guy who ended up becoming a teacher
Series: The Great Teacher Onizuka
Steve Blum stars in Great Teacher Onizuka, a comedy about an ex-con who ends up teaching high school kids. Like Onizuka, Blum brought an intensity to the role that suited the hot-blooded character. However, the series does get serious and dramatic at times, and in those cases, Blum is able to make a point, switching roles perfectly while still remaining in character. As the lead, Blum’s performance sets the tone for the series, and it fits well.
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9 Guilmon is a loyal companion
Line: Digimon tamer
On the other end of the spectrum is Guilmon, one of the main Digimon in the third incarnation of the series, Digimon Tamers. Blum helps bring the adorable dinosaur-like creature to life, and creates a believable dynamic with his sidekick, Takato Matsuki. Although quite different from many of his other roles, Guilmon is still a great performance that elevates the anime. Blum has also voiced several other Digimon characters over the years, but Guilmon (and its Digivolutions) is by far the most notable.
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8 Kazuma is a hot-tempered rebel hero
Series: s-CRY-ed
In the obscure s-CRY-ed series, Blum plays protagonist Kazuma Torisuna, who uses a special ability called Alter, which grants unique powers to each person who possesses it. Kazuma is hot-tempered, rebellious and stubborn but is always willing to sacrifice his life to help others. Blum once again brings an appropriately strong presence to the roletakes classic character archetypes to the next level in a rather mediocre shounen series.
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7 Orochimaru takes evil to a new level
Series: Naruto
Orochimaru is a classic villain through and through, a character who could easily be over the top and turned into an animated caricature. FortunatelySteve Blum’s performance as the villain could bring some nuance to the role, ensuring that Orochimaru remains a fearsome force in the series. In Naruto’s follow-up series, Boruto, Orochimaru even received some level of redemption, allowing Blum to bring a new dimension to the role that was previously all about evil. Every scene with Orochimaru is tense and it’s all thanks to Blum’s performance. Honorable mention goes to Blum’s performance as Zabuza.
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6 Kyogai can make you cry because of a demon
Series: Demon Slayer
One of the first major demons encountered in Demon Slayer is the empty demon, Kyogai. Kyogai obviously starts out as an evil villain, but Demon Slayer excels at giving its villains tragic backstories that can really make viewers sympathize with them. That means the actors playing them need to be able to bring depth to the role, and Steve Blum is perfect for the role of Kyogai. His final scenes with Tanjiro are quite touching, as he finally feels appreciated as an artist in his dying moments. Blum’s performance helped establish Kyogai as a memorable character although his time on the series was short.
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5 Leeron brings sassy style to giant robots
Series: Gurren Lagann
In Gainax’s Gurren Lagann, Blum portrayed a supporting character, Leeron Littner, a mechanic who works on the series’ machines. Leeron’s expertise is essential to the main characters’ goal of reclaiming the surface, so he has a pretty important role. Leeron is known to be quite flamboyant, and that’s something that could easily turn out badly in the hands of a less experienced voice actor. Blum tries to balance Leeron’s silly and serious sides to create a complex character that helps express the themes of Gurren Lagann.
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4 Kyohei is a great and collected hero
Series: Durarara
Blum’s character in Durarara is the memorable Kyohei Kadota, a member of the “gang” known as the Dollars, a mysterious group in Ikebukuro. Kyohei is a high school student with a calm personality, a dislike of rules, and a lot of fighting experience. Blum manages to bring some nuance to the character with his performance, avoiding the pitfalls that can turn even-tempered characters into dull ones. Kyohei’s heroic personality also helps him stand out.
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3 Mugen is a lovable scoundrel
Series: Samurai Champloo
Cowboy Bebop’s sister series, Samurai Champloo, fuses hiphop and ancient Japan to create a unique experience, and part of that is thanks to its iconic characters. Mugen is a rogue samurai who fights only for himself, at least until he is tied to Fuu, a young girl searching for her father. Mugen has a rude and vulgar attitude that Blum was able to capture very well.. Particularly important is his contrast with protagonist Jin, a cooler, quieter samurai who also accompanies Fuu. Blum does an excellent job portraying Kirk Thornton’s Jin and their dynamic is key to the series’ success.
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2 Roger Smith investigates the mysteries of the forgotten city
Series: The Big O
The Big O is a mecha series heavily influenced by Batman. The rich main character with a secret identity, Roger Smith, voiced by Blum, who pilots a giant robot named Big O, using it to fight monsters and other robots that threaten the amnesiac Paradigm City. Blum brings serious energy and seriousness to the role, along with a bit of Bruce Wayne-style playboy behavior. Roger’s banter with his robot partner, Dorothy, is one of the series’ highlights, and Blum manages it especially well thanks to Dorothy’s flat and robotic personality.
1 Spike Spiegel is the Ultimate Space Cowboy
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Hitherto, Blum’s most iconic role is that of Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop. It’s a rare case where the English dub is almost universally agreed to be the superior version, and much of that is thanks to the stellar cast, especially main character Spike. Spike is a complex character – a tough guy, occasional jokester with a dark and mysterious past. That gives Blum a lot to do with the role and in every scene he is able to portray the character to perfection. More than 20 years later, Cowboy Bebop is still hailed as an anime masterpiece, and Blum played a large role in that achievement.
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