If you’ve spent even an hour exploring the snow-covered plains of Sucker Punch’s latest samurai epic, you’ve almost certainly found yourself drawn to Jubei, the quiet, world-weary ronin who acts as your closest ally through most of the main story. His gravelly, measured delivery makes every line feel weighted with unspoken history, so it’s no surprise thousands of players have been searching for who voices jubei in ghost of yotei since the first gameplay demo dropped last year. In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the cast behind the character, their past work, and how they landed one of the most coveted roles in recent game releases.
Who Voices Jubei in Ghost of Yotei? Meet the Lead Performers
There are two official voice actors for Jubei, depending on which language track you choose to play with. Andrew Kishino is the English voice of Jubei in Ghost of Yotei, and he also performed full motion capture for the character to make every movement and line delivery feel perfectly synced. Kishino has been working in video game and anime voice acting for over 15 years, and he’s built a reputation for playing quiet, complex characters with hidden depths. If you’re playing with the Japanese voice track, Kenjiro Tsuda voices Jubei, a legendary seiyuu known for his signature deep, raspy delivery that’s made him a fan favorite across hundreds of anime and game roles.
Both actors worked closely with Sucker Punch’s writing team for over two years to develop Jubei’s voice and mannerisms. Kishino said in a recent interview that he spent months researching Edo-period ronin culture, even taking basic sword fighting classes to make sure his breathing and line delivery during combat scenes felt authentic. Tsuda, meanwhile, worked with the localization team to adjust line delivery to fit the Japanese version of Jubei’s backstory, which has a few small differences from the English script to fit cultural context.
How the Cast Brought Jubei’s Complex Character to Life
Jubei isn’t your typical generic samurai protagonist, and the voice cast had to walk a fine line to capture all the layers of his personality. Jubei is written as a disgraced samurai haunted by the deaths of his entire clan, who has spent 10 years wandering the island of Yotei as a mercenary. He doesn’t talk unless he has to, and most of his emotion comes through small shifts in tone rather than big, dramatic speeches. The voice actors had to convey all that grief and regret without making the character feel too flat or unapproachable.
The writing team gave both actors a list of core traits they needed to highlight in every line, to keep Jubei’s personality consistent across both language tracks. Those traits include:
- World-weary cynicism, paired with a hidden sense of justice that only comes out when vulnerable people are threatened
- A quiet grief for his lost clan, that peeks through in rare, unguarded moments of dialogue when he talks about his past
- A dry, deadpan sense of humor that only appears when he’s talking to close allies, usually to make fun of their more impulsive choices
Kishino has mentioned that the hardest scenes to record were the quiet, intimate moments where Jubei opens up about his past. He said he would often leave recording sessions emotionally drained, because he had to tap into so much genuine grief to make those lines feel real. Tsuda echoed that sentiment, saying that Jubei is one of the most complex characters he’s ever played, because he has so much emotion hiding just below the surface that he never lets anyone see.
Other Notable Roles You’ve Heard Jubei’s Voice Actors In
If Jubei’s voice sounded familiar the first time you heard it, you’re not imagining things. Both Kishino and Tsuda have had long, successful careers, and you’ve almost certainly heard their work in other popular games and anime. For Kishino, his most famous role prior to Ghost of Yotei was Takemura in Cyberpunk 2077, the loyal Arasaka guard who becomes one of V’s closest allies. He also voiced multiple characters in Genshin Impact, including Lesser Lord Kusanali’s personal guard and Faruzan’s long-lost research partner. He’s also had roles in The Last of Us Part II, multiple Call of Duty titles, and the English dub of Demon Slayer.
Tsuda, meanwhile, is a household name for anime and Japanese game fans. His most famous recent role is Kento Nanami in Jujutsu Kaisen, the stoic salaryman sorcerer who became a fan favorite for his no-nonsense attitude and hidden kindness. He also voiced Suguru Geto in the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie, as well as V in the Japanese dub of Devil May Cry 5. He’s had roles in One Piece, Attack on Titan, and almost every major anime release of the last 20 years. I’ll admit I actually paused my first playthrough of the Ghost of Yotei demo the second Jubei spoke, because I immediately recognized Tsuda’s voice from Nanami, and had to look up the cast right then.
Fan Reactions to Jubei’s Voice Performance So Far
It’s only been a few weeks since Ghost of Yotei launched, but Jubei’s voice performance is already one of the most talked about parts of the game. On social media, thousands of fans have shared clips of their favorite Jubei lines, with many saying his performance is what made the story’s emotional beats hit so much harder. As of full launch, Jubei is already the most fan-arted character in Ghost of Yotei, with hundreds of new pieces of fan art popping up every day across Twitter, TikTok, and fan art sites.
There are a small number of players who have criticized the English dub, saying Kishino’s delivery is a little too monotone in some scenes, but most fans agree that the quiet, understated delivery fits Jubei’s personality perfectly. Japanese language track fans have also had a very positive reaction, with many saying Tsuda’s performance adds an extra layer of tragedy to Jubei’s backstory that makes his character arc even more impactful. The voice cast has also been sharing fan reactions on their personal social media accounts, with Kishino saying he’s been blown away by how much players have connected with the character.
So many fans have asked for more Jubei content that Sucker Punch has already teased that he’ll have a major role in the first planned story DLC, which is set to drop next year. That means we’ll get plenty more of both Kishino and Tsuda’s performances as Jubei in the coming months, which is great news for anyone who fell in love with the character during the main story.
Whether you’re a long-time fan of either voice actor’s past work, or you just fell in love with Jubei’s character during your first playthrough, it’s easy to see why so many people wanted to know who voices jubei in ghost of yotei. Both actors put an immense amount of work into bringing the character to life, and their performances are a big part of what makes Ghost of Yotei such a memorable experience. If you’re planning a second playthrough soon, consider switching up your language track to experience the other actor’s take on the character — you might be surprised by how much new depth you find in Jubei’s story.