Maxwell Powers (born December 27, 1983) is a Japanese voice actor born in the United States. Known for his work in ''

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is a Japanese anime television series by Wit Studio. It was broadcast for 12 episodes on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block from April to June 2016. The series was streamed on Amazon Prime Instant Video service. Two compilation films pre ...

'', '' Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion'', ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'', and '' Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga''. Powers is also known for his live action work as the host of the

NHK Educational TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, cultural or intellectual nature, periodically also sh ...

program VocabRider (2016-present) and as a host for

NHK World-Japan NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...

's Catch Japan. Most recently, Powers was a presenter at the 2020

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

closing ceremony.

Early life

Powers began studying Japanese from the age of 15, and was awarded the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's scholarship to attend a Japanese university in 2003. He began his professional career as a translator working in manga and anime. In 2006, Powers was hired to supervise a narrator for a recording and was requested by the director to replace the original narrator. After finishing the recording, the director encouraged Powers to pursue a career in narration and voice acting.

Career

Powers was cast in

’s radio program Kiso Eigo as a host from 2007 until 2014. In 2016, he was cast as the lead in

’s television series, radio show, and smartphone application VocabRider. Co-starring

Wakana Aoi is a Japanese actress and former singer. In March 2017, she landed the lead role in NHK's 97th Asadora, ''Warotenka'', which aired from October 2017 to March 2018. Career 2009–2012: Early career Aoi was scouted in Harajuku, Tokyo, in her fift ...

Minami Hamabe is a Japanese actress. She is known for her breakout role in the popular live-action film '' Let Me Eat Your Pancreas''. Biography Minami started off her career by winning the New Generation Award at the ''7th Toho Cinderella Audition''. She ha ...

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, Powers was responsible for providing explanations of the English language in Japanese. He has additionally worked as a reporter for NHK World's Catch Japan. As a voice actor, he is primarily known for his work in Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and video games. Powers has played Suzuki in the television series, video game, and movie version of

(2016) and is the announcer in the movie Kuroko's Basketball The Movie: Last Game (2017). Powers currently voices the recurring character Rotom Drone in the television series

, Sergeant Verde Buster Gundam in SD Gundam Heroes(2021), and Genbu in the Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion anime series Shinkalion(2018), Shinkalion Z(2021) and Shinkalion the Movie(2019). He also voices the characters of Ultraman Max and Ultraman Mebius in the live action movie Ultraman Ultra Galaxy Fight The Absolute Conspiracy(2020), and the transformation system voice in the television series Ultraman Trigger New Generation Tiga(2021). Powers has also worked as an MC for various MMA tournaments from 2009 including

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) is a defunct Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in c ...

's Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) and for Aniplex Online Fest. Recently he presented at the 2020

closing ceremony. In 2021, Powers joined the cast of the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

on-demand series The Benza in the recurring role of Max.

Filmography

Television

Film

Video Games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Maxwell 1983 births Living people American expatriates in Japan American television personalities Expatriate television personalities in Japan Japanese entertainers Japanese male video game actors Japanese male voice actors Japanese television presenters Male actors from Oakland, California