In an exclusive interview with HT.com, Rana Daggubati expressed his desire to voice another anime/manga character after Ice Elf King Barca in Solo Leveling S2. Indian anime fans were in for a surprise when superstar Rana Daggubati boarded the Solo Leveling train, bringing an unforgettable fan experience closer to the audiences back home. Earlier in November, Crunchyroll delivered the pleasant shocker that theBaahubalistar would be lending his voice to the enigmatic Ice Elf King Barca in the unimaginably anticipated second season of the Korean web novel-based anime adaptation.
As per the buzzworthy revelation, Daggubati is voicing the new powerful character in not one but three Indian languages –Hindi, Telugu and Tamil – for Solo Leveling Season 2. On top of that, the omnibus film Solo Leveling – ReAwakening, which opened in Indian theatres on December 4, also features the Indian actor taking on the villainous role of Barca in Hindi. The immersive cinematic opening sets the tone for the upcoming January 2025 Season 2 premiere as it compiles the first two episodes of the TV anime’s fresh offering while rehashing the events of the first season.
In light of the latest developments, Rana helped max out the fans’ excitement for Solo Leveling’s future by surprising them at the 2024 Delhi Comic Con this weekend. HindustanTimes.com was fortunate enough to snag an exclusive interview with him at the venue on Friday, December 6, and discuss his personal anime connection.
In addition to opening up about his contributions to Solo Leveling’s next step, Rana Daggubati admitted that he would love to take on dubbing duties for another anime/manga universe if the situation arises.
When asked if he could introduce himself as a certified anime fan, Daggubati said, “[I’m] literally an anime beginner…Always was curious of the culture because I used to play a lot of video games back in the day. Used to be a comic buff… a little bit of manga, but anime much lesser.
He went on, “But I think… this is it. I had to be in it in some form. My life forces me in places I don’t normally go to.”
Given that the South Indian megastar previously lent his voice to Marvel’s sinister supervillain Thanos for the Telugu dub of Avengers: Infinity Way and its sequel Endgame, HT.com further probed if he had any desires to voice any other comic book, video game or manga/anime character in the future. He responded in the affirmative, and came right out, confessing he was open to anything Berserk-related.
As one of the best-selling manga series of all time, the seinen dark fantasy Japanese title is created by mangaka Kentaro Miura. It channels heavy sword and sorcery imagery. The classic series ultimately hit TV screens in 1997 with the original anime adaptation chapter (not to be confused with Berserk: The Golden Age Arc, a trilogy of films, and their subsequent continuation in the 2016 anime series).
Netflix describes the OG 1997 series as: “A wandering, sword-wielding mercenary joins a charismatic leader in his ruthless pursuit of glory and recognition in this epic medieval tale.”
