Joshua Waters

Joshua Waters and the Roles That Redefined Gen Z Voice Acting

At just 24 years old, Ohio-born Joshua Waters has built one of the most talked-about careers in contemporary English dub voice acting. Represented by CESD Talent and affiliated with Funimation/Crunchyroll and Sound Cadence Studios, Waters works across anime, video games, and indie web animation – bringing characters to life with a warmth and emotional precision that has earned them a fiercely dedicated fanbase. The GamingonPhone Awards recognized Waters with Best Voice Acting in a Mobile Game in 2025, a milestone that reflects how quickly their star has risen since first appearing in dubbing credits around 2021.

Honkai: Star Rail and the Role That Changed Everything

Waters has spoken openly about what voicing Phainon in Honkai: Star Rail meant for their career – describing it, in their own words, as “the role that changed everything.” Phainon, the central figure of the Amphoreus arc, required an enormous emotional range, and Waters delivered a performance that resonated far beyond typical gacha game expectations. The 2025 GamingonPhone Award win for Best Voice Acting in a Mobile Game is a direct testament to that work, and the character’s farewell arc generated significant conversation online, with Waters openly sharing how much the project moved them personally.

Sasaki and Miyano – Miyano’s Voice Finds Its Home

The role of Yoshikazu Miyano across the Sasaki and Miyano franchise – including the 2022 series, the 2022 short OVA, and the 2024 Graduation film – holds a uniquely personal place for Waters. They secured the audition through a public casting call posted by director Emily Fajardo on social media, a grassroots path that reflects the changing landscape of voice acting recruitment. As a queer actor, Waters has spoken about how meaningful the project was, bringing a lived authenticity to a romance that already had a passionate readership behind it.

Witch Hat Atelier and Qifrey’s Long-Awaited English Debut

Witch Hat Atelier has carried a devoted fanbase for years, and when the English dub launched in April 2026 with Waters voicing Qifrey, the response was immediate and enthusiastic. Waters had been a fan of the original manga long before the casting was announced – a piece of context they shared publicly when the role was revealed. Taking on a character they already had deep personal investment in is a rare situation for any performer, and their emotional reaction to the announcement made clear how much the opportunity meant. Qifrey’s combination of quiet authority and underlying vulnerability maps well onto Waters’s demonstrated strengths.

Lord of Mysteries and Klein Moretti’s Arc

Waters voices Klein Moretti in the ongoing Lord of Mysteries adaptation, a role that FandomWire praised specifically for the quality of the casting match. Klein is a layered protagonist – sardonic, clever, and carrying a sense of weight beneath the humor – and Waters has shown consistent comfort with characters who operate in that register. Lord of Mysteries carries significant expectations from its fanbase, and early reception to Waters’s performance in the series has been positive.

Indie Roots and the Object Show Community

Long before the major dubbing credits, Waters built a following inside the Object Show Community, a web animation subculture with a passionate and long-standing audience. Their ongoing role as Steve Cobs in Inanimate Insanity predates the mainstream recognition and speaks to where Waters first found their footing as a performer. Eddie Dear in Welcome Home and Stone in Ramshackle – where Waters also contributed voice direction work – round out a catalog of indie credits that reflect genuine investment in the space rather than a stepping-stone mentality. Outside of performing, Waters maintains an active presence as a VTuber under the name Toodles Clown.