Kitty Kitty Meow: An Interview with Voice Actress Kari Wahlgren

Kari Wahlgren is a voice actor whose first role is also one of her best-known: Haruko from FLCL. Besides that groundbreaking role, she's also voiced characters like Fuu (Samurai Champloo), Saber (Fate series), Kagami (Lucky Star), Tayuya (Naruto), just to name a few. Not limiting herself to just anime, she can also be heard in several American animated shows. Some of her well-known characters in that field include Starfire (Teen Titans movies), Jessica and Rick's Spaceship (Rick And Morty), Emma Frost (Wolverine & The X-Men), and many more. Video game enthusiasts might also recognize her as Aranea (Final Fantasy XV), Ashe (Final Fantasy XII), Raine (Tales of Symphonia), Kitana (Mortal Kombat 11), and many others. We were lucky enough to catch up to her at Anime Los Angeles recently, and we discussed some of her favorite lines, various roles, her thoughts on getting to revisit Haruko in the FLCL sequels, and even her jazzy music covers. Fans of Kari, or those who are discovering her for the first time, will want to read on and check out her social media via the links at the end!

A-to-J: Thank you so much for meeting with us today! Would you mind introducing yourself? 
Kari: Yes, I’m Kari Wahlgren, and I’m a voice actress.

A-to-J: Wonderful! So, my first question for you today is: You’ve played some pretty vicious characters throughout your career...
Kari: [Mock Surprise] Who? Me? [Both Laugh]
A-to-J: ... such as Magness in ATOM and Harley Quinn in Gotham Knights more recently. How do you get in the mindset to play characters for preschool shows like T.O.T.S. and Pupstruction?
Kari: You know, it’s so funny; I just became a mom 11 months ago, so the whole preschool age shows have taken on a whole new kind of specialness to me, so I definitely tap into that. But I think we all have kind of a dark side, and even if we don’t flip someone off in traffic, or even if we don’t say what we really want to say to the person that we get snubbed by, somewhere all of that is inside of us. So with the villain characters, it’s just a fun excuse to let that darker side out. People always ask me: “Is it more fun to play heroes or villains?” It’s always villains.
A-to-J: It makes sense. You get that nice relief. Then you can look at your baby and go: “Alright, it’s toddler time!”
Kari: [As if to her child] Don’t act that way! [Both Laugh]

A-to-J: That’s cute. Thank you. You just released an awesome jazz cover of “Nothin’ But a Good Time” on Spotify and other platforms. I really enjoyed hearing that. What inspired you to do that version instead of the original? It seems like that soft rock is more of your thing, and this felt very natural so I would love to know how you came up with that.  
Kari: Yes. Thank you. Honestly, I loved hair bands when I was younger, but I wasn’t allowed to listen to that music really. When I was an adult, probably back in about 2016, I started going to concerts and I just fell in love with it. So I found like: “I’m in love with this hair band music,” but I can’t sing it necessarily like the original singers. So I was like: “How do I sing it? How do I make it my own? And how do I do it in my own special way?” I’ve always loved jazz. I grew up with jazz, and I grew up with musical theater. So I started hearing some of these songs in my head in jazz versions. So I started releasing a couple of songs like that, and it’s been really fulfilling. It’s been a lot of fun.

A-to-J: You’ve reprised very popular roles like Saber from the Fate series as well as Haruko from FLCL so many years later. Have you had trouble getting back into these voices or has it been more of a natural thing to revisit them after so many years?
Kari: Oh, that’s such a great question. You know, especially with FLCL, I never thought we would do a sequel. People would ask over the years, and after a certain number of years I would think to myself: “Just give it a rest, guys. They’re never gonna make a sequel.” Right? Thirteen years later...
A-to-J: After a decade, you kinda want to give up at that point.
Kari: You just kinda think: “Well, it’s just never gonna happen.” But when we went back into the studio for the FLCL sequel, one line in and it felt like putting on your favorite old sweater that was just so comforting, and even if you hadn’t worn it in a long time, it just immediately felt good. Everyone in the studio just kind of looked at each other and was like...
A-to-J: “Oh, we’re back, baby!”
Kari: “We’re back!” Yeah! So with that one very much, it felt that way. And with Saber, every time I’ve gotten cast again to be able to play her in one of the titles, they keep some voice reference. Usually it’s just [Saber voice] “EXCALIBUR!” and then we’re back. Like: “Oh yeah! Back in the headspace.” So it’s kind of like just slipping on that fun sweater.  

A-to-J: That’s awesome. On that note, are there any lines from characters you’ve voiced that you just use in your daily life? Like something that just resonated with you; it was just really funny and quirky that you like to use?
Kari: Oh my gosh! I do, in fact say: [Haruko voice] “Kitty kitty meow!” a lot from FLCL. That one has just crept into the vernacular and I have cats. 
A-to-J: So very fitting.
Kari: I love cats so the snarkiness of it is just great.
A-to-J: For me, it would be you as Raine [from Tales of Symphonia] saying: “You know the word ‘avaricious’? Wow! That’s such a good word!” Any time I hear someone say like a big word, awe that’s... [Snaps]
Kari: That’s amazing! You get major points for that one! [Finger Guns]
 
A-to-J: I know you like some video games, more old school stuff, but I was wondering; since you’ve done so many video games yourself like Mileena and Kitana in Mortal Kombat 1 and Aranea in Final Fantasy XV (as a DLC character, you can use her), do you ever play yourself in these video games just to get a taste of the other side?
Kari: I do, but I play badly. Like I play so badly that if I... I like to do it just so I can see how the gameplay turned out, but if I want to get any further in the story or the level, I just have to watch clips on YouTube or something. Like of people playing or doing the cutscenes because I’m sure a bad gamer.

A-to-J: Ah, that’s totally good. So what are the kinds of games that you like to play normally?
Kari: As far as video games, I’m super old school. There’s just something just very comforting to me about Ms. Pac-Man and Mortal Kombat 3. That was my gateway Mortal Kombat game. They have the consoles now where they’ve got the old, classic games built in there, and that kinda takes me way, way back to childhood.
A-to-J: I was playing Mortal Kombat 3 in Texas Roadhouse before dinner.
Kari: [Points at herself] Pizza Hut! Pizza Hut! [They high five] Oh my god! Okay. Oh my gosh! You know. [Whispers] She knows! You’re my spirit sister on that so absolutely!

A-to-J: Thank you very much! That’s about all the questions we have, Do you have any final words for your fans? Any upcoming events that you’d like people to check out? And anything you can tell us on future projects? I know you usually know more than you’re entitled to say but anything that you can say to have people look out for.
Kari: Because it’s out right now, I can say that the most recent season of Rick and Morty is out right now and I’ve got some really fun stuff in that season which is great. 
A-to-J: Because, you normally do Jessica and the ship as well.
Kari: And the ship, but without giving any spoilers, there is another character that comes back in this season. That was a really fun episode to do. The rest of the stuff, I’m under NDA [both laugh], so I can’t talk about it. Fans can find me on social media. I’m @KariWahlgren on Instagram, I have a Facebook Official page. I’m on TikTok. I’m on The Artist Formerly Known as Twitter. I really do love hearing from fans, and connecting with fans there, so follow me and let’s keep in touch.

A-to-J: Awesome.  Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you spending your times with us today!
Kari: Thanks a lot. Thank you, guys!

We'd like to thank Kari Wahlgren for the interview, and we strongly encourage everyone to check her out via the links below. As always, keep an eye out for more from Kari in the future! Also, special thanks to Anime Los Angeles for this opportunity!

For More Information on Kari Wahlgren:
Website: https://kariwahlgren.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KariWahlgrenOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kariwahlgren
X: https://twitter.com/kariwahlgren
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realkariwahlgren
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KariWahlgrenOfficial

The above interview was conducted by Megan Smith. Video, transcription, and editing by Jeffery Kelly. Photography by Ivan Aburto. Additional editing and assistance by Manuel Figueroa.