Interview With Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia English Voice Actors Cristina Vee and Yussef Benelbar

The Anime Atelier team got the chance to sit down and chat with the English voice actors of the anime Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, Cristina Vee (Sitara) and Yussef Benelbar (Muhammad). In this interview, they share their thoughts and experiences behind the recording booth, the anime's themes of survival and knowledge, and the deep bonds between the characters.

This interview has been edited for clarity. It contains light spoilers.

Q: The Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia series is quite a unique setting for modern Japanese animation. Were you familiar with the story before you got cast for it?

Vee: I was not. I first found out about it when I got the audition sides.

Benelbar: For me, I heard about it earlier this year and was like, “that looks cool.” I got the manga and read ahead, so I kind of had an idea of what was happening, at least for my character when it started.

Q: What was the thing that initially drew you towards the characters that you ended up missing?

Vee: I only got to read for Sitara, but what made me really want the role was I got to see the first two episodes, and I knew right away it was really special. Sitara is exactly the kind of character that I love playing, where she has a huge arc, and she gets to go through many kinds of emotions, even the dark ones. And I really thrive off playing those kinds of roles.

Benelbar: For me, I just really related to Muhammad's pursuit of knowledge, how he wanted to better himself, and learn all about the world. I really vibe with that, and so that's immediately what drew me to Muhammad’s character. Once I got into the booth and got to perform him, it felt really natural because I already kind of related to the guy.

Q: Sitara and Muhammad have a very strong connection, even though Muhammad doesn't appear later on in the series. How do you go about properly portraying this deep bond that they share? 

Vee: Well, I think that Muhammad really changes Sitara's life and is very possibly the reason why she's able to survive when she's displaced. I also think, even though she got news that the city he was in was destroyed as well, I think she's always looking for news about him. She has hope that he is still alive and that he is still okay.

Benelbar: You know, for me, I think that starting out with Muhammad–because I was the first one to record and work with Shawn Gann, our director- the both of us really wanted to make sure that the connection with Sitara was relatable, very honest, and natural. And so, you know, we broke it down scene by scene, like this is a character motivation and this is how you feel, you know? 

Like I said earlier, Muhammad’s character is very relatable. I saw him [and was reminded of] my earlier life when I was younger, when I was just like a little bit more innocent and didn't know too much about the world. So for me, it just felt like I legitimately bonded with a person my age around that time. And so, even though our time together was short, I immediately felt the impact I [Muhammad] had on [Sitara’s] character. I really do hope that Muhammad, and this is my belief, is still thinking about her and hopes that one day they can reconnect.

Q: Cristina, since Sitara's closest connection is to the family that ends up employing her, how do you see her relationship with Mistress Fatima?

Vee: I really believe that, and I think we got some confirmation from Fatima during her final scene that, even though Sitara does have these circumstances, I think that her situation– this is a hard question! (laughs) Let me think about this for one second.

Okay, I think Sitara is grateful that this family did allow her access to books. They did teach her how to read. Those are skills that really helped her survive in this world as a woman in her position. And I think that she's always really grateful to the family for that, as well as for her connection with Muhammad. I believe that Fatima made a promise to Sitara that she wanted to see her stand on her own two feet, and I think that Sitara will never forget that.

Q: Sort of a motherly figure, almost? 

Vee: Yeah. 

Q: Since both of these characters are deeply rooted in a specific culture, were there any words, expressions, nuances that you had to incorporate into voicing them?

Benelbar: I mean, for me, I speak Arabic with my family, right? So I kind of had an idea of what to expect going into the booth. But no actor is really fully prepared. We don't get the scripts ahead of time, so we really have to jump in and be adaptable. And so for me, it was really exciting to see different words in Arabic that you don't, again, typically see in any anime, you know?

And so whether it be Fatima talking about the “hammam” or whether it be me saying “As-salamu alaykum”, which is “Peace be upon you,” to Sitara and the rest of the guys, it felt really, really cool. I was very honored that I was able to have those moments with everybody else.

Vee: And in addition to the Arabic names of people and places, we also have Mongolian names of people and places. Sometimes they are used in the same sentence back and forth. So that was a little challenging because I do want to make sure that I'm pronouncing everything with the respect it deserves and correctly. We have a director, Shawn Gann, who really cares about that as well, so he kept us on track.

Q: Did the original Japanese performances of Sitara and Muhammad somehow influence the way you approach their personalities? 

Vee: Yeah, I really respect our Japanese counterparts, and I love to hear the choices that they make. It really informs me, especially about Sitara’s age, because we don't really know her age, but I can hear her progressing through the Japanese performance, so I always take my cues from them.

Benelbar: Yeah, for me, my Japanese counterpart, Jun Saito, did a phenomenal job with portraying Muhammad. For me, yeah, there is some influence I do get from watching the Japanese performance, but I also want to make sure that I'm not mimicking or imitating him exactly, beat for beat. At the end of the day, we are localizing the anime into English, and we have different nuances that Japanese doesn't have, and vice versa. So for me, the influence is there, but I still want to craft my own performance.

Q: We're halfway through the season. What do you think has been the most impactful moment of the series so far?

We're interrupted by a cat meowing.
Vee: I hear a kitty? It's so cute.
Benelbar: That's my cat. I apologize.
Vee: Aww! (laughs) The most impactful moment for me was definitely the end of Episode 2. It got me very interested in seeing what's going to happen next. It also made me very invested in Sitara's journey. But I also think Sitara’s meeting with Toregene and getting to see Toregene’s backstory.

Benelbar: Sorry, my cat (laughs). For me, I'll speak from Mohammed's perspective. I think it absolutely was making that bond with Sitara. Imparting my drive, how much knowledge means to me, and I think that sets up a foundation for her and develops her further down the road. I think she never really forgets me or any other character she met in the first episode. I think that's really important. 

But as the series progresses, there are just so many amazing moments in the show that, like–you know, me not being a performer but as a consumer–I'm just simply amazed by every episode. It continues to just wow me.

Q: There is a scene in the anime where Sitara is acting like a spy. Cristina, were you feeling the anxiety and stress that she was going through during your performance?

Vee: I was very concerned for her! Because I was wondering, “How is she going to get out of this?” And yet she always does! And I love that it's by pretending to be who everybody expects her to be, which is just kind of clueless and not really knowing what's going on. So I was anxious, but after that first time when she was almost caught, I realized then, like, “Oh, she is a force to be reckoned with.” I think that she's going to outsmart people for a very long time.

Q: Do you both have a favorite character in the series? It doesn't have to be the character you voice.

Vee: I think I really like Toregene as well. She's so strong. She has such a cool backstory. And again, we're rooting for her as well.

Benelbar: Outside of Muhammad? (laughs) I mean, all the characters are really cool, and they have their own quirks about them that make them special. I guess one that I would love to really see more about, or I'm like, “what's going on with them?” is probably Tolui, played by Alex Mai; he does a great job. It’s because he's the first Mongolian that you see, and I immediately was like, okay, I want to know more about his story. So seeing his journey has been special.

Q: What do you think of the feminist undertones of this series? The cast is quite diverse, but it feels like the women are the ones who are, as Cristina pointed out, the driving force in this series.

Vee: I think that it's very interesting to see Sitara, in particular, take what people have told her to do, which is just smile and nod, and she really uses it to get what she wants and needs to keep climbing on this journey that she's on. And I do agree; I think this really is Sitara and Toregene's story. They are both women who are in a society where they are delegated to certain roles, and they are using those roles to gain power in ways that you wouldn't expect. So it has an added measure of, like, not only did they do something very difficult, but they did it in these very tough circumstances.

Benelbar: I think for me, I really, for lack of a better phrase, respect Sitara's grind. She has to go through so much. And as I said earlier, I'm able to help her with the pursuit of knowledge and be the person [who says,] “Hey, work on yourself, better yourself.” I can't take all the credit, obviously. Sitara herself takes that and then develops her own personality and drive for it. She becomes a strong-willed lady who works with Toregene. In every episode, I watch them talking and building upon one another. It's really, really cool to see.

We'd like to thank Cristina Vee and Yussef Benelbar for taking the time to answer our questions and share their thoughts on the world of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia with us! You can keep up to date with Cristina on Instagram and Yussef on X, formerly Twitter!

New episodes of the Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia anime are released weekly on Crunchyroll.

Images: Courtesy of Crunchyroll; ©Tomato Soup(AKITASHOTEN)/Jaadugar Committee