Casting the right actor for a video game protagonist is incredibly important, as not only will their voices be with the player from the opening cinematic to the closing credits, but they add the gravitas in mannerisms and depiction that can make the character memorable. Come Assassin’s Creed Shadows, players will be going on this journey with Yasuke and Naoe, meaning two voices are joining players. Yasuke is played by Tongayi Chirisa and Naoe is played by Masumi Tsunoda in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Game Rant spoke with Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ associate narrative director Brooke Davies about what made Tongayi Chirisa and Masumi Tsunoda the right voices for Yasuke and Naoe.
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The Actors of Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Each character has their own journey and themes in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and their actors had to capture that. Naoe is youthful and involved in something deeper than, perhaps, she’s strictly ready for. Yasuke is in a strange land, adapting to local culture and customs while following his path as a samurai. Both stories are sprinkled with themes of honor, revenge, and community. Each actor needed to capture multiple facets of their roles, including these themes, and Davies explained why Ubisoft went with Chirisa and Tsunoda:
“Masumi was very expressive with her emotions and her core optimism, and really personified the youth and naiveté of Naoe being thrust into this massive conflict but also willing to push for change. Tongayi possesses a quiet strength that was very charming but also very open and receptive to everyone’s perspective. You could really relate to him learning about this new culture and then embracing it as his own.”
Tsunoda, who stylizes her name MASUMI as an artist, has appeared in Naruto: Climbing Silver as Kurenai Yuhi and as Akemi in Yakuza Princess, where Zimbabwean actor Chirisa played Cheetor in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Justin Bell on iZombie.
Playing the fictional daughter of legendary shinobi Fujibayashi Nagato, Tsunoda brings life to the lofty family legacy Naoe must carry and the secrets her lineage is replete with as her community resists the Daimyo. Meanwhile, Yasuke is the first Assassin’s Creed protagonist based on a real historical figure. Thanks to relatively few surviving accounts of his story, Chirisa gets some latitude in defining the character for Ubisoft’s legendary franchise as Shadows explores the unanswered questions about the historical Yasuke’s time in Japan.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language