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Eric Vale Shares His Story at StocktonCon Winter 2026

Eric Vale is a voice actor who has had a rich and fulfilling career in the anime industry. He is best known for his role as Tomura Shigaraki on My Hero Academia and Trunks in the Dragon Ball series since 1999. His other iconic roles include Sanji in One Piece and Phoenix Wright in Ace Attorney. His other major roles include Loke in Fairy Tale, Aurther Boyle on Fire Fore, and Justin Law in Soul Eater.

He was also a guest at StocktonCon Winter 2026, where fans had the chance to meet him and ask questions.

Spotlight on Eric Vale took place in the Panel Room during StocktonCon Winter 2026. This gave fans a chance to ask questions while learning about his career and getting behind-the-scenes insight into their favorite shows.

Spotlight on Eric Vale

The panel began with Eric reflecting on the last time he attended StocktonCon in 2022, when he caught COVID during the event and had to cancel his appearance the next day. He brushed it off, saying COVID has become the new “con crud,” and joking that he’s now immune to the real con crud. This was followed by a rundown of his current projects, such as One Piece, along with his excitement for a new Dragon Ball series that he hopes to be a part of it. He also reflects back on his long career from when he entered the industry to how long he has been voicing Sanji in One Piece.

He then went more in-depth about what voice acting is like, comparing it to performing Shakespeare. He explained that the job is to take something established, regardless of the medium, and make it your own through your voice. Like a Shakespeare play that’s been staged for hundreds of years, you’re given the script and asked to craft a character faithful to the source while still bringing your own take. It’s a tricky balance. Making it more challenging is that there is nobody to work off while needing a sense of timing in order to properly bring the character to life in another language.

When it comes to some reflections, he did share his thoughts on playing Tomura Shigaraki and the conclusion of My Hero Academia. Believing it was the best outcome for the character despite everything he has done and gone through.

Guest Question

After Eric Vale shared a few stories, fans lined up to ask questions. Each person was limited to a handful, and topics ranged from his other roles to his relationships with co-stars.

When asked about the live action Netflix adaptation of One Piece, he enjoys it but feels it’s unnecessary that the episodes are an hour long. He prefer 30min episodes like the anime as they don’t need to stretch out a story just to fill some time. When asked what he likes about playing Arthur in Fire Force, he said it’s because Arthur is an absolute moron. He added that he enjoys comedy and comedic characters, but he doesn’t get many comedic roles. Arthur isn’t pure comedy, which makes the part a perfect fit and fun to play because he’s an idiot.

He also had to remind the audience that he doesn’t always remember his lines from the top of his head. He also encouraged everyone to check out his comedy troupe on YouTube, The Folding Chairs.

Final Thoughts

Spotlight on Eric Vale was one of the many panels that looked into a work of pop culture from the perspective of the performers. There were many such events organized during the StocktonCon Winter weekend.

This special report is part of 8Bit/Digi‘s coverage of StocktonCon Winter 2026. If you attended the event, please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Disclaimer: StocktonCon provided me with a pass for the weekend

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides insight into the gamer community of the San Francisco Bay Area.