Why The English Dub Voice Of Noelle In Black Clover Sounds Familiar
In 2017, Pierrot released "Black Clover," an animated fantasy adventure series based on a manga from 2015 of the same name. The anime received four seasons which, in total, were comprised of 170 episodes. As of this writing, there is a yet-unreleased movie (titled "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King") that will serve to wrap up some of the narrative threads. In broad strokes, the story follows Asta, an orphan who was born without magical powers in a world where literally everyone has magical powers. From that starting point, the kid becomes a master of physical combat so that can compete with Yuno, his best friend — and again, literally everyone else — for the coveted position of Wizard King, a role which provides the owner a great deal of power and wealth.
In "Black Clover," there's another character fighting to prove herself, too: Noelle Silva. Noelle is a young noblewoman who somehow has both a superiority complex AND an inferiority complex, but she's a powerful water magic user. For all four seasons, Noelle was voiced by Jill Harris. If her name doesn't sound familiar, that's okay — voice actors don't always get the same immediate recognition that live-action performers do, but her voice should ring a few bells. According to IMDb, Harris has over 150 credits to her name, a feat which is even more impressive when one considers how Harris only entered the industry in 2011. Here are some of her career highlights, to catch everyone up on her incredible body of work.
She keeps coming back to One Piece
In 1999, Toei Animation released "One Piece," an ongoing anime based on the manga from 1997 of the same name. Readers will note that both of those dates are over two decades ago and that yes, they are BOTH still ongoing, at least for now. In broad strokes, the story follows Monkey D. Luffy, the young leader of a band of pirates dead set on their mission to find the titular One Piece, an unmatchable, hidden treasure that bestows its owner with the title of King of the Pirates simply on the merit of finding it. Also, everyone has superpowers and there's a talking reindeer.
Without getting into excessive detail, "One Piece" has a messy history with English dubs. Originally, 4Kids provided a heavily edited rendition for its Saturday morning cartoon block but, eventually, Funimation took over to provide "One Piece" with a more true adaptation. Funimation even went back to redub the 4Kids episodes, just to rub it in. This most recent voice cast includes the talents of Colleen Clinkenbeard, Brina Palencia, Christopher Sabat, and Luci Christian. It also includes Jill Harris, who joined the production on several occasions in several different roles.
In 2011, Harris joined "One Piece," where she portrays additional background character voices. In 2016, Harris came back for "One Piece Film: Gold," in which she portrays Rikka, a heartbroken kid enslaved for his family's debts (Luffy saves him, and all's well). And, finally, in 2018, Harris did "One Piece: Episode of Skypiae," where she portrays Conis, a resident of the floating isle Skypiae who's losing her faith thanks to infighting. She gets to unleash some of that pent-up religious aggression with a bazooka, so that's fun.
She's a space pirate in Sunrider
In 2014, Love in Space released "Sunrider," an ongoing video game series set in the deepest reaches of outer space. Functionally, the "Sun Rider" games — "Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius" and "Sunrider: Liberation Day" — are part turn-based-strategy, part visual novel. In broad strokes, the RPG follows Kayto Shields (the player character), captain of the titular star craft, as he travels across the galaxies to form alliances against PACT (alien revolutionists) to save his home world. From there, the story shifts, for better and for worse, depending on the decisions made by the player. Will the crew hate Shields, or will he be an intergalactic hero, adored by all? The voice cast includes the talents of Kira Buckland, Amber Lee Connors, Jonathan Cooke, and Tina Kim.
In the "Sun Rider" games, Jill Harris portrays Cossette Cosmos, a legendary space pirate. She's revered as a hero of the people for defying authority but she's not exactly an honorable figure. Cosmos, in true pirate fashion, attempts to steal from Shields, fails, then gets so angry about it that she joins PACT to try the whole thing a second time. In fairness, Shields does go on to destroy her base of operations. Considering Cosmos is in possession of an emotional fuse even shorter than herself, revenge was never NOT on the table.
She's a lovestruck hero in Orange
In 2016, Telecom Animation Film released "Orange," an anime based on a manga from 2012 of the same name. The anime received one season, but the original story was also remodeled into an animated film and a live-action film. In broad strokes, the story follows Naho Takamiya, a high school student who receives a letter from herself 10 years in the future. The letter is filled with instructions to prevent her from experiencing what would become her biggest regrets. Several of her friends later reveal that they, too, received such letters, and they all tie back to Kakeru Naruse, a transfer student who, according to the letters, will die by suicide in the near future. Without spoiling the ending too much, the kids do manage to change some things, but not everyone comes out with a happy ending. The English voice cast includes the talents of Jason Liebrecht, Micah Solusod, and Ricco Fajardo.
In "Orange," Jill Harris portrays Naho, the series protagonist. She's a shy girl who rarely speaks her mind. In a way, the letters from her future self end up being the catalyst for her own personal growth. Still, she's just a kid, and the mistakes she makes on the road to save her friend — something no child should ever have the responsibility of doing, mind you — are perfectly normal, even if some of them are truly disastrous.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
She's a shy cosplayer in New Game!
In 2016, Doga Kob0 released "New Game!," an anime based on a manga from 2013 of the same name. The anime received two seasons and ended in 2017. In broad strokes, the story follows Aoba Suzukaze, a high school student who takes up a position within a video game studio as a character designer. From there, she gets to know her associates and nerdy sitcom shenanigans ensue. Unlike some of the other stories in this list, "New Game!" is more of a character thing as opposed to a plot thing and, after "Orange," a little brevity is MUCH needed. Anyway, the English voice cast includes the talents of Megan Shipman, Tia Lynn Bellard, Leah Clark, and Kristen McGuire.
In "New Game!," Jill Harris portrays Hifumi Takimoto, a character designer at Eagle Jump, the video game studio where our story takes place. She's the physical embodiment of introversion, so much so that her personal catchphrase really should be "this could have been an e-mail." She's a diehard cosplay fan and owns a pet hedgehog and she's deeply ashamed of exactly one of those things (hint: not the hedgehog).
She's an aspiring lawyer in Ace Attorney
In 2016, A-1 Pictures released "Ace Attorney," an anime based on Capcom's video game series of the same name. The anime received two seasons, the second of which was handled by CloverWorks, and ended in 2019. In broad strokes, the story follows Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense lawyer who gets a questionable amount of legal help from his dead mentor, his spirit medium assistant, and his Totally-Not-His-Boyfriend rival prosecutor. The cases are kooky, the characters are boisterous, the legalese is irreparably mangled, and the whole thing is an absolute delight. The English voice cast includes the talents of Eric Vale, Lindsay Seidel, Christopher Wehkamp, Bryan Massey, and Jessica Peterson.
In "Ace Attorney," Jill Harris portrays a younger Phoenix Wright in the flashback sequences. These often show critical moments which went on to define his adult personality and relationships. In his youth, Phoenix was an undiluted optimist. In his adult years, he's a bit more jaded (college and bills and such will do that to anyone), but even his darkest days can't entirely hide that innate goodness that resides in his core. There are entire games centered around that very thing, they just weren't adapted for this particular anime.
She's the daughter of Satan in Hazbin Hotel
In 2019, YouTube creator Vivienne Medrano — better known by her YouTube handle VivziePop — released "Hazbin Hotel," the pilot for an original animated musical series. The single episode was received so well and so widely that A24 picked it up for a fully funded studio treatment. That was about two years ago and, while the creator has since promised that the series will drop "soon," there's still no official release date for "Hazbin Hotel." Ironically, it seems to be stuck in development hell. Why is that ironic? Well, in broad strokes, the story follows Charlie Morningstar, the literal princess of Hell, as she attempts to create the titular Hazbin Hotel, a safe space to rehabilitate damned souls. The voice cast includes the talents of Michael Kovach, Edward Bosco, Monica Franco, and Krystal LaPorte.
In "Hazbin Hotel," Jill Harris portrays Charlie Morningstar, the hellborn daughter of the devil himself. In a world of fire and brimstone, she's the kind of warmth that soothes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she's not very popular — most of the other denizens of Hell relish their villainy. She's exudes Quirky Disney Princess Energy (read: Rapunzel), which is pretty impressive considering her surroundings.