Anime voice actor, Laila Berzins, who voices popular characters such as Xiao from Genshin Impact and Sofia Falcon in Batman: the Long Halloween, is scheduled to appear at a new anime convention in Tampa, Florida called “Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay” on December 10-11 at the Tampa Bay Convention Center. Also, Berzins voices popular characters in beloved media like Kakegurui and Hades.
Berzins is known for playing strong women. In an interview with Comics Beat she describes this character type as one of her specialties. Berzins was born in West Hartford, Connecticut. She majored in Communications at the University of Connecticut and had an extra focus on Theater. Two years after graduating, she discovered she could take classes on voice overs in New York, so she would bus on the weekends. Eventually, she would meet Roy Yokelson, who would guide her on the route to becoming a voice over artist.
Our Favorite Berzins Characters
In honor of Berzins appearing at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay, Florida Comic Cons presents our favorite Berzins characters.
- Xiao from Genshin Impact
- Persephone from Hades
- Demeter from Hades
- Sophia Falcon from Batman: the Long Halloween
- Mrs. Croaker from Amphibia
- Milluki Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter
- Rei Batsumbami from Kakegurui
- Thorr from Fire Emblem Heroes
Favorite Character #1: Xiao from Genshin Impact
Xiao is a playable character in Genshin Impact. He is an adeptus, meaning he is similar to a god and an illuminated beast. Like other adepti he is bound by contract to protect the land of Liyue under the archon Rex Lapis. Xiao is also part of a group called the Yaksha; however, he is the last surviving member. He was tasked with combating the monsters and lingering hatred from fallen gods after the end of the Archon war. Over time the other members of the Yaksha were driven mad with despair as their souls were worn away by the karmic debt of the task they were given. Xiao has survived his own kharmic debt due to overhearing a song from the Anemo Archon Barbatos.
Xiao’s violent past has led him to seem callous and reserved. He tends to keep his distance from humans, so as not to harm them with his own powers. When he is with the traveler, he tends to be more relaxed and willing to indulge in his curiosities about humans.
Watch Xiao’s character demo here.
Favorite Character #2: Persephone from Hades
Persephone is the goddess of vegetation and grains in Hades. She was once the queen of the underworld after marrying Hades. She is known for being kind and stately. No one knows why she decided to escape or if she was successful. After Persephone left, Hades forbade anyone from mentioning her in the underworld. This leads to the fact that very few people are aware that Persephone is Zagreus’s mother.
Later it is discovered that Persephone didn’t know Zagreus was alive because he was a stillborn and brought back to life later. She leaves after his birth and decides to be away from both Olympus and the underworld.
Watch Persephone’s and Zagreus’s first interaction here.
Favorite Character #3: Demeter from Hades
Demeter is the goddess of seasons and agriculture in Hades. She is Persephone’s mother, and is understandably upset by the fact that Persephone not only went to the underworld, but also escaped with no notice. Her icy persona in the game is due to her despair at being separated from her daughter. She causes a frigid winter on earth to let everyone know she is mourning the loss of her daughter, and by forcing everyone to mourn with her.
Watch Zagreus give Demeter a gift here.
Favorite Character #4: Sofia Falcon from Batman: the Long Halloween
Sofia is the daughter to the famous mob boss Carmine Falcone, a longtime villain in Gotham. Sofia desperately wants to help her father in the business, so he doesn’t have to do it alone. She’s just been waiting for a chance to prove herself as a helpful ally to him and his goals. Normally Sofia is more outspoken, but near her father, she tends to step back looking for his approval and validation. She makes it a goal to solve the mystery of the Holiday Killer targeting the Falcone family before it’s too late.
Berzins has expressed her excitement getting to portray Sofia and how she really wasn’t familiar with the character or story before auditioning. Berzins said she did some light reading about the original comics “The Long Halloween” but didn’t dive in too deeply so as not to spoil herself or the character about where the story was heading. This made for a more organic read. If the next part of Sofia’s story, “Dark Victory”, is ever animated, the actress has expressed interest in reprising her role as Sofia Falcone.
Watch the scene where Sofia asks to be of more help to her father here.
Favorite Character #5: Mrs. Croaker from Amphibia
Mrs. Croaker is an old woman. When Mrs. Croaker is first introduced she seems like a kind and friendly old lady that likes to keep to herself. She values being direct with others, even going so far to play tricks to teach them lessons.
Mrs. Croaker was a former super spy and is still part of the resistance. Due to her time working, she is skilled in martial arts and covert skills.
Watch Mrs. Croaker here.
Favorite Character #6: Milluki Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter
Milluki is the second child in the Zoldyck family. Milluki is short tempered and selfish and tends to act rather childish for his age. He hasn’t left the Zoldyck’s estate since he was 10 years old, and instead mostly stays in his room. He has a large manga and figurine collections and loves to play video games.
However, Milluki is a bit of a coward as he is afraid of disobeying his parents, yet he is also afraid of his younger brother Killua. He like the rest of his family has been trained to be an assassin since birth. However he lacks physical prowess and instead makes up for it with brain power. He is immensely skilled at hacking and programming.
Watch Milluki discussing Killua with his grandfather here.
Favorite Character #7: Rei Batsumbami from Kakegurui
Rei Batsumabi acts as a major antagonist in Kakegurui. She was originally part of the Momobami clan , known as the hundred devouring families, however she was banished because of a past conflict in the family. She is often kind and polite, showing much more empathy than the rest of her family.
It is eventually revealed that she wants to get revenge for Yumeko Jabami’s older sister and the rest of her family. She works to accomplish this by being intelligent and crafty by subtly manipulating her cousins while she acts as their servant.
Watch Rei save a girl from being forced to gamble here.
Favorite Character #8: Thorr from Fire Emblem Heroes
Thórr is a five star character in Fire Emblem Heroes. She acts as an antagonist with the god Loki. She is straightforward and takes her duties very seriously. Unlike Loki, she is shown to respect mortals for their strength and resilience. She especially admires humans that can achieve their true strength all on their own. Thórr is envious of their ability as she couldn’t. She has a great sense of honor causing her to always uphold her end of the bargain until it feels it has been repaid.
Here is a video of voice lines from both the Japanese voice actor, Rina Satoh, and Berzins.
Meet Laila Berzins at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay
You’ll have the chance to meet Laila Berzins at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida December 10-11. Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay is a brand new comic con with a holiday twist! It’s being held at the Tampa Bay Convention Center, the same venue popular cons such as Metrocon and Tampa Bay Comic Con are held at during the summer. Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay tickets are on sale now for as low as $30.
Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay Features Notable Voice Actors!
The new con is going big with six famous voice actors. In addition to berzins, three others have been announced. Here are the voice actors scheduled for Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay:
- Sean Chiplock, who voices Diluc from Genshin Impact and Spider-Man from Marvel’s Avengers (below, left)
- Colleen O’Sheughnessey, who voices Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog and Nelliel from Bleach (below, center)
- R Bruce Elliott, who voices Makarov Dreyar from Fairy Tail and Pyxis from Attack on Titan (below, right)
- Jason Spisak, who voices Silco in Arcane and Kid Flash from Young Justice (bottom, seft)
- Patricia Summersett, who voces Zelda from The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and
Need help finding conventions in Florida?
Florida Comic Cons provides the Con Calendar, a curated calendar of upcoming conventions. Each convention listing includes in-depth info about the event like guests, artists and cosplay contests. In addition, there are lots of helpful links for things like buying tickets, registering as a vendor and learning more about characters.
