Yuri Lowenthal "Haseo" Vol. 2//Reminisce




Dothackers brings you a second exclusive interview with the man behind our beloved badass PKKer, Haseo (aka Yuri Lowenthal). A big thanks to all the fans who contributed to the interview questions. For more information on Yuri, visit his official website at yurilowenthal.com.

What's it like to be Haseo, I mean, you must feel pretty badass being the Terror of Death, right?

"At first I was just having fun getting to be an asshole. And then, as recording went on and I learned more about him and the game itself, yeah, I pretty much felt like a badass. I still do. PKK forever, beeyatch."


What is your interpritation of Haseo (personality wise?) What do you think about the evolution in personality of Haseo?

"I think one of the reasons Haseo’s so cool is that he starts out like we all pretty much do: inexperienced, unsure and selfish, and grows (up) into a self-assured, responsible, caring individual. Who also happens to kick ass."

Outside Haseo who's your favorite .hack//GU guy? And favorite girl?

"Holy shit, that’s hard, because I will tend to answer this question based on who I know actually plays the characters, so because they’re voiced by some of my favorite actors, I’d have to go with... dammit, so many good people worked on this game... The ladies, Bordeaux and Alkaid and Shino. I mean you should see them in real life. Yikes, what a bunch of hotties. And guys... ah hell, they’re just as hot- Yata, Endrance, Silabus, Gaspard, Antares, Piros III, come on, this is a Dream Team..."

"But I guess the real answer is Mecha Grunty."


Does your voice get sore from screaming "OVAN!!!" and "SKEITH!!!" a lot?

"Yes. But once the bleeding stops and the scabs form on my vocal cords, I’m fine."

After doing the voice acting you [might] know a lot about the story; from your point of view do you think this is a compelling and interesting story?

"Strangely enough, I know much less about the story than you’d think. I’m never given the whole script to read all the way through, and because I’m not well-versed in the .hack//iverse it can be kind of confusing. That’s where the director plays a huge part in informing the actor’s performance. Do I find it compelling? Yes. Even if sometimes I don’t understand a goddamn thing about it."

Do you in anyway relate to Haseo?

"Sure. Everyone’s got a selfish part to them. Haseo just explores his a little more openly than I’ve ever allowed myself to. Man, though, if I could ever get away with his outfit I’d be a happy man."

Was there anything that happened in Vol. 2//Reminisce that was an emotional eye jerker?

Yes, but you’ll just have to wait and see. I hope it’s as affecting to you as it was to me. And then Vol. 3, I mean, forget about it...

The cyberpunk plot of //G.U. is frightening [and realistic] in regards to how fast technology is progressing in our world. Obvious parallels between CC Corporation and Microsoft (and other large companies) can be found. What are your thoughts?

"I agree. But then, I’m kind of paranoid and read a lot of books by people like Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, Philip K. Dick and William Gibson, so whattya want? I just saw THE LAST MIMZY and it’s a bit of an exploration of this and how we’re losing our connection to each other because technology has made it so easy to "jack in". On the other hand, I think, you can look at technology and say that it’s opened up a whole new and exciting way to connect with other people, so who knows? All I know is that the government [or aliens] [or beings from the future] are recording my very keystrokes and are queueing up a team to come and silence me any minute now."

What was the hardest scene to do in in Vol.2//Reminisce?

"Now if I told you that, I’d be giving things away, now wouldn’t I? They were all easy because I love playing Haseo. And they were all hard because I wanted to get each one just right for you."