In the original Digimon Adventure anime, Matt Ishida—the English-localized name for Yamato Ishida—is voiced by Yuto Kazama in Japanese and Michael Reisz in the English dub. Because “Matt Ishida” is most strongly associated with the 1999 English version of Digimon Adventure, this article focuses on that original series rather than later reboot-era recasts.
Japanese Voice Actor: Yuto Kazama
Date of Birth
September 30, 1970. Kazama’s official agency profile lists his birthday as September 30 and his birthplace as Tokyo, Japan.
About Yuto
Yuto Kazama is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aksent. He is best known for voicing Yamato Ishida in Digimon Adventure, a role that remains the most search-relevant credit attached to his name, and for voicing Zero in the Mega Man Zero game series. His official agency page also highlights work in titles such as Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite!, Buso Renkin, Aquarion, Bakuman, Yowamushi Pedal, and LINE TOWN.
Hometown
Tokyo, Japan. That is the place of origin consistently documented in the sources reviewed.
Career Highlights
Kazama’s defining anime credit is Yamato Ishida / Matt Ishida in Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02. Behind The Voice Actors and his agency profile both foreground that role, which is why it remains the character most people search for when looking him up. Beyond Digimon, his other notable documented work includes Zero in the Mega Man Zero games, Billy Cassidy in The Prince of Tennis, Soichi Aida in Bakuman, and James in LINE TOWN.
Full Current Filmography
The list below reflects documented public credits from the cited sources and should be treated as a source-backed filmography, not a guaranteed exhaustive master list. Kazama’s agency profile is the strongest primary source for his principal roles, while public cast databases help confirm his Digimon-specific credits.
Anime
1999
- Digimon Adventure — Yamato Ishida, plus Gazimon and MetalSeadramon in Japanese cast listings.
2000
- Digimon Adventure 02 — Yamato Ishida, plus additional minor roles in public listings.
2001
- Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite! — Takashi Tokiwa.
2003
- Cromartie High School — Noboru Yamaguchi.
2006
- Buso Renkin — Hideyuki Okakura.
2007
- REIDEEN — Iwamuro.
2008
- Kanokon — Saku Ezomori.
2008
- The Prince of Tennis — Billy Cassidy.
2008
- Wangan Midnight — Yasuhiko Miki.
2010
- Bakuman. — Soichi Aida.
2013
- LINE TOWN — James.
2014
- Yowamushi Pedal — Yasuyuki Shibata.
2020
- Digimon Adventure: — Valdurmon.
Additional anime roles listed in public databases and/or the agency profile include:
- Ask Dr. Rin! — Takashi Tokiwa
- Aquarion — Glenn Anderson
- Rockman EXE Axess — SparkMan
- Rockman EXE Beast — Zoano SparkMan
- To Love-Ru — Decamarron
- Transformers: Galaxy Force — FangWolf / Snarl
- Cardfight!! Vanguard — Kaoru Komatsubara
- NEW PANTY AND STOCKING — Mike / Mikey.
Video Games
- Mega Man Zero series — Zero, Copy X.
- Mega Man ZX — Girouette, Model Z.
- Mega Man ZX Advent — Model Z.
- SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos — Zero.
Dubbing / Other Screen Work
Kazama’s agency profile also documents dubbing and narration work outside anime. Listed credits include Deviot in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, King Louis XVI in Marie Antoinette, and various television narration jobs for Japanese programming. The same profile also notes musical skills including guitar, bass, and singing.
Critical Reception
Kazama’s public reputation is driven mainly by franchise association rather than by a large body of standalone criticism. His agency profile leads with Digimon Adventure, and public voice-actor databases still identify Yamato Ishida / Matt Ishida as the role most associated with him. That is a strong signal that, for anime fans, Matt remains his defining character.
A second reason his name remains recognizable is the overlap between Digimon nostalgia and gaming fandom. Public profiles consistently pair his Matt role with Zero from the Mega Man Zero series, giving him a durable place in both anime and video game voice acting discussions.
Useful source links for further reading:
Aksent official profile for Yuto Kazama (https://aksent.co.jp/profile/kazama_youto/)
Behind The Voice Actors: Matt Ishida in Digimon Adventure (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/Digimon-Adventure/Matt-Ishida/)
Behind The Voice Actors: Matt Ishida franchise voice page (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Digimon/Matt-Ishida/)
English Voice Actor: Michael Reisz
Date of Birth
March 25, 1968. Public biographical listings identify Michael Reisz as born on that date in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
About Michael
Michael Reisz is an American actor, writer, and producer best known to Digimon fans as the English voice of Matt Ishida. Public profiles also identify him with major dub roles such as Takuya Kanbara in Digimon Frontier and Mizuki in Naruto, while his later mainstream screen career became increasingly centered on writing and producing series such as Boston Legal, Shadowhunters, The Client List, and You Me Her.
Hometown
The most consistently documented birthplace is Los Angeles, California. I did not find a separately sourced hometown field more specific than that in the sources reviewed.
Career Highlights
Reisz’s defining anime role is Matt Ishida, and Behind The Voice Actors identifies him as the actor who has voiced Matt most often in English across the Digimon franchise. That includes the original Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon: The Movie, Digimon: Revenge of Diaboromon, and later English releases of the classic Japanese films. Outside Digimon, his best-known voice roles include Takuya Kanbara in Digimon Frontier, Mizuki in Naruto, Kevin Levin in Ben 10 (early episode credit), and Wedge / Landfill in Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
A second major part of his career came behind the camera. IMDb and public biographies credit him as a writer and producer on shows including Boston Legal, In Plain Sight, The Client List, Shadowhunters, Charmed, and Truth or Dare. That makes him one of the more unusual English-dub actors whose later reputation expanded substantially into mainstream U.S. television production.
Full Current Filmography
The list below reflects documented public credits from the cited sources and should be treated as a source-backed filmography rather than a guaranteed exhaustive master list. Behind The Voice Actors is especially useful for role-by-role dubbing credits, while IMDb and public biography pages help confirm his broader acting and writing/producing work.
Television – Anime / Animation
1998
- Godzilla: The Series — Trespasser #1, additional voices.
1999
- Digimon Adventure — Matt Ishida.
2000
- Digimon Adventure 02 — Matt Ishida.
2001
- Digimon Tamers — IceDevimon.
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Wedge, Landfill.
- The Mummy: The Animated Series — Colin Weasler.
2002
- Digimon Frontier — Takuya Kanbara, Agunimon, BurningGreymon, Aldamon, Flamemon.
- Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier — Joe Shimamura / 009.
- Pilot Candidate — Zero Enna.
- W.I.T.C.H. — Nigel Ashcroft.
2003
- .hack//Liminality — Ichiro Sato.
2004
- The Batman — Prank / Donnie.
- Wolf’s Rain — public summaries commonly cite him among the English cast, though the strongest role-specific source in this pass was broader profile coverage rather than a standalone official cast page.
2005
- Naruto — Mizuki, Young Mizuki.
- Danger Rangers — Panda Dad, Scott.
- Ben 10 — Kevin Levin / Kevin 11 in an early episode credit.
2009
- Naruto: Shippuden — Mizuki.
Film / Anime Film
2000
- Digimon: The Movie — Matt Ishida.
2001
- Metropolis — Rock.
2002
- Cowboy Bebop: The Movie — Murata.
2005
- Digimon: Revenge of Diaboromon — Matt Ishida.
Recent English releases of classic Digimon films
- Digimon Adventure — Matt Ishida.
- Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! — Matt Ishida.
- Digimon Adventure 02: Digimon Hurricane Touchdown!! / Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals — Matt Ishida.
Video Games
2001
- Digimon Rumble Arena — Matt Ishida.
2002
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Legolas, Milo Burrows.
2008
- Soulcalibur IV — Hong Yun-seong (English voice, uncredited in some listings).
2009
- Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny — Hong Yun-seong (English voice, uncredited in some listings).
Live Action / On-Camera / Other Acting
- Power Rangers in Space — Leonardo (voice, episode listing).
- Star Trek: Voyager — Crewman William Telfer in “Good Shepherd.”
- DominAtion — Prototype (voice).
Writing / Producing
Public credits identify Reisz with substantial work as a writer and producer after his busiest anime-dubbing years. Documented credits include:
- Boston Legal — writer / story editor / producer work.
- In Plain Sight — writer / supervising or co-executive producer work.
- The Client List — writer / executive producer work.
- Shadowhunters — writer / executive producer work.
- Unforgettable — executive producer / writer credits.
- Charmed — writer / producer credits in later career listings.
- Truth or Dare — screenplay / story credit.
- You Me Her — writing and producing credits.
Critical Reception
Reisz’s reputation among anime fans is driven mainly by role ownership and continuity. Behind The Voice Actors explicitly lists him as the actor who has voiced Matt Ishida most often, which is the clearest public indicator that he became the defining English Matt for much of the fandom.
His broader professional reputation is also unusual because it extends well beyond voice acting. Public biographies and IMDb place major emphasis on his later success as a television writer and producer, especially on Boston Legal and Shadowhunters. That means his legacy is split between anime nostalgia and mainstream scripted television production in a way few dub actors can match.
Useful source links for further reading:
Behind The Voice Actors profile for Michael Reisz (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Michael-Reisz/)
Behind The Voice Actors Matt Ishida franchise page (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Digimon/Matt-Ishida/)
IMDb profile for Michael Reisz (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0718555/)
Wikimon profile for Michael Reisz (https://wikimon.net/Michael_Reisz)
Social Media
I found references suggesting the handle @TheRealReisz, but I did not verify a current official profile page directly from a primary source in this pass, so this section is omitted.
