Christopher Ayres

Christopher Owen Ayres (May 16, 1965 – October 18, 2021) was an American actor, director and scriptwriter. He worked on voice acting and ADR directing on a number of English dubs of Japanese anime shows. In anime, he was known as the voice of Frieza from Dragon Ball Z Kai and Dragon Ball Super, Kei Kurono from Gantz, Prince Soma from Black Butler, and Shingen Takeda from the Sengoku Basara series. He was also known for Mock Combat for Cosplay panels at anime conventions.

Early life and career
Ayres had his first professional acting gig in a commercial for Lollipop Soft Drinks in Richmond, Virginia, when he was six years old. The Ayres family moved to the Alief, Houston, area of Houston, Texas, when he was 12, where Chris attended Alief Middle School, and then Alief Elsik High School. He graduated in 1983. After graduating high school Ayres attended Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, and studied theatre until 1985. He returned to Houston and continued to study theatre at the University of Houston. Prior to his voice acting and ADR directing career, he was well known as a stage director, choreographer, and fight director in the Houston Theatre community.

Personal life and death
In November 2017, Ayres was diagnosed with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and required a double lung transplant to survive. A YouCaring fundraiser was created that sought $25,000 to assist with medical care and procedures.

Ayres died on October 18, 2021, at the age of 56 years, following years of complications from pulmonary disease. His death was announced on Twitter the following day by his partner and fellow voice actress, Krystal LaPorte.

Anime

 * format=y}} || Air Gear || Okuhira, DJ Plugman, Team Potemkine (Special Trick)
 * format=y}} || AKB0048 || Father Motomiya, Sensei Sensei (Next Stage)
 * format=y}} || Akame ga Kill! || Daidara, Uncle Bill (Ep. 17) Bandit (Ep. 10)
 * format=y}} || Amnesia || Toma
 * format=y}} || Birdy the Mighty Decode || Bacillus
 * format=y}} || Black Butler || Prince Soma Asman Kadar
 * format=y}} || The Book of Bantorra || Minth Chesain
 * format=y}} || Broken Blade || General True
 * format=y}} || Btooom! || Yoshihisa Kira
 * format=y}} || Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century || Sergei Ovchinnikov
 * format=y}} || Claymore || Dauf
 * format=y}} || Coyote Ragtime Show || Hewlett
 * format=y}} || Darker than Black || Masashi Hitotsubashi
 * format=y}} || Desert Punk || Sawada
 * format=y}} || Devil May Cry: The Animated Series || Sid
 * format=y}} || Dream Eater Merry || John Doe
 * format=y}} || Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood || Lt. General Raven
 * format=y}} || Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid || Wraith
 * format=y}} || Ghost Hound || Takahito Komagusu
 * format=y}} || Ghost Hunt || Reimei Minami
 * format=y}} || Guin Saga || Ghuru Shin, Kah, Riya
 * format=y}} || Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick || Murato
 * format=y}} || Hakuoki: Record of the Jade Blood || Katamori Matsudaira, Kiyotaka Kuroda
 * format=y}} || Highschool of the Dead || Yoshioka Takagi
 * format=y}} || IS (Infinite Stratos) || Dan Gotanda
 * format=y}} || Initial D || Miki (Funimation dub)
 * format=y}} || Innocent Venus || Riki, Dr. Nabuto
 * format=y}} || Jing, King of Bandits: Seventh Heaven || Maraschino
 * format=y}} || Kaleido Star || Mr. Patrova
 * format=y}} || Kiba || Morris
 * format=y}} || Little Busters || Sho Saigusa (Ep. 17–18)
 * format=y}} || Log Horizon || Woodstock W
 * format=y}} || Maburaho || Yukihiko Nakamaru
 * format=y}} || Majikoi! – Oh! Samurai Girls || Jun Inoue
 * format=y}} || Maria Holic || Mr. Berlin (Ep. 10)
 * format=y}} || Medaka Box: Abnormal || Shigusa Takachiho
 * 2004 || Megazone 23 Part II || Cujo
 * format=y}} || Michel || Woogy
 * format=y}} || Needless || Ishiyama, Nivy
 * format=y}} || One Piece || Johnny (Funimation dub)
 * format=y}} || Ouran High School Host Club || Renge's Father
 * format=y}} || Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt || Corset
 * || Peacemaker Kurogane || Keisuke Yamanami
 * format=y}} || Phi Brain: Puzzle of God || Funga, Freecell (Season 2)
 * format=y}} || Problem Children are Coming from Another World, aren't they? || Kraken, Graeae, Jack O'Lantern, Strom
 * format=y}} || Project Blue Earth SOS || Kintaro Oyama
 * format=y}} || Romeo × Juliet || Camillo
 * 2005 || Sakura Diaries || Koji Akimoto
 * format=y}} || Sgt. Frog  – 3M (Ep. 11)
 * format=y}} || Super Dimensional Fortress Macross || Lynn Kaifun
 * format=y}} || Spice and Wolf || Assessor
 * format=y}} || Tamako Market || Chouji Yumoto
 * format=y}} || Tactics || Hasumi Ryokan, Koshikawa
 * format=y}} || The World God Only Knows || Mr. Kodama
 * format=y}} || Tokyo Majin || Ryuuzan Arai
 * format=y}} || Trinity Blood || Isaak Fernand von Kämpfer
 * format=y}} || Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle || Nanto
 * format=y}} || Tsuritama || Boss
 * format=y}} || Utawarerumono || Niwe
 * format=y}} || Xam'd Lost Memories || Kisel-ji
 * format=y}} || Xenosaga: The Animation || Jin Uzuki
 * || Yumeria || Sousyu
 * format=y}} || Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie || Garuga/Yasha (Funimation dub)