“When it was decided that I was going to portray Vil Shoenheit, I was told straight-out, ‘his personal pronoun is ‘Atashi’’ and ‘he is androgynous’ (laughs). I had no experience at all voicing such a character before or even coming up with such a voice, so I was caught by surprise!
But as something I had never attempted before it was a fresh challenge, so I was really excited. During recordings I used the voice I had created (using my image of Vil and a specific tone), and I would get advice from the director after every single sentence, so it took a very long time and there was a lot of care involved.
The most difficult part was how to portray his androgynous atmosphere. I envisioned Vil’s tone as varying from very feminine and gentle to very masculine and strong, and everything in-between. Vil always speaks very politely, but he is extremely strict with both himself and with others, and indiscriminately looks down his nose at everyone. His very proud and there is nothing he will not do to protect his beauty.
As a result he is very strong and absolutely despises the thought of anyone putting less than their whole effort into everything they do.
It’s very difficult to find that androgynous balance in between male and female without sounding entirely like one or the other. When I get drawn too much into the dialogue and become too gentle, I get told ‘Be harsher!’ and I get pulled out again. Then I will try to get back on track by speaking with more strength, and the director will laugh and say ‘now you’re just an attractive man.’ My recordings consist of that exchange happening over and over again, in a loop.
I have learned that portraying ambiguous characters who do not ‘swing’ one way or another through voice alone is very difficult, and about how deep voice acting can really go. I also like looking nice and can be pretty stoic, but nothing compared to Vil!
For a brief period I was spending a lot of time inside of my house, and gained weight as a result. When I heard about the interview and photoshoot for this book, I got worried about disappointing Vil’s fans. What if they saw this picture of me and thought, “Uh, THIS is the person who voices Vil-sama?” So I went on a diet.
I am strict with myself when it comes to work, so I rarely drink alcohol during periods when I am appearing in live stage performances, and am certain to always stay on top of preparations so that I can do whatever is asked of me as quickly and effectively as possible.
I am a big fan of Disney―the movies, songs, and the characters―as I am from Chiba Prefecture and have been going to the parks six to eight times a year since I was a child. As a side note: I love Winnie the Pooh! So I am super excited, both for this opportunity to enjoy the game and to have this connection to the ‘World of Disney.’
The story and characters are very deep―I just cannot say enough good things about it. There are so many “discoveries” to make: you can find things inspired directly from the movies, entire lines from the movies that are being repurposed, the hidden Mickeys―it can be irresistible to fans.
I feel like part of the fun of the game is immersing yourself in the world of Disney, and as someone involved in the game’s creation I feel an immense responsibility. Remembering that pushes me to always do my best work. I am looking forward to future developments with both the game and Vil-sama! I, too, will work to be as aesthetically pleasing and as stoic as I can be.”
-Twisted Wonderland Fanbook vol.1 (2020)
In the November, 2025 issue of Da Vinci Magazine, Aiba commented the following:
“His is not beauty from birth, but from discipline. He doesn’t just seek results, but values the process. Because he carries sensitivity and pain beneath his strong impression, he can be sincere both to others and to himself. That is who Vil Schoenheit is. His strictness isn’t coldness, but a belief in the potential of his comrades.
He knows that the accumulation of effort will save people. He infuses his sense of beauty into his posture, movements, and even the nuances of his speech, arranging his daily life as if it were a stage. Rather than pretending to be something he’s not, he raises his perspective by steadily building his efforts. He teaches that even flaws can become strengths when people polish each other.”
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 