Christopher Edwin Niosi, also known by his alias Kirbopher, is an American animator, producer and voice actor. His voice-work includes Arataka Reigen in Mob Psycho 100, Dezel in Tales of Zestiria, Khoury and others in the Pokémon series, Ernesto and others in OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Pegasus in the Viz Media dub of Sailor Moon and Therion and Mattias in Octopath Traveler.
Niosi began making numerous animations for Newgrounds under the name "Kirbopher" in 2004, mostly making Nintendo-based parodies. His first professional animation job was for Eduware providing character design, animation and voices. He has also worked as an animator for the video gamesA Hat in Time, Skullgirls and Cryamore.
''Terrain of Magical Expertise''
Niosi is the co-creator of the project Terrain of Magical Expertise, also known as TOME, alongside artist Mike Luckas. The web series is known for its inclusion of several YouTube personalities and voice actors such as Yuri Lowenthal and Kyle Hebert. The series' concept was based on their experiences role-playing on internet forums. The series was eventually crowdfunded through GoFundMe to produce the remaining duration. The majority of the animation services were provided by Niosi himself, along with several guest animators and production assistants. TOME was first released on Newgrounds on November 11, 2011, and ran for fifteen episodes and nine shorts. The final episode released on July 7, 2015, while the final short released on November 11, 2016. On September 30, 2017, a Kickstarter for a video game adaption was launched. The game features a customizable avatar known as the White Hat Hacker joining the established characters. The campaign was fully funded on November 4, 2017, successfully funding $111,162.63 The game is produced by NEO-C Productions LLC., with Niosi serving as the director, lead designer and character animator of the game.
Voice acting
Niosi started his first professional voice-over job playing the role of Khoury and others in ' after meeting voice director Tom Wayland. In 2014, he began voicing several anime characters, such as Yujiro Hattori in Bakuman, Taira in Queen's Blade Rebellion, and Dezel in Tales of Zestiria. In 2016, Niosi voiced Arataka Reigen from Mob Psycho 100. In 2017, he was announced as the voice of Pegasus for the Viz Media dub of Sailor Moon SuperS. In 2016, Niosi became a series regular in Cartoon Network's OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, which started airing on August 1, 2017; he voiced characters such as Nick Army, Neil, Pird, Ernesto. These roles eventually lead Niosi to join SAG-AFTRA during a union strike. and be represented by Arlene Thornton & Associates. In 2018, Niosi was cast as Therion and Mattias in Octopath Traveler. In 2019, he was cast as the male version of player character Byleth in ' and the mobile spin-off Fire Emblem Heroes, but was recast following a breach of a non-disclosure agreement by Niosi prior to the game's release.
Abuse controversies
In response to Tumblr and Twitter callout posts, on July 18, 2019, Niosi made a post on his Tumblr account revealing that he had been emotionally abusing colleagues, family and partners for over a decade. Niosi's post highlighted specific instances of abuse for which he issued public apologies. In response to one of these incidents where Niosi violated a non-disclosure agreement about his role as the male version of Byleth in the Fire Emblem series while bragging to his ex-partner Liz Losey, Nintendo recast him with Zach Aguilar in Fire Emblem Heroes and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Niosi's credit was removed from Heroes as of July 25, 2019, and the distribution of the character was delayed. The following day, Aguilar was also stated to re-record Byleth's lines for Three Houses and would be replacing the original voiceovers in the following patch, which went live on September 11, 2019. Aguilar would continue to portray the character in the 2018 crossover fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Personal life
Niosi has one brother and two sisters; one of them is former actress Alison Fanelli. Niosi was also diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.
