Ray is a withdrawn and ruthless Armor pilot whose wife, Shimo, was killed by the Man with the claw hand. He first appears in episode 4 at the last minute, making his main appearance in episode 5 but is opposed at first to Van. Like Van, he travels to find the Man with the claw hand and exact his revenge by killing him. Unlike Van he has far fewer qualms over who dies by interfering with him, something Van despises and is easily provoked by. However, according to Joshua, he apparently was completely different in behavior prior to his wife's death. Later in the series he reveals that he seeks to kill the Claw and then die too in order to meet Yoshimo again. Like Van, he also abstains from alcohol, drinking water instead.  His rivalry with Van stems from the fact that both of them want to kill the Claw. Later in the series, they work together, although they show little concern for each other, even when engaged in combat with enemies.  Ray's primary weapon is a katana-shaped gun with a large magazine where the blade would be. He holds it just ahead of the hilt and spins it to fire streams of bullets. He has several hidden weapons, such as the heels of his shoes. One acts as a very small hand held gun, while the other provides a way of summoning and remote controlling his armor, Volkein. While Ray is piloting, Volkein is armed with a variety of power with its most powerful weapon being the beam howitzer, a weapon strong enough to obliterate one of the original seven armors in one hit.    ~!Near the end of the series his eyes are injured and his vision is blurred. His vision remains blurred until he is killed on episode 24 while he tries to kill the Claw, his gunshots becoming more erratic with his deteriorating vision. However, he dies with satisfaction after his final shot temporarily derails the Claw's plans and he is reunited with his wife in the afterlife.!~

Van, a lanky and apathetic swordsman, is on a journey to kill the murderer of his fianc&eacute;. The only characteristic he has to go by is that the murderer has a claw for an arm, hence the murderer being referred to as The Claw Man. During his travels, Van happens to pass through the city of Evergreen, which is defending itself from bandits who aim to rob the city of its treasury. It is in this city that Van meets Wendy Garret, a timid young girl who is looking for her kidnapped brother. When the city pleads for Van's assistance to defend it, he refuses, claiming it has nothing to do with him and thus leaves the city on its own to deal with the peril. Soon after, Van comes across the raiding bandits himself and they eventually tick off the swordsman to a degree where he takes action against them for his own personal vendetta. Surprisingly, Van learns that the bandits had ties with The Claw Man, and in kidnapping Wendy's brother for a reason they did not disclose. After the bandits are dealt with easily, Van and, much to his chagrin, Wendy continue the journey in search of The Claw Man. Little do they know, however, that The Claw Man is involved with something more atrocious than either could fathom.<br><br>
[Written by MAL Rewrite]

__Height:__ 177 cm (5'9.75")

On October 26, 2022, it was reported that Sakurai had been engaging in an extramarital affair with a writer of his *P.S. Genki Desu. Takahiro* radio program. A month prior, it was publicly disclosed that he had been married to a former voice actress for nearly 20 years, although the writer had allegedly not been aware of his marriage as they had been in a relationship for 10 years and intending to marry. His previously announced roles as [Haruaki Karuma](https://anilist.co/character/290233) in [AYAKA](https://anilist.co/anime/155982/AYAKA/) and [Kusuriuri](https://anilist.co/character/2865) in [Mononoke (Movie)](https://anilist.co/anime/151117/Mononoke-Movie/) had been recast as a result.

On March 31, 2023, it was jointly announced with his talent agency "Intention" that they are ending their contract, as Sakurai requested to leave as a way of taking sole responsibility of his actions and for self-reflection.

Non-Anime Roles:
-Passenger in "Arknights" (VG/Mobile) (Japanese)
-Su in "Honkai Impact 3rd" (VG) (Japanese)
-Cloud Strife in "FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE" (Japanese)
Crow Armbrust - The Legend of Heroes Series (VG)

Currently hosts a podcast titled "All Work, No Play" with fellow voice actor, Sam Riegel.  

[Twitter](https://twitter.com/VoiceOfBrian)

Ray Lundgren