How It All Began
Not with a studio. Not with gear. But with a single message in a Discord server.
It wasn’t supposed to be a studio. Just a late-night voice chat between creators who kept asking: “Why does every anime dub feel so… disconnected?” Too robotic. Too literal. Missing the soul behind the voice.
We weren’t producers. We weren’t engineers. We were fans. Obsessed with the way a whisper could carry more weight than a scream. With how silence between lines could say more than the script.
Then, one night, a message popped up: “Hey, I’m making an indie anime short. Can you help me dub it? I have $200 and no idea where to start.”
We said yes. Not because of the money. But because the project… it felt real. Hand-drawn, low budget, but full of soul. The kind of thing studios ignored.
We worked for 72 hours straight. Found a voice actor who sounded like early Kit Harrington, but with a poet’s rhythm. Recorded in a closet with a borrowed mic. Mixed on a laptop in a 20°C room with headphones held together by tape.
When we sent it back, the creator replied: “I didn’t recognize my own character… until now.”
That was the moment. Not the first dollar. Not the first client. But the first time someone said: “This is what I felt, but couldn’t hear.”
We didn’t plan to build a studio. But after that, more came. A game dev in São Paulo. A documentary filmmaker in Reykjavik. A podcast host who recorded in a subway station.
We didn’t have a name at first. Just a rule: Never make it sound “professional” if it kills the soul. And slowly, from those small acts of obsession, MAKUONI was born.
The Proof Is in Their Words
Real stories from creators who trusted us with their vision.
Sarah Kim
Lead Producer, "Chronicles of the Eclipse"
Tokyo, Japan
“We were launching our first original anime series, and localization was a nightmare. Most studios just do voice matching. But MAKUONI… they felt the characters. They asked about the director’s vision, the emotional arc of Episode 7, even the cultural nuances behind a single line. Then they cast voices that didn’t just sound right — they were the characters. When we played it for the team, half of us cried. That’s when I knew: this wasn’t outsourcing. This was collaboration.”
Mark Rivera
Creative Director, "Nexus Legends: Rebirth"
Austin, TX
“We had 15 heroes, each with their own voice, trauma, and tone. We couldn’t afford generic ‘epic’ voices. I sent a 30-minute casting brief. Expected a quote. Got a call instead. They had questions — deep ones. About lore, about gameplay rhythm. They didn’t just cast. They designed voices. One actor sounded like a younger Mads Mikkelsen. When we heard the final mix… it changed how players experienced the game. Steam reviews: ‘The voice acting is insane.’ Yeah. That’s MAKUONI.”
Lena Petrova
Director, "The Last River"
Oslo, Norway
“My film was about silence — the silence of melting glaciers, forgotten languages. But the recordings were messy. Wind, hum, inconsistent levels. I thought I’d have to re-record everything. MAKUONI cleaned it — not just technically, but artistically. They preserved the breath, the pauses. Then they added subtle soundscapes: distant ice, water, wind — not music, not drama. Just… presence. When I watched the final cut, I felt like I was back there. The audience at IDFA cried. One woman said: ‘I’ve never felt nature speak like that.’ That’s not me. That’s what MAKUONI built from my chaos.”
James Turner
Host, "Echo Chamber Podcast"
London, UK
“I recorded Season 1 on a USB mic in my closet. Listeners were kind, but I knew it sounded amateur. I didn’t want to just ‘clean it up’ — I wanted it to feel like a real show. MAKUONI didn’t just edit. They reimagined it. Subtle scoring, dynamic voice leveling, custom intros. The difference? My download numbers tripled. Apple Podcasts featured us. A producer from BBC Radio said: ‘Your audio quality is network-level.’ I smiled. Because I know whose hands shaped that voice. Not mine. Yours.”
Your project might start with a rough cut, a shaky voice, or a dream in low bitrate. But it doesn’t have to end that way.
We’re still here for the ones who feel it — but just need someone to hear it first.
Let’s Make Your First Moment