SPECIAL PROJECT
Popular anime voice actors roundtable discussion
You learn a lot when you meet good actors!
Space Battleship Yamato, Galaxy Express 999, and Gatchaman; there has been a great anime boom recently. Because of this, voice actors are as popular as superstars! We hoped four voice actors would join us to discuss this topic. They talked a lot about movies and anime.
Moderator: Yukihiro Udagawa
[Translator’s note: the term “afreco” frequently comes up in this discussion. It’s a Japanese portmanteau for “after recording,” which refers to dubbing voices into anime or films after visuals are completed.]This is how we became professional voice actors…
Udagawa: Today, we have gathered a group of voice actors. We’ll talk about anything and everything involving movies and stories of dubbing foreign movies, anime, etc. Let’s start with how you became a voice actor. Is Mr. Tomiyama the most senior among you?
Tomiyama: No, Masako Ikeda is much more senior.
Ikeda: No! (Laughs) In my case, I was doing plays. It just so happened that one of my jobs as an actor was “voice acting.” But I grew up in radio, so I like voice work. As for anime, it is very recent, the first being Aim for the Ace. After that, I became a regular as the mother in Perrine’s Tale, New Aim for the Ace, and my current role as Maetel in Galaxy Express 999.
Tomiyama: My starting point was a children’s theater company, and like Ms. Ikeda, I performed on stage. I tried to become a so-called actor. The voice that I did as part of that work was better, and before I knew it, it became my full-time job.
The first time I had a regular program as a voice actor was on radio. It was a daily drama series on a local TV station called The Tale of Genkuro. I played the friend of the main character, Genkuro. Was it around 1957? The first time I did anime was on Tetsujin 28. I didn’t have a specific role on a regular show. I was “Man A” or “Officer A” every time.
Asagami: I used to watch Tetsujin 28 when I was a kid. I even had a spring-operated No. 28 toy. I’m from the generation that grew up idolizing Astro Boy and Disney works. I was a fan of animation, so I thought I’d like to work in anime.
Right around the time I graduated from high school, Ryo Kurosawa started a class to train young voice actors, so I took the exam there. Then I went on to study acting at a theater company’s training school, which led to my current work. I was very lucky that the anime boom arrived as soon as I started voice acting.
Sasaki: In my case, it’s a little complicated (Laughs) I started out as a rockabilly singer. And I was in a Nouvelle Vogue film….
Tomiyama: You were called the “Japanese Elvis.”
Sasaki: When my popularity began to decline, I decided that I had to start over. I joined Nobuo Kaneko’s theater company and studied there. The stage director for that first play also ran an afreco company. I was invited to perform afreco for the first time on Elvis’ Flaming Star. After a while, the same company decided to make Gatchaman. At first I tested for G1, but my voice didn’t fit, so I became G2. That was my first anime.
I started singing theme songs when the same company was looking for a singer for Android Casshan. At a party, I got drunk and started singing, and someone asked me. I was introduced to Columbia Records and they asked if I wanted to give it a try.
Hepburn’s acting is both beautiful and sensitive
Udagawa: Who is the most memorable star in foreign movies you have dubbed so far? What kind of person?
Tomiyama: Well, I’ve found afreco to be a rewarding experience on a number of actors. Young men like Warren Beatty in Splendor in the Grass and Tiko in Tiko and the Shark. Bruce Davison in The Strawberry Statement and Ryan O’Neal in Wild Rovers. Alan Bates in King of Hearts. That was an interesting work. Then there was Terence Hill in They Call Me Trinity.
Udagawa: I know about the second one.
Tomiyama: This is one of the best things about being a voice actor. (Laughs)
Asagami: I’m a big fan of Tatum O’Neal in The Bad News Bears and Patty Duke in Billy. And Pamela Franklin, for example. Since I’ve only been in business for a short period of time, I don’t have a set star yet.
[Translator’s note: this refers to the practice of consistently assigning one Japanese voice actor to a foreign actor on all of their projects.]Tomiyama: I don’t have a fixed role either. Ms. Ikeda does a lot of Audrey Hepburn. How do you like her?
Ikeda: I love her, I love her! I have a strong impression that she’s beautiful like a fairy. Not much has been said about her acting ability, but I think she’s actually very good. She’s an understated person who performs very sensitively when she’s in control.
Asagami: I feel like it fits your personality. Sometimes when someone else plays her, she feels uneasy. It’s a relief to hear Masako Ikeda’s voice. I think, “Oh, it’s Audrey Hepburn!”
Udagawa: That’s the way it is, isn’t it? Ms. Ikeda, who else do you do besides Hepburn?
Ikeda: Hepburn is the main performer I’ve done. Then there is Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight and Jennifer O’Neill in Summer of ’42.
Sasaki: I think Elvis is the one I’ve done most. Then Roger Moore. He co-starred with Tony Curtis in the TV movies The Persuaders and The Saint. Montgomery Clift in The Young Lions was a good one. Then there was Steven Boyd in Ben Hur. When you dub the lines of good actors in foreign movies, it’s a pleasure to learn to act with a different rhythm. In that sense, there’s Jeff Bridges in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. He’s so good! He was funny in that. Elvis isn’t very funny, he’s not very good at it. (Laughs) Anyway, it’s interesting when you have good actors. Jeff Bridges also has other films that haven’t been released in Japan. He did a movie about a cattle thief called Rancho Deluxe. Yoko was in that, weren’t you, Yoko?
Asagami: Yes, I played the love interest.
Ikeda: In the case of Hepburn, I am attracted to her type, but on the other hand she’s interesting because she’s physically different. I also did Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. That play itself is sloppy, and I’m not good at playing a sexy woman. I sweated a lot during that one.
Udagawa: Do you ever watch a movie in the theater and think, “I want to play this role”?
Sasaki: Yes. Robert DeNiro in The Deer Hunter, which I saw the other day. I’d like to do something like that.
Udagawa: This film hasn’t been aired on TV yet.
Sasaki: I think he’s a very interesting actor. America’s actors are changing these days. Cool actors have fallen by the wayside, and character actors have emerged. I think it’s getting harder and harder for those of us who do afreco.
Asagami: I’d like to try Diane Keaton when I’m a little older. I should learn more before then. (Laughs)
Ikeda: I have no hope for this one, but Faye Dunaway. I’ve seen most of her performances. But my voice isn’t sexy, so I don’t think I could ever do it. I admire foreign actresses because many of them have husky, sexy voices.
Marlon Brando has a bad voice and Sean Connery has a beautiful voice
Sasaki: One person told me that the air in California is too dry, which hurts the vocal cords. So all the actors in Hollywood must have bad voices, that’s my theory. I wonder if that’s the other side of the story for the actors over there.
Tomiyama: Even Marlon Brando has a bad voice. (Laughs)
Udagawa: Who’s a star with a good voice?
Sasaki: Sean Connery doesn’t have a good voice, but he has a strong voice. When he says, “Bond, James Bond,” it’s so cool.
Udagawa: What’s the most difficult thing about working in afreco?
Ikeda: I’m clumsy, so it’s hard to switch scenes. When a scene changes in an instant and the previous scene and the next one like night and day, I can’t help but drag out the previous scene. For example, if you go from screaming and crying to a complete change, sometimes I just quietly read the script. I had a case where I tried many times but it didn’t work, so I had to cut it off and share the role.
Udagawa: I know this is a rudimentary question, but what exactly is the afreco procedure…?
Tomiyama: In the case of Western films, you get a script and check your own lines. If it’s an hour-long film, I’ll preview it once the day before. I never watch half-hour films though. Each participant looks at about four roles, one at a time, and tries to match their voice. The second test is done aloud in front of a mic and corrected. Then one more test, and then the real thing.
Udagawa: You stand in front of the mic and hold the script in one hand.
Asagami: You move your free hand vigorously. I hear some people have a habit of knocking away the script of the person next to them. (Laughs)
Tomiyama: Oh, there are some infamous people. (Laughs) Like never moving away from the way of the mic when your turn is over. (Laughs)
Udagawa: What about facial expressions?
Sasaki: We look amazing, naturally.
Ikeda: I can’t show you. (Laughs)
Udagawa: I heard that in anime, you sometimes add sound to films that are just pen drawings without color…?
Tomiyama: That’s mostly what I’ve been doing lately.
Asagami: Sometimes there’s no drawing or picture at all, only magic marker lines drawn on the bare film. It could be that you only speak while the blue line is visible.
Sasaki: I did a Gatchaman the other day, afreco without pictures. They couldn’t get the film done in time. I was shown a storyboard, but I couldn’t see the expressions on the faces. There is no enjoyment in giving life to no picture at all.
Ikeda: It’s so sad to hear that.
Udagawa: Are there any differences in requirements between TV anime and theatrical? For example, in the case of Space Battleship Yamato and others…?
Tomiyama: No, the size of the studio is exactly the same, and the quality of the pictures is also the same. (Laughs) However, you have to be very careful about how you match the mouth movements. When it’s seen on the big screen in the theater, mistakes are very noticeable.
Udagawa: In the case of Western films, I think there is some on-the-spot rewording of dialogue. Is it the same for anime?
Tomiyama: In fact, it happens more in anime. In the case of Western films, it’s easier because the translation is written in such a way that it fits perfectly.
Sasaki: But some translators don’t have a sense of humor. It can be a very stylish movie, but there are some conversations that are just awkward. When Taichiro Hirokawa does someone like Tony Curtis, he fixes that. That’s not to say the script is bad, but you can make it more interesting. And the process is interesting, too. In the end, I think an actor ultimately has to develop his or her own personality. It’s not just about having the right voice.
Ikeda: I agree.
Sasaki: In the case of anime, I think it’s special. It can go way over the top. So I approach it as if I am doing a period drama.
Ikeda: You’re not required to speak with depth, just simple theatrics.
Sasaki: As an actor, if you only do anime afreco, you will not be able to play the role of a live actor. You’ll get into the habit of being over the top, which will have the detrimental effect of making it impossible for you to pull off a performance.
If you don’t pass as an actor, you can’t be a voice actor
Udagawa: So, if you become a star in an anime boom, there is some danger to it.
Asagami: I think there are many young people who aspire to do animation, just as I was. But after all, you have to be someone who can pass as an actor, or you can’t do anime, either.
Tomiyama: Lately, there are so many people who want to be voice actors for anime. I would suggest that they study acting somewhere. If someone says, “Do I have to study acting?” I say it’s never too late. (Laughs)
Asagami: On stage, you can move your body and speak at the same time, but you can’t do that in front of the mic. I think that makes it more difficult.
Sasaki: I often say that afreco is one-third of an actor’s job. So you have to speak three times better than other people.
Udagawa: Now, getting away from afreco, have you seen any movies lately?
Asagami: I saw Interiors yesterday.
Udagawa: I see that you like Diane Keaton.
Asagami: Yes, I’ve seen most of her films. Interiors is a bit depressing. I thought, “Oh, married couples can be strangers after all…”
Sasaki: Yeah, that’s right. (Laughs)
Tomiyama: I like Ryan’s Daughter among the movies I’ve seen recently. I’ve been watching a lot of so-called “women’s movies” lately, like Julia.
Ikeda: I haven’t seen any recently because I haven’t had much time to go to the movie theater. I get obsessed with Lelouch when there a string of Lelouch movies comes out. Man and Woman was great! I went to see it three times.
Udagawa: Who is your favorite male actor?
Ikeda: There’s no one in particular….
Asagami: I like Al Pacino. I also like Dustin Hoffman.
Tomiyama: I like Al Pacino too.
Udagawa: Mr. Sasaki, who’s your favorite actress?
Sasaki: Hmmm, there are a lot of them. I love actresses so much that there’s no one I don’t like.
Asagami: In short, you don’t like regular women? (Laughs)
Sasaki: When a good actress comes along, people fall in love with her. (Laughs) I really liked Natalie Wood at one time. Natalie Wood in Sex and the Single Girl with Tony Curtis was the cutest, wasn’t she?
Tomiyama: I hope there will be a boom in foreign movies on TV again. A golden age.
Udagawa: Are there fluctuations in the number of foreign films as well?
Tomiyama: Yes, there are. The number now is about a third of what it used to be. Once upon a time, there were many full-length films, but now there are a lot of 30-minute or hour-long series. Golden Time was mostly Western films, wasn’t it?
Ikeda: I’d love to do afreco for a good movie.
Udagawa: Yes, I hope another Western boom will come. Thank you all very much for the enjoyable conversation we had today.
Isao Sasaki
He is very popular for his passionate singing of anime theme songs such as Go Ranger and Space Battleship Yamato. In the past, he was known as the “Japanese Elvis.” In addition to afreco, he is also active as an MC and DJ. Born in Tokyo on May 16, 1942.
See his credits at Anime News Network here
Masako Ikeda
It is her voice that gives Maetel of Galaxy Express 999 such mystique and warmth at the same time. It fits Audrey Hepburn’s personality perfectly. She is a kind and gentle lady with an honest face. Born January 1 in Tokyo, Japan.
See her credits at Anime News Network here
Yoko Asagami
She is the No. 1 heroine among anime fans for her role as Yuki Mori in Space Battleship Yamato. She has also been Chiico in Majokko Tickle, Lisa in Zero Tester, and others. She was also a first-year student at Ryo Kurosawa’s afreco school. Born July 10 in Otaru, Japan.
See her credits at Anime News Network here
Kei Tomiyama
He is now the most popular voice actor in Japan for such roles as Susumu Kodai in Space Battleship Yamato and Marco in The Adventures of Marco Polo. Many of his roles have been second-tier heroes, such as Naoto Date of Tiger Mask. Born in Tokyo on October 31, 1938.
See his credits at Anime News Network here