Anime Central - Amy Howard Wilson - April 21,
2002
Amy Howard, the original English-language Nova in the dubbed Star Blazers
version of space Cruiser Yamato, had moved away from acting and was unknown
to the blossoming anime fandom world until she made a 1997 appearance at
Anime Weekend Atlanta. Since then, Howard has appeared at nearly 20 conventions,
found a husband and become Amy Howard Wilson, and has turned into a fan
favorite. Wilson's entry into the convention world resembles a story she
told about the time that the child of a friend asked Amy to go with her
to class for a "show and tell" day; that turned out to be a school for
gifted childen who acted like "little grownups."
Years after the end of the Star Blazers series, Wilson still is asked
about the show. "I didn't have a favorite story line, but there are certain
scenes that stand out. The scene with Desslok where Nova grabs the gun,
that was hard to do because it was e-mo-tion-al. It was physically exhausting
to do." Wilson was Nova for two years, and then most of the cast was replaced.
"We didn't even know there was a third season. They did try to find us.
Peter Fernandez (voice of Speed Racer and a dub producer since the 1950's),
who I totally adore and did the casting and production, did try to find
us but they didn't know who were were. I had moved out of New York - we
had all scattered to the four winds and they they didn't know how to find
us."
How serious are the remaining cadre of Star Blazers fans? Dave Wilson
III, Amy's husband, recalls a Star Blazers wedding where the participants
dressed in uniforms from the show.
