Combine
the intense story, the memorable characters and the exposure on the
Cartoon Network, and you have a big collection of Inu-Yasha fans. They
crowded into a convention center ballroom to hear some of the series'
English-language voices: Richard Cox (Inu-Yasha). Jillian Michaels
(Shippo) and Scott McNeil (Koga). Cox, who also played boy-type Ranma
in the Ranma 1/2 dub, joked that "I'm living proof that you can have
one voice and have a career." Then, more seriously, Cox said he had "a
little tool chest of voices" that he uses in his performances.
Cox
is one of the stable of Vancouver, B.C. actors who appear in many Viz
dubs and U.S. animated shows, was asked how he got the Inu-Yasha role,
jokingly compared the casting process to 17th-century "press gangs" in
England. Through casting calls from Viz and live-action shows like
Little romeo, Cox has gotten plenty of roles. "To me, they're kind of
two very distinct things," Cox said in comparing live acting and anime
dubbing. "The thing in common is the acting. Being in the studio is
great, because I don't have to go through wardrobe and makeup. But
being on set is like going back to where you started."
McNeil
also splits his time between animation and live-action shows; watch for
him in the upcoming Scooby-Doo 2 film, although you may not be able to
recognize him in his costume. While he loves to joke on stage, McNeil
also has serious acting advice. "There are a million places where a
voice can live in your body. A lot of it is like hearing a door creak
and making that into a voice. If you can do two voices, cool. If you
can figure out two different accents, then you have four voices." One
of Scott memorable voices was Piccolo in the original Vancouver dub of
Dragon Ball Z, part of a Canadian cast that was replaced when dub
production was moved to Fort Worth. "It sort of sounds like me, but it
sort of sounds like somebody trying to sound like me," said McNeil
about watching the Dragon Ball shows with the Texas cast.
Michaels
said she's come to like playing Shippo. "Shippo is one of my favorite
persons," she said. "He runs the gamut of emotions - he's not just
cute." Michaels is a member of the fraternity (sorority?) of female
actors who play male roles, something she accomplishes by using a
higher-pitched version of her regular voice. While Michaels
enjoys the direction she gets for her Inu-Yasha work, she jokes that
she makes up some of her performance. (Speaking of jokes: Cox declared
that he did not make up the "iron weaver soul stealer" line used in the
dub.
Combine
the intense story, the memorable characters and the exposure on the
Cartoon Network, and you have a big collection of Inu-Yasha fans. They
crowded into a convention center ballroom to hear some of the series'
English-language voices: Richard Cox (Inu-Yasha). Jillian Michaels
(Shippo) and Scott McNeil (Koga). Cox, who also played boy-type Ranma
in the Ranma 1/2 dub, joked that "I'm living proof that you can have
one voice and have a career." Then, more seriously, Cox said he had "a
little tool chest of voices" that he uses in his performances.
Cox
is one of the stable of Vancouver, B.C. actors who appear in many Viz
dubs and U.S. animated shows, was asked how he got the Inu-Yasha role,
jokingly compared the casting process to 17th-century "press gangs" in
England. Through casting calls from Viz and live-action shows like
Little romeo, Cox has gotten plenty of roles. "To me, they're kind of
two very distinct things," Cox said in comparing live acting and anime
dubbing. "The thing in common is the acting. Being in the studio is
great, because I don't have to go through wardrobe and makeup. But
being on set is like going back to where you started."
McNeil
also splits his time between animation and live-action shows; watch for
him in the upcoming Scooby-Doo 2 film, although you may not be able to
recognize him in his costume. While he loves to joke on stage, McNeil
also has serious acting advice. "There are a million places where a
voice can live in your body. A lot of it is like hearing a door creak
and making that into a voice. If you can do two voices, cool. If you
can figure out two different accents, then you have four voices." One
of Scott memorable voices was Piccolo in the original Vancouver dub of
Dragon Ball Z, part of a Canadian cast that was replaced when dub
production was moved to Fort Worth. "It sort of sounds like me, but it
sort of sounds like somebody trying to sound like me," said McNeil
about watching the Dragon Ball shows with the Texas cast.
Michaels
said she's come to like playing Shippo. "Shippo is one of my favorite
persons," she said. "He runs the gamut of emotions - he's not just
cute." Michaels is a member of the fraternity (sorority?) of female
actors who play male roles, something she accomplishes by using a
higher-pitched version of her regular voice. While Michaels
enjoys the direction she gets for her Inu-Yasha work, she jokes that
she makes up some of her performance. (Speaking of jokes: Cox declared
that he did not make up the "iron weaver soul stealer" line used in the
dub.
