This
site last encountered actor and singer Maaya Sakamoto at Anime Expo,
where she met fans and gave a concert. Sakamoto was on the same
schedule at AnimeFEST, except that in Texas she shared a panel
discussion with other actors, including Kyle Hebert, Scott McNeil (who
told how he voiced Batman's dog and Lex Luthor's pet iguana in Krypto
the Superdog), Carrie Savage, Monica Rial and Johnny Bosch (who
performed a convincing trip and fall gag on stage). "I've been looking
forward to seeing everyone for a long time," Sakamoto said when she was
introduced to the fans. THe other actors said they enjoy voice acting
because it gives them a chance to stretch their abilities in a way
stage acting doesn't offer, and Sakamoto agreed. "One of the things i
like about voice acting is the ability to use your imagination," she
said. When the actors were asked about their favorite roles, Sakamoto
said he favorite remains Hitomi from Vision of Escaflowne, her debut
role.
Fans
asked if actors keep track of their finished shows. The
English-language dub actors who work through the U.S. system said they
don't always get to see assembled shows. They depend on producers to
send them "screener" copies of each show (or buy their own copies).
Sakamoto had a similar comment about her experiences of seeing her
finished productions in Japan. "I try as best as I can to watch what I
can, When I make my recording the art isn't finished yet," she said,
referring to the rushed and late-running nature of anime production
where dub actors often must work off incomplete animation made of key
frames or storyboards. "Sometimes when I watch the finished product,
I'm surprised by how it turns out." Another similarity was the way that
viewers of imported movies react to dubbing. From what Sakamoto said,
there are as many people who dislike dubs of overseas films into
Japanese as anime fans don't like dubs of Japanese dialogue into
English. "I also do some dubbing work in Japan for English works into
Japanese," including Queen Almidana in Star Wars. "In Japan, dubs are
not as popular as subtitles, but there are people who will come up to
me and say how they appreciated the dub version, especially children
who cant read the subtitles - it's great for them, being something in a
language they can understand."
