The
voice of Rabi en Rose from Di Gi Charat also is the voice of Kurenai
from Samurai Gun, and few roles could be as drastically different for
Kyoko Hikami. In the Broccoli comedy series, Hikami is a girl who wants
to be an idol singer and never grows up. In the samurai drama that
replaces swords with firearms, Hikami plays a woman wise beyond her
years, but she also sings from time to time. Hikami, who had previously visited
Animazement with fellow Di Gi Charat actor Sanada Asami (who went to
Anime North this time) explained the two roles and chatted about her
work. Calling Di Gi Charat "a fluffy, fun show to work on," Hikami said
she was still attracted to Rabi. "The longer you play a character, the
more you get attached to them," she said. "Rabi en Rose is a character
I've been playing for five years, so I am attached to her." While
Hikami would like to play a character like Di Gi Charat's Gemma one
day, she was pleased with Kurenai in Samurai Gun, a series that takes
the samurai genre a step closer to the U.S. western by giving its
characters swords and guns. "She's completely different from Rabi en
Rose She's a very mature and restrained character," Hikami said.
"When you're acting out action-oriented anime, you do it in an emphatic
style, but I was told to act it more like I was doing a live action
show."
After showing fans DVD excerpts from two Di Gi Charat episodes and an episode of Samruai Gun, Hikami
passed around two personal working scripts from anime series where she
had roles, and it was instructive to look at those scripts.
English-language voice actors are known for heavily marking their
scripts, giving themselves extra instructions on how to play a role,
the inflections and rhythm to use. Hikami's script had the same
treatment, with her lines marked in red pen with notes on how she
should handle each line. The instructions help Hikami get through a
comedy like Di Gi Charat, where the premise is to throw gags at the
audience and the character's don't change much, or the drama of Samurai
Gun, where HIkami's character had all of the playfulness trained out of
her at an early age. "Playing either type of character is a fun
experience. You have fun in different ways - for Rabi en Rose it's the
antics that made the performance fun. In Samurai Gun, it's the heroics.
Either way, you immerse yourself in the roles."
The
voice of Rabi en Rose from Di Gi Charat also is the voice of Kurenai
from Samurai Gun, and few roles could be as drastically different for
Kyoko Hikami. In the Broccoli comedy series, Hikami is a girl who wants
to be an idol singer and never grows up. In the samurai drama that
replaces swords with firearms, Hikami plays a woman wise beyond her
years, but she also sings from time to time. Hikami, who had previously visited
Animazement with fellow Di Gi Charat actor Sanada Asami (who went to
Anime North this time) explained the two roles and chatted about her
work. Calling Di Gi Charat "a fluffy, fun show to work on," Hikami said
she was still attracted to Rabi. "The longer you play a character, the
more you get attached to them," she said. "Rabi en Rose is a character
I've been playing for five years, so I am attached to her." While
Hikami would like to play a character like Di Gi Charat's Gemma one
day, she was pleased with Kurenai in Samurai Gun, a series that takes
the samurai genre a step closer to the U.S. western by giving its
characters swords and guns. "She's completely different from Rabi en
Rose She's a very mature and restrained character," Hikami said.
"When you're acting out action-oriented anime, you do it in an emphatic
style, but I was told to act it more like I was doing a live action
show."
from two Di Gi Charat episodes and an episode of Samruai Gun, Hikami
passed around two personal working scripts from anime series where she
had roles, and it was instructive to look at those scripts.
English-language voice actors are known for heavily marking their
scripts, giving themselves extra instructions on how to play a role,
the inflections and rhythm to use. Hikami's script had the same
treatment, with her lines marked in red pen with notes on how she
should handle each line. The instructions help Hikami get through a
comedy like Di Gi Charat, where the premise is to throw gags at the
audience and the character's don't change much, or the drama of Samurai
Gun, where HIkami's character had all of the playfulness trained out of
her at an early age. "Playing either type of character is a fun
experience. You have fun in different ways - for Rabi en Rose it's the
antics that made the performance fun. In Samurai Gun, it's the heroics.
Either way, you immerse yourself in the roles."
