She
was the original voice of Ginrei in the long-running production of
Giant Robo, played Big Mama in Sorcerer Hunters,was Kyoko Otonashi in
Maison Ikkoku and even dubbed Leia Organa's voice when the Star Wars
movies were translated into Japanese. But Sumi Shimamoto's most
memorable voices came in a series of Hayao Miyazaki movies. Shimamoto
began as Clarice in Miyazaki's memorable production of the Lupin III
film Castle of Cagliostro. "The reason that Miyazaki accepted me for
the role in Castle of Cagliostro was that I had made a demo tape for
the Japanese version of Anne of Green Gables," Shimamoto recalled. "He
apparently heard that tape and that's the reason he chose me as
Clarice." Ironically, Shimamoto didn't get the Green Gables role she
wanted, but it led to the Cagliostro role and many more -- although
Shimamoto wasn't sure it would go any further after she made a mistake
during that film's after recording voice sessions. Shimamoto thought
she had a chance to take a break during the Cagliostro session when it
was actually her turn to record lines. "I was in trouble, I was
mortified. I had just debuted a couple of years earlier, and I was so
embarrassed," she recalled.
That
error didn't seem to hurt Shimamoto's ability to get roles with
Miyazaki, because she went on to become the original voice of Nausicaa
in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. Again, luck was on her side when it
was time to audition for the role, she recalled. "On the original date
I caught a cold and I was not able to attend," she remembered. So
Miyazaki's company set up a separate date for her and another the
actor, and both got major roles in the movie. In My Neighbor Totoro,
she voiced Mei's mother, a memorable role for her because she had just
had a child. Years later, Shimamoto was cast as Lady Toki in Princess
Mononoke, a different kind of role for her. "I play the part of a
chatty village woman who befriends Princess Mononoke. Before that, I
had played the shy heroine, so I discovered a new part of myself when I
played that role." He favorite Miyazaki role "changes from day to day,"
but on this day it was Nausicaa. One of the Miyazaki films in which
Shimamoto didn't appear was Castle in the Sky, but she made up for that
with roles such as her Maison Ikkoku role which paralleled her real
life in which she was pregnant at the same time Otonashi was pregnant
and gave birth around the same time her character did the same thing,
"but I'm not a widow" like the character, she added.
She
was the original voice of Ginrei in the long-running production of
Giant Robo, played Big Mama in Sorcerer Hunters,was Kyoko Otonashi in
Maison Ikkoku and even dubbed Leia Organa's voice when the Star Wars
movies were translated into Japanese. But Sumi Shimamoto's most
memorable voices came in a series of Hayao Miyazaki movies. Shimamoto
began as Clarice in Miyazaki's memorable production of the Lupin III
film Castle of Cagliostro. "The reason that Miyazaki accepted me for
the role in Castle of Cagliostro was that I had made a demo tape for
the Japanese version of Anne of Green Gables," Shimamoto recalled. "He
apparently heard that tape and that's the reason he chose me as
Clarice." Ironically, Shimamoto didn't get the Green Gables role she
wanted, but it led to the Cagliostro role and many more -- although
Shimamoto wasn't sure it would go any further after she made a mistake
during that film's after recording voice sessions. Shimamoto thought
she had a chance to take a break during the Cagliostro session when it
was actually her turn to record lines. "I was in trouble, I was
mortified. I had just debuted a couple of years earlier, and I was so
embarrassed," she recalled.
That
error didn't seem to hurt Shimamoto's ability to get roles with
Miyazaki, because she went on to become the original voice of Nausicaa
in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. Again, luck was on her side when it
was time to audition for the role, she recalled. "On the original date
I caught a cold and I was not able to attend," she remembered. So
Miyazaki's company set up a separate date for her and another the
actor, and both got major roles in the movie. In My Neighbor Totoro,
she voiced Mei's mother, a memorable role for her because she had just
had a child. Years later, Shimamoto was cast as Lady Toki in Princess
Mononoke, a different kind of role for her. "I play the part of a
chatty village woman who befriends Princess Mononoke. Before that, I
had played the shy heroine, so I discovered a new part of myself when I
played that role." He favorite Miyazaki role "changes from day to day,"
but on this day it was Nausicaa. One of the Miyazaki films in which
Shimamoto didn't appear was Castle in the Sky, but she made up for that
with roles such as her Maison Ikkoku role which paralleled her real
life in which she was pregnant at the same time Otonashi was pregnant
and gave birth around the same time her character did the same thing,
"but I'm not a widow" like the character, she added.
