Animazement - Keiko Han and Kotoko
Mitsuishi - 2008
Keiko Han, the original Japanese voice of
Luna the cat and Queen Beryl in the animated Sailor Moon, said she had
enjoyed her previous appearances at Animazement so much that she had to
bring Sailor Moon with her. That promise came true on the convention's
opening day when Han (left) appeared with Kotoko Mitsuishi, the
original Sailor Moon actor and the voice behind an exceptional number
of major characters (Mink in Dragon Half, Mirelle Bouquet in Noir,
Excel in Excel Saga, Misato in Evangelion). “When I'm performing Sailor
Moon, I'm identified with the role,” Mitsuishi (right) said at an
Animazement panel. It's after the recording that I think about the
performance that I did. Mitsuishi said one of her favorite moments in
the long Sailor Moon series was an episode right after Sailor Saturn's
debut when Sailor Moon saved the new character. The renewal of the
Evangelion series with a group of new movies has brought Mitsuishi back
to the Misato character, and she said it took her some time in the
recording studio to get back to that voice, 13 years after her last
performance. Mitsuishi said she had wanted to perform the role in a
manner that reflected her experience since the first Evangelion shows,
but the voice director wanted a “younger performance. So, Mitsuishi
took what for her was the unusual step of reviewing her original Misato
performances and using them as a guide to the new recordings. After
that, “I got everything right.”
In most circumstances, Mitsuishi takes her
performance inspiration from the finished animation. Nothing is
automatic; a voice cast usually has several rehearsals, with and
without the animation, before recording their lines, she said, and the
process takes around three hours for a half-hour episode. Usually, the
lines are delivered as written because the Japanese style is to make
the animation first and then record the dialogue to the finished work,
although there is some ad-libbing when an actor is comfortable with
their role. Han recalled such a circumstance when a fan asked her about
her emotions and performing voice roles. “Three years ago in my very
first role on Be Forever Yamato, I got so into the character that I got
choked up and I couldn't continue with my lines,” Han said. I thought I
blew it, but the director loved it and changed the animation to match
my line.”
Keiko Han, the original Japanese voice of
Luna the cat and Queen Beryl in the animated Sailor Moon, said she had
enjoyed her previous appearances at Animazement so much that she had to
bring Sailor Moon with her. That promise came true on the convention's
opening day when Han (left) appeared with Kotoko Mitsuishi, the
original Sailor Moon actor and the voice behind an exceptional number
of major characters (Mink in Dragon Half, Mirelle Bouquet in Noir,
Excel in Excel Saga, Misato in Evangelion). “When I'm performing Sailor
Moon, I'm identified with the role,” Mitsuishi (right) said at an
Animazement panel. It's after the recording that I think about the
performance that I did. Mitsuishi said one of her favorite moments in
the long Sailor Moon series was an episode right after Sailor Saturn's
debut when Sailor Moon saved the new character. The renewal of the
Evangelion series with a group of new movies has brought Mitsuishi back
to the Misato character, and she said it took her some time in the
recording studio to get back to that voice, 13 years after her last
performance. Mitsuishi said she had wanted to perform the role in a
manner that reflected her experience since the first Evangelion shows,
but the voice director wanted a “younger performance. So, Mitsuishi
took what for her was the unusual step of reviewing her original Misato
performances and using them as a guide to the new recordings. After
that, “I got everything right.”
In most circumstances, Mitsuishi takes her
performance inspiration from the finished animation. Nothing is
automatic; a voice cast usually has several rehearsals, with and
without the animation, before recording their lines, she said, and the
process takes around three hours for a half-hour episode. Usually, the
lines are delivered as written because the Japanese style is to make
the animation first and then record the dialogue to the finished work,
although there is some ad-libbing when an actor is comfortable with
their role. Han recalled such a circumstance when a fan asked her about
her emotions and performing voice roles. “Three years ago in my very
first role on Be Forever Yamato, I got so into the character that I got
choked up and I couldn't continue with my lines,” Han said. I thought I
blew it, but the director loved it and changed the animation to match
my line.”
