Nanae Katoh -
Anime
Convention Personality of the Week - February 18, 2007
Actors
dream of that one big break, where someone just hears their voice,
loves the sound and gives them the major role of a lifetime. Nanae
Katoh lived that dream when the decision was made to turn the Princess
Tutu story, about a duck turned into a a ballet dancer, into an
animated series. Katoh had only a few voice roles, including Mustard in
Magical Witchland and Madoka in Magic Users' Club, when her voice was
heard by Ikuko Itoh, the animator who created the Tutu world. Itoh
loved Katoh's voice, and chose her as Ahiru, the series' lead role,
without any auditions. It was three years before recording sessions for
Tutu began, and Itoh told Katoh "Don't change, be the way you are until
we start recording." Recalled Katoh, "This was my first
experience as a heroine...it took hours to record each excerpt...I
needed some serious training for the voice-over." That training
included instructions on how to handle Ahiru. "The impression I got by
looking at the image of Ahiru was very a cute and very active
character. I tried to express a real active Ahiru, but they said `Don't
do that. Express yourself naturally as you are every day.'"
Actors
dream of that one big break, where someone just hears their voice,
loves the sound and gives them the major role of a lifetime. Nanae
Katoh lived that dream when the decision was made to turn the Princess
Tutu story, about a duck turned into a a ballet dancer, into an
animated series. Katoh had only a few voice roles, including Mustard in
Magical Witchland and Madoka in Magic Users' Club, when her voice was
heard by Ikuko Itoh, the animator who created the Tutu world. Itoh
loved Katoh's voice, and chose her as Ahiru, the series' lead role,
without any auditions. It was three years before recording sessions for
Tutu began, and Itoh told Katoh "Don't change, be the way you are until
we start recording." Recalled Katoh, "This was my first
experience as a heroine...it took hours to record each excerpt...I
needed some serious training for the voice-over." That training
included instructions on how to handle Ahiru. "The impression I got by
looking at the image of Ahiru was very a cute and very active
character. I tried to express a real active Ahiru, but they said `Don't
do that. Express yourself naturally as you are every day.'"