Toru Furuya - Anime Convention Personality of the Week - July 16, 2006
The
part of Amuro Rey was one of the major roles in the original Mobile
Suit Gundam, the series that changed the animation world with its
unflinching look at the potential reality of unlimited space war. The
series brought a sense of realism to something once considered only
fiction, and part of that reality was the performance of Toru Furuya as
Rey. "Before the Gundam era, most of the animation was a hero type, but
they (Gundam producers) preferred a realistic approach - they looked
for a cool approach," Furuya said during an Anime Expo interview
session. "My voice acting was overreacting, but after I saw the Gundam
storyboard and saw it was like in real daily life, we didn't overplay
it. It was like a daily, ordinary conversation, and that's what we
tried to do." Furuya has voiced those hero characters such as Pegasus
Seiya in Saint Seiya, Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon and even the
parody-laden Suppaman in Dr. Slump. But his most unique performances
may have come when he played Kasuga Kyosuke in Kimagure Orange Road, a
role that required him to run through a wide range of emotions in the
series' episodes and movies.
The
part of Amuro Rey was one of the major roles in the original Mobile
Suit Gundam, the series that changed the animation world with its
unflinching look at the potential reality of unlimited space war. The
series brought a sense of realism to something once considered only
fiction, and part of that reality was the performance of Toru Furuya as
Rey. "Before the Gundam era, most of the animation was a hero type, but
they (Gundam producers) preferred a realistic approach - they looked
for a cool approach," Furuya said during an Anime Expo interview
session. "My voice acting was overreacting, but after I saw the Gundam
storyboard and saw it was like in real daily life, we didn't overplay
it. It was like a daily, ordinary conversation, and that's what we
tried to do." Furuya has voiced those hero characters such as Pegasus
Seiya in Saint Seiya, Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon and even the
parody-laden Suppaman in Dr. Slump. But his most unique performances
may have come when he played Kasuga Kyosuke in Kimagure Orange Road, a
role that required him to run through a wide range of emotions in the
series' episodes and movies.