Chihara Minori -
Anime
Convention Personality of the Week - September 9, 2007
The only "moe" anime character
that is more powerful than Yomiko Readman is Yuki Nagato in The
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Both characters wear glasses and love
books, but while Readman's powers are limited to paper, Nagato can make
nearly anything appear or disappear. Chihara Minori has the challenge
of voicing the part of the artificial human and is a big part of the
popularity of the animated Suzumiya, the series that has been as
popular among hard-core anime fans in the U.S. as it has become in
Japan. "When we were creating the series, we wanted to make something
that was fun and have fun making it. We realize the fans are enjoying
it more than we expected. I'm hapoy to see that, and to learn that even
the U.S. fan base appreciates the fun parts of the anime." Minori
describes her character as quieter, a traditional Japanese character,
"a cool character. I usually play bright characters, but I was told not
to express much emotions, so I had to take a different approach." That
difference put extra pressure on Chihara, who spent extra time studying
her role at recording sessions rather than relaxing and socializing. It's amazing to consider that Chihara also voices Aya Natsume in Tenjho Tenge, a character who is radically different than her Suzumiya character.
The only "moe" anime character
that is more powerful than Yomiko Readman is Yuki Nagato in The
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Both characters wear glasses and love
books, but while Readman's powers are limited to paper, Nagato can make
nearly anything appear or disappear. Chihara Minori has the challenge
of voicing the part of the artificial human and is a big part of the
popularity of the animated Suzumiya, the series that has been as
popular among hard-core anime fans in the U.S. as it has become in
Japan. "When we were creating the series, we wanted to make something
that was fun and have fun making it. We realize the fans are enjoying
it more than we expected. I'm hapoy to see that, and to learn that even
the U.S. fan base appreciates the fun parts of the anime." Minori
describes her character as quieter, a traditional Japanese character,
"a cool character. I usually play bright characters, but I was told not
to express much emotions, so I had to take a different approach." That
difference put extra pressure on Chihara, who spent extra time studying
her role at recording sessions rather than relaxing and socializing. It's amazing to consider that Chihara also voices Aya Natsume in Tenjho Tenge, a character who is radically different than her Suzumiya character.