It will be in an August issue of Shonen Jump

[jay-apex.livejournal.com]

Narutofan.com brings us an interview between Shonen Jump and the American "Team Naruto."

Naruto - Behind the Scenes
Like us, you're salivating for the English-language debut of Naruto, your favorite ninja anime. What in the world can you do to bide your time? Well, you can check in with SHONEN JUMP, which has been bringing you the Naruto manga from the beginning, for details about the anime's production process. This month, we interview the team that's bringing Naruto to our shores. And we have some sneak peeks of images from the second episode!

Q: What's the latest milestone the production has hit?
A: The show has been cast, and the scripts for the first season, all 52 episodes, are being written, and of course we're adapting the scripts so they stay in line with the flavor of the original Japanese anime.

Q: What was the casting like?
A: The process is we go through a bunch of voice actors who have experience in dubbing, some of whom may not have any prior anime experience but have great voices and rich acting experience. We want to keep it fresh. The studio we're working with brings in actors for a variety of roles, so someone might try out for Iruka and Kakashi, or for Naruto and Sakura. That might sound weird, but some of these actors can really switch between roles.

Q: Which character was the hardest to cast?
A: Naruto, plain and simple. He's the number one character, the star. You want to pin it down just right. The voice of the person we selected has Naruto down, from the michievous side, that precious 12-year-old we learn to love, to the serious side. Our Naruto can make you laugh, and hit you with a jutsu, right on a dime.

Q: How many people did you audition for that role?
A: A whole bunch- we tried to find actors of various voices and styles.

Q: Who was the easiest to cast?
A: No one was easy. You had to go back and forth, trying to decide who is best for which role. You can talk about it for hours on end. It made for a lively debate.

Q: In the end, was anyone cast to do more than one voice?
A: No. It wasn't a conscious decision, and had an actor been able to make that leap, we would have done it, but we wanted to create a contrast between characters, like between Naruto and Sasuke, who are rivales and brothers in arms. Those two voices, for example, had to contrast well. When you have two characters contrasting strengths but the same age, it's important their voices differ in sound and attitude, so the differences come through and the characters come to life.

Q: Did you learn anything about the characters during the course of the auditions?
A: Yes, listening to the Japanese actors and, later, to the English-language ones shed light on the characters' motivations. From the onset, these heroes and villains have motivation. We don't have to wait until episode 10 to find out what they're all about. We know Sakura wants to impress Sasuke, and that Naruto wants to be the Hokage, and their drive comes through their voices.

Q: What's ahead for the production?
A: We're still working on music production, but for the most part we'll be using the original music from Japan, becasue that helps make the series great. We're going to start recording the first four episodes of Naruto and get them ready to air in September.

Q: Will all the actors work together in the studio?
A: Unlike in Japan, each actor comes to the studio individually. When you're dubbing anime, dubbing to flap - that is, matching the shape of the characters' mouths - that's the best way to do it. It's so precise, in terms of matching flap, that each actor needs to have their individual attention on the screen. Even though the actors play off each other, it would be very hard to have them in the sound booth together. The way we do it, each character's individuality can shine through the best.

Q: Are there any surprises in the early episodes?
A: If there are surprises, I'm not telling.

Scenes from Episode 2
1. Naruto gives Konohamaru, aka the "Honored Grandson" a piece of his mind.
2. Master Ebisu tutors Konohamaru in the ways of the ninja.
3. Three's a crowd when the master and the two ninja-in-training meet up.
4. Four's company when Naruto uses his doppleganger skill.

Comments

[tekdeath.livejournal.com]

doppleganger skill.....::sigh::...

[jay-apex.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/jay_apex/368681.html?mode=reply

Read my entry about it, hehe.

[herchuckness.livejournal.com]

...so wait, they've chosen a Naruto already? I wonder who?

[belmoon.livejournal.com]

Master instead of Sensei. Oy. I hated that. Master =\= Sensei.

On the bright side, they seem to be working really hard on everything! :D

[tekdeath.livejournal.com]

lol yeah, master is an extremely bad comparison to sensei. Most iai/kenjutsu dojos who have senseis that call themselves masters prolly do not have yudansha rank.

[rejectedstalker.livejournal.com]

Did they ever call Ebisu "sensei" in the series, though? I thought he used a different(more ego-inflating) title. Can't quite remember, though.

[superheroine]

MOSTLY be using the original music? *sigh* Here comes new themes, people.
Doppelganger? I hope they were just using that to describe it, not what it actually is called.
Master instead of sensei? Er. Again, same with before, I hope that's just a description.

But look at it this way - anime dubbers aren't horribly, careless bastards who just want a quick buck. Sure, money is a major factor, but THEY CARE about what happens. They are TRYING THEIR BEST. Let's give them that before completely writing it off.

[rasenth.livejournal.com]

I agree.. people should stop freaking out about this before we even saw it. x_x;;

And I hope they're not going to edit the music much... I will stab them! O_O; That's worse than "translating" the move names in my opinion.

[thomasvye.livejournal.com]

From what I seen, dubbed anime always gets cheesey rock music. This is not necessarily bad - I often kinda like it...but it won't be of the amazing standard of the original themes, I don't think...

[lunarwhirl.livejournal.com]

Kudos to that. I'm giving the anime a shot.

My name is cheese

[(Anonymous)]

0.o;;;; i am just -so relieved- that they are using -most- of the original score. toshira masuda [i think teh composer] did an EXCELLENT job, bcause it has that sort of traditional japanese culture music mixed with streaks of rock and....

catchy show tunes XDDDDD;;; gosh how i love the music and i really really really hope they keep -almost all- of it :)

then i might actually watch it [which means going to my friend woh has cable's house to watch it seein ghow i dont. rofl]

Re: My name is cheese

[konohamaru-kun.livejournal.com]

*is SO HAPPY TOO!

[kitsu-hime.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

Sounds okay, I guess. Time will tell... thanks for sharing, though!

[billypilgrim.livejournal.com]

People, don't nit pick at specific wording. They used "hokage", and everyone one was upset about them using "head ninja" in the preview. And, hey, they're using "jutsu!" I mean, what would you rather have? Master Kakashi, or Mr. Kakashi? Like hell they're going to lose money by using "-sensei". This is not fansubs, this is supposed to turn a profit. They're putting a lot of effort into it, and atleast give them the benefit of the doubt.

And, ignore doppleganger. Viz used it in the beginning, and it's really the only jutsu that's been translated. All the other ones have been fixed to "--- no jutsu". It's better to have an english term for such a commonly used technique, and "art of the dop-el-gang-er" is the same amount of syllables " ka-ge bu-shin no ju-tsu". It works out well.

[lunarwhirl.livejournal.com]

I agree. It's not so bad. (Although I stopped reading the American manga because the dialogue was smashed... )
It looks like they've learned their lesson, and will do better in the anime. Hooray for growth.

[jay-apex.livejournal.com]

I wasn't knitpicking, that part about scenes from ep 2 were actually a part of the interview.

Although, I do think "Shadow Replication" would sound cooler than "doppleganger."

Still, I can't wait to see the Americanized Naruto, flaws and all. Plus, let's not forget that the dvds will have unedited stuff.

[ilabb.livejournal.com]

It's better to have an english term for such a commonly used technique

Sorry to nitpick, but doppelgänger is German :)

[splintered-soul.livejournal.com]

Agreed like woah. Holy shit, you got the Naruto name? Kudos to you

[yukinakid.livejournal.com]

*sigh* This... *megasigh* I wish they'd at least pronounce names right. I mean come on if you're going to do it, I admit I can't stop you but at least don't butcher the Japanese. It's not that hard to try and get it right sorta. *sigh*

I swear this makes me depressed. I'm going to watch more JAPANESE Naru because XD; I'm a conservative. <3 Thanks for posting!

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

The Japanese rarely pronounce English correctly. They say it in the way that sounds most natural to them. I know, I used to live in Japan.

So no, they're not going to go out of their way to have everything have perfect Japanese inflection in the dub. They're going to say things the way that sounds natural in English.

However, that does't mean that they're going to ignore how names should sound either. The Cartoon Network announcer guy isn't part of the dub staff so how he says things does't make one lick off difference.

I think the dub staff will be able to find the right balence.

[frozentrumpcard.livejournal.com]

at least it sounds like they are working hard...

but doppleganger...*massive shudder*

[confusedkain.livejournal.com]

Think thats bad? How about then they transform? Are they going to scream "Transform!" or "HENGE!"? If they say transform I'm going to die... *Will SOO get reminded of Power Rangers or something.*

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

Here's a thought on the music issue. Maybe they just couldn't get some of the song rights. Those can be hella expensive and IIRC some pretty big Japanese bands have done work on Naruto.

Funimation had the same problem with Kodoma No Omocha and expensive music rights are the reason Macross 7 has never been picked up for over here.

[raineyz.livejournal.com]

That's a good point.

[raineyz.livejournal.com]

It'll probably be a while before the dubbed version of Naruto hits my local TV channels...But there's quite a large Naruto fanbase here already that follows the japanese version and the manga. So...I'm not too worried about it turning into something like the old Pokemon craze.

That doesn't sound too bad. I'm slightly peeved about "art of the doppelganger", but it doesn't matter much. As for "sensei" becoming "master"...I wish they could find a better english substitute. "Master" just sounds too...kinky. ARGH.

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

"Master" is often used as a title for high ranking practitioners of martial arts. So it does fit.

[martin4u.livejournal.com]

the only thing that i really care about is that they dont get rid of Wind as the ending theme, and that Toshiro Masuda's music isnt gotten rid of.

[memoriez-lost.livejournal.com]

I agree. But Wind's lyrics wouldn't sound right to the people out there, would it? The grammar might be kinda weird for those who're not used to it.

Well, time will tell. When the dubbed version comes out we'll know.

[narutomonkey.livejournal.com]

it really does like they're working really hard to not make this real sucky and stinky.

I'm starting to get impatient now...-__-

[kyuuhitenshi.livejournal.com]

I don't so much find a problem the "sensei" translation and doppelganger and such, as much as what Viz is known to do with shounen anime like this.....stupid fake accents.

They'll give characters considered "minor" by the developing staff, like let's say, Kiba, and give him a weirdo fake southern accent or something! (of course i'm not saying anything against southern accents, they rock, but I just don't find it right on naruto DX )