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chuunin_archiveNarutofan.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.
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.
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 10:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 10:55 pm (UTC)On the bright side, they seem to be working really hard on everything! :D
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:06 pm (UTC)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.
My name is cheese
Date: 2005-06-22 11:07 pm (UTC)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]
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:20 pm (UTC)Sounds okay, I guess. Time will tell... thanks for sharing, though!
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:33 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:34 pm (UTC)I doubt they'll rewrite any actual BGM... I'm thinking the opening and ending themes will get either english versions or new music alltogether. Time will tell.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:43 pm (UTC)I honestly can't think of many anime that got new themes. DBZ, Pokemon, Digimon. I don't know.
Let's just pray to all things sacred that they don't go the way they went with Tokyo Mew Mew. *shudder*
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:49 pm (UTC)*beats Cardcraptors with a stick* Ugh. Uggggggggggh.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:50 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-22 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 12:15 am (UTC)I swear this makes me depressed. I'm going to watch more JAPANESE Naru because XD; I'm a conservative. <3 Thanks for posting!
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 12:26 am (UTC)I hope they do a decent job like Funimation's handling of dubbing the Fruits Basket songs. Those were actually good. :D
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 12:30 am (UTC)It looks like they've learned their lesson, and will do better in the anime. Hooray for growth.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 01:04 am (UTC)Read my entry about it, hehe.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 01:10 am (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 01:21 am (UTC)but doppleganger...*massive shudder*
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 01:22 am (UTC)It sounds cooler, but "doppleganger" does make more sense. Plus, it's a good SAT word!
Me too. I'm always excited (Minus 4Kids) when a series I love gets dubbed.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 01:40 am (UTC)Sorry to nitpick, but doppelgänger is German :)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-23 01:43 am (UTC)