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Anime Weekend Atlanta - Friday Voice Actors Panel

The panel started off with much fiddling with the microphones and the rearrangement of seats. After everyone introduced themselves, it jumped straight into Q&A from the audience.

The first fan asked if the VAs were the same for Saiyuki and Saiyuki Reload. No, Greg replied, and “Boo on that show!” Vic then jokingly chimed in that everyone should mute that dub. Greg mentioned that the new VA for Son Goku, who will be attending Anime Las Vegas, has apparently indicated that he is nervous about meeting Greg at that convention.

Next Vic was asked how he enjoyed performing in Generator Gawl. Vic answered that he had the “best time” doing that show and he still enjoyed it, especially since it was one of the first projects that he and Monica Rial worked on.

Mike was asked if there would be more Venture Brothers. He replied that he had just finished recording new episodes, as well as extras for a DVD release. Go Team Venture!

Another fan wanted to know if it was hectic working for multiple companies at once. Vic answered that he loves the people at ADV and considers them family, but he also enjoys working at Funimation and is grateful for the opportunity to work for both. Greg said that ADV is his favorite company as a fan but that he thinks it is really – pardon the pun – fun to work for Funi. Driving 5 hours to Dallas from Houston sucks, though, he made sure to add. Mike said that the two studios use different styles and techniques with the actors. Among those different techniques are cue beeps and – according to Greg – cattle prods.

At almost every VA panel, a fan asks the VAs to name their favorite roles, and this one was no different. Rikki said that Gir is absolutely his favorite and then dropped the news that he had just finished recording lines for a new dashboard Gir toy that will say different things depending on the occasion. For example, when you get pulled over by the police, Rikki says, the Gir will shout, “Let’s go to my room, pig!” Vic said that he could never pick just one character because he puts so much into each role. Mike said that he loves doing anime characters but he also enjoys the prelay work that he does. He especially loves doing positive characters like Leonardo on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Greg said the he can’t pick just one, but his top three are Son Goku, Chrono, and Kaworu from Evangelion. Mariela loves With because she adores all plushies and mascots, and Ringo because it was her first major role. However, she also adores Aria from Sister Princess and Kanami from Godannar, because those are two of her favorite shows.

One fan wanted to know what the VAs thought of fanfic. Greg said the he gets about 10 MB of fanfic a month – some illustrated. He doesn’t like stuff that demeans his characters. Vic said he doesn’t understand the fascination with Ed x Roy. At this, Mariela piped up that it was Roy x Riza together forever, and many in the audience cheered.

Vic was asked if he was working on the new Fullmetal Alchemist movie. He said that Funimation is in negotiations for it and very much wants to do it – he also said that he has heard Aniplex wants to see a theatrical release for it in North America. Greg chimed in that if another company gets the license, he hopes they don’t recast it. Mariela pointed out that even the Japanese are now recasting some shows, but Vic said that was like adding a new member to the Partridge Family – it would never seem right.

Greg was then asked if Funimation ever gave him an explanation of what the Blade Children from Spiral are. Greg said no, but that it was his understanding that it the anime was meant to lead into the manga, where the answers would be revealed. He also joked that the advertising slogan for the release of Spiral – “What are the Blade Children?” – should now be changed to “What were the Blade Children?”

A young lady wanted to know what it was like to work on Kodocha. Greg said that though many fans had said it couldn’t be dubbed, Laura Bailey was doing a great job on it, and that she “raps the bomb.” He added that working on the show was hard on his voice, sometimes, because of the “hockey temper” fits his character has to throw.

The VAs were then asked to give advice to aspiring voice actors. Mariela said that it was a hard field to get into, and that stage work was the best way to get experience. She added that sometimes roles were obtained just because you were there at the right time. Greg said that he did not know any VAs who had set out to have that as their career – instead, aspiring VAs just need to love acting in general, and get experience in local theater, comedy troupes, etc. Mike said that he got into voice acting when AnimEigo held open auditions. He emphasized that aspiring actors should not try to wait until everything is “perfect” before they try out for a role, or they might miss their chance. Vic said that voice acting was not for self-conscious people – VAs receive a lot of criticism, and it can be very intimidating and stressful. It is a lot harder than most people think. Greg agreed, and added that actors have to learn to be OK with not always getting the parts they want.

As the panel began to wrap up, Greg insisted that Rikki tell the audience about his upcoming novel. Rikki laughed and said that while he had started out wanting to be a model or improv comedian, he was now writing novels as well as voice acting. He digressed a bit by telling the story of how he got the role of Gir. Apparently no one could be found that pleased Vasquez, so Rikki asked to audition. He auditioned twice for it, and though Cartoon Network was not fond of his performance, Vasquez liked it “because it was so crappy.” Then Rikki came back around to the subject at hand and explained that his new novel is called Three-Legged Chicken. He said it is about a ghost living in a space station who goes to Earth to get the autograph of the ghost of Charles Dickens. It will be available from Slave Labor Graphics in November.

At this point the panel’s time was up. The VAs thanked everyone for coming and signed a few autographs on the way out.