Michelle Ruff - Is She Actually Getting Better?

[populuxe]

Michelle Ruff has always been one of the best and most respected actors out there, but it seems over the last year or year and half, she's gotten even better. It's certainly noticeable in NGP dubs, though it's not limited to just them. Her Kaname Chidori in Koi Kaze was a powerful, moving performance. In Stellvia, she's shown impressive depth as Yayoi, with some heartbreaking performances. She was chilling in Paranoia Agent. And whatever issues people might have had with the show and dub of Marmalade Boy, there's little argument she was perfect as Miki. Even in the breast-fest that is Girl's Bravo, she's more than just a heavily-endowed pink-haired bimbo. She's great fun in Daphne in the Brillaint Blue. Her little foley noises and sounds of disappointment are beautiful.

So what do you folks think? Is it just me, or has she really turned it up a notch lately?

[Arcturus]

I have to agree, and I'm shocked - shocked, I tell you - that she still only has one VA of the month award to her name.

[populuxe]

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Arcturus said:
I have to agree, and I'm shocked - shocked, I tell you - that she still only has one VA of the month award to her name.

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She was great as Chii, but she's done even better work than that. How can she not have won as Aoi Sakuraba in Ai Yori Aoshi? She had not one but two different series to win it with, and people still couldn't give her the love. Shameful, I tell you. Shameful.

[bci110]

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Mike Dungan said:She was great as Chii, but she's done even better work than that. How can she not have won as Aoi Sakuraba in Ai Yori Aoshi? She had not one but two different series to win it with, and people still couldn't give her the love. Shameful, I tell you. Shameful.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to agree on this. I always thought that Michelle Ruff was one of the best VAs in the industry, and it is a shame that she doesn't get the recognition she richly deserves. /images/graemlins/stunned0.gif

I'll mention another role that I think she's excelling in - Miu-chan in DearS . /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[Mr. Nail Bat]

For years, most of Michelle's roles were either cute "tuff" girls (Kiki Rosita, Kaoru Konoe) or just plain cute girls (Tsubame in Rurouni Kenshin being the most blatant).

Not until she was cast as Fujiko in Lupin III had she ever had an important adult role. And I think her New Gen roles have really expanded her possibilities. She's not just a cute kid anymore.

[populuxe]

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bci110 said:
I'll mention another role that I think she's excelling in - Miu-chan in DearS . /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

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I knew I was forgetting a good one.

[Nork22]

To me, she hasn't got any better. She has always been this good. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif Although I won't be complimenting her on her work in Chobits (since there wasn't much you can do in that) and Ai Yori Aoshi (I'm sorry!!!! But I love the Japanese more than the English!!!)

[Ben Phillips]

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Nork22 said:
To me, she hasn't got any better. She has always been this good. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif Although I won't be complimenting her on her work in Chobits (since there wasn't much you can do in that) and Ai Yori Aoshi (I'm sorry!!!! But I love the Japanese more than the English!!!)

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Keep in mind that she effectively <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>played two roles</span> in Chobits, and did so very well. Personally, I feel her award for that show was well-deserved.

Even so, I have to join everyone else in commending her for finding new and exciting ways to tap into her range lately. Generally, hers is a voice that I can recognize fairly easily, but I had a surprising amount of trouble doing so the first time I listened to her excellent performance as Tsukiko Sagi in Paranoia Agent. I also think she's done some underrated work in Daphne in the Brilliant Blue -- sure, she's done this type of cheery character before, but I think she's putting a fresh, interesting spin on it this time around.

[Huntressfan]

Two of my favorite roles of Michelle Ruff are Lady Meow from Tsukikage Ran and Urumi Kanzaki from GTO. She ROCKED in those roles! /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[theworld]

I agree. Michelle Ruff has continuously impressed me time and time again with a majority of the roles she's worked on. I think I was most impressed by her role as Kotori from the X TV series. Her chilling scream and descent into madness in the fourth DVD really, really creeped the hell out of me. O_O

[PsychoRabbitt]

She was always awesome, people are just realizing it more now.

/images/graemlins/blush000.gif

[PsychoRabbitt]

[ QUOTE ]
Mike Dungan said:
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bci110 said:
I'll mention another role that I think she's excelling in - Miu-chan in DearS . /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I knew I was forgetting a good one.

[/ QUOTE ]

And lest we forget her turn as Rabi-en-Rose in Digi Charat TV. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[AbeChinchilla]

Michelle Ruff will always be mine Fujiko.

I always liked her Mai in .hack//Liminality and Tsukiko in Paranoia Agent.

Yay.

[DanielJr]

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Mike Dungan said:Her Kaname Chidori in Koi Kaze was a powerful, moving performance.

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?

There's another anime with the same name as Full Metal Panic!'s main girl?

[Bitterman]

Michelle Ruff is doing great work, and she's getting roles that let her show her range. I haven't been a huge fan of her low register work in the past, but I was happy to hear her performance in the latter parts of Hanaukyo Maid Team (to name one show in contrast to the others you mentioned). She sounds much more comfortable in that register than ever before, and she's doing a good job of maintaining her character's emotions at the same time.

[PsychoRabbitt]

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DanielJr said:
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Mike Dungan said:Her Kaname Chidori in Koi Kaze was a powerful, moving performance.

[/ QUOTE ]

?

There's another anime with the same name as Full Metal Panic!'s main girl?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but it was a coincidence. The two series have nothing in common.

Of course... some people think otherwise. /images/graemlins/icon_rolleyes.gif

[AnimEVANGELIST]

Love her work...there's something about that voice that makes all the characters she plays memorable(and extremly cute!)For me, hearing her as Kasumi Tani for Hand Maid May is still one of her roles that I could never forget through my early years hearing animes dubbed.

[porkchopexpress]

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AnimEVANGELIST said:
For me, hearing her as Kasumi Tani for Hand Maid May is still one of her roles that I could never forget through my early years hearing animes dubbed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yo! /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

Her Tatiana is still one of my favorite parts of Last Exile.

[Perfect_Cell]

She has always been great and with recent releases, she only continues to achieve so much more, acctually, thats the case with everyone these days, they have all improved and I haven't been more happier to be dub fan with all the great actors and actresses.

Michelle is getting much better and she will continue to do so. ^_^

Her Alvis in Last Exile was well done and that one moment on where she had to scream was priceless.

[Mark]

Getting better? She's always been good. The subject line made it seem as if she was sick with a cold or something.

[XenoCrisis0153]

I loved her as Miharu in Girls Bravo. I switched it over to the japanese track out of curiosity, and even though the few minutes of japanese that I listed to was pretty good, I just couldn't miss out on hearing the absolutely kawaii voice-acting Ms. Ruff utilized on the dub track.

[theworld]

Michelle Ruff has always been a great actress. She wowed me and made me cry so hard at her portrayal of Kotori from the X TV series three years ago. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif