Animazement 2003 Guest Interviews & Con Report [Kamiya]

Interviewee Photo
  • Interview with: Akira Kamiya
  • Interviewed by: Tsukasa on May 24th, 2003
  • Location: Animazement 2003: Durham, North Carolina
  • Publication Date: May 31st, 2003
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Editor's note (04/10/08):

This interview was originally part of a single page that contained multiple interviews, and the author's convention experience merged between Q/A segments. We've moved to a new format where each person we interview gets their own page, and our experiences related to the interview appear above the interview transcript. A handful of very minor edits and omissions have been applied for clarity. We realize that some of these older pages will still look funny, but we believe that the consistency achieved makes up for that. At any rate, if you wish to view all of the pages that were originally part of the convention report, click here.

At Animazement 2003, I had the opportunity to speak to a number of fascinating guests who had come all the way to the con from Japan. I had prepared a great number of questions to ask, but ultimately due to time constraints, I was only able to ask a few at each press session in which several of the guests would get to sit down and respond to the questions posed by the few of us who showed up, with the aid of several translators.

On Saturday at noon, I sat down with the second press session's attendees, which included Koichi Tsunoda, Hiroaki Sakurai, Asami Sanada, and Kyoko Hikami. Mr. Tsunoda has worked as Drawing Director for series such as Devilman, Mazinger Z, and Uchuu Senkan Yamato, as well as the Mazinger Z meets Devilman OVA. Mr. Sakurai has been working in anime since 1984, his works inlude Hime-chan no Ribbon, Akazukin ChaCha, Kodomo No Omocha, Sugoi Yo! Masaru-san, Akihabara Cyber Team:Summer Vacation 2011, Di Gi Charat, Da! Da! Da!, and Parappa the Rapper. Ms. Sanada is fairly new to the anime industry, and best known for being the voice of Dejiko in Di Gi Charat. Ms. Hikami has been in the anime industry for over a decade now, and she has been the voices of Rabi En Rose in Di Gi Charat, Momoko in Ai Tenshi Wedding Peach, CBD Sara in Hand Maid May, Deborah in Trouble Chocolate, Lisa Hotfist in Final Fantasy Unlimited, and Ema in Geneshaft, amongst many others. During this hour, I was able to get in a few more questions than I had on friday. I opened with a very general question for all four of them to get the session going.

Shortly afterwards, the third and final press session began, with Akira Kamiya taking questions on his own. Mr. Kamiya is easily one of the most recognized seiyuu in the industry, well known for playing the roles of Roy Focker in SDF Macross, Shutaro Mendou in Urusei Yatsura, Ryo Saeba in City Hunter, Kenshiro in Fist of the North Star, and Ashram in the Record of Lodoss War OVA series, amongst others. In Mr. Kamiya's interview, I was able to ask all the questions I had prepared.

Anime Dream:

Do you have any particular favorite project that you worked on?

Akira Kamiya:

That's a tough question, and a very general one. Could you narrow it down?

Anime Dream:

Sure, what was your favorite anime project, and what was your favorite game project that you worked on?

Akira Kamiya:

My favorite anime project is Boy Detective Conan, and my favorite game project is Super Robot Wars.

Anime Dream:

Were you turned off by the resultant voice samples for Dieharte in Langrisser 3, or the final sound quality in any of the games you voiced? Were you dissatisfied with any game project's final result?

Akira Kamiya:

Well, I vaguely remember it, was I in that game? Was I on the record for being in that game?

Anime Dream:

To my understanding, you played a character named Dieharte in it, and some fans weren't particularly pleased with the sound quality of the final product. If I remember correctly, it was on the Sega Saturn, back when voice acting was first really being introduced to video games.

Akira Kamiya:

Since I don't play video games, I don't know how games I'm in turn out. I am happy when I get good feedback, and unhappy when I get negative feedback. Fans usually don't complain to me about the sound quality in games though, so I think they're usually happy with the sound quality.

Anime Dream:

Would you act the part of Ryo Saeba again, if given the chance?

Akira Kamiya:

Of course. I have a feeling that I will again in not such a distant future. That's particularly because Angel Heart is a current manga that's popular, and if it's animated, I should get to play the role of Ryo Saeba again.

Anime Dream:

Did you experience any difficulties in resuming the role of Roy Focker in Macross Zero?

Akira Kamiya:

Actually, I didn't have much difficulty in going back to playing Roy Focker. Back when I was playing him in the original Macross, my low register voice was still being developed, so it's easier now, and I've been having fun, although he hasn't appeared much in Macross Zero so far.

Anime Dream:

How would you describe the differences between working on anime and game voicing?

Akira Kamiya:

Well, work is work, I base my work on the character, not whether it's just anime or games.

Anime Dream:

Is there a particular reason you chose not to play the part of Ashram in the Record of Lodoss War TV series after having played him in the OVA series and Legend of Crystania?

Akira Kamiya:

Well, I don't know the real reason why I didn't get the casting call. I did leave the production agency I belonged to before the TV series began production, and since the production agency has something to do with the shows' castings, my departure may have had something to do with that.

Anime Dream:

Would you ever play Shutaro Mendou or Kenshiro again, if the opportunity came up?

Akira Kamiya:

I'd love to do both, but since Urusei Yatsura is a finished story, the likelihood of a new story is very little. If the new Fist of the North Star story, Fist of the Blue Sky, is made into anime, I would very much like to play Kenshiro again.

Anime Dream:

[At that point, all the press in attendance were done asking their questions, and Kamiya just happened to mention a few other things off hand, starting with talking on his work for Pachinko and Slot machine parlors.]

Akira Kamiya:

In Japan, many Pachinko and Slot machines have licensed characters on them, and so I've done the voice of Kenshiro for these machines, and soon new machines will be released that I did the voice of Ryo Saeba for.

Anime Dream:

[He then mentioned his latest project, which is still largely unannounced at this point.]

Akira Kamiya:

There's going to be a 13 episode Rumiko Takahashi Theater show coming out this year, and I have a role in it. There will be some other voices from Detective Conan in it, and I'm very much looking forward to hearing them. I'll be starting recording as soon as I get back to Japan.