Category Archives: Voice Acting
Idolization in Anime Culture: Seiyuu and Maintaining a Godly Life
“Thou shall have no other gods before me,” a simple and obvious rule to not just Christianity, but to any monotheistic religion. Today, it is accepted that the sin of idolatry can take many forms from material possessions, activities, and even to other humans. Be it the Hollywood stars of America, the K-pop singers of Korea, or the girl groups like AKB48 of Japan, idolatry of celebrities is a growing and arguably dangerous problem in today’s society. Within the realm of anime culture, too, the idolization of the seiyuu cannot be denied.
Mitsuketaa! She’s only 37. I mean 17.
Tamura Yukari, for example, is one of the most talented voices in the industry, truly a god-tiered seiyuu. The White Devil, the Strategist, the Courageous Yuusha, Yukarin has done such a wide array of voices, I cannot even begin to comprehend her talent. Thanks to that, in addition to her personality and having found the secret to eternal youth as a forever 17 year old, she has quite the strong and loyal fan base. Her talent is undeniable. Her fan base is…a bit extreme at times. The most hardcore of fans certainly revere her as a goddess, which I can’t say is unique to her fans. The Japanese voice acting industry is brimming with talent and popularity with names like Sugita, Yui Horie, Sakamoto, and an endless list that I cannot even begin to do justice. Then you have the type-casted voices like KugiRie and Hanakana who rarely show any deviation in their voice acting yet have such large fan bases due to that single, specific voice that for some inexplicable reason everyone loves. If you aren’t a fan, you know how tiring it can be to hear that voice over and over.
Mileposts: Interview with Caitlin Glass and Visual Novel Characters with Disabilities
Periodically, I like point back to some of the more than 500 posts we’ve written here on Beneath the Tangles. Besides the “A Year Ago” series I began several months ago, I plan to occasionally post about blogging milestones – those little breakthroughs when posts hit certain numbers of significance in terms of hits. Three articles recently hit such mileposts.
Katawa Shoujo and a How to Guide for Referring to Individuals with Disabilities
Milepost: 5,000 Hits
The informational article discusses how to use person first language to refer to individuals (or VN characters!) with disabilities:
Rin is a character who was born without arms. Don’t refer to this as a “birth defect.” “Congenital disability” or “developmental disability” is preferred. Further, remember to again emphasize that individuals have disabilities instead of saying that they are disabled, which emphasizes the disability, and avoid use of the word handicap.
This was a fun post to craft, because unlike many others, I had to do quite a bit of research. I’m glad that this was my contribution to the blogosphere’s posts on Katawa Shoujo, a game that I actually never played.
Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: CCM Artist (and Close Anime Geek) Cait Plage, Angel Beats Heaven, and Haruhi’s Five Proofs
In M.E.X. Magazine, Christian musician Cait Plage (who previously interviewed with us) mentions the extensive anime dubbing she and her friends did in the past [M.E.X Magazine]:
Well, I am a true nerd at heart. In middle school, I was a closet anime/video game geek….I would spend hours upon hours every day recording lines, auditioning, and ‘hanging out’ online with my VA friends.
Our newest blogger, Zeroe4, continues his “Last Requiem” series on his other blog by comparing heaven with the afterlife represented in Angel Beats! [Zeroe4]
However, in Angel Beats! and heaven there is love and camaraderie. In Angel Beats! and heaven everyone has a place they fit and everyone finds where that is. In heaven and Angel Beats! there is value placed on every person.
SnippetTee, who has sneakily become one of my favorite bloggers, explores the pneumatic side of dreams in relation to Mushishi. [Lemmas and Submodalities]
Tom Langston was disappointed that the “Philosophy in Anime” panel at SacAnime was cancelled, so he briefly discusses what might have been presented, particularly relating Haruhi Suzumiya to Thomas Aquinas’ Five Proofs. [Nigorimasen!]
Jonathan Tappan posts an excellent and helpful timeline for Mawaru Penguindrum, which largely revolves around events (true and fabricated) involving the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult. [FunBlog]
RocketNews24 reports that makers of traditional Japanese swords will be commissioned to cast replicas of weapons from Neon Genesis Evangelion. The first is that of the Lance of Longinus, a weapon in Evangelion that shares a name given to the spear that pierced Christ’s side. [RocketNews24]
Monsieur LaMoe begins his post on Aquarion Evol by quoting Jesus on eunuchs, and goes into detail about the three different kinds that He mentioned. From there, I’m really not sure where he goes (I admit it – I got lost). [Anime Diet]
And to conclude on a cheery note, Steelbound wishes us all a Happy (February) Christmas. [The Null Set]
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As part of the Spirituality in the Anime Blogsophere series of posts, each week, Beneath the Tangles links to writings about anime and manga that involve religion and spirituality. If you’ve written such a piece or know of one, please email TWWK if you’d like it included.
Anime in Pakistan, Called to Anime (and Missions), and Review of a Sci-Fi, Religious, Japanese Classic
Ash reviews the Japanese science fiction classic, Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights, released last year by Viz Media. Much of the review is spent discussing the importance of Christianity and especially Buddhism to the plot. [Experiments in Manga]
Aniblogger Zeroe4, who’ll be starting DTS training for his mission to Japan in the next few months, explains what “DTS” means, along with other terminology. He also talks about the connection between anime and his call to missions. [Called to Anime]
In another post, Zeroe4 compares himself to Mashiro Moritaka (Saikō) from the manga, Bakuman, discussing his own anime-related goal and it’s relation to Christ. [Called to Anime]
The Express Tribunes interviews Pakistani artist and musician, Daniyal Noorani, whose music, set to animated videos and discussing volatile subjects like religion and international relations, has gained attention and acclaim. Among the tidbits he mentions are his anime-style series in Pakistan, accompanying this comment [The Express Tribune]:
Anime is very popular in Pakistan and there’s a demand for it here.
David Alvarez provides a thorough rundown of SacAnime 2012, including snippets of an interview with Christian voice actor, Vic Mignogna, in which he thanks the Father [Sacremento Press]:
God has been so good to me that I can hardly stand it.
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As part of the Spirituality in the Anime Blogsophere series of posts, each week, Beneath the Tangles links to writings about anime and manga that involve religion and spirituality. If you’ve written such a piece or know of one, please email TWWK if you’d like it included.
Interview with Caitlin Glass, Part 2: Faith and Voice Acting
From Ouran High School Host Club’s Haruhi to Fullmetal Alchemist’s Winry Rockbell, Caitlin Glass has voiced some of anime’s most beloved characters. She’s also funny, personable, and great to her fans. Back in August, Caitlin was kind enough to answer a few questions about voice acting. I was able to catch up with her at IKKiCON 2011 and finish our interview; this time, I asked her about her Christian faith.
TWWK: I found out about your faith through an interview you did on the Fans for Christ website. I admired how vocal you are. Could you quickly tell us your testimony and how you became a Christian?
Caitlin: Sure! I only vaguely remember it because I’m one of those that grew up going to church, so as far as I recall, it was just a situation of being in children’s church and at the end of every Sunday, they always ask if there’s anybody that wants to invite Jesus into their heart and one Sunday I said, “Yeah, I want to do that.” [laughs] And that was it. So, I don’t have some really immense rags-to-riches kind of testimony. I guess my testimony is just that I followed Christ my whole life and I fell that I am blessed and protected because of that.
TWWK: Have you ever taken a role in acting or voice acting that you’ve questioned because of your faith? Or have you ever turned down a role because of that?
Caitlin: Yes. Mainly, it’s more a whole show and less a particular character because to be honest, you can’t have the heroes without the villains and I can’t just say because I’m a Christian I’m only going to be playing the hero. Read the rest of this entry
Interview with Caitlin Glass, FUNimation Voice Actress
Among the best known actresses in her profession, Caitlin Glass has voiced some of anime’s most popular characters, including Haruhi of Ouran High School Host Club and Winry Rockbell of Fullmetal Alchemist. She’s also directed for FUNinmation, and is back in the booth after spending time out of the country. Little less known is that Caitlin is a Christian and is open about her faith. We were blessed that she took the time to answer a few questions with us regarding her work (part 1) and her belief in Christ (part 2).
TWWK: Hi, Caitlin! Thank you for agreeing to the interview, and welcome back to the states! You were out of the country for quite some time – could you tell us why you went abroad and where you visited?
Caitlin: Thanks so much for the opportunity. Yes, I was living abroad for almost a year and a half. My husband and I love to travel and were seeking a way to do it more long term. We decided to go to Spain and study for a TEFL certificate, to be able to teach English as a foreign language. We liked it in Spain so much that we stayed! We also had the chance to visit friends and family in other European countries like Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
TWWK: What was one of your favorite experiences overseas?
Caitlin: Hands down my favorite experience was Spain’s victory in the World Cup. I can’t say I was a football (soccer) fan before living there but I definitely am now! We watched every game and went to the victory parade. It was electrifying!
TWWK: Now that you’re back in Texas, are you working again at Funimation? What projects are you working on?
Christian Seiyuu: Michie Tomizawa
As I’ve emphasized in the past, Japan is by no means a Christian nation. Estimates place the country’s Christian population at around 1-2%. So it’s no surprise that the anime industry employs only a handful that openly claim to be Christian.
But there are a few. The most famous might be Trigun creator Yasuhiro Nightow (who may no longer be of the faith). Another is semi-retired seiyuu, Michie Tomizawa. A relatively cursory search led to a writing Tomizawa gave about her faith, and I’m elated to share this with you.
Michie Tomizawa does little voice acting these days, but she was once very active. Among her most noted roles are Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon and Linna from Bubblegum Crisis. She retired before marrying in 2002, but still occassionally lends her voice.
She also seems to be an outspoken Christian. An unknown individual did some research, discovering a testimonial Tomizawa wrote in her church’s newsletter. He or she also found and translated an essay Tomizawa wrote under her married name, Michie Itou. Read the rest of this entry
Aniblogger Testimonies: Confessions of a Middle-Aged Otaku: Discovering Christian Messages In Anime
This is the second in a series of Aniblogger Testimony posts, where select writers will discuss their personal faith. Today’s post is by R86, frequent contributor on Beneath the Tangles. The previous post in this series was written by Lauren Orisini.
In this column, I intend to focus on my experience of anime as a Christian adult who discovered anime relatively late in life. It is probably enough to say of myself that I am an American male of vaguely European descent, in my early 40s, with a Ph.D. from a major Midwestern university in a physical science, and an educator by way of career.
I stumbled upon anime only within the last 5-6 years, and that mainly because I knew so many young people my students’ age were watching it. What I found at first was sometimes appalling (I was unprepared for the violence in Akira, for example, thinking I would be getting “just cartoons”), often silly, and usually entertaining. Mostly I wondered how I could so easily accept these strange depictions they call “anime characters” as replacements for live flesh-and-blood actors. Clearly I was in contact with something as different from American cartoons as one could imagine. And given my lifelong fascination with foreign languages, with one as different from English as Japanese being a slam dunk for capturing my interest, you will see why I was hooked before I knew it. Read the rest of this entry
Music Review: All We Have Is Now by Cait Plage
All We Have is Now
Cait Plage
EP
Release Date: 3.29.11
Review
On her website, Cait Plage says, “My one goal in life is to share God’s love with you. My days, hours, and moments are numbered and I want to make them count. All I really have is now!”
This theme is ever-present on Plage’s newest release, aptly titled All We Have Is Now. Her second major release, the five-track EP conveys Plage’s heart through honest lyrics and messages that God wants her to convey. What does this have to do with anime or manga? Well, in addition to being a music artist, Cait Plage also was an amateur voice actor. But it couldn’t be clearer that her true calling is in music.
The title track of the EP is a melodic pop tune that asks the listener if their “lifetime was only a day” would they “take it or waste it?” She likewise asks us to live life to the fullest in “Live Love Loud,” which wisely instructs us to “just be who you are and not who they tell you.”
But Plage isn’t afraid to explore darker themes. Her new single, “Pieces,” is about the frustration of falling romantically for a person who’s wrong for you. “In Your Arms” explores a relationship that’s grown cold. And in “Loaded Gun,” Plage opines, “I’m tired of the faking/presenting everyone’s happy that everything’s fine.” In our Monday interview with Cait, she told us a bit about the emotional experience of writing that song, which about being disobedient to God – “It came 100% from my heart and 0% from my head… and I cried, a lot, as I wrote it.”
Plage’s messages are accessible and relevant, whether listeners are Christian or not. Like a number of Christian artists, she avoids lyrics directly referencing God and Jesus. And in a way, the songs are all the more powerful because of that decision – listeners can relate to and be inspired by without feeling preached to (similar Switchfoot’s Beautiful Letdown).
The album has a pop feel, but the tone is different on some tracks, coming across as contemporary folk. It’s a nice juxtaposition that made it hard to pin down similar artists – her work is as varied as that of Sara Groves, Taylor Swift, and Nickel Creek. Regardless, both styles fit Plage’s beautiful voice nicely.
Cait Plage is a wonderful singer and has crafted a catchy EP. But more than that, All We Have Is Now is full of thoughtful and timely messages that I think will strike at the hearts of any who are willing to hear.
Rating: A
You can purchase Cait’s EP through iTunes or Amazon on March 29.
Cait Plage Album Promo
Check out the video below, which is an album promo for musician and voice actress Cait Plage’s new EP, All We Have Is Now, which comes out on March 29. I’ll be posting a review of the EP tomorrow.
