Anime Industry Watching Vol. 15: The unique anime "RWBY" brings out the "talent" of veteran voice actors!　Interview with Ryoichi Uchikoshi, director of the Japanese version of "RWBY!

RWBY Volume 1," a 3DCG animation produced by Rooster Teeth Productions in the U.S., is doing very well with the support of its ardent fans, despite its small screening at six theaters nationwide for only two weeks.

One of the main attractions is that the anime voice actors, who are well-known for their work in late-night anime, are trying their hand at high-density drama like North American dramas. The director, Ryoichi Uchikoshi, took on the difficult task of breathing life into this strangely balanced work in Japanese, which "has a picture design that looks like Japanese anime but has the atmosphere of a foreign drama .

We asked Mr. Uchikoshi, who has dubbed many foreign dramas and foreign films, about the behind-the-scenes production of the Japanese version of "RWBY.

I love Japanese anime," he said, "and I want to live up to that love.

──Do you work mainly as a dubbing director for foreign films and TV dramas?

Uchikoshi: I occasionally work as a sound director for domestic anime (such as the sound director for "Hackador"), but the overwhelming majority of my work is for foreign films and dramas.

What did you think of "RWBY" when you first saw it?

Uchikoshi: I thought the characters looked like they were sculpted by people who had seen a lot of Japanese animation, but I was surprised by the sharpness of the action and the superb editing.

To be honest, as far as CG goes, it is not of the high-end quality that is distributed in Hollywood. But the editing of the action is wonderful ...... and I found that tinny feeling interesting. It felt like it was handmade by a small to medium sized company, not a major production company, that stuck to what they liked and that's what I enjoyed about it. The combination of the Japanese anime look and the drama of a Western film is what attracted me.

─ So you started the casting process based on that impression?

Uchikoshi: That's right. It was more than a year ago that I received an offer to produce the Japanese version. I proposed a rough casting plan, taking into consideration the wishes of Warner Bros. I sent the names of the voice actors and sample voices to Rooster Teeth, and since they were familiar with Japanese anime voice actors, the casting process went smoothly. I am glad that we were able to call on veteran voice actors who have worked in both anime and foreign films. Ideally, I would like to have voice actors who can do both dubbing for foreign films and dubbing for anime. In that sense, we have a cast that we can feel comfortable with.

─ For example, did you ever think of using celebrities to create a buzz instead of only professional voice actors?

Uchikoshi: We did not think about that at all. Warner's intention was to "bring it closer to Japanese anime. We wanted to respond to Rooster Teeth's passionate spirit of "We love Japanese animation, so we made this film.

We want to trust in the "expressiveness of the pictures" in animation.

─ When you actually dubbed the film, did you find that there were some differences from Japanese animation?

Uchikoshi: Yes, it was clearly different from Japanese animation. To put it simply, it is a work with a lot of talking. The experienced voice actors' skills really come into their own in this production. Therefore, there are many parts that sound more like a dubbed foreign film than an anime. As a result, we were able to create an atmosphere that is different from that of Japanese animation, and I think that will be a fresh experience for the audience.

How did the voice actors react to the dubbing?

Uchikoshi: They enjoyed it because it is a very unique work. I think it was technically difficult because of the large amount of dialogue and the speed at which they spoke, but basically, they enjoyed acting.

─ Was there anyone you found particularly interesting as a voice actor?

Uchikoshi: That would be Takashi Shimono, who played the bad-ass older brother Joan. It was the first time I worked with him, but his clumsy performance was better than I expected (laughs). Also, of course, Saori Hayami who played Ruby. We intentionally had her play the role at a younger age, and it was perfect. I am very happy for everyone. It took four days of postrecording, but I think it was worth it.

─ ─ The voice actors' acting ability, which cannot be demonstrated in late-night anime, really came into its own, didn't it?

Uchikoshi: I think they showed the breadth of their acting ability. I think that is valuable.　This is a bit off topic, but I am not familiar with the "..." and "ah..." that are common in Japanese anime scripts (laughs). (Laughs.) People don't usually sound like that, but it's strange, isn't it? I felt uncomfortable with it. I think it is better to leave the facial expressions of the characters to the pictures.

───The character's facial expressions come to life when there are no reactions.

Uchikoshi: Animation is based on pictures, so I want to trust the facial expressions depicted in the pictures. I don't like to add too much emotional expression with the voice and have it define the image. When a voice actor does a close-up of a character's face, he or she may feel uneasy unless he or she adds something like, "Hmm..." or something like that. For "RWBY," we recorded the reactions in the original language version in Japanese as well, but other than that, we kept it to the bare minimum, saying, "You'll understand without it.

─ So you were able to create a cool atmosphere that is not purely Japanese anime style.

Uchikoshi: To the extent that this work is a dubbed Western film, it is a dubbed version of a Western film. Popular voice actors from Japanese anime are performing, but the sense of dialogue is Western. That is the point.
At first glance, "RWBY" looks like a Japanese anime, but there are no shaking breasts or panties or anything like that. So I think that even people who are not comfortable with that kind of anime will enjoy it. It is an action-packed and basically cheerful work, so I would be happy if it could be seen by a wider audience.

(Reporting and writing by Keisuke Hirota)

RWBY Volume 1" Blu-ray & DVD Information

RWBY Volume 1 <Theatrical Limited Edition Blu-ray

Release date: November 14, 2015 (Sat)

Price: 6,000 yen + tax

Number of episodes: 1-10

Running time: 120 minutes

Number of discs: 1 disc (Blu-ray)

Limited in-theater release, in a special sleeve case illustrated by Kuma (Rooster Teeth Productions). Four special postcards "Dry Brush" will be included.

Please note that the film may run out of stock during the screening period. Please understand in advance.