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But can he Fly By Night?
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| Dub Review: Kaname Chidori was your first leading role...were you at all nervous stepping into the booth for your first lead?
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| Luci Christian: Um, yeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssss! I had already told my roommate that I felt pretty much like an idiot recording Neo Ranga (as much as I tried to hide it and be super cool in the studio), learning to navigate the lip flaps and so forth. When I read for Kaname, I didn’t think I had much hope of getting her so when I was cast it was a real surprise. I didn’t realize how anticipated the show was until we’d begun recording and sure; I worried about what people would think. Thank goodness I was in the capable hands of Mr. Rush, who has a knack for making us all sound good.
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Jangle on, you crazy diamond.
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| DR: Super Gals! is a show that has quite an established fan following on the Internet, especially of the English dub. What is your favorite moment/scene from the show?
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| LC: You do realize this is like asking me to pick my favorite ice cream (I never met a flavor I didn’t like). There’s no way I can choose one...anything having do to with Ran’s nasty juice makes me laugh. In the beginning it was "Ran’s special juice", which made us all snort and giggle. Greg Ayres as Second Place consistently slays me, especially those scenes when he acts out imaginary dialog between him and Ran. I generally hoot at the dialog surrounding the Ran/Mami Honda fights. Episodes that stand out as I glance over my DVDs are: the one where Ran is told that she has no eye for men, the Grand Prix "win Ran" episode, when Ran and Miyu duke it out and become friends, and the snowboard episode. Yeah...I love the show, too. I jangle my Ran Kotobuki key chain with pride.
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HOKKAIDO?!
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| DR: Azumanga Daioh has been a much-anticipated title since it has been licensed for American distribution. What were your first impressions of the show, especially playing the free-spirited teacher in the middle of this pack of high-school girls?
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| LC: Before starting the show, Don had talked about it and I had surfed around enough to know that it was a big deal. I even ran across a message board where they were vehemently discussing how bad the dub was bound to be, so I went into the booth sufficiently antsy. I must say, though, I had a blast on that show. It’s so funny. I don’t think I need to tell you that playing Yukari was a stitch. Those poor kids. She’s certifiable, and I got just as much of a laugh listening to the Japanese voice actress as I did creating my own madness. The Nyamo episode in volume one is golden. I love the stuff between Monica [Rial] and me.
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Oro? Hoe? Nano? Dearimasu?
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| DR: Is Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat the cutest title you’ve had a chance to work on? Was it awkward to end almost every sentence with "nyo"?
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LC: PPDGC was the cutest thing I’d ever seen, period. So cute you could OD, if you’re not careful. =) Who doesn’t want to be a kitty cat princess? When we were recording, Sandra (Krasa, director) and I would talk about how clever the show is and how consistently cute their little outfits are. I don’t mind telling you that voicing Dejiko required me to pop an aspirin every now and again, but it was fun doing a title like Panyo Panyo on the heels of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. Talk about a 180. The "nyo" thing, while weird at first, began to feel natural fairly quickly...inflection varied according to what was going on, but I think I sort of used it as a "ya know" kind of thing/meaning most often.
While we’re on the subject of cute, though, let me say that I’m currently at work on Princess Tutu and am seriously loving it. Jin Chung is directing and he, Henry (sound engineer) and I are having good times in the studio. I even got out an old pair of ballet slippers and brought them to play in, which indicates that I’m officially off my rocker.
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Also, you have to grunt and snort a lot.
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| DR: Other than vocal inflections and quality, is there something else about male characters that make them more difficult to play than female characters?
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| LC: Hm. Other than the fact that I’m a girl? Sorry, a woman? Harhar. To be honest with you, the hardest thing for me when I play boys is figuring out the pitch range and keeping myself within it while exploring it. It’s also been mentioned before that the level of difficulty increases the further away one gets from a "cartoony" voice and moves toward a straight character. Abenobashi was literally boot camp for my vocal chords…but I’m so freakin’ proud of that show. And I’m looking forward to the release of Peacemaker – Tetsu’s been fun, and I get to say I’m Vic Mignona’s little brother. =)
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My old directors had a saying...$#@%!
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| DR: In the live-action scenes of The Super Milk Chan Show, you played a director. Would you like to direct a title at some point in your acting career?
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| LC: Filming that stuff was so fun. God love Steven [Foster, director and scriptwriter] for letting me play with them. As far as directing goes, I’d have to say...maybe? If there came a chance, sure, why not? I believe that new doors and windows of opportunity open and close all the time, and what matters is what we choose to do with them. I certainly wasn’t looking for anime, and couldn’t have planned the last couple of years if I’d tried, but I’m really glad I’m here and I’d like to think I’d be up for most anything that came my way.
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Mushrooms!
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| DR: Has there ever been a role you’ve been cast in that you weren’t expecting nor thought you were capable of performing at first?
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| LC: Sasshi [from Abenobashi]. I was plagued by self-doubt. Then I saw the script with ALL THAT VERBIAGE and nearly passed out. Ok, not really. But it did seem terribly daunting and I questioned my ability more than once during that process.
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Iruka!
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| DR: Which show has made you say to yourself, "I wish there was more of this to work on," after the last recording session?
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| LC: Aw, this one’s easy. Pretear. It was a short series, but I really liked the show and had a great time working with David [Williams, director] on it. I had that opening song stuck in my head for weeks. I also thought Grrl Power was fun...hopefully there’ll be more of that in the future.
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Ran kick!
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| DR: If you could spend a day as any character you’ve voiced in their world, who would you choose and why?
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| LC: Holy cow...I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like many of my characters’ worlds are any less stressful than my own, in their different ways. I’m not really down with "loving" my brother, so Yotsuba is out. Maybe Risa in DNAngel...but only on the condition that Hilary be my twin. Or Sarah in Kaleido Star maybe...she’s pretty chipper, and sings like an angel in a cool circus (I’m suddenly humming a Nields song about running away to join a circus)...but I’m thinking that could be bad due to my fear of heights. Mikura rules in Mezzo, but the orange spandex freaks me out a little and the only gun I’ve ever fired had beebees in it. It would seem like Ran would be an easy answer, but frankly I get tired just voicing her...I can’t imagine actually kicking that much ass. =) Maybe I should just admire these people from afar.
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The first rule of the Gals! club is - you do not talk about the Gals! club
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| DR: What’s the number one ironclad rule for Gals?
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| LC: Watch Gals! and demand season 2? Um...probably an ironclad rule that Ran and I would agree on is the supreme importance of having good, faithful friends. It’s important to show up for people you love, you know? I’m crazy about and indebted to my own friends and family, and feel totally off-kilter when I get too scattered or busy and forget to touch base.
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All we are is dust in the wind, dude.
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| DR: Some last words for your fans?
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| LC: Hey, peeps! I hope you’re all doing well out there in cyber-land...
There’s no way to say this without being cheesy, but I appreciate so much the kindness and good vibes that have been thrown my way (and a special hug to Nathan for this interview!). It still blows my mind a little that I get to call this “work”, and I’m thankful. Take care, all! - Luci
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