This Year at Otakon, WSSTB’s Jecka1021 had the pleasure of conducting an interview with Japanese voice actress Haruna Ikezawa. She is best known for her roles in One Piece (Caime), SGT Frog (Momoka Nishizawa) Hamtaro (Laura Haruna), and The King of Fighters Fighting game series (Athena Asamiya)
The transcript for the interview can be found below. It should be noted that the interview has been edited for additional clarity.
Jecka: What was it like being part of popular franchises like Hamtaro and Pretty Cure?
Ikezawa: Being a part of popular franchises like [Hamtaro and Pretty Cure] is a thing I’m happy about, but my passion is starring in series directed at and meant for children. There’s a magic for children when they watch anime. They don’t look at it as a product someone made, but as a world with living things in it. It’s that magic that I really enjoy. So breathing life into that part of that magic for children, be it Hamtaro or other series, holds a special place in my heart.
Jecka: One of your first big successes was in Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! As a male character. Did you have to make any adjustments voicing male versus female characters or vice versa?
Ikezawa: Getting the role of Go in Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! Was a coincidence. Initially, I had tried out for a female character; however, the person who was auditioning for this male role was running late, so they asked me to think of it as a practice audition and try out for the male role as well. I didn’t actually prepare for it at all. Though afterward when word was sent to my office to inform me that I got the role, I assumed it was for the female character, but they said it was for the male, which I was like “huh?? You’re kidding me?!” Though, it was through getting this role that I started considering the differences between voicing a male and a female, and studying what’s unique to both. My methods were hanging out by the neighborhood school and or listening in to children’s conversations in places like the subway, which probably came off as really suspicious to people. (laughs) If this had been in America, I would have likely been arrested. (laughs)
What I gathered from my studies is that children at the elementary and middle school levels don’t sound very different, rather, the difference comes from the conversations themselves. Boys tend to be rash, straightforward and don’t think about their actions before taking them. In short, a little dumb. Though, I realized through this that I can do a boy’s voice effectively, even with my voice. In the first few episodes, my voice was still high-pitched, even playing a boy, but I think of this as projecting my own risk-taking and rowdy nature upon the character –things I thought fitting of a boy’s role, and I believe I was able to project these qualities into this character’s voice.
Jecka: Where do you find the energy to voice active characters like Chris-chan in Daa! Daa! Daa! (UFO Baby and Momoka in SGT Frog?
Ikezawa: Both of them are very…interesting characters, to put it one way. They have split personalities, one of which is far more energetic than the other. They both have characteristics where if they were to act like this in everyday life then it’s likely they’d be arrested. That being said, I think everyone has a side like that within them deep down, y’know? So being able to portray that in a role is a lot of fun. It’s like being able to tap into and release that weird but fun energy that’s deep within me.
Jecka: Thank you for your time!
Special thanks again to Haruna Ikezawa, interpreter George Endo, and Otakon for making this interview possible!
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