Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia flaunts a long list of characters that have grown to absolute fan favorites and has elevated the series’ status to a whole new level. The characters not only flaunt different Quirks but also have distinct personalities and dialogues that resonate with the viewers of the show.
Since the anime series presents a long list of heroes and villains, it also featured some of the most reputed voice actors from the industry, who lent their voices to breathe life into the characters; one such name is Ayane Sakura, who voiced Ochaco Uraraka of Class 1-A.
While Sakura-San was flawless in the series, where she had great fun voicing the superhero, she does not feel the same for another iconic role in the Ranma 1/2 remake. The most prominent anime remake of the year proves to be her biggest test too.
My Hero Academia’s Ayane Sakura Had a Tough Time Voicing Kodachi Kuno in Ranma 1/2
Ayane Sakura’s voice acting career is filled with iconic roles; from Tsubaki Sawabi in Your Lie in April to Gabi Braun in Attack on Titan, she has done a phenomenal job by making them sound distinct and going well with their design, with Ochaco Uraraka being the most popular of all.
Recently, she took on another iconic role, which is one of the biggest reboots of the year; it is Studio MAPPA’s Ranma 1/2. Although the show has only aired six episodes and has already won over many fans, the voice actor has already had a taste of voicing Kodachi Kuno, who is well-known for her wild laughter and martial arts prowess.
During an exclusive interview with Mantan Web, Sakura-San recalled a moment when she could not match her character’s “power” and started feeling dizzy because she had run out of breath.
She said,
After laughing out loud, I ran out of oxygen and felt dizzy for a long time. I thought it must be very difficult to perform this every time. It’s been a very valuable experience. I was reminded once again that Kodachi really does have a lot of power, and that Shimazu, who has been walking alongside Kodachi for so long, must be a very powerful person.
Even though she can overcome the physical challenge of the show, what made her extremely nervous was that she was not only voicing the character Kodachi Kuno but also competing with Saeko Shimazu, who had voiced the same character in the original series.
Ayane Sakura on Contending With The Legacy For Kodachi Kuno
The 1989 series was a massive hit, where Kodachi’s original voice actor Saeko Shimazu played a major role in balancing out the character and her outlandish yet elegant side of the character. However, knowing all these things and then voicing the same character in the remake was not easy for Ayane Sakura.
In the same interview with Mantan Web, she praised Shimazu-San for her voice range and how she did an outstanding job, which looked as if she was living in the shoes of the character, and it was something that couldn’t be “imitated.” She said,
I listened to Shimazu-san’s voice a lot and incorporated my admiration for his voice into my own. The emotions that are carried in it are something that can never be imitated, the emotions that Shimazu-san puts into it are Shimazu-san’s, and the emotions that I put into it inevitably become my own, so I tried to make that my originality.
She further added how she was actively trying to not create a sound that would not cause “stress” to the lovers of the original character.
Other than that, I was very conscious of creating a sound that would not cause stress to those who love Shimazu-san’s Kodachi. However, since I have a distinctive voice quality, I felt a little frustrated when I couldn’t kill off the parts of my individuality even though I tried. On the day of the recording, I went in with the intention of laughing as loudly as I could in a voice that would not lose to my seniors (laughs).
The actress emphasized how she would give it all in voicing and would even attempt to overcome the shortcomings of her character so that she’d resonate with the essence of the original character. Thus, leaving a lasting legacy of the memorable character.
Ranma 1/2 (1989) can be streamed on Hulu, and Ranma 1/2 (2024) can be streamed on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
