ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2024 is sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!
Image via Anime NYCLegendary voice actress Chiwa Saito stepped out to cheers and applause on Friday afternoon in front of an eager crowd that had lined up to hear her talk about her life and experiences. She has played some notable roles, including Yona in Yona of the Dawn, Hitagi Senjougahara in the Monogatari series, Tamamo-no-Mae in Fate/Grand Order, and of course Homura Akemi in Puella Magi Madoka Magica. She skipped a Madoka event in Japan to attend Anime NYC.
A mother of three, she travels frequently with her children and took her seven-year-old son to New York. She later joked that her husband would say to her, “I can’t handle three kids by myself! You need to take one of them with you!” When asked how she felt about her trip to New York so far, she jokingly remarked that they tried to go sightseeing yesterday but only left the hotel for about three minutes before her son asked to go back to take a shower. She added that they plan to see more sights over the weekend and hope to sample some of the quintessential “New York” cuisine. “We just ordered gyudon on Uber Eats last night,” she laughed, adding that her son loves Japanese food.
With all of Saito's stories about her children, it's fitting that she's taken on so many motherly roles these days. When asked about this, she revealed that in fact in Japan, many lead roles tend to go to younger, more junior actors, not only because they have the physicality and vitality needed for a main character, but also because it allows them to have more seasoned veterans to mentor the younger actors. “Those with more experience would play supporting roles so that we could support each other and support the younger actors. Now that I'm older, I'm happy to play these roles and support others.”
Another way more experienced actors help their protégés is by showing them the ropes of the microphone, which Saito describes as part of the recording process where characters have to know when to grab a shared mic. Unlike voice acting in the US, which is mostly recorded individually, actors in Japan tend to record in groups to interact with each other. This practice was disrupted during COVID when recording sessions were switched to individual actors. Things have largely returned to how they were before. However, Saito says the transition has been difficult for actors who debuted during the pandemic and whose only recording experience was doing lines alone.
“Some people are not used to sharing mics, so it was difficult at first, but it’s easier now. When I first started, I learned how to use the mic from my senpais. I watched how they placed their mics and how they acted. That’s how I learned how to share the mic.” She laughed as she recalled being scolded. “If I made a mistake and used someone else’s mic, one of the mean senpais would click his tongue.” Here, she made a “tsk” sound. “I was scared, but now everyone is nicer. People are not strict anymore.”
As for how young actors can use the mic to their advantage, Saito says she likes to use the mic position. “If there are multiple mics in front of us when I’m acting out a conversation with someone on the right, I’ll hold my script on the right so I can look at the person next to me and make eye contact. That way, I can have a real conversation with them. Same with the person on the left. This is my secret tip, but it’s important to me that I can share it with people who are just starting out in their voice acting careers. to see their acting change. Usually, there’s a screen in front of me with animations. But when I make eye contact with the person next to me, we can all see the acting change. I learned this from myself. senpai. It makes the product better.” Saito adds that while there are voice acting schools, she thinks the most important lesson is just experience. “Get the job, do the job, be aware of your surroundings. You are working with people, so communication is important.”
When asked how she prepares for new roles, Saito said that she reads manga or source material to get an idea of who the character will be. However, she revealed that she doesn't always do this. When she first started acting, she would blindly go into roles because she didn't want to spoil the story, especially if it was a long film with a lot of dialogue. “Let's say a character is going to die at the end of the film. If I knew that from the beginning, it would give me the feeling that maybe I need to be more careful in my acting,” she explained. “It would change the way I act.” Now that she's taking on more supporting roles, she feels more confident in reading source material for inspiration.
Saito was also asked to share some of her favorite anime or manga. She said that when she started her career, she didn't watch much anime or read manga, but one of her favorite memories was meeting the voice actress for Goku from Dragon Ball, Masako Nozawa. “I told her that Goku was my first love,” Saito laughed. “When she heard that, she was so warm. She said—.” At this point Saito stood up and took a deep breath. “—kaaaamehaaaameha! That's the most memorable thing.” She laughed again and said, “I also have a two-year-old son. The anime I'm watching right now is Paw Patrol.”
Speaking more about her family, she said her kids don't know what she does for a living, even though they've seen the movies she's been in. She said their current favorite show is Transformers: Earthspark, but they don't know she plays the character Twitch in the Japanese dub. “I used to ask them, 'Hey, what do you think of Twitch?' only for them to say, 'Eh, Twitch's too loud. I don't like her.'” She joked that she got her hopes up when each of them asked for a Transformers: Earthspark toy for Christmas. “I thought, 'Yeah! They're going to ask for Twitch!' They all asked for Bumblebee.” She laughed and said that their house currently has three Bumblebees and only one Twitch, which she bought for herself. “Now, when they play at home, all three Bumblebees attack Twitch.”
Saito read a few lines from some of her most iconic roles to close out the discussion. She started with Yona from Yona of the Dawn, followed by Boudica from Fate/Grand Order, but her next character got the biggest cheers from the audience—Tamamo-no-mae from Fate/Grand Order. Following that reading was Hitagi Senjougahara from the Monogatari series, ending with Homura Akemi from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. She even did multiple versions of some of the characters, showing off her impressive range. It was surreal to hear Saito bring these characters to life before everyone's eyes. Judging from the applause and cheers from the audience, it seemed like the entire audience felt the same way.
