April 19, 2007
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A Japanese Tail of an Actress
I would like to refer everyone over to this lovely article on the voice actress Hirano Aya (or, Aya Hirano- in Japan they put the last name first, so her first name is Aya). It is a beautiful biography with pictures and even some links (a few dead ended, sadly, probably due to the INTENSE control Japanese agencies/companies do to keep publicity of their stars a certain way. If it came out that, say, a star had a drug problem- in America, it might even help them. In Japan, their career would be over forever) about this voice actress and her rise to fame.
A recent rise, due primarily to a wonderful anime (Japanese cartoon) called The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It’s a creative, fresh, mature, insightful anime that can be viewed in different orders and still make sense. They actually mix up the timeline so that the first episode happens later on in the timeline than the second, and ocassionally skip around. The first episode is an ‘anime within an anime’- only you don’t necessarily find that out for sure until the end of the anime, though someone who is insightful would probably pick up on it very quickly.
This voice actress plays the main female character, and she does an incredible job of it (sadly, when it comes to America those who never listen to the original Japanese with subtitles will never hear her)- she is one of those actresses with an incredible high, nasel voice that American women rarely ever have (a partly cultural thing, too).
So for a unique cultural experience, I encourage you to take a look and enjoy.
Note: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has not yet been released in the USA, I saw it prior to it being liscenced. I encourage you to try renting it (or buying it even) when it comes out in the United States. When you do, DO watch it in its original Japanese with English subtitles.
-Patrick