Sac Comic Con hosted a Bleach panel this past Saturday, one of the only anime panels of the weekend. Bleach voice actors Johnny Yong Bosch (Ichigo Kurosaki), Michelle Ruff (Rukia Kuchiki), David Vincent (Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez) and Wally Wingert (Renji Abarai) joined the stage for a fan-lead Q&A.
Bleach Panel at Sac Comic Con
The panel was filled with fun questions about the series. One fan asked, “Out of all the characters you play, if your own characters were in a battle royale, who would win?”
“I would’ve said before Thousand Year Blood War, if Sinon (Sword Art Online), Yoko (Gurren Lagann) and Rukia were in a fight, I feel like Sinon might take it,” Ruff said. “But after Thousand Year Blood War with Rukia’s Bankai, she freezes everything. So that’s like game over.”
“I think it would be a toss-up between Marshall Law (Tekken) and Grimmjow,” Vincent said. “I think that Grimmjow would take out Gilgamesh (Fate/Zero). It would be a tough fight.”
Many fans were curious about what the audition was like for their roles on Bleach. Bosch recalled his audition for Kurosaki and how it was a bit of a struggle.
“When I went in, I was thinking okay, he’s like a street punk kid,” Bosch said. “But then I was told to not do that, and make him sound friendly and kind.”
Bosch said he did what felt right but was told during his callback that he sounded too nice and needed to find a balance between nice and tough.
The Art of Voice Acting
While most of the Bleach panel consisted of discussing the series, many fans were curious about the art of voice acting. The actors talked about their different backgrounds that led them to anime voice acting. Bosch was an on-screen actor in Power Rangers. Wingert was a radio DJ. Vincent did theater in college and later comedy in New York.
Ruff encouraged improv and cold reading as a way to practice voice acting, and Bosch noted that voice actors don’t get the script before the dubbing session. Wingert emphasized that to get into voice acting, one needs to be an actor first.
“Some of the dubbers that I know are some of the finest actors I know,” Wingert said. “Because (dubbing) is like jogging with weights on your ankles. You’re so restricted by the lip flaps, staying in voice and character, your acting has to be good. You have so many limitations.”
About Bleach
Bleach follows Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student who can see ghosts. One day, he and his sisters are attacked by Hollow, an evil spirit. Suddenly, a Shinigami named Rukia Kuchiki appears to save the day!
However, during the fight, she transfers her powers to Kurosaki due to an injury. With his newfound powers, Kurosaki must train as a Shinigami while saving the world from Hollows.
Watch Bleach on Hulu.
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