T-ONO: What brought you into the voice acting industry?
Nobutoshi Canna: I first started out doing acting for movies and tv at the age of three. I actually wanted to become an actor. I did not see myself pursuing voice acting as a career; however, when I was in middle school, the president of the company I was working for asked me what I would like to do for my future. I told him I would like to act. The president told me, "Well you need to study because if you want to become an actor, you're going to need to learn to read scripts. If you are not able to read them correctly, you won't be a good actor."
I ended up putting my acting career on hold, and went to school to study. The company I was previously working with did let me know I can come back anytime, but I ended up not returning. After graduating, I went to see a play featuring Toshio Furukawa-san, another voice actor who had a Gekidan - also known as a theater group called Seitou and they were hosting auditions. After auditioning, I was able to join the group. After being in Seitou for a while, I auditioned for another group called Aoni Production. I did not do any research about the group prior to signing up for the audition, I just wanted to try.
I was chosen to join Aoni and they had me dubbing a wide array of TV shows. After about 6 months, I realized that Aoni was a voice acting group, instead of an acting group.
I was thinking of quitting; however, I decided to stay on and for the experience. My goal was to stay for at least three years and then see where I could go after that. I ended up staying with the group, which is where I am at now.
T-ONO: That is quite an interesting story!
Canna: I am quite satisfied with my career choice. I have no regrets.
T-ONO: You have been voice acting for a long time. Have you felt that your voice has changed over time since your first role, compared to your most recent one? Do you have to adjust your voice in any specific way depending on what the role is?
Canna: In the Aoni group there are a lot of people who are like Superman, who do not change their voices. However, when we get older, our voices do start to change. When you are younger there are only a limited amount of characters that you are allowed to portray. Currently, I am not doing anything special to change my voice. I do sometimes change my voice to sound a bit younger when the role is for a younger character or when it’s the remake for an older series, but I think it’s fine if it’s not done perfectly, as adding the experience I currently have, can sometimes make it even better.
T-ONO: Did you have a favorite anime that you are currently working on? Could you share a fun story that has happened behind the scenes?
Canna: I love all the anime I work in, so it is really hard to choose. If I had to choose just one, it would be Kikou Keisatsu Metal Jack which was actually my first role staring the main character. It was actually a very specialized job for a voice acting role. I had to watch the TV and make my voice match with the characters on screen. People nowadays go to a special school to train for years to be able to perform like this. I didn't actually do any special training, so it was very difficult for me to progress. My senpai found me in a parking lot crying and asked, "Why are you crying?", in a teasing manner to cheer me up.
T-ONO: Did you learn anything from that experience?
Canna: One of the directors who did voice acting and acting, Chiba Kouichi-san, passed away a couple of years ago. I feel like I learned the difficulty and enjoyment of portraying characters that openly display their feelings from him. The person who actually taught me acting was Furukawa Toshio-san. I would not be here or at FanimeCon today or working as a voice actor if it wasn’t for them.
T-ONO: People know you quite well as the character Lancer from the Fate series and it has been a recurring role for you. How has your approach to the character changed over time?
Canna: With the Fate series being just one anime with multiple routes to take, there's not really a different story each time. There is a setting for the character, but I do not make any change for each series. I will just follow the setting or directing of the character. There is; however, an anime called Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan, which revolves around the daily life of the characters, specifically cooking.
In that series, I tried to act out a version of Lancer who is living a normal life instead of existing in a world fighting over the Holy Grail. I don't get to decide how my character is portrayed, so I have to work the details out with the director and everyone on the team.
T-ONO: What are you're goals for your future career in voice acting. Do you have anything in mind?
Canna: When I dig deeper inside of my head, there are things I would like to do in the future; however, I want to live in the moment. I want to focus on what is going on currently. Right now I want to enjoy going to FanimeCon and meet all my fans at my panel and autograph sessions. I really want my fans to enjoy all my anime that I am featured in.
T-ONO: What is your impression of FanimeCon so far? Have you seen any interesting cosplay that may have caught your eye?
Canna: Even throughout America and Japan, I can see how everyone really enjoys cosplay and how much effort they put into making their costumes. I can definitely feel their love for the characters by bringing them to life. There are quite a lot of revealing costumes as well, so I don't exactly know where to look. I will maybe look at the sky or the ground or my managers face.
T-ONO: Safe!
Canna: "Laughs"
T-ONO: Lastly, do you have a message for your American audience who couldn't make it to FanimeCon this year?
Canna: I love to meet my fans all around the world and not just in Japan, who enjoy the anime I voiced in and I really appreciate it. I try to go to conventions as often as I can, so to all my fans out there, please come visit me next time I am at a convention.
