This is part 4 of 5. For the full list of entries, click here.
**Contains major spoilers for the OVA series**
Toshio Furukawa (古川登志夫)
Role: Olivier Poplin
My manager told me, “An anime like a Taiga drama[1] is about to start,” and that’s how I encountered Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I like characters who speak at a light pace, like Poplin, so I was happy to be able to play him. I found out later that I received the offer to play the role because Yoshiki Tanaka had referred to Poplin as the “Ataru Moroboshi[2] of Iserlohn” in an afterword from the original books (laughs).
The recordings were always done together with the voice actors of the Free Planets Alliance, including Kei Tomiyama-san, Kazuhiko Inoue-san, Hirotaka Suzuoki-san (who played Konev), and Michio Hazama-san, and sometimes the narrator Yusaku Yara-san was there too. It was a very efficient job, as it was over in about 30 minutes after I was called in. I didn’t meet Ryo Horikawa-san and the voice actors from the Empire side much on this set.
I felt at ease with Inoue-san because we were friends who lived through the same era and knew each other well. At the time, he brought something like an early laptop to the set, and I bought one to copy him. He was a person at the forefront of the times. Suzuoki-chan and I worked together on Mobile Suit Gundam and in a band of male voice actors called “Slapstick,” so we were close friends in real life, rather than just work colleagues. We had a lot of crazy conversations back then that I can’t talk about here (laughs). Actually, Hazama-san is the one who started this band. We released 15 albums and Hazama-san also produced the album jacket photos (laughs). Although he was a great senpai voice actor, he was very kind, and he allowed me to visit his house and took care of me a lot. He said that he wasn’t used to anime much when he was working on Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but I think he was joking. The senpais who were one generation older than us were all perfect actors. Even though he only messed up a little, he said, “Anime is difficult,” which made everyone laugh (laughs). Because of things like that, the atmosphere at the Alliance Forces’ dubbing recording site was truly “foppery and whim.”[3]
I think there are a lot of younger voice actors who respect Tomiyama-san, and I certainly do too. You could say I’m just a big fan of his. When I look at photos from back then, I’m imitating Tomiyama-san, wearing the same clothes and glasses (laughs). I’ve admired him ever since I watched Space Battleship Yamato (in which Tomiyama played the main character Kodai). He never acted superior. He referred to me respectfully as “Furukawa-san,” despite me being his junior, and because of that, I try to refer to my juniors with “-san” as much as possible.
He was a very kind person and took great care of his juniors. Even when we made a mistake, he would gently say, “It’s okay,” or, “Your last performance was good, so just keep at it,” and ease our tension. Also, when we were featured in a newspaper or magazine, he would bring the article to me and say, “There was an article about you, Furukawa-san.” He had great human qualities, and we were the generation that was greatly influenced by him. When we got together for drinks, we often talked about how “When we become senpais, let’s be like Tomiyama-san.” And yet, he never gave any advice. Since the director was on-site, I think he assumed he shouldn’t be too involved. He was someone who was considerate of small details like that.
His acting was so amazing that I feel bad to merely label him as a “skilled actor”. I desperately tried to find a way to steal his unique, witty and rhythmic way of speaking. He spoke so smoothly and at such a fast pace, and yet he matched it perfectly without a single mistake. He was a genius. All the senpais from that era were wonderful, but I especially remember trying hard to imitate Tomiyama-san, as my voice is a little similar to his. It was more like I was “watching his back” than being taught directly. When thinking of the names of my respected seniors, I always include Tomiyama-san. He passed away so soon that I couldn’t believe it. At the time, there was an event where episode 82, the one where Yang dies, was screened, and I attended as a fan and cried while watching it in the audience. Yang and Tomiyama-san are really similar.
I’ve been a voice actor for a long time now, and some of the works I’ve appeared in have been called monumental ones that represent Japanese anime, and I think Legend of the Galactic Heroes is definitely among them. And although Poplin is a supporting character, he’s one that I want to put forth as one of my representative characters. I’m very happy that such an important work has been reborn in 4K and can be seen by many more people. I think it’s a work that the whole world can enjoy, and I’m grateful that I was able to be involved in it.
From ancient times to the present, human beings have been unable to put an end to the foolish act of killing each other. I think this work raises the issue of why this may be, and in that sense, I think it has a universal theme that can be applied to any era.
PROFILE
Toshio Furukawa. Born July 16th. His major animation roles include Mobile Suit Gundam (Kai Shiden), Urusei Yatsura (Ataru Moroboshi), Dragon Ball (Piccolo), Mobile Police Patlabor (Asuma Shinohara), and ONE PIECE (Portgas D. Ace), among others.
Translator Notes
- A “Taiga drama” is the name NHK uses for the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan
- Ataru Moroboshi is the main protagonist of Urusei Yatsura, who Toshio Furukawa voiced in the 1981 anime adaptation
- This is a reference to a phrase Dusty Attenborough says, 伊達と酔狂 [date to sukiyō]. I went with the translation used in the LD subs
