Aside from having a short chat with Belldandy, I was able to talk with a name in the Anime localization industry — Hero TV’s Dubbing Director Pinky Rebucas. Pinky has been in the voice acting industry since 1998, and her voice has been in a lot of series. I was supposed to ask this while they were on stage but unfortunately due to time constraints they had to cut the interaction segment out of the segment.
Here’s a transliterated transcript of the short chat I had with her.
Jay: What made you a dubbing director?
Pinky Rebucas: At first, of course, experience. Way, way back 1998, I dub in any series, Korean series, cartoons, even until Anime came; so, experience.
I also do the script and handle the voice actors especially if we are only with ourselves inside the booth. It is experience that shaped me to be a dubbing director.
Jay: What was your most memorable experience when it comes to Anime?
PR: Actually, the scenes. Knowing Anime, you feel clueless when there are a lot of scenes, so it’s shocking because at times you will ask “wait a moment,” and something like that, so that’s a bit challenging and something I can’t forget since I’m doing cartoons, Korean series, etc… and the character designs are cute; and the story itself — there’s something different in the stories of Anime series.
Jay: What is the most memorable scenes in an Anime series that you directed in your stint as a dubbing director so far?
PR: When I’m doing [the Hero TV broadcast of] Code Geass.
It feels memorable since the source material has a different catch — it surprised me on what power Lelouch Lamperouge has compared to the cute-type or love stories that I’ve handled. Also, Kyou Kara Maou. It has a bit of a man-to-man relationship that appears in the series.
Jay: Let’s move on to the challenges that you face as a dubbing director for Anime series. What was so far the biggest criticism that you have ever received?
PR: To be honest, none so far.
Jay: Thank goodness, thank goodness.
PR: Yes, none so far, so I’m happy that fans love the Anime series itself and they liked how we localized it to Filipino, and I’m so happy for that.
Jay: Moving back to Code Geass, would that be also the most difficult or challenging role that you did?
PR: Ah, there are different levels of difficulty so I can’t answer if that was the most difficult or what, but casting, yes. Code Geass has lots of characters, and there are times that all of them speak simultaneously.
Compared to [my direction of] My Bride is a Mermaid that everyone speaks but it’s for fun; the story is fun, Code Geass is serious, so we have a marker full of the lines, the terms used; so thinking [of a way to deliver it] is necessary.
\I have a Japanese translator with me to explain that this is it, this is what that character is supposed to say, and that should sync in [with the animation], and I have to come up with a good argument [dialogue] for that.
Jay: So far, what’s the latest series that you have?
PR: Right now, I’m doing Kyou Kara Maou Season 3, and please do wait for [a localized] Code Geass movie [OVA to be aired soon].
Jay: In your voice acting side, do you have any roles that you are doing right now?
PR: Yes, I have. i also dub for Kyou Kara Maou as Ulric, and I just finished dubbing a lot of characters… [*checks list*] so I have Misaka from To Aru Kagaku no Railgun —
Jay: Misaka Mikoto, yes, good, …
PR: Then on Code Geass, I dubbed Nunnally and Cornelia, which will be on the OVA, […] and also, Date A Live’s Yoshino.
Jay: Yoshino, not Yoshinon.
PR: Yes [Yoshino]; no, no [not Yoshinon].
If you want to know more about Pinky’s roles, you can check her Anime News Network Encyclopedia entry.
This post is part of the Fantasm 2014 coverage that Deremoe did when it was pretty much alive and kicking.