“If you're a fan of anime, you've certainly heard this voice.” It's a common introduction for established voice actors, but rarely more apropos than for Monica Rial.







In her almost two decades in the industry, she has voiced characters in over 450 anime, eclipsing everyone else in her field. An incredibly small sampling of her work includes Stocking in “Panty and Stocking,” Bluma in “Dragon Ball Z Kai” and “Dragon Ball Super,” Froppy in “My Hero Academia,” Hyatt in “Excel Saga,” May Chang in “Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood” and Sakura in “Reservoir Chronicle Tsubasa” and “Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc.”







Rial will be a guest at Tekko from April 6-8 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.







The Swerve Magazine: Requisite first question: How did you get involved in voice acting?







Monica Rial: It was a happy accident! I was a successful stage actor in Houston and a colleague of mine, Jason Douglas, mentioned that he was working for an anime company called ADV. He suggested I audition and gave me their contact info. I called, and that weekend I auditioned for ADV and began my anime career.



SM: Do you have any particular process for when taking on new characters?







MR: I try to research a new character before I step into the booth. If the first episode is available, I’ll watch it to get a feel for the character and the show. Once I’m in the booth, I refer to the Japanese seiyuu and the director for tone and pitch. Then I do my best to stay true to the character’s intent and go along for the ride.



SM: What characters have been the most challenging for you, and why?





MR: Kikira Yumura in “Noir” was one of the most challenging characters I’ve ever played. It was early on in my career, so I was still figuring out this whole “voice acting” thing. Not only that, but Kirka was very soft spoken and I had to convey a multitude of emotions with very few words. It was challenging, and yet, incredibly rewarding.





SM: When you take over a role, such as Bulma in “Dragon Ball,” that has had prior English dubbing, does that affect how you approach the character or influence your performance?





MR: Most definitely. In Bulma’s case, I wanted to make the transition as easy as possible for everyone involved. When I started Kai, I did my best to pay homage to the Bulmas who came before me. As the show progressed, I slowly started to make Bulma my own. Then with the movies and Super, I finally felt like I could give my own performance.





SM: You have been and are a part of some of the most popular anime series around. What are some series that you have worked on that you wish had found a wider audience?





MR: I absolutely love “The Saga of Tanya the Evil.” It’s such a good show! The second episode has what might be the coolest anime scene ever. Anime fans are starting to notice the show, and that makes me really happy. There are quite a few amazing shows out there that never caught on with the fandom. Then there are horrible shows that fans love. You just never know how it’s going to work out.





SM: You have performed a wildly diverse selection of characters over your career. What aspects of the roles written for females in anime do you feel are the strongest? Are there aspects or trends you see as troubling?



You have performed a wildly diverse selection of characters over your career. What aspects of the roles written for females in anime do you feel are the strongest? Are there aspects or trends you see as troubling?

MR: I enjoy the strong female characters in anime. From Bulma to Michiko to Yona, I’ve been lucky enough to play some of the strongest ladies around. I love that these characters are so multi-faceted and such an integral part of the story. I’m not a huge fan of the harem genre. If there’s a good story behind it and the characters are well thought out and three dimensional I can look past some of the questionable stuff. However, when that’s not the case, and the shows are derogatory toward women… no, thank you.





SM: You are an experienced ADR scriptwriter. How did you get involved in that aspect of the industry?





MR: When David Williams was directing “DN Angel” at ADVFilms, the scripts weren’t so great. I have been a writer for years, and I thought I’d like to try my hand at adapting. I offered to take over the “DN Angel” scriptwriting duties as long as David would give me feedback. I learned a lot on that show, and I’ve been writing ever since.





SM: Your script writing spans multiple genres, are certain types of scripts more challenging to adapt for American audiences?





MR: Shows like “Ouran High School Host Club” that have a ton of Japanese references are the most difficult. Sometimes it’s hard to find an English equivalent for the humor. I’ve also found shows that are set in different universes, like “Utawarerumono,” are challenging as well because you’re responsible for building that world.





SM: You were a guest at the first Tekko, and the upcoming show will have well over 10 times as many attendees. What has it been like for you to see the anime convention scene expand, both in the number of cities hosting shows, and the size of the events?







MR: It’s been crazy to watch how much it’s blown up over the last few years. It used to be that there was one big convention a month but now there are several every weekend. It’s amazing that the fandom has grown so much so quickly. It’s great that no matter how big the events get, the anime community stays friendly and welcoming.