Kana Ichinose is one of the rising talents in the anime voice acting industry thanks to a string of major roles. In a recent interview, Ichinose reflected on her meteoric rise in popularity following her role as Suletta Mercury in Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.
Ichinose was interviewed by Nikkei xTREND recently. There, she explained her thoughts on playing Gundam’s first female protagonist, as well as her latest role in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
Suletta and Fern may be Ichinose’s most popular characters, but she actually got her start in the industry five years ago.
Kana Ichinose: A Rising Star in the Voice Acting Industry
Kana Ichinose is a voice actress who has quickly become one of the rising stars in anime. Unlike many VAs who start as minor characters, Ichinose’s career started a bit differently.
Her first anime role is Ichigo in Darling in the Franxx. As Ichigo is a major character in the series, it was quite surprising to see the staff go with a rookie VA.
Of course, Ichinose proved that she has the skill to voice major roles. In the following years, Ichinose was tapped to play characters such as Maki Shijo in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and Sayu Ogiwara in HigeHiro.
Ichinose’s popularity saw a major boost last year as she was cast as Suletta Mercury, the first-ever female protagonist in a mainline Mobile Suit Gundam anime.
She reprised the role in the anime’s second season, which aired in Spring 23. Soon after, Ichinose was cast as Fern, one of the main characters in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
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Ichinose Shares Her Reaction to Sudden Rise in Popularity Thanks to Gundam
In her interview, Ichinose was asked about what it felt like to experience a sudden boost in popularity after voicing such a historic character for Gundam.
Ichinose revealed that she felt a lot of pressure at first, but she did enjoy playing Suletta as she was able to immerse herself in the role despite its challenging nature.
Graciously, Ichinose also mentioned that the staff members who directed her during the voice recording sessions helped her out a lot in bringing Suletta to life.
As for her other characters, Ichinose remarked how different their personalities are. For instance, Suletta is introverted yet expressive while Fern is stoic and quiet.
When voicing characters like these, Ichinose said that she uses her imagination heavily to think about each character. She even goes the extra mile by practicing at home before going to the recording studio.
Ichinose will continue to play Fern in Frieren, which gets a new episode every week.
Meanwhile, there’s no word on whether The Witch from Mercury will get a third season.
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Source: Nikkei xTREND
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