Blurb:

Patrick Seitz is a veteran voice actor in the anime industry. He has an extensive resume that includes voice work for shows like Koi Kaze, Texhnolyze, The Melody of Oblivion and Rumiko Takahashi Anthology. Just like other voice talent in the industry, Patrick has stepped out of the recording booth into the role of ADR director as well. He worked as an ADR director on Kamichu!; which happens to be one of the strongest dubs I heard last year. Most recently, he played one of the leads in Paradise Kiss. Patrick was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about his work on the TV series.


Interview:

FFOmake: The character you played in Paradise Kiss, George, is one of the most unique characters I have encountered in any anime for that matter. George is a playboy with a penchant for the designer clothes and women. He is egotistical, arrogant and has a boat load of swagger. But for some god damn reason I found his character so refreshing and appealing. Can you please share some of your thoughts and impressions on George?

Patrick Seitz:
I know what you mean--he is a charmer. I think that a lot of his appeal--and a lot of what drives folks nuts about him half the time--is that he speaks his mind, no matter how tactless or hurtful it might be. Be that as it may, at least with George you know he's not pulling any punches or not being honest with you. It makes for some teeth-grinding moments, but for those around him (and for the viewer), I think his tender/kind moments resonate all the more strongly because it's coming from that same honest place.

FFOmake: I thought you nailed George’s character spot on. Your performance was exceptional. How did you approach voicing George’s character? Was voicing him a different experience than your work with other anime characters you have played?

Patrick Seitz:
First off, thanks for the kind words! Well, I don't often get the chance to voice teenage characters, so that was a definite change of pace. Usually it's villains and enigmatic hero-types for me. Luckily, George's original Japanese voice was pretty low, too, so I didn't have to try and pitch myself into totally uncharted laryngeal waters, so to speak.

One challenge I kept encountering was that of not making him smarmy. George is so self-assured in what he's saying, usually, so the dub director (the awesome Stephanie Sheh) would rein me in if the combo of the words and my tone laid it on too thick.

Also, I apparently have a certain sort of lilt native to my speaking voice that was coming across as smarm (with George, at least) that Steph was ruthless--and rightly so--in ironing out. It sounds like empty flattery, but whatever justice I did George is thanks to Steph guiding me across the tightrope.

FFOmake: Paradise Kiss is a mature adolescent drama that at its core deals with the heroine, Yukari trying to find her identity and place in the world. I found that Paradise Kiss had a story that presented such a realistic interpretation of human drama, I found myself in awe of some of the things I was seeing on screen. How did you view Yukari’s and George’s relationship? Because theirs was definitely a dysfunctional one.

Patrick Seitz:
If nothing else, dysfunctional relationships make for good theater! And all relationships are dysfunctional, to greater or lesser degrees--especially at that age. I don't think they would have made for a great match in the long-term, what with his inability to pick one person and stick with them and her being right on the cusp of a period of self-discovery, but I think they were good for each other while they lasted. And there's something to be said for that. Just because they didn't end up together doesn't mean you should toss out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. Also, you're more likely to learn something about the world or about yourself (even if it's nothing more profound than, "Geez, Self...that was idiotic. Don't do that again.") during the rocky stretches than when everything is smooth sailing.

FFOmake: Visually, Paradise Kiss was pure eye candy. The use of live photography in the animation and the fact that real fashion designers worked in tandem with the animation staff to create unique clothing from scratch for the characters, are just a couple of elements that made Paradise Kiss such a unique and special anime. How did you find the animation style in Paradise Kiss? Did it have an impact on you?

Patrick Seitz:
The character designs definitely fit the theme of the show, that's for sure; everybody tended towards tall and lithe, which I suppose is the ideal frame on which to showcase an outfit (or so real-world designers and models would have us believe). It's only really now--after the fact, when the show has been totally dubbed and I can watch it in a non-dubbing context--that I'm getting the chance to appreciate the artwork and the animation totally. When I'm in the recording booth, the question of how a show's animators is presenting the characters' lip-flaps is my main focus!

FFOmake: Can you recall any memorable moments during any of the recording sessions for Paradise Kiss? Like bloopers, slip ups or like a misunderstanding between you and the director.

Patrick Seitz:
Early on in the recording process, when I hadn't spent quite as much time in George's head yet, we discovered through my goofing around that if I tacked on some sort of rude little post-script to whatever line I was saying to Yukari in a scene, the actual line would more often than not have the right amount of edge to it (and then we'd just chop off the extra little insult at the end).

The only big misunderstanding was nothing terrible or problematic, but I keep bringing it up when asked because I like to give Steph a hard time. She and I voiced the leads in "Koi Kaze" a few years ago, a series about a brother-sister pair that is reunited after having spent most of their life apart, and what happens when the brother (the 27-year-old Koshiro) falls in love with the much younger sister (Nanoka). "Koi Kaze" is a pretty intense show, and at one point I had to record...well..."self-pleasuring sounds," shall we say?

So when we came in to work on "Paradise Kiss" one afternoon and I saw in the script that there was a sex scene coming up, I asked Steph if I'd have to make scandalous sounds for this show, too, and she assured me up and down that no sounds would be needed. Lo and behold, we get to the scene in question and George and Yukari are having a damn play-by-play conversation! No sounds were needed, so Steph was technically right, but I still grouse that she took my question far too literally. Hopefully, I'll have my revenge the next time I direct her in something...!

FFOmake: What was your reaction when you heard that a Franz Ferdinand song was the ending theme to Paradise Kiss?

Patrick Seitz:
To be honest, I wasn't terribly familiar with their music before I came in to work on "Paradise Kiss"--and I'm no expert now, either. But I think the use of "Do You Want To" is a really effective way to end each episode. It has an infectious energy to it that rolls you along...hopefully right into the next episode! And having it play underneath the last little bit of Yukari's off-screen narration at the end of the episodes makes for a pretty seamless transition. The song, and the funky end-credits animation that goes along with it, are both good fits for the show (which doesn't always happen).


Parting Words:

I would like to thank Patrick Seitz for taking the time out of his busy schedule, to do this interview. Paradise Kiss volumes 1-3 are all now available on DVD from Geneon Entertainment. Patrick will be attending the Anime North convention in Toronto, Canada which is being held from May 25-27. Please check out the links I have provided for more information on Patrick Seitz, sayonara!


Patrick Seitz Voice Over Demo:


Official Website: Patrick Seitz
Crystal Acids: Database of his work
Geneon Entertainment: Paradise Kiss

Interview conducted by: A-run Chey


Paradise Kiss DVD available at:



- May 18, 2007





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