To help celebrate Naruto’s twentieth anniversary, Crunchyroll is taking the opportunity to interview actors, celebrities, and more when it comes to the ninja Shonen franchise. With its latest chat, Naruto’s English voice actor, Maile Flanagan, took the opportunity to discuss her decades-long history with the character, revealing which moment she recorded so far brought tears to her eyes, as well as other moments that became memorable for her.
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Flanagan went into details when it came to which episode of Naruto she found the most tear-jerking, having suffered an event in her personal life that made the moment hit her that much harder and brought tears to her eyes in the process of recording the voice of Konoha’s Seventh Hokage:
“I have said this often at conventions, but when Naruto gets to see his parents again. Around that season, I had lost my mother shortly before I recorded when he talked to his mother. It was very hard to record that episode. I had been with her and came back to LA. Then around that time, I had to record those episodes. That was so moving. The episode I think turned out really great. It’s raw and real. I’m gonna tell you something: we never phone it in on Naruto.”
Maile also went into detail when it came to the episodes and moments that she revisits throughout the series, as she continues voicing the role of Naruto as an adult during the events of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations:
“Of course, there are so many. I’ll start with the first fight with Sasuke. I have to revisit that constantly for flashbacks. The Chunin Exams has a special place in my heart. The fight with Gaara on the sand I thought was amazing. I think we did a good job and I thought Liam O’Brien who played Gaara did an exceptional job. And we don’t record together. So I really am very aware of what he did in that episode, which was fantastic. The introduction of Sai. Just a freak, weird and crazy. Ben Diskin did it perfectly, like you know, golden boy Ben Diskin. And then I like the Pain arc.”
What moment from Naruto do you consider to be the saddest in the Shonen’s history? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Hidden Leaf Village.
