Crunchyroll/Instagram: Nostalgia Con HoustonIn 2007, Maile Flanagan and Junko Takeuchi made their debuts as Naruto Uzumaki in the anime series. Almost 20 years later, they met in person for the first time.
Flanagan and Takeuchi have voiced the titular character since the anime premiered, reprising their roles in Naruto: Shippuden and films like 2004’s Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow and 2015’s Boruto: Naruto the Movie.
The two stars appeared at Nostalgia Con Houston on August 22, taking photos together and answering all sorts of questions as part of a panel. “You guys, this is the first time I’ve ever met her, like an hour ago,” Flanagan told the audience, adding: “I’m fangirling right now.”
While reminiscing about their years voicing Naruto, Flanagan confessed there’s a part of the show she’d like to re-record.
Naruto voice actor wants to redo the first 10 episodes
During the panel, Flanagan was asked to pick a scene from Naruto that particularly resonated with her. “I mean, I would like to redo the first 10 episodes,” she said.
“I think that with any good show, you’ve got to get into it and start rolling with it. Every once in a while, I’ll listen to a couple of those beginning episodes and I’m like, ‘I wish I’d done that a little different.’ But it is what it is.”
Takeuchi agreed with her dubbed counterpart. “There are a couple of scenes that I would like to re-record as well. Those are the two fights between Naruto and Sasuke… those two scenes are most memorable and the most impactful,” she said, admitting that “the energy that’s required to record those is incredible, so I’m not really sure if I can actually do it.”
Flanagan also revealed her favorite Naruto film: The Last. “I thought it was the best movie, actually,” she said.
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Earlier in the panel, Takeuchi revealed that Naruto was originally meant to be voiced by a male actor. “But the male voices didn’t really fit the actual characters,” she explained.
“So, then they decided to invite female actors… but the day of my audition, my throat was a mess, and the producers all gave me some chocolate milk and gave me something good for my throat.
“But, even then, I got the role… it turns out that the actual person was [Masashi Kishimoto], the writer of Naruto.”
You can watch Flanagan and Takeuchi’s full panel below:
Reacting to a photo of the actors together, one user wrote: “Great women who shape generations.”
“I love them both. One of the few shows where I love the dub cast just as much as the sub cast,” another posted. “Thank you ladies for making our childhood great with your performances,” a third wrote.
In the meantime, check out our list of the best shonen anime like One Piece and our list of the best anime movies of all time.