Anime Boston 2019: Tara Platt Talks With Anime Herald

Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald): You’ve played a wide variety of characters through your career, that run the gamut in tone and style. What would you say is your favorite genre to act in, and why?

Tara Platt: Ooh, that’s a tough one! I mean, I’m an actor, I like working, so, I guess… ah… which my favorite genre would be…? I tend to like adventure and wildly aesthetic things, but I don’t necessarily care if it’s comedic or dramatic. But I think that I have a little mor3e fun with comedy, so I would say that probably what I have more fun with is comedy things, just because I get to play more in it. Although, in Monster, if you’re familiar with Monster, I play Eva in Monster. And she is crazy, and drunk. And that’s serious, but it’s also really funny, because it’s ridiculous. Like, it’s really out there.

But then if you look at something like Persona, you have the series, and then you have a slew of video games, and each video game has a different style and a different aesthetic. Like, you have the Dance Dance versions, and then you have more serious versions, and so you get to take a character and play in a wild world and a wild range with that character. And so, there’s something really fun about getting to do that.

That said, getting to play a character like Temari over the course of… I mean, we’ve been doing that for ten years. It’s a serious scope and a serious arc, but it’s wild as an actor to get to go on a journey with a character for that length of time.

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): I wanted to talk about the legacy of Toonami. It’s been around for a long time, [and] your voice has been on it quite a few times. What does it meant to you that the block has been home for anime, stuff that you’ve worked on and people have gotten to listen to, and, like, the thousands of thousands of fans?

Tara Platt: Yeah! I think anywhere that you can have a home for people to sort of feel like they can access something or find something or find a community is really good. And so, places like Toonami really sort of help people congregate and realize that we’re not alone, and I think in the world that we live in, it’s very important to feel like you’re not alone, and to feel like there are people who like the same things you like and can appreciate things you enjoy, and also have a place to say “Oh, I really like this. This is also there. Maybe I can discover something.” Because I think part of the fun in life is discovering new things.

And so, when you have an aggregator of content that can give you a wide enough scope of material, not only can you come for the one thing, but you can stay for the rest. And I think that that can be really exciting, so I think it’s great!

Image Credit: Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald): You’ve worked on several levels of the industry now, both as an actor and also as the co-owner of a production company. Given this perspective, where do you see the industry today, and where do you see publishers turning to for growth in the future?

Tara Platt: The industry has obviously been [undergoing] massive changes in the last how long I’ve been in it, which has been probably about twenty years. Obviously, having technology shift and evolve affects the industry and how the industry is run, because it makes everything more easily accessible for content creators. So, you see the rise of YouTube, and the YouTube star, and how that sort of affects things. And the creation of Twitter, and social media, and Facebook, and Instagram. You have a whole different way of interacting with fans as an individual content creator and finding new content away from, like, what’s the old studio system.

I think it can be very exciting because I think it puts the power in the storyteller. And I think it’s nice to be able to have Joe Blow in his living room come up with something and have people immediately be able to discover it and find it online. That said, I think we’ve come to sort of almost an oversaturation of content. Because everybody can create content and everybody’s trying to create content and make it accessible, people don’t always know how to find that content. And I think we will continue to see the industry evolve to try to support that. Because I think it’s wonderful! If you and your friends want to hang out and make a new anime, or a movie, or create your own video game from scratch, or just do a blog about your peonies, you know, whatever that is, I think it’s awesome that you have the ability to do that, but then it’s also about how you connect the thing that you are creating: your passion, your excitement, your creativity, with someone who’s interested in it. Because I don’t think any creator wants to create in a vacuum, and I think it’s a matter of having the symbiotic relationship between creator and fan.

And how you get those fans to find the content is very tricky, which is why we gravitate to things like “Oh, Disney! I know what Disney is, I know what kind of content Disney is creating, I know that I’m a fan of their content. So, whenever the new Disney thing comes out, I’ll watch it.” It’s a matter of trying to make the smaller guys as important as the big fish. And, so, I think the industry will continue to evolve as it sort of levels itself back out, because content is so much easier to create as the creator. But also, it’s a matter of how do you get people to actually discover the things that are being created? And, so, we’re in a very sort of tumultuous time, but it’ also exciting to be a part of that.

Temari (Naruto Franchise)

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): How excited do you get whenever you have to record more lines for Temari?

Tara Platt: Oh, my goodness! (laughs)

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): She’s been on Toonami for so long! Naruto is continuing strong, and now we have Boruto, meaning that you get to do it more. How exciting is it that you get be with this character for as long as you have?

Tara Platt: It’s amazing! I mean, we’ve been recording the series for ten years. So, I think most series, when you book them, you find out. You’re like “Oh, it’s thirteen episodes”, or “it’s twenty-six episodes.” I mean, Naruto‘s been over seven hundred episodes. And then, we found out, as we got towards the end of Naruto, “Oh, there’s Boruto.” So, I remember being, like “it’s going to keep going?!” Um, I think it’s thrilling, it’s exciting. You love it when you get the phone call, but you’re also like, “really? This is still going?” There’s a part of you that’s a little, I don’t know, surprised and doubtful, I guess, that it could actually be going on, because it feels like it’s never-ending. But it’s also exciting to see what they are able to do with the characters, and what they’re able to do with the various story arcs.

And, you know, you can only tell so much of a story when you’ve got thirteen episodes. You can tell more of a story when you’ve got twenty-six. But suddenly, when you get to seven hundred, there’s also a lot of filler, because they’re like “I dunno what to do with these characters. We just gotta keep churning them out!” So, there’s a lot of stuff that you kind of don’t need, but you also get to take the characters on a really wild ride that you wouldn’t get to on a shorter series, so I think it’s great!

Washimi (Aggretsuko)

Samantha Ferreira: Through your career, you’ve been the voice of numerous fan favorites, including Temari and Aggretsuko’s Washimi, most recently. Of your roles, which do you feel has been the closest to yourself, and why?

Tara Platt: Which character has been the closest to myself… I can’t curse, can I? I wish I was as awesome as all of my female characters that I’ve gotten to voice. Things like Temari, they’re so powerful and they’re so confident, and I certainly don’t feel like that’s how I am as a human. I would like to be, but I think that they are- I mean, it’s like, I’m the “way-homer”, right? I’ll think of something clever to say two hours after I’ve talked to somebody. But my characters are, like, in the moment (snaps fingers). They’re like “yeah! we’re awesome,” and they know what to say. But they also have writers that get to write all that stuff. So, I wish I were as confident as those characters.

Um, who’s the closest to me? That is a really tough question! Because there’s obviously a part of you in every character you do. So, like, when you look at a Temari, she does have this strength, but she also has a perseverance, and that’s very similar to me. I’m like “OK, I’m just gonna make it happen!” So that is very similar to who I am as a person. I’m just not quite as strong and awesome as she is. And I guess the same would be true for Wonder Woman. And Washimi is just, like, she’s down to business, although she’s a little more snarky than I am. She’s clever-er than I am. So, yeah, I don’t know which character’s the closest to me. I’m sorry I don’t have a good answer for that one! (laughs)

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): Do you have a favorite moment with Temari, that you’re happy that the Toonami fans got to see unfold over a full episode, whether it be a fight, or a moment that you got to act that really resonated with you, especially considering how Naruto ran so long. Like, every character whether they be like the A-team of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, like Temari and her gang get time to shine as well.

Tara Platt: I think being able to watch the journey for Gaara and seeing where they took that character and see how that affected Temari. So, it wouldn’t be just one episode, but it would sorta be the sequence where Gaara, who’s sort of coming into his own. Because I think, as his sister, Temari had to come into her own as she sort of saw the process that he was going through. And for me, that was probably the most affecting in the series, just because it was so overwhelming.

And it was a little, you know, what’s great about the show is that it gives every audience member somebody that they can sort of attach to and we can all pick who our most interesting character is, and who we would want to follow the journey. But I thought it was really fascinating to see what happened with Gaara and how that affected Temari and how she became more open-hearted, kind of. She was a little closed off and kinda snarky as a teenager, and then she came into her womanhood, and she was like “no! I’m going to take care of things, and I’m going to support you, and I’m gonna be a little more open-minded and mature.”

I mean, she matured, basically, right? And it was her maturation and I thought that was a fun process.

Samantha Ferreira: As a veteran actor, what are your thoughts on the changing face of anime as it steps out of the subculture, into the realm of pop culture and the mainstream?

Agnes Joubert (Tiger & Bunny)

Tara Platt: Yeah! I think it’s super cool, and super exciting that anime is no longer just something you do behind closed doors that nobody else knows about. As I was saying earlier, when we were talking about sort of the changing industry, I think it’s emblematic of our society and what we’re doing. We’re trying to find things that we can connect with other people on, because I think maybe our technology also disconnects us.

And I think that one of the reasons that anime fans and anime conventions have become so popular and have grown and exploded over the last ten years, mostly, fifteen years, is because there’s this need to feel like we’re not in this alone. It’s a big, scary world we live in, and there’s a lot of stuff that’s overwhelming, and a lot of stuff that is confusing, and lot of stuff that’s scary.

And I think having anime become more popular, there’s a lot of love in anime, and there’s a lot of acceptance in anime, and a lot of, sort of community in anime. And I think that’s good for people. I think we all need coping mechanisms that we’re not born with inherently, and unless our parents have good coping mechanisms, we don’t get to learn them directly. And so, I think it gives a whole newer generation a way to start to connect and cope, which helps all of us get better, because the better each of us are, the better we all are. And, so, I think it’s great that it’s becoming more of a mainstream sort of-

Yuri Lowenthal: Even the Patriots have an anime club!

Tara Platt: That’s right! Even the Patriots have an anime club! Yeah, we got to meet some of the Patriots this morning, because they have an anime club! And they were very excited to learn that there was an Anime Boston convention going on. And they came because they were excited, and then we met them. And we were so excited to realize that, I mean, in a way, you’re like “Oh, you do football! Why would you care about this?” But everyone can like things together.

There doesn’t have to be a segregation of your, ah, what used to be a jock or a nerd or, like, we don’t have to fall into these shoebox categories. We can all sort of share and sort of, like, it’s like painting! You can sort of mix the colors! And why can’t you get off the palette a little? And I think that’s wonderful.

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): One show that I really enjoyed that got to air on Toonami, while it wasn’t the OVAs, it was Gundam Unicorn. I had never seen it before, so watching it on Toonami was my first experience to that show. You played such a pivotal character. I’m curious what it was like when you were kind of figuring out as you were recording, how Marida was really just, like, so important. She was this complex character

Tara Platt: Super complex.

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): With so many, like, different avenues about where she could go. So, I was curious about when you realized “oh my god!”

Tara Platt: So, when we recorded Gundam Unicorn, it was one of the first times they were doing a simultaneous record with Japan and the US, so they were actively still animating it. So, usually, when you’re doing a Japanese animation, anime, whatever that is, it’s usually already been dubbed and recorded and then you’re getting it, and you’re watching the clips, and you’re hearing them in Japanese, and then you’re sort of figuring it out. And the director already know is what’s happening, because they’ve already been able to see the entire show, and they’re telling you what’s happening.

These were happening simultaneously, so there was a little bit of, like, things wouldn’t be animated yet, there would just be sort of blocks moving around. They’re like “I think there’s a fight sequence, here!” And we’re like “OK!” So, it was a lot of Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh who were on the production team explaining to those of us who were working on it kind of what was going on while they were still talking. She would sometimes stop the session, and like, get on the horn with Japan, and be like, “I just want to clarify that we’re in the same boat because we want to know what’s happening.”

But they were great, and as the production team and director, they really sort of hounded and kept us in line. And I think we all sort of were like “great! We trust you! You just tell us what we need to do, and we will show up and make that happen!” But it was really exciting to be a part of that, and it was cool to not see it animated, to know that they were still animating it as we created it. So that was pretty cool!

Marida Cruz (Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn)

Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald): Are there any jobs where you showed up, the director gave you a set of instructions, and you were just, like, “this isn’t the job I was expecting at all!”

Tara Platt: (laughs) I don’t know! I’m trying to think! (pause) I don’t know! I think my job, as an actor, is to show up and do what the director says, for the most part, but also bring as much of my craft to it. I think the only time that really, I felt like I wasn’t doing what I needed to do was the time I got fired. And I think it was just that I wasn’t the right fit for the show. And I think we all, at some point, when you have a career, there’s gonna be a job you’re gonna lose out on and you’re gonna get fired, and it’s just gonna realize that it doesn’t quite… you’re a square peg and they need a round hole, or vice versa, and it just doesn’t quite work.

But I remember, Wendee Lee was directing, and she’s a great director, and we’ve worked together a number of times on a variety of other things. But I remember she would give me direction, and I’d be like “OK.” And then I would do it, and I could just tell that I wasn’t giving her what she wanted. And you try your best to deliver. You know, if you’re a chef, you want to make somebody happy with the meal. As an actor, you’re like “I’m giving you what I think you just asked for! No that’s not- you want macaroni and cheese. Let’s try it again! That’s still not the macaroni and cheese you want! Alright, we’re gonna try it again!”

And so, I remember being disheartened, myself, because I could tell that I wasn’t giving her what she wanted, but I didn’t know quite how to make it happen. So, I don’t know if there was anything where the director wasn’t giving me what I wanted, but I know I’ve not given the director what they wanted! (laughs)

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): How much of a fan of Gundam were you when you got in? Were you, like, “Oh my god, I’m in Gundam,” or the like?

Tara Platt: I will admit, my husband is sitting in the back of the room, and he is a fan of Robotech and Gundam, and he knew all of that stuff, and I didn’t really know much about any of it. I grew up without a television, so I don’t have a big extensive background or history with animation, or anime, or cartoons, or video games. But now, being in the industry, I’m a little more familiar, so I kind of knew. I was like, “Oh, Gundam‘s a big deal!” but I didn’t really, like, know what it was.

I think that the mecha suits and all of that, that’s cool, I’m like “oh, that’s awesome!” But I wasn’t coming from it, I didn’t have a history, I didn’t know the material. So, yeah! Yuri’s more of a knowledgeable man back there than I am. (laughs, Lowenthal, CJ, and I join in) That’s OK! (laughs) I can balance the checkbook! He can take care of all the other stuff.

Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald): So, they say that a great actor takes something from the characters that they play. Do you feel that there are any characters who have really embodied that in you, or changed you in that way?

Tara Platt: Hrm, I agree! You do sort of take a little bit of every character that you play. It goes back to the coping thing we were talking about, right? We always are learning from everyone we interact with, and everyone we experience, and characters are no different. And when you sort of step into the shoes of a character, you can’t help but put on a little of them into who you are.

I have played Temari for a very long time, so I do think that there is a little bit of her attitude and her confidence and her straightforwardness that has now seeped into me just because I’ve played her for so long! (laughs) And I’m like, “I wish I were like that!” So, I think maybe little bits of it sort of brush off on me a little when I work on her.

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): A series that know a lot of Toonami fans would like to see on the block, despite it being more of an older series, Tiger & Bunny!

Tara Platt: Oh!

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): That’s how a lot of people react whenever we mention the show. I’m curious, I know you’ve voiced a character, but did you write or direct the show?

Tara Platt: I didn’t write or direct the show. I just came on as an actor. I was Agnes, which is, like, the television producer in the show, so people think that I’m more official on the show than I really am. But, no, I’m playing the character, I’m not actually directing them to do anything. I’m just in charge of them in the show! (laugh)

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): How do you feel about the project, itself, because it feels like, with the big boom of superheroes going on, Tiger & Bunny might have been ahead of its time with how different and how interesting the superhero genre is.

Tara Platt: Yeah, I guess it is a little ahead of its time, but I also think it’s great social commentary on the world we’re living in, and the idea that everyone is sponsored by something.

You know, we are kind of, like, little brands walking around, right? McDonald’s, and all the things that we interact with stick to us, right? So, we’re kind of carrying these big balloon clouds behind us of everything we support, because you vote with your dollars, and that affects the world around you.

And I think it was really great social commentary to have these superheroes being sponsored by these corporations and how that affects it. And everything is filmed, because everything’s online now, right? We live our lives online. And so, you’ve got this reality show, filming, so it was multi-layered in a really kind of fun way, so it’s your spoonful of sugar with the medicine. So, you get to watch it and be like “Hahahahah… Oh!” (laughs) You get the, like, “Oh, I get that!” sort of a little bit after. But I hope the fans love Tiger & Bunny because I think it’s a great series, and I think it’s a lot of fun.

Caster (Fate/stay night)

Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald): So, what was that moment where it really hit you, and you said, “I want to make a career in voice acting?”

Tara Platt: Well, I don’t think I realized I wanted to be a voice actor until I was already in Los Angeles and pursuing a career as an actor. I started acting when I was nine, onstage. And then I went to college for theater, I moved to London, I studied at the London Academy of Theater. So I was, like, in it to win it for being the life of an actor, and I planned to do it onstage. My thought was that I was just going to go from play to play and do regional shows.

And then I went to college, I got my BFA, and I moved to New York. And after I was living in New York, that’s when I started to get into film and television a little bit. And shortly after that, an agent said, “you really should come out Los Angeles if you want to have a career.” And I was like “I do! I wanna work! I just wanna work!” And so, I moved out to Los Angeles, and that’s when I started to get into film and television.

But also, I’m young, and plucky, and in my twenties… back then. Not anymore. Nuh uh, I’m tired and old. But I was like “I just wanna work,” and it’s hard to make a living when you’re first starting out. And you’ve gotta pay rent, and you’ve gotta eat. And, so I was like “what other jobs can I do besides film and television,” because theater doesn’t pay very well, and those jobs are few and far between.

And, so, I sat down with Yuri, and we just were looking over “what jobs can an actor do?” Because, I don’t really want to hold a sign and be like “come to this store”, so what are the things I can do? And we started brainstorming. And I was like, “aren’t there actors that do things like cartoons?” And he’s like “Oh my god, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that, because I grew up watching cartoons, and you never watched cartoons!” And I was like “let’s do that!” (laughs)

And since we didn’t really know much about voiceover, we took a class. And now it’s been about seventeen years! We took that class, and he started booking immediately, and I shortly thereafter started booking. And we started working in voiceover. And we still do film and television and theater.

And, like you said earlier, we started our own production company. So, we actually write and produce our own film and web series, and do all of that, in addition to having a publishing company where we write books and publish books.

But we just basically, in our hearts, it’s not that we’re voice actors, it’s not that we’re actors. I think it’s that we’re storytellers, because we still have a lot of content and a lot of ideas that we want to share. We want to create worlds. We want to create characters, and we want to express those characters and those ideas. And sometimes, we’re fortunate enough to get to that on someone else’s project and come on and be like “I’d love to play that character!” And other times, I’m like, “No one’s creating this character, and I really want to do this character. Let’s make it!” And so, then we sort of build a world around that, and create it in whichever medium we feel fits it best.

So, I don’t know that I ever had a moment where I said, “it’s voice acting I want to do.” It’s more that I just… I want to build worlds! I want to be creative! I want to tell stories, I want use my imagination, I want to play!” And that’s what storytelling is to me, and I will do it any medium and any format that I can.

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): I’m curious on the first moment you realized your voice is on television. If it’s Naruto, that’s fine, but I just mean in any point where you heard it, and all of a sudden, family and friends are like “oh my god!” Let’s say, Toonami, for example.

Tara Platt: Yeah! It might’ve been Naruto! I think the first time, like, I really kind of was, like, “Oh My Goodness!” was not even a character. It was a commercial! Like, I think I heard myself in a McDonald’s commercial on the radio and I was, like “That’s me! That’s me!” Because I was in a random place and I didn’t anticipate it.

Like, it’s one thing if you turn on the TV to watch, “oh, it’s on Toonami. I’m gonna tune in and I’m gonna watch this because I know it’s coming.” And it’s a thrill for me to get to, like, hear the character come to life, because it’s not just me, it’s the character. But I think the first time that I kind of, sort of jumped out of my skin, I was driving in the car and I didn’t anticipate hearing myself coming out of the radio. And I was driving somewhere, and I was sort of, like, “That’s me!” (she points at an imaginary radio for emphasis) There’s no one in the car with me, I’m by myself, and I’m like “that’s me, anyone that cares!”

So, I think that was the first time that I had, like, a big reaction to it, because every time prior to that I had either gone to a screening, or I was watching it intentionally to tune in. And I was thrilled, but it was a little more planned, so I didn’t freak out. But that time I freaked out! (laugh)

Kali Belladonna (RWBY)

Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald): You mentioned that you wanted to create worlds and experiences and tell stories. Is there a particular story that you really want to tell that’s just been kind of bouncing around your head for a while?

Tara Platt: Oh, so many! I have a story board at home. It’s literally a whiteboard with different ideas on it. And I have notebooks at home, where it’s different characters and different worlds, and various things in various stages of production. I’m in pre-production on three features right now, because there’s different characters that I want to tell those stories about, and different people I want to work with.

So, I’m actually working with three different groups of people right now on stories! (laughs) I’m in the middle of rewrites on a [Young Adults] novella that I wrote, which is about a totally different character. Yuri and I have a pitch book, which has twenty to thirty projects that are in various stages of production, so yes. There’s a lot of them. There’s not just one.

I mean, I would say I have an idea probably almost every day. But then I hold onto those, and the ones that kind of sort of eat away at you a little bit, that are sort of pulling on you, and they’re like “hey! over here! Over here!” That’s when I’m like “OK, I’ve gotta write this down.” And then after a while I’m like “I’ve gotta do something with it,” and then I have to start to figure out… is a book? Is it a TV show? Is it a movie? What is this, and what do I do with it? It’s almost like clay, and then you have to decide “do I actually need to make it an oil painting?” What medium do you tell the story in, because what’s going to showcase the characters best and the world best? And then, once I discover what that is, that’s when I start to work on it in a sort of more tangible way.

It’s like a layer cake. I start when I’m like “OK, I hear you sort of out there, idea. I hear you; I hear you. OK, now I’m holding on to you. Now you’re really pulling at me. Oh, you’re a book! OK, I know what to do with that. I can put that into a book form.” Or “Oh, I need to tell the movie story idea!”

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): Toonami fans are big into video games.

Tara Platt: Yes.

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): And I’m curious about how much you really enjoy being a part of the projects that you have been a part of, when it comes to video games. And, how you just probably get the same amount of acclaim and fandom as you do with anime.

Tara Platt: Oh, yeah! Sometimes, you go to conventions that are just anime, sometimes you go to conventions that are more like Comic Con. And I would say at Comic Con, there are more fans of the video game work. But it’s like, every time you go to a new place, you kind of don’t know what they’re going to be excited about. So, like, you show up and people are like “what do I know you from?” And I’m like “I don’t know what you play or what you watch, so I don’t know. Maybe nothing.” And so, kind of every time you’re trying to figure out how you fit into what they’re excited about.

But yeah! Video games are really cool, because they’ve become such an experience! Way back in the day, not only did they not have actors a part of it, you weren’t interacting with it, really. You were playing Joust, or whatever you were playing, and it was just, you were doing the controller. And then they evolved, and you were actually typing out the text and playing the characters and making them do things. And then they evolved to “oh, there’s a dialogue that’s… very poorly recorded!”

And they keep evolving and they keep getting better. And now they’re so cinematic! And you’re doing motion capture and performance capture for the characters, where you’re basically making a movie. You know, you go in and you’re wearing the motion capture rig and setup, and you have all of these reflective balls all over you. and you’re doing the scenes with your fellow actors. And you are making the movie.

You’re bringing it to life in a three-dimensional way. It’s almost like going back to filmmaking, as opposed to just working in voiceover behind a microphone, where you’re still an actor. You’re still using your acting tools. It’s just no one can see you. Now, everyone can see everything you do. Every nuance, every motion, every reaction. And there’s something really exciting about that, and I think it’s really opening the fans of video games, because it’s putting them in the front seat. They become the star of the movie. Whereas when you go to the movie theater, you’re watching someone else. But in the video game, you’re playing the video game! And I think that’s really exciting, and it’s part of what you were saying earlier.

The evolution of technology, the evolution of the industry, and the accessibility of finding the fans for the content and how everybody connects to that. I mean, we’re moving into, like, VR! There’s a lot of technology that’s moving forward where it’s putting each individual into the driver’s seat for the content, and so I think it’s great!

Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald): I do have one question that I like to ask all voice actors when I get the chance: What would you say is the strangest, or most interesting thing to happen to you in the booth?

Tara Platt: I don’t know! I’m such a serious actor! I, like, take it all seriously and just go in and do the work. I’m not fun and I don’t come up with any of the fun outtakes or anything like that. I dunno. I haven’t had any crazy stuff! I mean, we all have those moments where we’re like “what are they talking about on the other side of the glass, but I don’t have any fun stories, or anything weird that’s happened! I’m just serious.

CJ Maffris (Toonami Faithful): This is going to be kind of funny. knowing I’ve read about the [Patriots]’ anime fan club, considering I’m from this area. How geeked were they that you were the voice of Temari?

Tara Platt: They were pretty excited! Well, I mean, there were five of them that were there, and you know, the ones that were Naruto fans were like “You’re Temari?” But, I mean, there were several of us from the Naruto world up there. And, so, some of them were excited about Dragon Ball, everybody has what they’re excited about, but they were excited! I thought that that was pretty cool! You know, there was a lot of “Thank you, thank you!” And I was all “Oh, you’re welcome! Thank you!”