KAGENAMI Q: Time to catch up! So, the last thing we covered was "pally"...
SIMONE MAXWELL: "Pally," yeah.
KQ: And after that, the next episode, Noin shows up.
SM: Yeah! And I like Noin's voice. I really like Noin because I think she's a character that--and this is not meant to be an indictment of me personally, oh no, not at all--but I think she's a character a lot of women can identify with because she's smart and she's capable but she does stupid things because of a guy.
Like Zechs says, "Well, y'know, I was the number-one student, she was the number-two student, and she could have been the number-one student but she was always doing a little bit worse than me to make me look better." And I know someone who's done stuff like that for a guy, I know someone who's done stupid things because they were horny for a guy, and I know somebody who was mildly obsessed with a guy--and she's sittin' in my pants right now, quite frankly. So I think it's interesting that there's this character that has an adult appeal in something that a lot of people maybe think is just for kids.
And I really like her voice. I was so afraid [in a brainless voice] that she'd have a high, squeaky voice like this, [back to normal voice] y'know, which would just completely undermine it. I'm glad that she doesn't. She's got a low voice, and she sounds confident and intelligent. And she also occasionally just sounds the teensiest little bit obsessed, which I think is perfect on her. They're doing a really good job with her.
KQ: Now, you've pretty much ruled out that the Anubis guy is doing Wufei?
SM: Yeah. I don't know whether they had him do a couple of commercials and then they said, "Oh, wait, you're all wrong for the character," or what--it just doesn't sound like him anymore. I may have miscalculated that; maybe he's another guy just [in Anubis voice] doing the Anubis tone of voice, [back to normal voice] and I thought, "Oh, it's the Anubis guy."
Of course, after having forcibly seen some Dragonball Z, I'm not so sure that it's, you know, [in Freeza voice], "I am Freeza! I will kill everybody! Am I a man or a woman? I don't know! Can somebody tell me?!" [laughter] [back to normal voice] What is up with that show? I just don't get the appeal of that show. [laughter] Probably because I'm not an 8-year-old boy, right?
KQ: If you want to know true fear, you should see some of the doujinshi...
SM: I've seen some of the cuts in the Comiket catalog, and that's enough! That's something wrong about that...[laughter]
I was writing to Tracy Ellyn last night. She said she had tried to draw Vash [of Trigun] just off the tapes because I guess she doesn't have any paper reference material, and she was saying, "He looks really bishonen, but I'm kind of on a bishonen thing right now." And I was like, "Well, you know, I've seen some artwork of him done bishonen-style, and depending on the artist, he makes a pretty cute bishonen." And then I told her about the doujinshi where he's wearing the frilly little pink apron. [laughter] But sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Like, there's that doujinshi where Heero is drawn really well except for the fact that they make him look like he's got lipstick on. And Heero just isn't a lipstick kind of guy to me, y'know?
KQ: What book is that?
SM: It's..."Imperial" something.
KQ: Oh, yeah--"Imperial Nova."
SM: Yeah. It's Trowa and Heero. And Heero looks great, except it's like he's got lipstick on! And I'm like, "Umm...okay..." There should be about 57 dots between the "umm" and the "okay" there!
KQ: Some people just have this concept of Heero as being feminine. I really just don't get it...
SM: Well, some people have the concept of Duo as being feminine. There's that one [doujinshi] group whose stuff always make me itch, because they always do Duo with, like, little Sailor Moon ponytails, and he's always bursting into tears...[laughter] And it's like, "Okay, that's quite a convincing Death God, always bursting into tears!"
KQ: [laughter] Meanwhile...
SM: Meanwhile--see how hard it is to keep me on track?
KQ: That's just 'cause you're a maverick. You're a wild thing.
SM: I am. I'm a nutty funster.
KQ: You're a wild rebel!
SM: [bursts into MST3K parody cereal-commercial jingle] "Wild Rebels! Crunchy, fruity rebels..." [laughter] Thank you so much! Now that's going to be going through my head the rest of the day!
KQ: It was a public service.
SM: Well, what do you think of Catherine's voice?
KQ: Oh, I liked it a lot.
SM: The actress isn't very good, but the voice is good. [In a lifeless voice] "Hey, Trowa, try to smile now and then..." [laughter]
KQ: I like the quality of her voice. Because it's a voice I haven't heard before. But yeah, the acting is kind of wooden.
SM: Actually, you could say that a lot about these voices. But then again, there's so much that they have to say...
KQ: I wanted to ask you what it's like to hear Wufei go "woman!" instead of "onna!"
SM: It's a little weird. But Tracy Ellyn and I figure, because Master Ron is really a really old, really decrepit woman, that's where Wufei gets all his woman problems. [laughter] I'm pretty sure that character is a woman; she's just, like, about 193 years old. [laughter] Kind of looks like a wadded-up piece of paper. [in old hag voice] "Wufeiiiii!"
KQ: [laughter] Looks like an escapee from Akira.
SM: Looks like an escapee from H.R. Pufnstuf, if you ask me! [laughter] You like that, don't you?
KQ: [reduced to giggles] No, no...
SM: See, we've mentioned Pufnstuf now in this free-wheeling pop-culture examination of Gundam Wing! [laughter]
I like when Wufei first meets up with Noin, and somebody goes, "Why don't you shoot?" and Wufei goes, "'Cause she's a woman!" And it's like, "Hey, Wufei's been watching Mystery Science Theater! He's got a great sense of timing!" I thought that was a little weird, but...[laughter] And it's like, do these guys have speakers on their Gundams?
KQ: Yeah. They can turn 'em on and off.
SM: That would be great in traffic! "Hey, dumbfuck! You in the stupid SUV--move your ass! Hey, soccer mom--get the lead out, okay?"
KQ: [laughter] So, where does that get us to? We're through that episode...
SM: We quickly disposed of that episode. God, I hate Relena. [laughter] I really, really hate Relena. I really wish Heero would have just squished her last night.
KQ: I like Dr. J's voice a lot. [laughter]
SM: Yeah! Dr. J is hysterical!
KQ: [imitating Dr. J] "Whatta kid!" [laughter]
SM: And, you know, Relena's such a dope, she's not like, [in ditzy voice] "Why am I getting in a car with a strange little old man with a crane-game claw for a hand?" [back to normal voice] I mean, you aren't supposed to do that! You aren't supposed to get into cars with funny little old men...
KQ: Hey, kids, let this be a lesson to you...
SM: [laughter] Relena has no problem doing it!
KQ: You were worried about what they were going to do with Lady Une's voice...
SM: Yeah, I was--but, well, see, we don't know yet, because we haven't seen the other Lady Une yet.
KQ: But what do you think of what she's got?
SM: So far I really like it.
KQ: The delivery makes some of these lines sound even more stilted, though. [in overdramatic voice]"It'll be the end, or should I say, the beginning!"
SM: Hey, it's science fiction. There really isn't much need for subtlety. [laughter] Besides, it's Gundam. Some of the worst stuff that's ever been written has been Gundam!
KQ: Oh yeah? Like what?
SM: Like those novels. Those novels rot! They suck!
KQ: Oh, yeah, the Tomino ones. [in an unctuous voice] Where Amuro Has Sex!
SM: Oh, really? I'll have to go back and read them more carefully! [laughter] And I thought it was funny that [name withheld] had to write this thing at the beginning kind of going, "Ummm, I know this sucks, but it's not my fault, okay?" [laughter]
KQ: "It's popular, okay?" [laughter]
SM: "It sucks, but it's really popular, so, um, read it and buy it, okay? Thanks. Your pal, [name withheld]." [laughter] It's the entire apologetic tone of it...[laughter]
KQ: How about Trowa's voice? I like it really well.
SM: I don't like his delivery sometimes.
KQ: Yeah. People are really off and on--sometimes it's well-done, and sometimes it's very wooden.
SM: Well, it's like I said--it's early in the series. They probably haven't hit their stride. And we don't know that there weren't huge gaps between recording sessions, too.
KQ: Hey, you get your parking place today.
KQ & SM: [in South-Park-kid chorus] Hurray!
Go to Chapter 2 "Five Good-Looking Japanese Boys From All Walks Of Life!" (on Romper Room on Speed, Heero and Trowa and Sylvester and Daffy, the Princess Mononoke Press Guide, 'Handing It' To Paul Lynde, and More Praise For Gundam Wing Episode 1)
Go to Chapter 3 "What Were They Thinking?!" (on Bad Accents from Star Blazers to Giant Robo, Tomino's Monkeywrench, Photoshopping Heero's Shorts, the Quest for Two-Flap Swear Words, Duo Gets His Gun, and Gundam Wing Episode 2)
Go to Chapter 4 "'Dickweed' Would Gladden My Heart" (on Duo's Vintage Vocabulary, Heero's Mysterious Dripping, "Instructor Noin" Meets "Inspector Gadget," and Gundam Wing Episode 3)
Go to Chapter 6 "The Hell With the New Possibilities--She Wants To Plook Heero!" (on the World's Smallest Violin, the Unfortunately-Named General That-Part-Of-Your-Nose, Ringo Starr Meets Turn A Gundam, Memories of Pleading For Heero's Medical Prognosis, and Gundam Wing Episodes 6 and 7)
Go to Chapter 7 "Why Don't You Gundams And The Colonies Get A Frickin' Room?" (on Zechs Failing Shop Class, Quatre Raberba Jonny Quest Winner, Simultaneous Possession By Dr. Evil, Heero's Difficulties With Modern Technology, Pagan's Surfing For Smut, and Gundam Wing Episode 17)
Go to Chapter 7.5 "Silence Nowwwwwwwwwwww!" (on Heero's Holster, Explaining Headcheese, Sally and Cher Po, the Gundam Wing Voice Actors Revealed, Kudos For Correspondents, and Gundam Wing Episode 20)
Go to Chapter 8 "God Forbid Little Kids Get Ideas..." (on the Great Houdini vs. the God of Death, Keeping Duo from Damaging Impressionable Young Minds, Oz Fashion Don'ts, Duo's True-Life Nature Adventure, a Left Turn into Trigun, and Gundam Wing Episode 23)
Go to Chapter 9 "Stay Away From Those Oz Burritos!" (on the Gundam Wing Language Rules, the Great Destroyer Vs. Great Mazinger, Trowa Markets the Oz Viewmaster, the Omnipresent Mr. B Natural, and Gundam Wing Episode 24)
Go to Chapter 10 "I Don't Usually Use 'Clown' In That Context..." (on Epyon's Sex Appeal, Duo Hitting the [Soy] Sauce, Wasabi Wars, Catherine Gets a Trowagotchi, Evoking Bozo, More Language Rules, and Gundam Wing Episodes 36 and 37)
Go to Chapter 11 "Ralphie Does Not Want To Sit On Santa's Lap Any More..." (on Howdy Doody's Enduring Fashion Influence, the Real Reason the Cartoon Network Wanted Gundam Wing, Duo's Cheeks, Epyon Vs. Sam The Snowman, Feeling Bad For Freeza, Singing the Praises of "Pants," and Gundam Wing Episode 39)
Go to Chapter 12 "He's Not Having Mental Problems--He's Having an Epyon Moment!" (on Push-Up Bras of the Future, More Things To Put In Heero's Pants, Soulmates Zechs and Shatner, Epyon and Secretariat's Love Child, the Nice People at McFarlane Toys, Bandai-ing Dolls About, and Gundam Wing Episode 41)
Return to MIND EDUCATION: Kagenami Q's Gundam Wing Doujinshi Reference Digs
This page was created March 14, 2000. Last updated November 23, 2004.