The intensity of any anime character is defined by his storyline and the voice behind him/her. The character is molded and portrayed by the Voice Actors in a way that justifies their ambition and their approach to the story. It has been clearly witnessed in the case of one of the biggest anime franchises in history, Bleach. With an IMDb rating of 9.1 Bleach’s new series has gathered a large group of anime lovers and has made its place in the Hall of Fame. The protagonist of the series, Kurosaki Ichigo is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch.
Bosch is known for his most notable roles as Vash the Stampede in Trigun, Yu Narukami in Persona 4, Giyu Tomioka from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Lelouch Vi Britannia in Code Geass. But the biggest role of his career that defined his success is Ichigo from Bleach.
Johnny Yong Bosch’s Approach at the Role of Ichigo
It had been 10 years after the original Bleach anime series had ended when the new episodes of the Thousand Year Blood War Arc debuted. With its return to television in October 2022 as Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, the franchise is generating incomparable levels of enthusiasm among fans, who are seeing their fondest hopes for the series come true on a regular basis. In an interview with GameRant, Bosch explained how he was happy that he was able to give voice to the role and justify it to the fans which he considered to be the biggest responsibility and he gave it everything. He said:
“I have to pinch myself constantly to make sure I’m not dreaming. I mean this is the stuff I was hoping to get to before it ended previously, so I’m really enjoying this part of the story. We’re really getting to the heart of Ichigo. The biggest impact is definitely connecting with fans worldwide through BLEACH. I do feel a level of responsibility in bringing him to life. It’s like the coach put me in the game, so I better not blow it. I give it everything I’ve got.”
Bosch approach to every role that he has voiced is entirely different and it is clearly reflected in his work. His role offer a lot of variety that is loved by his fans and the anime fans too.
Johnny Yong Bosch Way Of Differentiating Roles Between Vash and Ichigo
Bosch made his voice acting debut as Kaneda in the cult classic anime film Akira. His other most notable voice-over job was the main character Vash the Stampede in the anime Trigun in 2001, and he later reprised the role as Vash in the 2010 film Trigun: Badlands Rumble as well as the ongoing anime relaunch Trigun Stampede in 2023. In 2001, Bosch was cast in the lead part of Ichigo Kurosaki, and his portrayal of Ichigo was unlike that of any other character. He said:
“Honestly I approach it very simply. What’s the story? Where is the character coming from? Where are they going? What’s their struggle? And then together with the director and producers we dial in the tone and voice and let the heart of the character come through.”
His revival role for the character in the new series Thousand Year Blood War has been greatly received by fans and though he portrays Ichigo in the dubbed version, it has still managed to make an impact on the Bleach fan community.
Source: GameRant
