Veronica Taylor reflects on working in iconic anime such as Yu Gi Oh, Sailor Moon & more

Voice acting legend Veronica Taylor has played roles in the likes of Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, Sailor Moon and even One Piece. When chatting with Dexerto, Taylor reflected on her impressive body of work dubbing for some of the most iconic Japanese anime of all time as well providing some insight into how the medium has changed over the years.

The world of anime has taken off in recent years. Between streaming service Netflix bringing on all of the Studio Ghibli films as well as more and more anime including English dubbing, the anime sphere has never been more mainstream. 

However, this wasn’t always the case. For voice actor Veronica Taylor who has been dubbing anime since the late 1990s, seeing how the medium has evolved and permeated Western culture has been a life-changing experience.

Of course, many know Taylor for voicing Pokemon hero Ash during the first eight seasons of the anime. However, the actor has amassed quite to a collection of other iconic roles in the anime space.

From Yu Gi Oh, Sailor Moon, One Piece and many more, Taylor is a veteran when it comes to providing the English dub of many hit Japanese shows.

Veronica Taylor on working in Japanese anime throughout the decades

During an exclusive interview with Dexerto at the recent Supanova Melbourne convention, Taylor discussed how much joy she gets having the chance to play such iconic anime characters.

“I love working and I love bringing these characters to life even if they have had a life outside of the English language. The idea of having some longevity but no one knows if it will have legs and go on. That is what it was like working on anime early on in my career.”

However, part of the challenge in working as the English dub for an anime series is that you have the mirror the work of the original Japanese voice actor. Ensuring that the character’s aura and personality translate across languages.

Bringing Sailor Pluto to live in the English dub of the hit anime series

For Taylor, bringing Sailor Pluto to life in the iconic Sailor Moon franchise was a role she had to work on more than most.

“Sailor Pluto is such an intense character to play with. I’m just so thrilled to be a part of the Sailor Moon family. Sailor Pluto is someone who holds so much inside. She’s been in the far reaches for so long.

So we had to go back and redo the lines because she was too warm. And too friendly sounding. And she had to really pull it back. And she is so cool, literally, like Pluto…It’s been really great, her energy is so different.”

Another aspect of being a voice actor, particularly when dubbing Japanese anime, is that the job isn’t the most secure. Some voice actors find themselves in the unfordable position of being replaced throughout the course of a long-running anime.

How it feels to be replaced on anime projects and if she still watches them afterwards

Taylor candidly spoke about the times in her career when this has happened and how, while she does still watch the anime she previously worked on, she prefers to avoid watching them in the English dubbing.

“I’m not quite mature enough to watch shows with familiar faces. I’ve been replaced on so many shows I guess it’s the nature of the beast that is anime. So I don’t normally watch in English the shows that I used to work on. 

When I watch episodes of Pokemon that I worked on I relive the emotions of the experience and so for me, it’s too hard to disconnect like that. But I so appreciate all the work that everyone else is doing with Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh and One Piece and all these things that have gone on.”

And while Taylor has been in the business for multiple decades, the iconic actor is showing no signs of slowing down.

Veronica Taylor on her future as voice actor in anime

Further into her chat, she explained how she is always wanting new roles and is open to any challenges the anime world is wanting to throw her way.

“I audition for so many things and I just want to play everything and the great thing about being a voice actor is that. It doesn’t matter what you look like you can become anything. And so for me, that’s the challenge that I really love. So I’d never think of anything specific I just want to make sure I keep having auditions.

But I do like the challenges. And I think there are some things that are oh I could never do that voice but once you get in the headspace then you can.”

Time will tell what new and exciting projects Taylor moves onto next. However, there is no denying that the actor has likely played a big or small role in the lives of many children between her work in some of the biggest and most beloved animes of all time.

Want more from Veronica Taylor? Check out the rest of our interview with her where we spoke about all things Pokemon and what it was like playing Ash in the anime series.

For all the latest TV and movie news and updates, be sure to check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.