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ST: Could you tell everybody who you are?
Hey, I'm Mike McFarland, voice actor and voice director with Funimation. I'm currently working on Case Closed and Fullmetal Alchemist. In the past I've also worked on YuYu Hakusho, Dragonball, Dragonball Z... a few other things.
ST: Could you describe Fullmetal Alchemist?
Fullmetal Alchemist is a super-awesome action adventure show on top, but it goes layers and layers and layers deeper than that, which is why it's such a great awesome show. It's got some religious vs. science aspects to it, it's got some human nature aspects to it. It's a really, really wonderful show.
ST: Is it strange sharing directing responsibilities with Colleen?
I don't think so. I think it kind of gets all of your bases covered to get more than director on a show. We check in with each other all the time and it's also cool to be able to play ideas of "what do you think of this actor for this character", "what do you think", you know, "well, don't forget that later on this happens", "Oh yes!", there's lots of other things where you can kind of keep each other in check and make sure everything is covered. And she did a great job with Kiddy Grade, so I think it's a really cool thing to get to work together on this project.
ST: What are the challenges of dubbing an anime with such an established following?
I guess some of the challenges would be how true are you going to stay to the original intent, are you going to keep the storyline intact and things like that. I know that we are, so it's just a matter of making sure that continues to happen and making sure that everything that's supposed to happen does.
ST: If you had to take the series as a whole and say "No matter what, this particular thing is something that we absolutely have to get right", what would that be?
I don't think it would be one instance of something that happens in the series, I think it would just be the relationship and growth that Ed and Alphonse go through. If you don't buy their love and their drive and their reasons for doing what they do, then I don't think anything else works.
ST: Are there any characters in particular later on that you think will be difficult to cast?
No, I always approach it as a unique challenge and something that's fun to do. I did the basis of the casting for Case Closed for the leads in that show and I just think it's a very fun yet long and excruciating but still fun process to go through, hear as many voices as possible and think of as many scenarios as possible to be able to pick that perfect actor for that perfect part. So I don't look at it as difficult or something that I'm not looking forward to. It's a fun challenge. It's always like I can't wait to find who's going to do that, to find that actor.
ST: Do you have a certain philosophy with which you approach each project?
Well, no. I approach every project as if it's its own project. I feel like some of the people that I've met and some of the people that I've worked with kind of approach every acting or directing job the same way. It's like this is my new project and I'm going to direct everyone as I normally would, or I'm going to approach the storyline as I normally would. I think that you have to approach each thing as an individual, as its own likeness and its own identity, and you have to keep that in mind when you're working on it or planning for it. You just have to make sure you don't homogenize things and just make it a churn and burn working process. You have to treat each thing like it's its own little child.
ST: What attracted you to the series?
I think it's one of the most...no...I think it's the most interesting action-adventure type show (I say action-adventure-- I realize it's way deeper than that, but just on its surface) I think it's the best show of its kind that I have ever seen. And I've seen anime going back 15, 20 years... I by no means have seen everything...but just something that has that much depth to it, that much humanity to it, that much philosophy to it, while still remaining as an adventure series, as an action series with fighting and traveling and everything else that can happen in that sort of show and have all of those aspects met without any one part of them feeling like it was like "it's not so much this any more, it's more this". It's an all-encompassing show. And it moves along at a great pace. There's a lot of anime series that, depending on their length, certain aspects of their story take forever to get through or whatever. This one moves along great; it moves along like a really well-written book.
ST: Were there any concepts in Fullmetal Alchemist you thought needed to be altered to reach an American audience?
No. I think it's a very well-written show and I think any sort of dumbing it down would be an extreme disservice to the show. If we have things in this country like the Matrix, for instance, where it's high-concept and high-action and high everything else and it can make billions and millions of dollars I don't see why anyone would question how deep the show is or how involved a show is or how twisted a show can be and have that be a hindrance to its success.
ST: Do you watch Adult Swim?
Yes! All the time.
ST: What's your favorite show?
Well, I watch it for Case Closed. I like to watch whatever we work on and watch it as it airs. I love Family Guy. I watched Family Guy when it was on initially and I was like "Oh, why did it have to go away?" so I was so thankful when I found out it came back. I don't care how many times I've seen it; I'll watch it over and over again. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is very funny and I love Space Ghost.
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