SELECTED WORKS
Devil Lady
Getter Robo: Armageddon
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
Samurai X
Soul Hunter
Zone of the Enders

Mark Clark:	For our readers who may not yet be familiar with your work, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you, and what is it you do for ADV?
Charles Campbell:	Sure. I'm Charles Campbell, Producer/Director/Actor/ADR Engineer (Mixmaster) extraordinaire. I started working with ADV in 1996 after graduating from the University of Houston BA-RTV. I was ADV's 1st in-house ADR Engineer. I worked on Evangelion, Blue Seed, Queen Emeraldas, Gamera, Tekken etc. I then transferred to beautiful Austin, TX and now Direct as well as engineer. Among the shows I've directed are Nadia: the Secret of Blue Water, Getter Robo: Armageddon, Samurai X, Soul Hunter, Devil Lady, Zone of the Enders, and Sakura Wars: Return of the Spirit Warriors.
MC:	Tell us a little about Sakura Wars? What was your initial opinion of the franchise when you began working on the English adaptation of this popular series?
CC:	It looked like an entertaining show with a first-rate score and vibrant animation. I particularly liked the use of steam power. An initial favorite of mine was Iris (voiced by Jessica Schwartz), because she is so cute and has an endearing relationship with her teddy bear Jean-Paul.
MC:	Take us through the process of putting together the English language version for Sakura Wars. What kind of challenges, if any, did you face with the script?
CC:	Elena Carrillo composed the recording script from the original rough translations. I went back and screened the 1st OVA's (done years ago) to get to know the characters again. It's interesting to note that Sakura Wars: Return of the Spirit Warriors takes place 5 years after the original OVA's. In reality the 1st OVA's were recorded 3 years ago, so some of the actors sounded (appropriately) a little older.
MC:	How did you go about casting for the series? With the girls of the Flower Division hailing from all across the globe, how did you manage to find actresses who could portray the unique accents found within the series?
CC:	Garry Dehan originally cast and directed the 1st Sakura Wars OVA's. I was the ADR Engineer then. So, when I worked on the most recent OVA's, I located as many of the original cast as I could in order to preserve continuity. Being located far from the East or West Coast, finding suitable voice actors with authentic accents was nearly impossible. So when we held the original auditions, we selected actors with the right attitude, vocal quality and energy for each part. I think the accents (although not perfectly accurate) add to the individuality of each character, as well as (in some cases) to the humor of a situation.
MC:	What is a normal recording session like for you? With such a large cast of prominent characters, did Sakura Wars prove to be a challenging series to produce an English adaptation for?
CC:	A typical recording session for a principal part is usually split into 4 or 5 hour segments in order to keep the actors fresh. Sakura Wars had more dialog and a larger cast than the average show, so recording each episode took longer. Scheduling a large cast of principals was definitely a challenge. Extra takes were also required to maintain accents. The stories themselves were generally forthright and easy to follow.
MC:	Sakura Wars has quite an extensive background with it being based on the best-selling Sakura Taisen video game franchise, which has spawned a passionate fan-base here in the States. Did this come in to play during the production of the show?
CC:	I spoke with one of our local actresses from Japan (Samantha Harte) about the general idea of the game. Sakura Wars is based on a 1996 video game from Sega, which was a combination dating simulator and RPG-style combat simulator.
MC:	Following the release of the second Sakura Wars OVA series, you'll be working on the highly-anticipated Sakura Wars TV series. What can fans expect to see when they view that series?
CC:	Actually Lowell Bartholomee is directing the Sakura Wars TV Series. From what I have seen, it offers more of the same action and drama as the OVA's.
MC:	Out of all of the characters in the Sakura Wars series, were there any that you were particularly fond of? If so, which one, and why?
CC:	I especially liked Mafioso Valentinov from episode 1 in Sakura Wars: Return of the Spirit Warriors. I thought his menace was portrayed with the kind of flare we've come to expect from James Bond-era villains.
MC:	Aside from Sakura Wars, are there any other titles that you're presently working on that fans should be on the lookout for?
CC:	Go Nagai's Devil Lady TV Series: The best animated horror series I've ever worked on! Zone of the Enders TV: Fantastic, well written, great music, wonderful animation! Its Star Wars meets Lost in Space! Not to be missed for Action/Sci-Fi/Comedy fans.
MC:	Finally, is there anything special you would like to say to our readers? A final thought, if you will?
CC:	Thanks for watching! The actors, writer and I really take pleasure in the work we do. It's a great pleasure to give the English speaking audience the chance to enjoy the great stories and visuals Anime has to offer!