2/21/08

character Ryuk the Death is voiced by Shido Nakamura

The apple-loving CG character Ryuk the Death is voiced by Shido Nakamura.
Shinigami Ryuk, is voiced by well-known actor Shido Nakamura. Some of Nakamura’s most famous roles are Tanaka Anno from FEARLESS, Mamoru Uchida in YAMATO, and No. 13 in NEIGHBOR NO. 13. For this film, director Shusuke Kaneko opted to go for an entirely Computer Animated version of Ryuk. This in itself is a daunting task, especially considering Ryuk is onscreen for a large percentage of the film’s screentime. This includes both night and day scenes. Visually speaking, Ryuk is stunning, and is some of the best CG put to Japanese film, save for perhaps SINKING OF JAPAN (Nihon Chinbotsu, 2006). He moves unnaturally, but this is part of his character. Each feather on his wings is individually rendered, and things as small as the satchel for his book have exquisite detail to them. Even in the sunlight, Ryuk’s appearance does not falter, and consistently great quality is achieved throughout the entire film. Yet, regardless of how well constructed the character model is, the aspect that truly brings Ryuk to life is Nakamura’s dark, gritty voice. It’s as sarcastic and mischievous as one might expect, and really makes Ryuk a believable character, despite how unnatural he looks when placed against the backdrop of the city.

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