The TV anime " The Ramparts of Ice, " based on the vertical-scrolling manga by Kocha Agasawa published in Shueisha's Margaret magazine, will begin airing simultaneously nationwide on 28 TBS network stations from April 2nd. The story is a coming-of-age ensemble drama centered around four characters in a high school: the aloof girl Hikawa Koyuki, the school idol Azumi Miki, the outgoing boy Amamiya Minato, and the gentle and calm basketball club member Hino Yota. Popular voice actress Nagase Anna plays the lead role of Hikawa Koyuki. Nagase, who said she "encountered many new forms of expression" while playing Koyuki, spoke about the charm of the work and behind-the-scenes stories from the recording.
◇"Tears welled up" - She gently put into words the vague feelings I had back then.
"The Ramparts of Ice" was serialized on "LINE Manga" from January 2020 to April 2022. Hikawa Koyuki, who is not good at interacting with people and puts up walls between herself and others, spends her time alone in high school, not interacting with anyone other than her childhood friend Azumi Miki. However, she meets Amamiya Minato, who for some reason closes the distance between her and the laid-back and kind basketball club member Hino Yota. The delicate and realistic portrayal of psychology has resonated with many readers, and the cumulative number of views on "LINE Manga" has exceeded 160 million, and the cumulative number of comic book sales has exceeded 2 million copies, making it very popular.
Nagase himself was one of the readers who was deeply moved by the work.
"This is truly the first time I've ever shed tears while reading a book. It felt like it put into words the unease and confusion I felt when I was in high school and middle school, and it really touched my heart. It was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and as a person, I felt a sense of relief. I also really appreciate that it doesn't end on a negative note, and the discoveries and realizations like 'This is how it's always been' and 'This is what I wanted' are depicted with such sensitivity, which I think is unique to Mr. Agasawa's ' The Ramparts of Ice'."
Nagase herself said that when she was a student, she often tried to maintain superficial relationships, and felt that if she got deeply involved, she would have to be considerate of each other, or that it would increase the burden on both of them. She would just nod along when listening to others, or start a self-reflection session wondering if she had hurt someone with something she had said. These small things piled up and became a big source of anxiety.
"Reading ' The Ramparts of Ice,' I was able to recall that time and clearly understand, 'This is how I felt back then,' and I realized that not everything was wrong, and that it was okay at the time. It felt like it helped me, like it saved me."
◇ Koyuki 's heart has been constantly moved by an unexpected "sound"
Due to a trauma she experienced in middle school, Koyuki has built walls between herself and others, rarely showing her emotions and avoiding unnecessary interaction, which has earned her the nickname "Queen" from those around her. Nagase said she made many discoveries while playing Koyuki.
"When I was reading the manga, I thought the monologues were rather detached. I thought I was reading from Koyuki's perspective, where she can see things from an objective viewpoint. But during the recording, I was told, 'As someone directly involved, please do it from Koyuki's perspective, where she can't see things objectively.' So, rather than reading calmly, I focused on portraying a feeling of haphazardly searching for answers each time, as if this is the result of thinking things through before speaking."
Nagase had perceived Koyuki as "a cool girl who can calmly analyze things," but during the recording, he realized that "she's not like that at all, and her mind is constantly in a state of turmoil."
"The sound director also told me, 'Her emotions are constantly changing, so don't expect her to have the same expression twice.' I realized that it's true that no one stays the same all the time. In the first episode, I practiced and solidified the performance so much that I couldn't switch between emotions properly, but after recording episodes two and three, I realized that my approach to acting wasn't working."
In order to portray Koyuki, whose emotions and expressions change from scene to scene, Nagase said that he "stopped watching the footage for a while" during recording.
"There were times when I just read the book and didn't watch the video. When I did that, every time the scene changed, I, Nagase, would be surprised along with Koyuki, and I would make sounds like 'Huh?' that I'd never made before. From around episode 4 onwards, I think what was captured was what really came out naturally. When you approach it with a preconceived notion, it ends up feeling predictable, but when I approached it with a fresh perspective and tried things I don't usually do, I would make sounds I didn't expect, and say things that expressed feelings I hadn't anticipated."
Nagase says that he usually prepares thoroughly for each role before recording, but with "The Ramparts of Ice," he says, "I tried something different from my usual self, and I had many encounters with new forms of expression."
"Some listeners might think that there are scenes where I'm not really putting much emotion into it. Of course, I'm not just reading lines in a monotone, but there are a lot of scenes where I'm just rambling on about what I'm really thinking, or doing things that I wouldn't normally do as Nagase, so I think that's what makes it interesting."
◇"Self-indulgent acting won't do." - A realization gained from the project.
In the anime, in addition to Nagase-san as Koyuki , the four main characters are voiced by up-and-coming young voice actors: Shoya Chiba Fuka Izumi as Miki, Chiba Shoya-san as Minato, and Inomata Keishi-san as Yota. The recording studio was described as "extremely friendly."
"We start recording at 10 a.m., and since it's about school life, we start by recording background voices, saying, 'Let's start with vocal warm-ups.' We usually record the background voices after the main story is finished. Izumi-san, who plays Miki, starts the vocal warm-ups with a 'Wow!' and her brightness and energy really get everyone going."
There were times when I felt, "This is really fun," while interacting with the other cast members.
"The atmosphere is completely different between the first episode and the later episodes. In the first episode, there's an awkward distance between us, a sense of not being used to each other yet, which, combined with the work itself, creates an atmosphere of wondering how we should get closer to each other in that delicate distance. As we continued, we gradually relaxed and became more comfortable acting. The voices we recorded most recently are completely different from the voices in the first episode. That's because our approach to acting changed, and we were able to interact with each other more freely, which made it fun to act."
Nagase first gained attention in 2022 when she played the heroine in her first regular role in a TV anime, "Summer Time Rendering," and has since made her presence felt in various popular works. This time, she challenged herself with new forms of expression in " The Ramparts of Ice," and says that she was reminded of some things.
"I realized that self-centered acting just won't do. The reason I can empathize with Koyuki is because I really understand her feelings of wanting to be alone or not wanting to interact with people too much. But in ' The Ramparts of Ice,' there were many scenes where I felt, 'I can't just be myself,' and 'I have to connect with people on an emotional level.' In those situations, I would talk with the other actors during breaks, and then try acting again once the tension had eased. After all, a work of art is created by everyone, so I realized that I need to cherish those kinds of things even more than before."
Nagase and the other voice actors portray the subtle emotions of adolescence in "The Ramparts of Ice." There's something in it that will resonate with people of all generations. (Shiroinu/MANTANWEB)
