The TV anime "Murai no Koi" based on the manga by Shima Junta, which was serialized in the "Gene LINE" label of the digital comic service "LINE Manga", will be broadcast on TOKYO MX and other stations from October 6th. The romantic comedy depicts the love story of Tanaka Ayano, a teacher who is seriously in love with her favorite character in a girls' game, and Murai, a high school boy who falls in love with the teacher and is reckless in his feelings. Takanashi Kengo plays Murai and Hikasa Yoko plays Tanaka.
◇A huge amount of information
Takanashi will be playing Murai again, following the drama CD. The drama CD was recorded before the original work was completed, so he approached the recording of the anime with a different feeling.
"There was a lot of information about the original work that I didn't know when I was making the drama CD, and I was able to act with that information added to it, so I was able to approach the recording with a higher resolution in my mind. Since the story was completed while the anime was being produced, I could see the goal I was aiming for, and I was able to act in a state that was easy to imagine in my mind, so it was very easy to do. As those who have read the original work will know, there is a reason and meaning behind every action of the characters and what is depicted, and the charm of this work is that it is not just a joke. It was difficult to decide how much of the meaning behind each one should be conveyed in the words, or how to mislead, and I tried and errored while adjusting the balance on site, but I was happy that I was able to create it carefully. The character is basically cool and calm, but I think the strength of his feelings will gradually be conveyed to the viewers. Each one of them will connect in the end, and how will everyone feel? I had fun acting."
Murai, played by Takanashi, is a high school student with excellent grades, who is serious and pure. He continues to approach Tanaka ferociously. In "Murai's Love," the characters, including Murai, talk a lot. There are also a lot of lines. The dialogue is one of the charms of the film.
"Even for a film that focuses on dialogue, there is an insane amount of information. The script for the anime is divided into scenes, but there is not a scene without lines. Someone is talking while someone else is talking. There is a huge amount of lines, and it is by far the most I have ever had in any film. I wanted to go to the set with the lines familiar to me, so I tried not to follow the words and focus on the person I was talking to, and I spent a lot of time preparing. That was difficult. I think it was difficult for everyone... (laughs)."
In addition to Takanashi and Hikasa, a star-studded cast of voice actors will appear, including Shimazaki Nobunaga as Haruka Shuto, Amakasaki Kouhei as Kiriyama, and Ishiya Haruki as Hirai.
"I'm playing the main role, and I'm the leader, but I'm not the type of person who pulls people along and gets the crowd excited. But I think everyone was very communicative on set. There was a lot of ad-libbing, and sometimes we'd be like, 'Here's this picture, so please help us out.' The people standing in the background were grinning, and the people doing it were sweating profusely (laughs). It was a really energetic and fun set."
With a lot of ad-libbing and a fast tempo, it looks like it's going to be a tough recording session. He was inspired by his co-stars and did his best as Murai.
"Because it's a comedy, if you want to keep the tempo, it's difficult to get the nuances in the amount of lines in this time, so I was worried. The shorter the time, the more I tried to act in a way that would be properly conveyed to everyone. I wanted to be able to properly convey the meaning behind the words, so it was a huge deal that we were able to record the dialogue. The tempo is what makes it interesting, and because the nuance is killed, some things are conveyed conversely, so I tried to go with the flow. I think everyone was probably doing the same thing. There were many things that you can't get unless you go to the set, and even if I tried to do the same thing again now, I probably wouldn't be able to. That's how much passion was born."
◇ Concentrating on the performance at every moment
Takanashi also said, "To be honest, I don't have any similarities to Murai personally. In fact, we're the complete opposite."
"I'm a pretty dry person, not very attached, and maybe not very devoted. If anything, I'd say I'm the type who gets excited easily but loses interest quickly. It's because I'm the complete opposite that I want to understand this character. I played the role with a restrained attitude, but there were some unreasonable requests on set. I was asked to voice something like "Murai's concept," and I wondered if it was okay to go all out because it was a "concept," but when I tried, I was told, "No, it's not. Please let Murai do that." There were times when we laughed during the test and recording, but I'm the type who tends to get hung up on things, so I tried not to get too hung up on it. I was always focused on that, and I think I managed to get through it somehow."
What I was conscious of while playing Murai was to stay consistent. Just as Murai is devoted to Tanaka, Takanashi also faced the role of Murai with devotion. "It's been a while since I last played the lead role in an anime, but to be honest I wasn't too nervous or nervous. I was really keen to stick to my approach to acting from start to finish, and I was constructing my acting with that strong feeling. The original work is complete, and I knew the ending well, so I wondered how Murai would change. Rather than having a single answer in my mind, I focused on how I felt and acted in each moment."
By the way, what kind of high school life did Takanashi himself have...?
"I had a pretty smooth and fun high school life. I was also active in club activities, and my school was one that held sports festivals and school festivals with a lot of enthusiasm, so I participated actively in them. It's youth. A lot of things happen in this work, but now I think that I had a similar high school life."
◇It should be a big shock!
Fans of the original work are curious to see how it will be animated. Takanashi and the other cast and staff poured their love into it.
"Manga and anime expressions are very different, and there are many things you need to be careful of and keep in mind, but the way the people involved in this work have made it makes you feel that they really love the original, so I think fans of the original will be able to watch it to the end with peace of mind. The emotions you would have felt when reading the original should be exactly the same when you watch the anime, and it's a work that's enjoyable no matter how many times you watch it. The shock of seeing this turned into audio and video should be huge."
Of course, you don't need to have read the original to enjoy it.
"If you watch the PV without knowing the original work, you might not understand it well. You might get information like, "It's a love story, it's a comedy..." But you will be 100% surprised in a good way (laughs). I think the way you see it will change depending on who you empathize with and follow the drama. How will each hint be resolved? Or not? There is so much information that I want you to take notes while watching. If you watch it to the end, you will be glad you watched it, and you will want to watch it again and read the original work. You may be a little wary if I put it into words like this now (laughs)."
What does "100% surprised in a good way" mean? "Murai's Love" seems to be an anime that can be enjoyed in various ways.
*Note: The "崎" characters in Shimazaki Nobunaga and Amazaki Kohei's names are pronounced as "tatsusaki" (standing 崎).
