The TV anime "Baban Baban Ban Vampire)" follows Mori Ranmaru, a 450-year-old vampire who works as a live-in part-timer at a public bathhouse while hiding his true identity, as he struggles to protect the chastity of Tatsuno Rihito, the bathhouse's only son, 15 years old, in search of the ultimate tasting "blood of an 18-year-old Rihito Tatsuno." We spoke to Namikawa Daisuke, who plays Mori Ranmaru, and Daisuke Namikawa Yusuke, who plays Tatsuno Rihito, about the behind-the-scenes of the recording, as they take on the distinctive roles of a 450-year-old vampire and a Yusuke Kobayashi virgin who is pure at the soul level.
◇How to express surreal gags in anime
-What is your impression of the work?
Namikawa: Amidst all the gags, the characters are very pure and straightforward, and the misunderstandings that arise from this are depicted. The drawings are beautiful and powerful. It was very difficult to express and act in an anime that captures that charm from the original work. We all worked hard, hoping to act in a way that doesn't ruin the good parts of the original work.
The first thing I felt when I read Kobayashi's original work was the surrealism of the gags. There were many that slowly got to me. However, as Namikawa said, some parts are funny because they are still images of the manga, and I wondered if they would fall apart when they were moved. However, I think the fun is conveyed more than enough because it is animation and has voices. Personally, I'm looking forward to the broadcast.
◇Mori Ranmaru played by all technical experts. The purity of Lee In that touches Mori-san
--You play two strong characters, Mori Ranmaru, a 450-year-old vampire, and Rihito Tatsuno, a supreme virgin who is pure at the soul level. What did you keep in mind when acting?
I felt that Namikawa-san was not going for a specific goal. After all, it's funny because of the gags, right? Or because he's 450 years old or a vampire, but rather, Mori Ranmaru is calm and collected. Accumulating 450 years is an impossible task, so you can't reach it even if you think deeply about it. I thought that perhaps planning would be difficult for Ranmaru, so I decided to build up his story in a straightforward way, neither weighty nor frivolous. I tried to use the various things I've accumulated so far to act without overdoing it.
--Li In, played by Kobayashi, is a character with whom Mori Ranmaru falls head over heels in love.
Kobayashi: As I myself have become more and more worn down as I get older, it was really hard for me to dig up the pure side of Lee In from within myself. Also, Lee In is a cute character, but when she becomes a bratty girl, it's irritating, and it doesn't really strike a chord with Mori-san.
Namikawa-san, that's true!
Kobayashi: That's right. I guess I could see through it. When I talked to the original author, he said that I wasn't that kind of nasty, which is why he chose me for the role of Lee In.
Namikawa-san , that's so pure, indeed!
Kobayashi: However, as I was delivering the lines in the story, my own interpretation as someone in my 40s inevitably came out somewhere, so I had to ask for corrections each time.
Namikawa-san's interpretation of a person in their 40s... (laughs) That's good, it's heavy.
Kobayashi-san (laughs) I think I polished it a little too much (laughs).
--When you play a pure character, do you sometimes end up coming off as too cunning?
Kobayashi: That's right. There are cases where it's more interesting to go with this flow and be so cunning, but going off the rails in a good way is one of the things this anime does right, so I wasn't afraid to go against the flow and I wanted to go against the flow.
Namikawa-san is so profound, he's in his 40s, as expected.
Thank you Kobayashi-san (laughs).
Continued in interview (2).
