Continuation of interview (1). The second chapter of the completely new theatrical trilogy "Mononoke the Movie," based on the popular TV anime "Mononoke," which was broadcast on Fuji TV's late-night anime slot "Noitamina" in 2007, "Mononoke the Movie: Chapter 2: Fire Rat," was released on March 14th. The movie is set in the inner palace, where women's passions swirl, and follows a medicine seller who pursues the true identity of the "Mononoke." After the first chapter, "Karakasa," in which new maids Asa and Kame appeared as the main characters, the second chapter features Fuki Tokita, a court lady of townspeople's origins who enjoys the Emperor's favor, and Otomo Botan, the daughter of a senior councilor. The contrasting roles of Fuki, who has worked her way up, and Botan, who comes from a distinguished family, are played by voice actors Yoko Hikasa and Haruka Tomatsu. We asked them about what went on behind the scenes of the recording and their impressions of each other as voice actors.
◇ They are surprised by each other's potential and engage in a serious battle
--In this work, you played the contrasting characters of Fuki and Botan. What are your impressions and charms of each other as voice actors?
Hikasa-san, in my opinion, what type of acting is Haruka Tomatsu good at...but surprisingly, she plays a lot of serious roles?
I wonder what Tomatsu-san thinks. What am I like? (laughs)
Hikasa-san often plays proper characters. Even though she has a "Yay!" vibe, she often plays surprisingly serious characters.
Tomatsu-san, that's true (laughs). It's true that you've been playing a lot of serious roles recently.
Hikasa: The Haruka Tomatsu I know is the type who would laugh out loud and say, "Isn't it so-and-so?", so I watched the show thinking that she was the complete opposite of Button, but since she's acting, I think that she probably has that side to her, she just doesn't show it on the surface.
You can't do it unless you have Tomatsu-san .
Hikasa: Yes, you can't do what you don't have. In that sense, the role of Button still makes me feel the infinite possibilities of Haruka Tomatsu. In Chapter 2, Button is like a guidepost, so the director had quite a lot of detailed requests for her character, and I thought it was impressive that she was able to respond to them so easily. On the other hand, in Chapter 1, Fuki's character creation was quite vague, so I had a lot of trouble with it. I had to fix it several times.
To Tomatsu-san .
Hikasa-san : "Oh," you were there too (laughs). You might have forgotten though.
Tomatsu-san was there (laughs).
Hikasa-san is from the same generation as me, but I think she is an actor with a lot to learn from.
Tomatsu-san is happy.
--What do you think of Hikasa, Tomatsu-san?
Hikasa-san , please praise me and praise me (laughs).
Even among Tomatsu-san , Hikasa is the one who gives the impression of being almighty in anything.
Even Hikasa doesn't have anything that really stands out.
Tomatsu-san , you're amazing for being all-powerful. You play hot-blooded characters, calm characters, and really silly characters (laughs).
Hikasa-san is actually a joking person.
Tomatsu-san: That's true (laughs). Hikasa can really do anything, so if I were the one casting, I would think, "I want to include Hikasa." I'm sure she'll live up to expectations, and have the charm to make the show interesting. We've worked together in a variety of productions, and depending on the production, I'm sometimes surprised to see her play roles like this. I had the image of her playing a lot of comedic roles, so when she plays a serious role, it's like, "Hikasa...!"
Hikasa: We both think the same thing (laughs).
Tomatsu: "Mononoke" itself is not a comedy or comedy, so when it comes to serious emotional clashes, we didn't really have any serious arguments with each other through our roles. It was a real fight, and especially Fuki seemed to lose his temper from his soul, so I think it was quite refreshing to see them seriously clash like that. I think Fuki's role required a lot of energy, but he came at me with his soul. Button is someone who looks at things objectively, so rather than getting angry with me, he has a cooler side, like "Are you satisfied with being that angry?", and I think that contrast really came out.
Hikasa: I tried to confront him with all my heart, but he just brushed me off.
Tomatsu-san, that's right.
Hikasa : After the recording, I think that Fuki and Button probably see different world lines. Fuki is burning up inside herself in a narrow world where she can only see herself and her family. It seems like she is expressing her resentment and anger to others, but the Ooku is a place where she can't express it. So she keeps the resentment and anger stored up inside her body, and the words that come out of her mouth are threatening to others, or a sense of superiority that says "I'm better", a lie, and it feels like a fire rat is burning inside her. For Fuki, Button is probably the first person to be able to express it. Button is also Button, and I think she probably held it in when she didn't know what to do in this world that doesn't change no matter what she says. It was like they had something in common, or maybe the shape was different but the outline was the same, so in a sense they were rivals and comrades in arms. After all, there aren't many people who can compete with each other.
Hikasa and Tomatsu, who are of the same generation, play the characters Fuki and Botan, who seem to be complete opposites but are actually similar. It will be interesting to see how the two of them stumble and interact.
