The TV anime "SANDA," based on the manga by Itagaki Paru, known for "BEASTARS," began airing in October on MBS, TBS, and other networks in the late-night anime slot "Animeism." This unique "Santa Claus" hero action story is set in a near-future Japan where children are overly protected in an era of extremely low birth rates. Murase Ayumu plays Ayumu Murase, a second-year middle school student and descendant of Santa Claus, while Tochi Hiroki plays Santa Claus, Mita's transformed form. We spoke to Murase and Tochi, who play the roles of Mita and Santa Claus, who are one and the same, about what went on behind the scenes during the recording.
◇14-year-old boy transforms into adult Santa Claus in the striking first episode
-What was your impression of the original work and what did you find appealing about it?
Not only is Murase 's illustrations powerful, but I also found the contrasting storylines incredibly interesting. Adults and children, or those who want to become adults and those who don't, are constantly at odds with each other. I think it's a very powerful work.
Higashiji: I still haven't read the original work. During recording, the art was pretty much done from the start, and I provided the voices for things that gave a sense of the world, but I thought the introduction to the story in the first episode was amazing. It starts with Mita's classmate Fuyumura (Shiori) trying to kill Mita, and then introduces Mita and Santa Claus, who are one and the same. The first episode was incredibly striking. I like Tim Burton, and in a good way, I feel like we share the same blood. As Murase said, the theme is adults and children, and I thought it was interesting that Santa Claus helps children in the near future who don't know about Santa Claus's existence.
-How do you perceive the characters of Mita and Santa Claus?
Murase: Until then, Mita had been a normal 14-year-old, but in the first episode he becomes Santa Claus, and after experiencing an adult body, he loses track of himself. I think that this will probably continue even after he becomes Santa Claus in his adult form. However, I think Mita himself is a character whose impulsiveness really shines through. He's honest, has a strong sense of justice, and has many boyish qualities, so he seems to symbolize the childlike nature of this work, which I find fascinating.
To begin with, I don't really understand the size of Santa Claus, but when he stands in front of Fuyumura, who is 182 cm tall, I imagine him to be about 2.5 meters tall, and this strong old man says, half-believing, "I want to help children, what is this feeling?" I think that is something that has been naturally passed down as Santa Claus. I think it's interesting to have a character that has that kind of feeling. There are new realizations in each episode during recording, so it was fun to get to know the character and act each episode.
◇Aha moment with two people playing one role: "So that's what it means!"
-What were your honest thoughts when you found out that you would be playing the roles of Mita and Santa Claus, who are one and the same?
It's a strange feeling to think that one day I'll be playing the same role as Murase-san and Higashiji-san... (laughs).
Higashiji-san, that's true here too (laughs).
-What did you feel when you played two roles?
At the beginning of Murase 's dubbing, Mita would often start speaking, then become Santa Claus, and so on, but when I was shown the footage up to episode 3, I felt like, "If I had Toji's vocal cords, I think I would speak like this as Mita." I don't know if it was intentional, or if it was natural, but it was like they were in sync.
Higashiji-san , really?
Murase: That's right. The way he gets excited and the things I would naturally choose are emanating from Santa Claus's strong body, and I really feel like we have the same heart. To be honest, I didn't really get it until the dubbing started. Even though his appearance has changed, he still has the same playful side and other things, but I still thought he seemed like a different person, and then I had this aha moment where I thought, "So that's it!" and I thought it was amazing.
Azuma-san: From episodes 1 to 3, I had quite a lot of lines where I thought, "This should be closer to Mita." There are a few lines that I imagined in my mind that if Mita were played by Murase, he would say like this. But gradually, those lines started to disappear. Because it became too easy to transform.
Murase: Maybe that was symbolic for me. Also, there was a line where Mita gradually transformed into Santa Claus. The two of them spoke the lines together, and then they switched halfway through.
Azuma-san had one. It was like a long line that switched in sync. The "Ho...ho...ho...hoho!" in the scene in episode 1 where Mita transforms into Santa Claus was also recorded in order, but first Murase recorded a long "Ho...ho...ho...hoho!" over and over, and I listened to it with headphones and synchronized it accordingly. We started from there.
To be continued in interview (2).
