The animated feature film "Ganbatte Ikimasshoi" (directed by Sakuragi Yuhei), based on Shikimura Ryoko's coming-of-age novel that has also been made into a live-action film and a TV drama, will be released on October 25th. The original novel is a masterpiece coming-of-age novel that won the grand prize of the Botchan Literature Award in 1995. In 1998, it was made into a live-action film starring actress Tanaka Rena, and became a long-running hit. In 2005, a drama starring Suzuki Anne and Nishikido Ryo was broadcast. The anime is also attracting attention for its star-studded cast of voice actors, including Amamiya Sora as the protagonist Murakami Etsuko, Ito Miku as Saeki Hime, Takahashi Rie as Takahashi Rina, Kito Akari as Hyodo Taeko, and Hasegawa Ikumi as Imoto Mayumi. We spoke to Hasegawa about what went on behind the scenes of the recording and her memories of her high school days.
◇I've come this far just because I hate to lose
"Ganbatte Ikimasshoi" is set in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, and depicts the growth and emotional turmoil of a high school girl who devotes her youth to the rowing club. Hasegawa said that she expanded her imagination by watching videos of rowing before recording.
"There aren't many works with the rowing club as their theme, so I thought it was a realistic depiction of the human drama of high school students. I'm from Tochigi, a landlocked prefecture, so there were no rowing clubs around, and I thought that there are clubs like this in areas close to the sea. Before recording, I didn't know how much voice I would need to put into rowing, so I watched a video of rowing. It's a sport that uses the whole body. You plant your feet, use your arms and abdominal muscles!"
Hasegawa plays Imoto Mayumi (Imochi), who decides to join the rowing club in order to beat her rival Hyodo Taeko (Dakko). Although she always argues with Taeko, they actually know each other well. At first glance, she seems like a rich girl, but...
"From the setting and appearance, she seems well-bred and a typical rich girl, but she's fighting from the beginning, and she's more stubborn than you'd think, so she makes an impact. I think she's the one who livens things up among the main characters. I like how competitive she is. She's full of fighting spirit, and when she meets kids from other schools, she's like, "I can't lose!" In the first place, she started rowing because she didn't want to lose to Dakko."
Hasegawa said she sympathized with her "competitive spirit."
"Honestly, it's just my competitive spirit that's brought me this far (laughs). It's exhausting. I'm so competitive that I even think, "Enough already...". I want to settle down soon, but I think that since I've come this far, I won't change. It's a job where there are auditions and the results are easy to see, so maybe that's what happens. When I fail an audition, I feel frustrated, but I watch the PV for that work."
◇Are you similar to Kito Akari?
When I interviewed Kito, who plays Dakko, he said, "I've always thought that Hasegawa is similar to me." He said that he felt that their voice quality and acting style were similar.
"That's certainly true. We're not the same, but I thought that if we were to categorize us into different genres, we'd be actors in the same place. Sometimes we get confused. It was refreshing to be able to record together with Kito. We had a good exchange of dialogue. I think it would be a different feel if I played Dakko. And Kito probably does too. But I think Kito would fit well as I play Imochi."
Imochi and Dakko are always fighting. Hasegawa looks back and says, "It was fun arguing with each other."
"They're always fighting. It's amazing. Most of them say things like 'idiot'. It's cute. They're a little immature mentally, and there's no tension, and it's a light relationship. It was fun to act. It's one thing when they're in elementary school, but if they can say this much to each other as high school students, they must be best friends. I'd like to see what they'll be like in a few years. It's probably a relationship that will last forever, or maybe they'll be very calm."
The members of the rowing club, including Imochi, have different personalities. It's beautiful to see these members facing themselves and facing rowing.
"When I see these kids outside of club activities, there's really no unity. Their personalities and everything are all different. But rowing is a sport where you have to think about the people around you, and you can't do it if you're not in sync, and it's wonderful that they're gradually becoming more and more in sync. The brilliance of these kids, combined with the beautiful images of the sea, looks really sparkling."
The appearance of a luxurious cast of voice actors is also a hot topic.
"Etsu-nee is not a quiet girl, but she is originally a lively type and has a passion. I think it's a difficult character, but Amemiya-san's exquisite nuance is really wonderful. Hime is a girl with a simple cuteness. I don't think it would suit her if she was too cute. She also has a supportive side. For Riina, the only person I can think of is Rie-san (laughs). She is a presence that changes the atmosphere, and I felt a difference in the atmosphere. She grew up in a different environment than the other four characters." ◇I will never lose! Suddenly motivated I asked Hasegawa-san about her own high school days. "I didn't do any club activities. I joined a volunteer club for a short time, but I quit. My high school was far from my house, so I went there by bicycle, and I thought that this isn't a club activity, right? (laughs). I really had no hobbies. High school was the least motivated time of my life. I hardly left the house during summer vacation, and I spent all my time watching Nico Nico Douga. I had so little energy that I think to myself now, "I could have done something!" In middle school, I was into table tennis and it was fun, but when I got to high school, people from all over the country gathered there, and the atmosphere was so different from before, and I was like, "It's so different!?" and I became lethargic. There was not even a millimeter of sparkle like in this movie."
Although she was lethargic, she had a dream of becoming a voice actor. Going to a vocational school was a turning point.
"I wanted to become a voice actor, but I was in the countryside, so I didn't really feel like going to a training school. But I didn't want to go to college. I didn't want to study anymore, and I wanted to be a voice actor, so I went to a vocational school for voice actors. I had never done acting before, and it was at a vocational school that I first learned acting. It was a place where there were only people with the same dream, and since I'm originally a competitive person, I suddenly became motivated and thought, "I'm not going to lose!"
Hasegawa, who hates to lose, must have put in a lot of effort. Now she has become an undisputed popular voice actor. Finally, when I asked her, "If you could go back to high school?"... "I was overweight back then, so I lost weight. I lost weight when I applied to the agency. If I could go back to being a high school student, I would like to pay attention to my appearance and dress fashionably. I didn't know anything about makeup, so I would like to have a so-called "real life" lifestyle. I wish I had had the initiative to go to a training school when I was in high school... but looking back now, I don't know. I wasn't that glamorous, but I'm grateful that I was able to have a simulated experience with "Ganbatte Ikimasshoi." Being able to express myself like this is the gift of imagination."
