The Blu-ray Disc (BD) box set of the anime "Aldnoah.Zero" will be released on March 26th. It is an original robot anime directed by Ei Aoki and with a story by Gen Urobuchi. The first season was broadcast from July to Aldnoah.Zero 2014, and the second season was broadcast from January to March 2015. The BD box set will include all 24 episodes of the TV anime, as well as the new anime "EP24.5: Rain Fragment -The Penultimate Truth-". The new anime is an animated version of a reading drama that was shown at an event after the TV anime ended. About nine months after the end of the war between Earth and Mars, Kaizuka Inaho will meet Slaine Troyard again at the detention facility. Aldnoah.Zero(Re+), which is a compilation of the TV anime and new anime, was also screened in theaters for a limited time from February 28th, which became a hot topic. We asked Natsuki Hanae, who plays Inaho, and Kensho Ono, who plays Slaine, about their thoughts on the new work while looking back on the events from about 10 years ago.
◇ I'm a little envious of myself from 10 years ago
-What did you feel when you found out that a new work was going to be produced?
Hanae: It's a story that was once read out at an event, but it's rare for a new video to be made after 10 years, so I was very surprised. It's been a while since I did the dubbing, so I was a bit worried about whether I could do it properly.
Ono: First of all, it started with recalling distant memories. But after the TV anime ended, I often talked about "It would be nice to make a new work" at the scene of another work by TROYCA, so I was happy. When I read the script, I thought it looked familiar. Halfway through, I remembered that it was a story about a reading play! (laughs). The event was held right after the anime broadcast ended.
-What did you remember when you watched the compilation?
Even now, I think Ono-san's performances are of amazing quality. Even after 10 years, they haven't faded at all. I felt that I sounded very young. Not just in terms of my voice quality, but also in terms of the way I acted.
Hanae-san, I rewatched it with a fresh feeling, but I remembered it very well. I was really trying my best back then. I still try my best now, but back then, I felt like I was just hanging on. But Inaho is calm and smart, so I remembered working hard to fill that gap. There was something about me back then that was a good quality that only I could bring out, so I watched it with nostalgia. I'm a little envious. Even if I wanted to have that feeling now, I couldn't aim for it.
Ono-san, I also looked back at it and thought that he was trying really hard (laughs). I try my best every time, but I'm the type of person who doesn't really accept myself, so I don't think it's good enough, but I think it was the best I could do at the time, and I tried harder than I thought I would.
--What is the most memorable thing about filming the TV series?
Ono- san Ten-chan (Amamiya Sora Amamiya Vers Allusia) once made bean sprout namul and brought it to me in a lunch box. I didn't have any chopsticks, so I used a coffee stirrer from the studio as chopsticks and ate it.
Hanae-san, it was delicious, wasn't it?
Ono: It was an original work, so I was excited to read the script, wondering how it would turn out. At the end of the first season, Slaine shoots Inaho, and it ends. I remember thinking, "Will we be able to see more of it for a while?"
◇The new work marked a turning point
-What did you keep in mind when acting for the first time in about 10 years?
Hanae-san has experienced a lot in the past 10 years, and there have been many opportunities for him to say that he likes this work, so I have a lot of feelings for it, and so I felt a gentle feeling when I played Inaho. In the first scene where I was talking to Calm, I also liked Calm, so my acting became gentle. The director told me, "You're gentle," so I made some fine adjustments. It was quite difficult.
Ono: I don't think I had much difficulty with it. Slaine isn't in a flat state, he starts off completely depressed, but Inaho is in a flat state, so I think that was more difficult. Slaine is depicted opening up to Inaho a little, so if I can get the starting point right, I think I can just go with the flow. I approached it with that feeling. I also looked carefully at how I uttered my voice 10 years ago. It was also good that we were able to record together. My relationship (with Hanae) is different from 10 years ago. We've become good friends over the past 10 years, but it's been a while since we've worked together on an anime. It's been quite a while since we've spoken to each other, so I was a little embarrassed.
Hanae-san, is that so? (laughs)
Ono-san is acting really well! (laughs)
It'd been a while since I'd last performed with Hanae-san, so I thought it was fun, but I don't think I felt embarrassed at all.
Ono-san, that's a difference in personality (laughs).
-How do you feel now that you've finished performing in the new production?
Ono-san had always wanted to continue the story, so I felt like this was a good break from the previous one. It also made sense to me that it was a proper end. The ending gives Slaine a little hope and light, so I don't want him to become unhappy from here on out.
Hanae-san's Inaho is considerate in his own way, but he speaks in a matter-of-fact manner, so I understand that the other person might feel a little mocked. He does say a lot of kind words in his own way, though. At the end, he talked to Yuki-san about wanting to go to the beach, and we saw that Inaho is not yet fully grown up. The ending showed that he will move forward in his own way, so I felt that, as Kensho-san said, it was a turning point.
I was also happy to see Ono-san's character, Inko. There are also some details about the other characters, so I think it will be enjoyed by those who have been supporting the series since it was first aired.
I was also happy to see Hanae-san's Edelrizzo for the first time in a while. Also, it seems interesting that each philosophy has its own answer.
◇When you realize it, you're often together
--How do you feel you've changed together over the past 10 years?
Ono: We met for the first time when we were working on Aldnoah.Zero. Before we knew it, we were hanging out together a lot. (Hanae) I don't think his stance has changed. I get the impression that his approach to the work hasn't changed.
I spend a lot of time with Hanae-san when we're not acting, so when we occasionally work together I think to myself, "He's a really decent guy..." (laughs).
Ono: I think we both feel the same way.
Hanae-san and Kensho-san are cool in that they know their own strengths and good points and use them as weapons. But I don't think they'll change.
Ono- san, I don't really know. It's hard to tell the changes in your family. It's easy to see the changes in people you haven't seen in a while, but we have so much contact that it's hard to notice the changes. One thing that has changed in the past 10 years is that you've started going to the sauna. At one point, we used to go to the sauna together two or three times a week.
Hanae-san made his debut at Jiro (Ramen Jiro).
Ono-san: Exactly. Thank you for really falling in love with me.
--You don't usually talk about acting?
It would be exhausting if Hanae-san were to talk about passionate acting theories every time. I like the fact that he's not like that.
Ono -san: I don't think there is a right answer when it comes to acting, and each of us has our own ideas about what is good, so it's not like we have to be like this! Both of us have a clear on and off time.
