Miyuri Shimabukuro x Kiyono Yasuno x Taito Ban:Anime "Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku" Interview with Second Year Students (1) Empathy as an Actor

"Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku " is a TV anime currently airing on Nippon Television, BS Nippon Television and other networks. The original work is by Ayano Takeda , known for the novel series " Sound! Euphonium ," and the manga is by Mushu. The story follows Haruyama Kana, who lives on Tonakijima, a small island with a population of 600, as she joins the broadcasting club at Sumomogaoka High School and deepens her love of reading aloud with the other members of the broadcasting club. We spoke to Miyuri Shimabukuro Usui, Kiyono Yasuno, who plays Ryoko Seii, and Taito Ban, who plays Setarou Hakoyama, about their thoughts on the work and what went on behind the scenes during recording. As the work is based on the voice, it seems that they have special feelings as actors...

◇Everyone is different

--Voice is one of the themes in this work. What is your impression of the work?

Yasuno-san, I thought about what is the root of this work, and if I had to sum it up in one word, I think it's "everyone is different." It's not like "everyone is different, everyone is good." The National Contest that Kana-chan and her friends are aiming for involves pass/fail and judging, and not everyone will get first place or 100 points, but each person has different likes and dislikes, things they want to convey, and thoughts they have, and these will take the form of their own expression. The relationship between seniors and juniors in high school life is portrayed warmly, but the harsh side is also properly depicted...I think it's a work that depicts expression.

-As an actor, do you relate to that?

Mr. Yasuno: I audition every day, but there are always some who pass and some who fail. Even if there are 100 people, only one is chosen. In addition to the voice quality and acting that the selectors imagine, I think there are various ways to get a role, such as the actor's own personality being similar to the core of the character, but each actor who auditions has their own perspective and thoughts they want to convey. I think about how to express that every day, so there are many parts of this work that I can really relate to.

Mr. Saka: The characters in this work want to win. They don't want to lose, they want to read well, they want to get better, they want a place to belong, and they all want different things. It also depicts a cruel side. When you are chosen or evaluated, you are always ranked higher or lower, and it's the same for us. You can't change what you were born with, and even if you try to imitate something, it just becomes an imitation. You can't beat the talent you have from the beginning. It feels cruel, but that's what draws me to it.

Shimabukuro: That's true! However, it's not enough to just have good sense; you have to draw that as well.

Saka-san: That's right.

Shimabukuro Mizuki is a girl who can read so well that even from Yoshiko's point of view, she probably feels a little jealous. She has something that is overwhelming. It may be a reflection of her life up to that point, or it may be the magnitude of her emotions. It may be something she was born with, and I don't know the reason, but she has amazing elements.

◇Do you have a “natural voice”?

-Which character do you sympathize with?

It's An-chan , Mr. Saka . An-chan realized that she wasn't that great, so she decided to take a different path. I'm not a great person either, so when I see great people, I feel dazzled. An-chan is close to life-size, so I can empathize with her.

This is Shimabukuro-san's Hana-chan from the beginning. This is all I've done, and this is all I love. If that is denied, I can't do anything. That's why I can really understand the idea of ​​being scared of aiming higher. After going through that, I hope I can become someone who can love their own readings, like Yoshiko. I empathize with Yoshiko too. Yoshiko is amazing!

Yasuno: I empathize with Yoshiko. Yoshiko has been described as having a "soft, marshmallow-like voice," and while it is probably soft, I think it's more on the ordinary side. I also think my voice is ordinary. I don't have a flashy voice that carries well on the microphone, and I've always tried to tackle roles with a high level of resolution, thinking that my voice is ordinary. I can relate to that. I can understand her feelings all too well. I really empathize with Yoshiko, who is plain but competes with love.

--Is there such thing as a "natural voice"?

Saka-san: Yes. Fujidera-san (Mitsunori Minori Fujidera, who plays Hana) is really amazing. We are also inspired by her.

Yasuno-san and Mitoku-chan have something that can change the atmosphere. They are really like Kana-chan. Their personalities are so similar to Kana-chan's that they are overwhelming.

There are some scenes where Kana Shimabukuro 's reading makes you gasp, but it's because of Mitoku that you feel that way, and there are also some parts that are drawn out. She's soft, but she has a core, and you wonder what will happen next.

Mr. Saka's best qualities are brought out naturally.

-- Just as Yoshiko is said to have a "marshmallow-like voice," her voice is expressed through text in the original work. Is it difficult to express that in anime?

Mr. Saka is very difficult.

Mr. Yasuno, that could be a guideline.

Saka-san describes Hakoyama as having a voice that sounds like a ship's engine. However, he is a second-year high school student, so I took that into consideration and tried to break it down in my own way.

Shimabukuro-san, Mizuki's voice is not written as "this kind of voice". If there is a hint, it is that she is a "genius" as Yoshiko-chan said. Mizuki is like a bulldozer, and she has a rough tone. She basically wears pants for casual wear. Many people took a boyish approach at the audition, but I didn't do that. In the actual recording, I emphasized my lively side. If I tried to do it naturally, I would end up losing out to the other characters, so I tried to be as lively as I could, as much as I could.

--By the way, I heard that Shimabukuro-san was a member of the broadcasting club.

Mr. Saka has national experience, doesn't he?

Shimabukuro: At the time I was in a pretty absent-minded state, so I just read the parts that I liked.

--From your perspective as someone with experience, do you think the broadcasting club is portrayed realistically?

Shimabukuro-san is very realistic. It reminded me of practice and many other things. The reading in this work has been adjusted as an anime. If it was too realistic, the depiction might have become a little dull. I feel that the realism of the club activities is expressed while the expression as an anime is finely adjusted.

In the reading scene for Yasuno Mizuki, Miyuri did a test reading that was realistic as a nationally experienced actress, but she was also given the direction to "express it a little more dramatically."

To be continued in interview (2).