My Dress-up Darling Hina Suguta x Shoya Ishige Interview | MANTANWEB(まんたんウェブ)

My Dress-up Darling Hina Suguta x Shoya Ishige Interview

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Season 2 of the TV anime "My Dress-up Darling My Dress-up Darling between Gojo Niina, a high school boy training to become a head maker who makes faces for Hina dolls, and Kitagawa Marin, a gal who loves anime and games and is interested in cosplay. This is the first new TV anime in about three years since Season 1 aired from January to March 2022. We spoke to Hina Suguta, who plays Kitagawa Marin, and Shoya Ishige, who plays Gojo Niina, about the long-awaited Season 2 for fans.

◇We were surprised by the huge response from all over the world!

--Season 1 received a tremendous response.

Naota: When we were recording Season 1, I never imagined we would get such a big response, so I was surprised and scared when I received such a big response and wondered if I was okay. Over the past three years, I have had more opportunities to go abroad, and I have often felt the response from people overseas directly. Wherever I go, people say, "I love Marin," and "Please do Season 2!", and people come to see me cosplaying as Marin and Gojo. I am happy and surprised at the big response not only from Japan but from all over the world. I was happy to see that my voice was reaching such a place!

Ishige: I often hear from fellow artists that they are watching the show. Many people have also watched the linked project, "The Main Character Voice Actor Sews Clothes," and I felt that "My Dress-up Darling" was a show that many people liked.

--This is your first new work in about three years.

Ishige-san , when will it be broadcast? While we were wondering, it was finally decided that it would be broadcast from July, and while I was happy, I also felt a little pressure. Of course, I was very happy and excited, but since people had waited this long, I felt pressure to see if they would enjoy it more than Season 1.

Naota: It was my first time to play the heroine, but I didn't feel much pressure during the dubbing of Season 1. It was a warm atmosphere, and it was my turn to do what I could do. When the sequel was announced, I was overjoyed, but since then, I've been feeling the pressure on myself. When the recording of Season 2 started, I felt a weight that was completely different from that of Season 1. It's been three years, and I've gotten that old, so I was nervous and anxious about whether I could do it, but all the staff were kind, so I felt a little relieved. We ourselves had been wondering for three years when it would be done, and when we finally got to do the dubbing, I was 90% pressured, but I was also happy that it was finally here!

◇The scene where their love accelerates

-What was the most memorable scene in Season 1?

Naota: Every scene was memorable, but I think the scene in episode 5 where Marin realizes her feelings for Gojo on the train is an important one. The train wheels turn, subtly expressing the accelerating love between the two of them, and it was a memorable scene that could only be shown in anime.

Ishige: Yes, every scene is memorable. Personally, the scene that stuck in my mind was when I had to make a costume for Shizuku-tan in episode 4, then my grandfather was hospitalized, and I had to do everything for myself, and I worked through the night, and I cried, and Kitagawa-san cried too... The sea scene in episode 8 was also memorable. It was a slightly pastel-toned, dramatic scene, and left a strong impression.

--What is the appeal of the characters that each of you play?

Naota: Gojo-kun is such a good kid that I wonder why he has never been able to fit in with his class and has been living alone. He is such a good kid that I wonder if there is such a pure and straightforward first year high school boy? He has a craftsman-like temperament because he grew up watching his grandfather's back, and he doesn't use the word "beautiful" unless he truly believes that he is beautiful. He is also strong, and I think that is Gojo-kun's charm. In Season 1, there were few scenes where he interacted with his friends at school other than Marin, but I'm excited to think that Gojo-kun's charm will be conveyed more and more from now on. If there was a kid like him, he'd be very popular! Marin wants him to notice his charm, but she is a little scared of him not noticing it. There is also a parental perspective that wants him to stay this wonderful and grow up to be a straightforward adult.

Ishige and Kitagawa are overwhelmingly positive, and it's wonderful how they firmly communicate their opinions and beliefs to others. Although they can say harsh things to people who reject the things they like, they generally don't reject others. That part is also really wonderful. In episode 1, in the dress preparation room, there's a scene where they look at the head of the Hina doll. Kitagawa doesn't touch it. She just looks. I felt that she was very considerate. I think that scene speaks volumes about Kitagawa's humanity. She speaks like a gal, but she's not rough, she's sensitive, and I think that's what makes her so wonderful.

--What will change in Season 2? Will the distance between the two of you change?

Naota: In Season 1, the focus was on the two of them having fun together and cosplaying, but in Season 2, there are more scenes in which Marin brings her feelings of love to the forefront. There are changes to the characters, but the feel of a romantic comedy may be getting stronger.

I think there were many scenes where Ishige-san and Gojo-kun's expressions were more pronounced. I tried to express that to the fullest extent of the character Gojo Niina. For us actors and the viewers, it's been three years, but the world depicted in the anime is a continuation of Season 1. I acted with the awareness that the distance between them was not too far, but not too close.

◇ Play Umi Yume to the fullest

--What do you keep in mind when playing the role of Marin?

Naota-san's lines are decided, of course, but I'm not the type of person who puts weight on words, and I try to be conscious of just putting what comes out freshly without thinking too much. I want to think about it, but I think it's important to just put what I feel when talking to Gojo-kun honestly and freshly without thinking too deeply.

--Your gal-like way of speaking, with its unique rhythm and intonation, is impressive.

Naota speaks quite fast, but he acts with the feeling of "Let's go for it!" and "Go!"

--What's attractive about Niina is her straightforwardness.

Ishige: I try not to have any evil thoughts. He has some of those typical of adolescence, but his reactions are pure. As the actor, I'm getting older, so I'm trying to get rid of evil thoughts and go to the scene with clear eyes. I have some similarities with Gojo-kun, but I'm more likely to worry than he is, so I try to have a certain kind of freshness, a feeling that the depths of my eyes shine, and a pure, innocent heart.

Naota-san, that's right!

Ishige-san is a rare, innocent, good-natured young man. I myself have to have similar feelings. I must never become an unpleasant character, and I try to go to the set with a pure heart.

--What did you feel working together again for the first time in a while on "My Dress-up Darling"?

Naota-san, you haven't changed in a good way. It feels natural.

It's been a while since I acted with Ishige-san , but since the broadcast of Season 1 ended, we've been doing some kind of radio show together about once every six months, so it wasn't like in Season 1 where we didn't talk to each other at all until episode 7 or 8. We're both shy, and we were really nervous in Season 1.

Naota: That's right. There's a very quiet atmosphere. That's the "My Dress-up Darling" set.

I don't think things would have turned out this way if we hadn't been together at all for those three years, Mr. Ishige .

Naota: That's true. I think I was really shy (laughs).

--In Season 1, the project "The Voice Actor Who Sews His Clothes," in which Ishige tried to make cosplay costumes, became a hot topic. It seems that this will be revived in Season 2...

Ishige: I'm often asked, "Are you going to do that project again?" and I feel the same pressure as I did with the main story. Last time, I had no experience and was taught by a teacher, but I don't think I can do it with the same quality as last time, so I'll do my best to show something good. It's my second time, so I don't have any room to spare.

Naota-san, you say you feel some pressure, but you seem really enthusiastic about it. You were really looking forward to it!

Ishige: That's true. Season 1 was really tough. But when it ended, I felt more lonely. Maybe it suits my personality, but I like that kind of work. I have things to reflect on from last time, so I want to do my best. I'm looking forward to it.

This site uses machine translation. Please note that it may not always be accurate and may differ from the original Japanese text.

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