The TV anime "See you at the Food Court" based on the manga by Nariie Shinichiro, which is currently being serialized on the manga distribution site "Comic Newtype" (KADOKAWA), will be broadcast on TOKYO MX and other stations from July 7th. The original manga is about Wada, who gives off an aura of being difficult to talk to, and Yamamoto, who looks like a gyaru and is feared by those around her, meeting every day at the food court and chatting about trivial things... and has become a hot topic on social media as a manga about "high school girls just talking". Wada will be played by Hiyori Miyazaki, who will be making her first regular appearance in an anime, and Yamamoto will be played by popular voice actress Yoshino Aoyama. We spoke to the two about the appeal of the work and what went on behind the scenes during the recording.
◇ Surprise and joy at appearing on "Fudo Asu" "A major incident!"
-What was your impression of the original work?
Although Miyazaki-san said that it was really just the two of them talking in a food court, the illustrations were very beautiful. I thought that the expressions of the characters, the movements, and the atmosphere of the food court were beautifully and comically expressed. I was very interested in how such things would be expressed in the anime.
It's exactly the kind of slice-of-life story that Aoyama-san was looking for, where nothing really happens. The conversations are so realistic that it makes you think, "Maybe the two of them are somewhere in the 3D world we live in." I can empathize with how Wada's angry gaze is depicted so uniquely and funny that I think, "I understand!" and "That's what he cuts right to the heart." The illustrations are also very cute, so I think it's a charming work that is both entertaining and soothing.
--I heard that both Miyazaki and Aoyama were cast after auditions. Miyazaki will be playing Wada, one of the two main characters, in his first regular role in an anime.
Miyazaki-san, I was really happy, I couldn't believe it until the recording. I really love the character Wada...! She looks like an honor student and is pure, but inside she loves to talk, she has a bad mouth, and she's very human. There were some parts of her that overlapped with me, and it was the first character I felt I could play naturally, so I was really happy to be chosen for such a role.
-- Wada has some emotional ups and downs, but do you have that kind of side to him, Miyazaki?
I'm curious about Aoyama-san ! (laughs)
Miyazaki-san is not as strong as Wada-san (laughs), but when you get to know him, he tends to show his true colors. I also like to talk a lot, so I can empathize with him.
--Aoyama-san, what were your honest thoughts when you were chosen to play the role of the gal Yamamoto?
Aoyama: Actually, I auditioned for both Wada and Yamamoto, and I thought I might get the role of Wada. Wada is an interesting character with a wide range of emotions, and Yamamoto is very cool and difficult to handle. Yamamoto is a type of character I've never played before, and it was my first time playing a super low-energy gal. After the audition, it took quite a while for the results to come out, so I thought I'd failed, but then I got the call that I'd been selected, and I was surprised, thinking, "Wow! This is a big deal!"
Miyazaki: When I heard that Aoyama would be playing the role of Yamamoto, I also thought, "That's a bit surprising." Because I had the impression that he often played unique roles.
Aoyama: That's right, it's surprising.
Even Miyazaki-san , when she heard Aoyama-san's voice during the first post-recording, said, "Oh, it's Yamamoto." And I was really happy to be able to co-star with Aoyama-san. I was a one-sided fan, so when I met her at the recording site, I thought, "Oh, it's the Yoppy-san I know," and that she was a kind and funny older sister.
Aoyama: Oh, I'm so happy! I've gotten to the point where people say things like that to me. As Miyazaki is the first regular in an anime, the staff told me, "Aoyama will be the one to lead," and I thought, "Can I do that?" I've been living in a junior position with a feeling of, "I love my seniors!", so I was like, "I'm the senior?!" I can't become like the cool seniors who have looked after me, so I thought, "I'll just be myself!" and tried to stop trying to look cool, but I still wanted to be called "cool," and I became a weird person (laughs).
Miyazaki-san is cool.
Aoyama-san , you're making me say it now (laughs). I thought that the tempo at which Wada and Yamamoto talk so much was also very important for our sense of tempo, so I went out to eat with Miyazaki-san and talked about our favorite idols during breaks (laughs). Because of that, I think we were able to evolve a lot from episode 1 to episode 6.
◇ Hiyori Miyazaki is a growth content? Gal Yamamoto is particular about consonants
--What did you keep in mind and what did you pay attention to when acting?
Miyazaki-san, Wada is quite foul-mouthed and has many lines where she complains, but that became monotonous. Also, at first, I was very conscious of Wada being a girl who was quite out of touch, and sometimes it came off as artificial, but the sound director advised me, "Wada is out of touch, but she doesn't realize it herself, so I want you to do your best." I tried my best to express every emotion, but I was conscious of acting a little stupid.
--Do you feel that you have grown as you continue recording?
I think Miyazaki-san has changed a lot. At the beginning, there were times when he would just say "baa" one-sidedly, but in the second half, I think he was able to develop his acting more and more, showing Wada's slightly careless side, his silly but cute side, and the gaps in the conversation between the two characters that can be enjoyed from a third-person perspective. I think he has really grown with every episode, and is able to do more and more little by little.
--Mr. Aoyama, what was it like watching Mr. Miyazaki like that?
Aoyama-san is a girl who really changes things. Even if she doesn't understand something, she's already perfect by the next recording. She showed us all kinds of ingenuity and is so studious, it's amazing. Wada has an incredible amount of lines, and the script is divided into difficult parts, so we have to turn a lot of pages. It was Miyazaki-san's first time playing a main character and turning so many pages, so she must have been very nervous, but she became more lively with each episode. It was already like watching something that showed her growth! It was a truly heartwarming story.
- Mr. Aoyama, what did you keep in mind when playing the role of Yamamoto?
Aoyama: I remembered that I had a classmate like Yamamoto. Since I was a student, I had always admired gyaru girls, as all otaku have. I remembered a girl who was flashy in class but not very active in school festivals, listless but super popular, and I never called her by her name because I was too scared. When I thought back to how she spoke, I realized that gyaru's "sashisuseso" has a distinctive tone. For example, in "~~ shiteru" (doing something), the "shi" sounds more like "su" and more like "~~ suteru" (doing something).
--I think I kind of understand.
Aoyama: Then, I watched a TV drama from about 10 years ago in which gal models appeared as guests, and I realized that there were certain consonants that gals had in common. It was fun to learn about such things. I realized that hints were spread out in various places, and meeting Yamamoto expanded my world.
--Mr. Miyazaki, what was it like interacting with Yamamoto, played by Mr. Aoyama?
Miyazaki-san's Yamamoto is very cool, but he is also very caring and accepts Wada very well, and that kindness oozes out from every word he says. I felt like I really fell in love with Yamamoto while playing Wada, and when I heard Aoyama-san's voice, I was reminded of what a wonderful person Yamamoto is.
I'm grateful to Aoyama-san . Both Yamamoto and Wada are filled with the qualities you want in a friend, but in different ways.
