The TV anime "Mechanical Marie," based on Akimoto Aki's manga, will be broadcast on TOKYO MX, Yomiuri TV, and BS Fuji from October 5th. Due to certain circumstances, Marie ends up serving Arthur, who hates humans, as a "robot maid." She protects Arthur from assassins who attack him every day, fulfilling her duties. "Creating the role of Marie was so difficult that I could talk about it for about three hours..." says Nao Toyama, who plays Marie, in a behind-the-scenes interview.
◇It's not like things are always calm and collected...
Higashiyama plays Marie, a former genius martial artist who ends up serving as the personal "robot maid" of Arthur, the heir to a wealthy family who hates humans. While trying not to reveal that she is actually human, she tries to protect Arthur from assassins who are targeting him. While the film uses scary words like "assassin" and "assassin," it is a heartwarming romantic comedy that will make you laugh and cry.
"The original story has a good tempo and is an easy read that is enjoyable. All the characters are so lively that it's almost as if they're moving within the manga! There are action and heartwarming elements, and although there are assassins, all the characters are comical and lovable. Sound director Yokota (Chikako) also told us, 'Even though they're assassins, I wanted to make them seem comical in a way that shows their good nature, and that they're trying so hard to complete their mission, so they seem funny.' Marie is desperately trying to survive in the midst of a crisis where her life could be put in danger if her true human identity is discovered. But I think the key to the story is that there's something airheaded and peaceful about it."
Although Marie behaves like a robot, she is actually a character with a lot of facial expressions. That's what makes her so cute. Higashiyama has played many cute characters in the past, so how did she try to express Marie's cuteness?
"Marie herself is cute, so I never thought about trying to play her cutely. She speaks in a monotonous, impersonal way, and her emotions change constantly inside, so I thought it was my mission to bring out the contrast in her acting, and I wasn't even thinking about cuteness. However, after we finished recording the first episode, the original author told me, 'I realized once again how cute Marie is!' and I was really happy. Marie is a really good girl, and lives an honest life, so she is genuinely surprised and embarrassed by her interactions with Arthur. I think that honesty is what makes her so cute."
While working as a robot maid, Marie never shows her emotions. On the other hand, her inner voice changes constantly. This gap is what makes the work so appealing, but acting out the role is no easy feat. Higashiyama reveals, "It's difficult..."
"Marie's unique personality is that she is calm and robotic, and although she is impersonal, I tried to make sure that she retains a bit of cuteness. Because Marie is the main character, she has a lot of lines, but if she remained calm throughout, it might have been difficult to create a sense of contrast in the work as a whole. She is also a girl with strong inner emotions, and when you read the manga, this comes across vividly and there is a lot of contrast, but when I tried to express it through her voice, the emotional ups and downs became too much, and I felt like it would have strayed from the image of Marie that people have in mind. I was extremely busy trying to differentiate the lines that came out of her mouth and the monologues."
Higashiyama said, "I was very honored to be able to take on this challenge."
"The director instructed me that the audience must understand that Marie is a calm, robotic girl. In the second half, she becomes aware of her love and shows more expressive faces, but in the first half, the audience needs to understand the rules. There are lines where I have to make jokes, but I made subtle adjustments to my performance so that I wouldn't get too carried away. In the first half, I had to act in a restrained manner, and that was the difficult part."
◇Difficult things are fun
Marie has a lot of monologues, so it seems like it would be difficult to switch between them. When there are a lot of lines, the on and off lines are sometimes recorded separately, but they tried to avoid doing so as much as possible.
"Acting consecutively makes it easier to visualize the finished product, and it's also easier to bring out differences in parts, so although it's busy, we decided to record them back to back. The lines and monologues have different tones, but the emotions are connected, so it was smoother for me to act them together, and I wanted to put Marie's feelings first. So it was really difficult... It was my first time doing something like this. At first, I couldn't decide on a way to check the script, but I found the trick around episode three. I used red pen for the lines and blue pen for the monologues to make them easier to understand visually, so the script became colorful. If I didn't spend a lot of time checking the script, I would get left behind during the actual performance, so I made notes that were easy to see and would catch the eye immediately, so I could grasp Marie's emotional changes right away. The director and sound director were also sympathetic to my concerns and were very supportive. The teamwork was good, and I developed a sense of camaraderie with the senior staff members. It was a homey, fun set."
It seems that playing Marie was difficult, but she also said, "The difficulty was what made it fun."
"It's a romantic comedy, so heart-fluttering moments are important, but the comedy scenes are also very appealing, so it's also important to think about how far I can let loose in my acting. Sound director Yokota-san told me that if I try to make the comedy scenes funny, they won't be funny, and that he wanted me to make the comedy scenes that show the characters desperately trying to survive come across as comical. I tried to find the right balance when acting. As Marie, her life is on the line, so I tried my best. My facial expressions sometimes collapse in a comical way, so I had a lot of fun trying to act in a way that wouldn't be overpowered by my facial expressions."
In anime production, there is a process called dubbing, in which dialogue, background music, sound effects, etc. are combined with the images. Generally, actors do not often attend dubbing, but Higashiyama was able to observe the dubbing process.
"I watched the dubbing so as not to get in the way of everyone else's work. I felt it was difficult during the recording, and there were many retakes, so I wanted to know which takes were selected. I hadn't quite grasped the right answer for Marie yet, so I asked the staff to let me share their vision of the goal, thinking that it would make the recording go more smoothly. It's a rare experience. When I was a rookie, I had asked to be allowed to watch, but I haven't had the chance recently, so I'm really motivated in that sense. Of course, I put my all into every project, but I was also able to notice the attention to detail of various people, so I think it was a really good experience."
◇Don't let it be discovered!? A scary experience
Because we paid so much attention to every detail, we felt a sense of accomplishment after finishing the recording.
"The set allowed for thorough discussions, and they created a warm atmosphere where it was easy to ask about lines that I was concerned about, and I really felt like we were putting a lot of effort into creating each scene. I often feel like the recording goes by in a flash, but this time it was intense, in a good way."
The cast and staff all worked together to complete "Mechanical Marie."
"It's a lovely story that's pop and will make your romantic feelings flutter. It's an extremely high-quality animation that fans of the original will enjoy, and the characters sparkle. The colors are vivid, the movements are lively, and attention to detail is scattered throughout. The music, too, is epic!? It really adds to the humor and romance, and I was surprised when I saw it for the first time. I was also able to observe the dubbing, and I feel like I was able to put that experience to good use. The staff and cast all worked together to create a very fulfilling animation that I'm sure you'll enjoy. I hope that both first-time viewers and fans of the original will watch with a smile from episode one to the end."
Marie is nervous and anxious that her true identity must not be revealed. Has Higashiyama-san ever had a similar experience? I asked him this question at the end.
"When a film I've been involved in is screened at the cinema, I sometimes go to see it privately, and the other day I went to see it with my parents and grandmother. There was someone nearby who supports me, and I noticed, but since I was with my family, I kept quiet. Surprisingly, it seems they didn't notice (laughs). One time, when I was walking through a shopping mall, I passed someone wearing a T-shirt from one of my concerts, and they didn't even notice me."
