Actor Ryunosuke Kamiki made a surprise appearance at the 1st Aichi-Nagoya International Animation Film Festival (ANIAFF), an international anime film festival being held in Nagoya on December 13th. The festival is also featuring director Mamoru Hosoda, who is also the subject of much-talked-about "Scarlet." Kamiki, who voiced the main character Kenji Koiso, made a surprise appearance on stage at a screening of Hosoda's "Summer Wars," held at 109 Cinemas Nagoya (Nakamura Ward, Nagoya). When Kamiki appeared after being introduced by festival director Shinichiro Inoue, the audience erupted in cheers, and Hosoda seemed surprised, saying, "No way!"
Approximately 16 years have passed since "Summer Wars" was released in 2009. Director Hosoda expressed his joy, saying, "It's been such a long time. I was 16 back then," while Kamiki said with a smile, "I'm 32 now."
"Summer Wars" has become a beloved work for many years to come. Kamiki said, "I feel proud every time I hear that people love ' Summer Wars.' I'm also proud that it airs every summer," while Director Hosoda said, "I think it's a lucky production. We were blessed with the staff, cast, and audience."
Director Hosoda said, "(At the time) my voice had just gone through puberty. I'd never heard my voice after puberty, but I asked for it. It was a very refreshing experience." Kamiki recalled, "They first called me and asked if I could let them hear my voice. When I heard they'd chosen me, I was genuinely happy. I'd just started high school and wanted to try a lot of different things. It was all new to me, so I had a lot of fun on set."
Kamiki celebrated his 30th year in the entertainment industry at the age of 32. He expressed his thoughts, saying, "I've been doing this purely out of a love for acting, and with the help of the people I've met, I've been running around desperately for 30 years. I have nothing but gratitude."
Finally, Kamiki said, "I am so happy that you have loved the series for so long. I hope you will continue to love the series in the future," and performed his famous line live, "Thank you very much!!"
"Summer Wars" is set in a society where the real world and the virtual world of OZ coexist. The story follows the protagonist, Kenji, a timid high school student who is a genius at math. He is asked by his crush, Natsuki, to work part-time pretending to be her boyfriend, and visits Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, where her real family lives. However, due to a series of unexpected events, he is framed as the culprit behind the disruption of the virtual world, which supports the world's lifeline. Nanami Sakuraba(Hitomi Miyauchi), Mizuki Tanimura, Sumiko Fuji, Riisa Naka, and Ichiro Nagai also appear as voice actors.
