The animated film "The One Who Steals This Book," based on the popular novel by Fukimidori Nobune, which was nominated for the 2021 Bookstore Award, was released on December 26th. The town of books, Yominagacho, is suddenly swallowed up by the world of the story, and book-hating high school student Mifuyu Mikura sets out on a journey with the mysterious girl Mashiro to capture the book thief and save the town. Kataoka Rin plays the protagonist Mifuyu, while Tamaki Sora, who plays Mashiro, makes her voice acting debut. The film also stars a stellar cast of voice actors, including Nao Toyama, Junichi Suwabe, Itou Shizuka, Tsuchiya Shinba, Park Romi, and Chiba Shigeru. We spoke to Toyama, who plays Mifuyu Mikura, Ito, who plays Yosano Hotaru, and Tsuchiya, who plays Haruta Takafumi, about their thoughts on the film and books.
◇Tsuchiya Shinba tries chicken for the first time!
-What is your impression of the work?
Ito-san , Mifuyu-chan will move through many different books, and I felt like I wanted to try it too. We are also involved in many different works as voice actors. However, we play fixed roles, and seeing Mifuyu-chan think for herself and move freely within that world made me want to try it.
Tsuchiya: I love books, and I thought it might be a little scary to actually enter the world of a book that I had always dreamed of. I can enjoy it because I'm a reader, but the world inside a book is different from the normal world, and I thought I'd rather not enter it if possible.
Higashiyama: The setting is Yominagacho, but the worldview changes drastically depending on the world of the book that Mifuyu jumps into. Director Fukuoka University said, "The materials have become as thick as the Kojien dictionary," and I think the staff are creating multiple anime stories within one work. I thought it must be incredibly difficult to adapt it into a film! It's fun to jump into different worlds, and the key visual has the tagline "mystery-solving adventure fantasy," so it would be interesting if there was a collaboration with an experiential game.
Mr. Ito looks interesting!
--What did you pay attention to while acting? Hirune, played by Higashiyama, is Mifuyu's aunt.
Higashiyama-san is a key character, but she doesn't have many lines in the beginning, and is either reading a book or taking a nap, so I tried to convey the charm of the napping lady through her sleep talking and breathing alone. The development at the end is so moving because there is so much time that has passed between her and Mifuyu-chan that can't be fully depicted within the length of this anime, so I tried to portray her carefully while imagining her life up to that point.
--Yosano Hotaru, played by Ito, is a character who shows many different sides to her personality.
Ito-san basically has a tendency to provoke Mifuyu and the others a little, but her role changes completely depending on the world she appears in, so even though she has the same face and the same voice, she's completely different. I played Hotaru-san in each world as if they were different works. The original Hotaru-san is carefree, a little elusive, and mysterious. I played her by just hinting at that, or not. She has something she is looking for, and just as Mifuyu and the others solve the mystery, she also encourages them towards it. The anime is centered around Mifuyu-chan, but I played her while feeling that she also has a story.
-What about Haruta Takafumi, played by Tsuchiya?
Before the dubbing started, Tsuchiya explained that she was chosen because "it looks like a college student." She was a college student, so she tried to act life-sized and relaxed. Of course, there were some things that were decided. There are some things that change depending on the world, but basically I tried to make minor changes based on the internal changes.
-What was the most memorable thing about the recording?
Higashiyama-san gave me the direction, "I want to make Mifuyu cry, so please do so," so I felt a lot of pressure. He said that with such a straight, sparkling look in his eyes, so I was like, what should I do?!
Tsuchiya: I took on the role of a chicken for the first time. I also played other animals for the first time.
Higashiyama-san , there are three chickens in the story. Which one is Kamiba-kun?
Tsuchiya: I'd be happy if you could tell the difference (laughs).
Ito: I'm also trying out a certain animal for the first time. It runs away, so you might not be able to tell if it's a human breath or an animal breath (laughs). Anyway, I run away quickly, yapping away.
◇The music in "The One Who Steals This Book" is also amazing
-- "Books" are a key theme in this work. What do "books" mean to you?
Higashiyama: I often read documentary-style books. I have a tendency to worry a lot and I'm not good at finding answers on my own, so I read books because I want to hear the opinions of various people. Books are packed with the lives of many different people that you would never experience if you were living your own life alone, and reading them also helps me to act. I often find wise words of wisdom in my own life. Without the accumulation of experiences from various people, culture would not evolve, and we acquire wisdom through the teachings of our ancestors... I feel like I'm being passed on the baton. I reread books, underlining them and putting sticky notes on them.
Tsuchiya: Books are my "partners." I usually carry one with me. When I have to memorize lines for things like dubbing or on stage, I stop reading for a while because it gets all jumbled up, but right now I'm in a period where I can read for about a week, so I read a book yesterday morning and am currently reading a new book. I mostly read novels, but after reading three of the usual books, I'll try something a little adventurous or read a new book on science... I keep reading in this loop. Lately, I've been hooked on translated books. I like the way the personalities of the authors and translators match, so I buy books by foreign authors based on their covers.
Mr. Ito, you read that much!
Higashiyama- san and Kamiba-kun, I thought you were a kind-hearted person, but maybe it's because you read a lot of books and are constantly inspired?
Tsuchiya: Ever since I was little, I have been supported in my life by various books. Now, I am rereading books that I read when I was in junior high school. When I read them now, the impression is completely different, and I have forgotten a lot of them.
Ms. Ito: My mother used to read to me from an early age, which is how I fell in love with books, and when I was in elementary school I used to read a series of girls' novels. I really love stories, so I liked reading while imagining myself as one of the characters in the story. I also wanted to reread a book I had read a long time ago, so I reread a children's novel called "The Adventures of Gamba and the Otter," and I found that the language was very solid and easy to understand.
--Ito-san, you said that while reading the story you imagined yourself to be one of the characters. Is that connected to your work as a voice actor?
Ito: It wasn't that I had any intention of becoming an actor, but I do like reading lines. When I was in elementary school, I was reciting a Japanese textbook, and my teacher said to my mother, "Why not try acting?" and that's when I started thinking about it. I'm the type of person who wants to be the main character (laughs).
--Finally, please give a message to those who are looking forward to the anime.
Ito: There's a lot of information that comes in through the eyes, and the world of the work is very expansive. I hope you can enjoy it with all your senses.
Tsuchiya: When I saw the finished film, I was often shocked not only by the visuals, but also by the music, and that was the case with "He who steals this book." I felt that this music was chosen for this line... It made sense to me that the director had this music running through his head while he was dubbing the lines. This film can be enjoyed by those who have read the original work, as well as those who have not yet read it, so I would like everyone to see it.
Higashiyama-san, the music was also really wonderful. This is a personal story, but the anime music that made me want to become a voice actor was by Michiru Oshima. I've always been a huge fan, and I was looking forward to seeing how the music would color the film. Oshima-san has worked on a variety of projects, but I particularly love her music for fantasy works, and this time too, I was deeply moved every time a song came on. I think listening to it with the loud sound of the theater will move you even more. They dive into the worlds of various books, and recorded the music for each in different countries. They are all different, after all. Each one has its own atmosphere, and there must be a reason they put so much effort into it. Of course, the animation is wonderful and beautiful, and I hope you'll see it in the theater.
Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB
