The TV anime "The Darwin Incident," based on the manga by Shun Umezawa, which was also the winner of the Manga Taisho Awards 2022, will begin airing on TV Tokyo from January 6th. The original work has been serialized in Afternoon (Kodansha) since 2020, and tells the story of Charlie, a "humanzee" born from a human and a chimpanzee, who must face human problems such as terrorism, online outrage, and discrimination. We spoke to author Umezawa, voice actor Atsumi Tanezaki, who plays Charlie, and Mitsuho Kanbe, who plays Lucy Eldred, Charlie's classmate and friend, about the relationship between Charlie and Lucy, and what went on behind the scenes during the recording.
◇Charlie and Lucy's unique conversation: "Doing things that people don't normally do"
-Charlie, what do you keep in mind when playing Lucy?
When I first learned about Lucy through reading Kobe-san's manga, I could relate to her way of thinking and her words and actions, so rather than thinking about how to do it, I just tried to do what I felt was easiest for me. As a result, the staff all said it was a good fit, so I don't think I had much to worry about.
--Lucy is a fearless and proactive person, and she gives off an energetic impression when she speaks.
While Kobe-san's Lucy talks a lot about what she wants to say, Charlie is generally quiet and not the type to listen sympathetically. There were many scenes where Lucy would forcefully understand Charlie's intentions and continue talking, saying, "Yes, yes, that's right!", even though Charlie was mostly unresponsive. I found this difficult. I personally pay close attention to the other person's reactions when I'm talking to them, so it didn't feel right for her to continue talking alone without any back-and-forth from the other person. However, in reality, Lucy wasn't speaking alone; she was watching Charlie's eye movements and reactions, picking up on what he was thinking and responding to him. So I tried to keep the conversation as natural as possible while thinking about Charlie's intentions in my head.
--In a previous interview, Tanezaki-san said that before he was cast as Charlie, when he recorded his voice onto tape, he didn't think too much about the role.
I could have just continued to "play Charlie," which was what I was able to do in Tanezaki's audition tape, but when I started dubbing, I started thinking again about "What is a Humanzee?" Because recordings were only once a month, I had plenty of time to think, and I worried a lot during the recording period. However, when I went to consult about the acting, my teacher and director told me, "Humanzees don't exist in this world, so the Charlie that Tanezaki played is the right one. That's Humanzee Charlie," and after that, I realized I needed to believe in myself more. It was also important not to be afraid of the awkward atmosphere that can arise when you don't "receive" the other person's acting.
--Indeed, as Kobe said, Charlie is a character who doesn't react much in conversations.
You might not notice it when you hear the finished product, but you can tell in the dubbing booth. Like, "Wow, it doesn't quite fit." When you're playing a human, you don't feel that sense of incongruity when you 're just responding to the other actor's acting, but in this work, that sense of incongruity arises naturally, so I kept going, thinking, "It's happening... It's scary! It's scary, but this is fine!" I think I was doing something that wouldn't normally be done.
◇Connections with people who are different from you. Relationships that don't need to be named.
--One of the defining features of "The Darwin Incident" is the relationship between Charlie the Humanzee and Lucy the human. What do you pay particular attention to when drawing the two of them?
Umezawa: The relationship between Charlie and Lucy is also a theme of the work. How should we communicate and live with people who are different from us? I wanted to portray Charlie and Lucy as representatives of this. Both Charlie and Lucy are always trying to understand each other, and little by little they come to understand each other, but I wanted to portray their relationship as one in which they fundamentally think, "We're different, so it's okay if we don't understand each other." It's an extreme example of being different species, but I feel that there are similarities between humans, and I would like to portray the connection with those who are different from ourselves through the relationship between Charlie and Lucy.
--Just because there are things you don't understand doesn't mean you can't become friends, right?
Umezawa: I think it's precisely because we don't understand it that we feel the need to respect it.
-What points would you like us to pay attention to in Charlie and Lucy's relationship?
Kobe: In the interactions between Charlie and Lucy, there is a gap in communication that arises because they are of different species. Charlie's slightly off-kilter answers are a really funny comedic element, and coupled with Tanezaki's acting, Charlie's way of saying things as if they were the most natural thing in the world had me almost laughing during the recording. The work does deal with some serious issues, but I think the humorous exchanges that take place at school are charming and entertaining.
Tanezaki: I think it's wonderful and amazing how, even though the relationship between Charlie and Lucy doesn't clearly change, the distance between their hearts keeps changing. I wonder what the name of this relationship is that changes in the distance between their hearts? But in the end, their relationship doesn't change.
--Mr. Umezawa, do you keep these relationships and sense of distance in mind when you draw?
Umezawa: That's right. Charlie doesn't show any emotions so it's hard to tell how he changes, but even just in the story depicted in the anime, Charlie changes a lot through his interactions with Lucy. Of course, Lucy changes too. As Tanezaki said, I wanted to portray their relationship as a unique one, one that doesn't need to be given a name, and I think the acting really puts a lot of thought into that.
※The "崎" in Atsumi Tanezaki's name is pronounced "tatsusaki"
(White Dog/MANTANWEB)
