A new TV anime adaptation of Shinzawa Motoei's comedy manga "High School! Kimengumi," which was serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha) in the 1980s and also gained popularity as a TV anime, will be broadcast on Fuji TV's anime slot "Noitamina" every Friday at 11:30 pm starting Getsuku. This will be the first new anime in about 39 years since the TV anime aired from 1985 to 1987, and the star-studded cast of voice actors is also attracting attention. We spoke to Tomokazu Seki, who plays Ichidou Rei, Takeuchi Shunsuke, who plays Reikoshi Go, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, who plays Idese Kiyoshi, Chiaki Kobayashi, who plays Oma Jin, and Kikunosuke Toya, who plays Monohoshi Dai, about their thoughts on the new anime and behind-the-scenes recording.
◇ The charm of Kimengumi that turns negativity into positivity
--The original work was serialized in the 1980s, and the TV anime that aired from 1985 to 1987 also gained popularity. What is your impression of the work?
I was the only one who read Seki-san's serialization, but it was incredibly popular at the time, and I was imitating the eccentric "Kimen Flash" even before the anime started. The original work wasn't so much about love, but the atmosphere between Yui-chan (Kawakawa Yui) and Rei-kun, and Chie-chan (Uru Chie) and Go-kun gave hope to those of us who weren't particularly popular at the time, and it was a manga that gave dreams to boys who weren't even in the top ranks. Also, the character names were fun, so we all had fun playing around and giving them all different names.
Takeuchi: Even though our generation wasn't in it at the time, we had many opportunities to hear the name "High School! Kimengumi." For me, it's a work that holds a special meaning for me, as two of the greats from our company (my agency, 81 Produce), Shigeru Chiba and Tessho Genda, appeared in the first TV anime.
Kobayashi: When I read the original work, I got the impression that while it uses sensitive words like "ugly" that would be a little difficult to say in today's manga and anime, and depicts mocking physical characteristics, it also turns negative words into positive ones, turning them into laughs.
Takeuchi says he will use it as his weapon.
Kobayashi: That's right. It's the same with comedians these days, but as the times change, they're making fun of things like that. It seems like loose socks are also becoming popular as the times change. It's a work from the 1980s, but when you actually read it, it actually fits in with the modern era. That's why I think it might be a good fit for broadcasting now. I really felt the intention behind broadcasting it.
Seki-san, that's true. I'd love to know why you decided to turn this into an anime now.
Matsuoka: I've never read the original work, and I only watched a few episodes of the anime when I was in middle school. Even back then I thought it was an anime with a strong impact, but I never imagined I'd be involved in it.
Kobayashi-san, if you were a junior high school student, that would have been about 20 years ago?
Matsuoka-san, 25 years ago. It was a surprise, an unexpected event.
Seki-san , I was surprised when a girl in her 20s from our theater company knew about "Kimengumi" and said, "It's my favorite!"
Toya-san, you might be just my father's generation. When my appearance was announced, my uncle contacted me and said, "My youth is Kimengumi," and "I'm looking forward to it, Dai-kun."
Kobayashi and Seki are from my parents' generation (laughs).
Seki-san is from the parents' generation (lol). He's managed to blend in with the younger generation, so don't expose him!
◇ A new side of the legend with respect
-What do you feel while playing a member of Kimengumi?
In the previous anime, Seki-san , Chiba Shigeru played Ichido Zero, and I watched it too, so he made a strong impression on me. I didn't need to do an imitation, but I felt uncomfortable when the lines coming out of my mouth were too far removed from the original. So I wanted to keep as much of the character's flavor as possible.
-How did you feel about recording?
Until Seki-san's recording started, I had no idea what to do, and I was thinking, "What should I do?" By chance, before the recording of the first episode, I was working with Chiba Shigeru-san on another project, and we exchanged greetings. When I told him, "I'll take over," he said, "I know! I think you'd be perfect," and I thought, "Oh, that's good." So, I finally felt a bit at ease and was able to do it.
Takeuchi: For me, Reiko Go is played by Genda-san, the boss of our agency. This is just my personal feeling, but I have a lot of respect for Genda-san and I love him as a person, so there were times when I sampled his ideology, or rather, his nuances, to act. But basically I do it in my own words. That kind of thing is actually fun. I wonder what Genda-san would think if he heard this? Would he be amused? I imagine it in my own way. Genda-san seems to have been very accepting of me playing Go-kun, so I hope I can convey that feeling as well.
Matsuoka: When I passed the audition for the role of Idese Kiyoshi, I was a bit overwhelmed. During the dubbing of the first episode, we were given an explanation of each character's personality, and I was told to "do whatever you want" when it came to ad-libs, but Kiyoshi's face doesn't change, so I wondered what I should do. To be honest, I was scared right up until the first dubbing session.
Kobayashi-san , when I auditioned for the role, I thought that if I watched the previous anime, I might lean towards it, so I deliberately went in without watching it. After I passed, I watched the previous anime, and although my voice and Tatsuta (Naoki)'s voice are different, I felt that our acting directions matched. That gave me confidence. When I thought about the fact that the senior who was playing the same role had interpreted it in the same way as me when he was younger, it eased my anxiety and pressure.
--Kiyo, played by Matsuoka, and Jin, played by Kobayashi, are characters whose facial expressions don't change much.
Kobayashi: Just like Kiyoshi, Jin doesn't have a wide range of personality, so I wondered what to do, but as the story progressed, I began to see his true nature, his warm side, and where his complexes lie. When I saw the friendship between Jin and Kiyoshi, and how much Jin cares for his friends, it became much easier to act. There was a moment when I understood Jin in about two stages.
Each of Seki-san's characters has a main story.
Kobayashi: That's right. I thought Go was a strong character, but he also has a cute, innocent side to him.
Takeuchi-san often whines. Personally, I feel that Kiyoshi and Jin are very difficult to portray, so I thought that both of them were brilliant, or rather, that they created wonderful characters.
--Toya-san plays Monohoshi Dai, who has a girly personality.
Regarding Toya-san's role as Dai, I was also at a loss when I was cast. Before the recording, I heard Shiozawa (Kaneto) play Dai, and he was quite sexy. I wanted to show respect for that, so when I brought it to the set, the director told me to "put the cuteness at the forefront." It felt like I was able to shape it little by little from there. In the episodes that feature Dai as the main character, the core of Dai is portrayed, how he loves everyone and hates conflict, and I understood those feelings and felt like I could see Dai by relating to myself.
Takeuchi: I know it's not my place to say this, but I think Toya-kun was under a lot of pressure.
There was quite a lot of Toya-san .
Takeuchi-san and Shiozawa-san are charismatic and one-of-a-kind to us voice actors. That's why I think if you don't find your own unique style, it's easy to end up imitating them. With the addition of a new interpretation by Dai, or rather, the brightness that only Toya-kun can bring, I feel like it's becoming more and more wonderful.
To be continued in interview (2).
