The TV anime "Tune In to the Midnight Heart," based on Igarashi Masakuni's romantic comedy manga currently serialized in "Weekly Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha), is currently airing on KTV/Fuji TV's Tuesday 11 PM anime slot, "Kaanibal!!." Yamabuki Arisu, a second-year high school student searching for a streamer named Apollo based solely on her voice, meets four beautiful girls in the broadcasting club at her new high school, all of whom dream of working in a voice-related field. We spoke with Yasuda Rikuya, who plays Yamabuki Arisu; Seto Momoko, who plays Inohana Rikka, an aspiring singer; Okubo Rumi, who plays Himegawa Nene, an aspiring voice actress; Sayumi Suzushiro, who plays Kirino Iko, a VTuber; and Miku Ito, who plays Ugetsu Shinobu, an aspiring announcer, about what went on behind the scenes.
◇Intense comedy scenes
-What is your impression of the work?
The comedy scenes are a little different from Yasuda's standard style and are intense, and it's also refreshing to see the hero manipulate the heroine. I also love his sense of humor and am hooked on it.
Seto: To put it bluntly, I love Igarashi-sensei's illustrations. I can't help but stare at the impressive angles and compositions, and the backgrounds are carefully drawn down to the smallest detail, so it feels like you can really feel the light, atmosphere, and even the colors. In the anime, the way the shadows are applied and the overall coloring are beautiful, and I was very happy that the atmosphere of the original Mayochu was accurately expressed. The comedy parts are also really funny, and the tsukkomi line "small-time nouveau riche" was particularly memorable (laughs). I think this work is full of the charm that is unique to Igarashi-sensei, as can be seen in every detail of the expression.
As both Okubo-san and I have said, it's a really funny comedy, and Sensei's vocabulary is amazing, so I couldn't help but laugh during the recording. Each character's personality shines through, and you can see them steadily moving forward, step by step, towards their dreams. The process by which each heroine falls in love with Yamabuki-kun is well depicted, and the "love" aspect of the romantic comedy is also wonderful. I enjoy watching how their relationships deepen.
Suzuyo's Kaedebayashi High School is amazing! Nene has a fan club, Iko streams from school as a VTuber, Shinobu is cute, and Rikka has a passionate fan base. The school setting is also innovative! Each character is charming, and you can't help but follow them with your eyes. The story flows smoothly and each character is featured, so it's easy to get into even on your first viewing. Another unique feature of "Tune In to the Midnight Heart" is that the subtitles appear at the end, which is very stylish. The anime makes good use of this and the direction is interesting, making it a work that will appeal to a wide range of people.
It 's packed with a lot of different elements. It's a comedy, it's love, and there's also the mystery of who Apollo is. The characters all have strong personalities and it's packed with entertainment, but the work itself has a sense of unity. I also felt it was a meticulous piece of work.
◇The characters are charming!
-What did you keep in mind when playing the role of Yamabuki Arisu?
At first, Yasuda- san played Arisu a little quieter, but she is a character with a loud voice, and simply making her voice too loud can feel unnatural, so I gradually increased the volume so that it didn't feel out of place, and I tried to tone it down where necessary so that she wouldn't come across as too domineering. She is a character who is strict with both herself and others, but if I get it wrong, she might come across as noisy and nagging. I hope to convey that she is trying to get along with everyone, but that her passion is too intense.
--Rikka, played by Seto, is a character whose true feelings are sometimes hard to see.
Seto-san is a girl who can be nonchalant in some ways, but also has devilish lines. The most difficult part about acting was not to waver. From the perspective of readers and viewers, I think there are times when it's hard to know what Rikka is thinking. Is it true, a lie, or perhaps she's actually feeling it... That's part of her charm, but as the character playing Rikka, I felt I couldn't waver. I repeatedly read through the original work so that I could become her closest confidant. Basically, I was conscious of acting straightforwardly and exactly as she said. I would be happy if I was able to convey Rikka's various expressions in my acting.
--The character is also good at singing. Do you feel any pressure?
Seto: There was certainly pressure in singing while playing Inohana Rikka, a character with such charisma that she has a fan club within the school. I struggled with changing the way I project my voice and sing for each scene, but the recording was so much fun that I forgot about the pressure and worries. As I sang, it felt like my heart was connecting with Rikka, and I began to love music and singing more than ever before. I felt that the resolution of Rikka was improving with each dubbing session, but I felt this even more strongly during the recording.
--Nene, played by Okubo, is a tsundere character.
Okubo: Her character is a combination of pink, twintails, and a tsundere personality, but I was careful to make sure she was a real, life-sized girl. She's not good at kanji, she's a bit of a loser, she makes mistakes, she's very opinionated, and she's a cute person. She values the bonds between the four members of the broadcasting club, but the gradual gradation of her acceptance of Arisu is also appealing. I was concerned about how to portray that in a cute way. She's also in the role of the straight man, and she's the most energetic of the four members of the broadcasting club, with the same or even greater energy as Arisu. I carefully considered the timing of her tsukkomi, but if I left her words strong, she'd lose her cuteness, so I tried to create a sense of balance between being sweet when she's sweet, cute when she's cute, and sharp when she's sharp.
--Nene wants to be a voice actress, but she's not good at kanji. What about Okubo?
Okubo-san is average. Arisu tells me to "study kanji," but in reality, it's not that important for acting. Of course, it's not good to make mistakes and have to do more retakes, but maybe Japanese is more important than kanji. I think acting is Japanese. It's important to understand the flow of the character's emotions.
--Iko, played by Suzuyo, is a shy and quiet character...
Suzuyo : The impression I got from playing Iko was a little different from the image I had during the audition and when I read the original manga. At first, I had the impression that she was shy and didn't express much emotion. Yamabuki described Iko's voice as "a whispering voice." When I actually performed the role, I was directed to "let it out a little more," and as the episodes progressed, her emotions came out quite clearly. Looking at Iko's character in the long run, there might be some inconsistencies, so I thought it would be good to build in a character that is shy, but also resolute and speaks her mind with dignity, keeping her feet on the ground. I think viewers will also have a cool image of her, so I tried to keep the balance and act with a sense of not disrupting the pace.
--Iko also works as a VTuber called Sumeragi Ikon.
Suzuyo: VTubers have become more familiar to me, especially in the past few years, and I watch them too. Watching Iko, I feel that self-production skills are necessary. Iko changes depending on Arisu, becoming more VTuber-like. When acting, Iko is trying to become Sumeragi Ikon, but at first she wasn't able to fully become that, which was difficult. If it doesn't match the avatar's facial expression, it will look too unnatural, so I'm trying to find the right balance. I'm excited to see how it will feel when the anime airs, but I dug deep into it in my own way.
--Shinobu, played by Ito, is an honor student.
Ito-san is popular at school, but Shinobu herself actually has a complex about being less glamorous and unique than the other members of the broadcasting club, and she hides this. I was conscious of how to portray those emotions. I tried to completely change Shinobu when she's with the other four members of the broadcasting club and when she's alone with Arisu. I hope you'll look forward to the expressions and lines Shinobu only shows when she's with Arisu.
-I want to be a news announcer, but I seem to have a habit of tripping over my words.
Mr. Ito tried his best to chew it (laughs).
Seto-san doesn't seem forced.
It was fun to see Ito-san trying to naturally stutter. As she aspires to be an announcer, she speaks in a way that is easy to understand, pays attention to her pronunciation, and tries to speak so that every syllable can be heard. But she does stutter (laughs). During the audition, she was given the direction to "sound a bit more like an announcer," which made her more conscious of that.
Continued in interview (2). (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
