Is there actually a "tragic moe" side to him?　Interview with Soma Saito as Casshern and Tetsuya Higashi in "Infini-T Force," Tatsunoko Productions' 55th anniversary production

Infini-T Force," a crossover of four major Tatsunoko heroes including "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman," "Space Knight Tekkaman," "Hurakken Polymer," and "Shinzojin Casshan," produced to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Tatsunoko Productions, an animation studio, is drawing attention. Force" has been attracting attention.
The film, which depicts characters redesigned in a new guise while respecting the original to the utmost, fighting together and confronting evil, is directed for the first time by Kiyotaka Suzuki, series director of "PSYCHO-PASS 2," with series composition by Toshiya Ohno of "Suite Pretty Cure♪" fame, The series composition is by Toshiya Ohno of "Suite Pretty Cure♪," the character design is by Korehito Ohgure of "Tenjo Tenge," the hero design is by Keiichi Sato of "TIGER&BUNNY," and the suit and mechanical design is by Koji Nakakita of "GATCHAMAN CROWDS. In addition, 3DCG production was handled by Digital Frontier, which has produced numerous blockbusters in both the live-action and animation genres, including "GANTZ: O" and "Death Note: Light up the NEW world.

From "Infini-T Force," Souma Saito, who plays the role of Tetsuya Higashi, the character of Casshern who fights alongside Ken Washio (CV: Tomokazu Seki) as Gatchaman, Ji Nanjo (CV: Takahiro Sakurai) as Tekkaman, and Takeshi Suzumura (CV: Kenichi Suzumura) as Polymer, spoke about the film.

Playing the role of a hero who has been loved for 55 years, "I feel a sense of responsibility that I have to put my heart and soul into it.

───What are your impressions of the film?

Saito: I had auditioned for the role of Casshan, but I never thought that I would play the role of Casshan, so I felt both "happy" and "responsible that I have to put my heart into this grand project. I felt a sense of "joy" and also a sense of "responsibility" to "tackle this grand project with my heart and soul.

─ Was there anything that you were conscious of when you were playing the role, or was there anything that you and the director decided the direction of the film?

Saito: The character I play, Tetsuya Higashi, is a new creature as in the original story, and he is searching for his own identity. While the other three characters look older than Tetsuya, Tetsuya looks so young that he is called "boy" by the samurai, and while he is inorganic, he has a boyish "cuteness" about him. I tried not to show too much emotion, but I did my best to keep a subtle balance between the two.

─ Were there any parts that were difficult for you to play?

Saito: I was not sure how much I should let out in the shouting scenes, not to mention the usual lines. I thought it would not be right to simply shout with 100% power and be out of character, so it was difficult to find the right balance.

─ I imagine that you were surrounded by many senior staff members at the recording studio.

Saito: There was a tension in front of the microphone that can only come from live interaction, but everyone was very kind, so we spent a lot of time talking about trivial things when we were not recording. Mr. Suzumura is a gourmet, so he told me about good restaurants in the neighborhood, and since everyone liked games, we talked about games. Also, I was not exposed to Tatsunoko heroes in real time when I was a child, so I learned a lot from everyone. It was a very relaxed atmosphere at the site.

─ ─ Was there anything in particular that you learned from them?

Saito: When I asked about the polymer battle scene and why the action was kung fu-like, I was told that it was inspired by Bruce Lee. I am not sure if I am allowed to say this to my seniors, but I got the impression that everyone had a sparkle in their eyes, and it was an exciting experience for me to listen to their stories.

─ Did you learn anything in that kind of work environment?

Saito: Gatchaman, Tekkaman, and Polymer have many lines that are phrased in a heroic way. On the other hand, Casshern doesn't have so many modern phrases, but I felt the power of persuasion as a hero when I watched your performance and listened to you speak with your back to the audience. Mr. Suzumura-san watched Tatsunoko hero movies in real time and is a fan of current tokusatsu (special effects) as well, so it seemed like we were talking about heroes during the recording sessions. We would talk about heroes that were not in the film, and he would say things like, "If this character is in the film, I want this one too! They were talking about heroes who are not in the film. They were all senior members, but they really were like little boys.

───Mr. Saito, were you familiar with "Shinzo Ningen Casshan" that aired in 1973?

Saito: I had not seen the original, but "Casshern Sins," which aired in 2008, was my first experience with Tatsunoko hero works. I had not seen the original "Casshern" until I was involved with "Infini-T Force," but I felt a connection with the original "Casshern, Casshern Sins" also follows that worldview, and since I started to gravitate toward darker works around that age, I guess you could say I have a sense of kinship with it. ......(laugh). Also, the opening and closing scenes were cool, and I really liked them.

───What do you think about the live-action "CASSHERN" movie?

Saito: I think I was a college student when I saw the movie for the first time. I wondered what children would think if they saw it, because it had such a unique worldview. I was also impressed by the world of devastation and the sense of apocalypse in the film, which I also like.

Like Casshern, I was taken care of by my seniors at the recording studio.

Saito: In this movie, there is a lot of light-hearted dialogue between characters, but Tetsuya doesn't have that much dialogue with other characters, but I really felt the tempo was good, thanks to the beautiful CG. Tetsuya meets his friends while searching for his identity, and I felt that the line "That's a very happy thing" spoken by Jouji about this was very meaningful, even though it sounded so simple.
Also, I think the nickname "boy" given to Takeshi shows that he feels like a big brother to everyone, and I thought it was cute that he was playing with Laugh and I and not listening to us at all during the scene where the three of them were explaining about the world, because it made him seem younger than them (laughs).

What kind of character do you think Tetsuya is?

Saito: In a way, he is very human, and in a way, he is very different from other human beings, but at the core of his character is his desire to save people, and I think it is amazing that this desire is not based on calculation or calculation, but starts from there. He could have lived a carefree life, but I thought he had a great inner passion, saying that it is not enough to be a hero.

─ What do you think is the appeal of Tetsuya?

Saito: I think it's the fact that he has some darkness in his heart. Tetsuya has a kind of pessimism that he is no longer a human being, and although it is not apparent from his handsome face, I think he must be in a lot of pain. I think there is a kind of "sad fate moe" in it. The characters in this work are a team of people who are not lying, or in a sense, are both sides of the same coin. Because they are both sides of the same coin, they have a naturalness that makes them respond in a way that is different from the context of normal people. He sometimes reveals his true feelings when he would normally hide them.

─ I think Tetsuya has a big gap from his original character, but is there any part of his character that you have retained from the previous works?

Saito: It's hard to put it this way, but I feel that the other characters have provided the masculine elements of Tatsunoko Productions' works, so in the case of Tetsuya, I focused more on the visuals and the setting of the new work. So, I am not conscious of forcing myself to pull back (the original character), but rather, I believe that my fundamental feelings, or rather, the fluctuation of my identity, will become a key point in the battle against the enemy. However, I am not aware that "My body is a machine, and my mind is implanted. Then what exactly am I?" I think that is the theme of Casshern's life, and I don't think that fundamental part is blurred at all. He is not a lazy person, just a quiet one, so I tried to be conscious of his core strength, which should not be too much in the performance, and the passion of his feelings, which he holds at the core, as I stood in front of the microphone.

─ ─ In addition, is there anything else that you were particularly conscious of?

Saito: Tetsuya is a character who volunteered to become a hero in order to save everyone. But when he became a hero, he was turned back by the people. Other characters also talk about what their beliefs are and what it means to believe in your friends, but Tetsuya doesn't usually say these things, so I think the degree of seriousness he shows when he says them is more important. I was conscious of going with the flow with feeling, rather than making it more exciting than it needed to be.

───Are there any similarities between you and Tetsuya Saito?

Saito: Not as much as Tetsuya, but I did think about the fluctuation of my identity and where I should base myself when I was a teenager, so I can relate to that kind of feeling. Also, my position on the set was really like Tetsuya's, and everyone took good care of me.

─ What do you think of the other heroes?

Saito: The most moe character is obviously Ken. He's like, "You're a member of the Science Ninja Squad, but you don't know about IH! (laughs). (Laughs) I guess it can't be helped that he is a man of Showa-era science, but he is just so cute. However, when the time comes, Ken can be a bit impulsive, but when he says, "Don't worry," I feel reassured by Seki-san's acting as well. On the other hand, Takeshi and Jouji are very much in tune with the modern world.
Jouji is in charge of explaining everything, and I think he has the most lines. He is called "professor," but Tekkaman is very strong and can be relied on in battle. Polymer is a mood maker for everyone. When I heard that Mr. Suzumura would be playing the role, I thought, "I see! I thought, "I see. He seems to be a good-natured character, but at the same time, he is a mature person who can see what is going on around him. Although they are different types, from Tetsuya's point of view, all three of them are like dependable big brothers, and I like them all because they have a big brotherly feeling to them.

─ What do you think about the heroine, Laughing KAIDO (CV: Ai Kayano)?

Saito: In a way, everyone is a complete character, but without a character like Laughing to stir things up, I don't think the story would progress. I think it is difficult for viewers to empathize with a character who is told to believe 100% from the beginning, but Laugh, who has grown up not knowing how to be loved by others or how to trust or believe in others, is the one who says "I can't trust you all of a sudden even if you say so. I think this is an element that allows the story to develop in a way that is close to the audience. From my side, there is no denying that I wish they would listen to me a little more, but I think it is Laughing who grows the most in this work. I think Laugh is the one who grows the most in this work. His name was given to him by his parents, so it is not something he chose for himself, but something he was forced to take on!

───Without spoiling anything, can you tell us what scenes you recommend?

Saito: The battle scenes are great, of course, but other than the battle scenes, I would have to say the scene in episode 2 where they make avocado pasta. In the scene where Jouji cuts the avocado in half, removes the seeds with a knife, and throws them away, it's exactly the same action I do in my kitchen at home! (Laughs) In conventional animation, that kind of description tends to be omitted, but the motion-capture actors perform the movements, so I think it adds realism to such detailed scenes. Of course there are battle scenes, but I wanted the viewer to see the details outside of the battles on the big screen.

My favorite is the dummy that you can't tell if it is friend or foe.

Saito: When I was a child, I used to watch a lot of hero and Super Sentai movies, but I was always more interested in the enemy monsters than the allies of justice. Looking back on it now, some of the enemies had great drama, and I was always attracted to those kinds of things. In the case of Sentai, I like Blue and Black more than Red. I also liked "six men," or characters who came out at the right moment and were either friend or foe. Since I started working as a voice actor, I have often said, "I want to play the Trickster," and now I realize that maybe it was the same since I was a child.

─ ─ In this film, who is the hero you want to help?

Saito: As a character, I like the samurai the best, but the hero I want to help is Gatchaman. Ken is a character like a royal red, which is something I don't have in me at all. I feel like I can do something if he says, "It's going to be all right! I feel like I can handle it if he says, "I can't do it anymore! I also like the dummies on the enemy team. I even count the number of times the dummies call me "samurai" ...... (laughs). I think this work has the charm of the enemies.

─ ─ The enemy characters are also unique, aren't they?

Saito: I like all the characters, but I especially like Dummy (Damien Gray (CV: Daisuke Hirakawa)) in terms of his position. I have always wanted to play such a strong character someday. He is a character who doesn't show his true feelings, or is unsure of whether he is friend or foe, and it is difficult to see where he stands, but I have always liked characters like that. I also like Belle Lynn (CV: Kana Hanazawa), who is very cute (laughs). Is it okay to show this to kids? If I were a kid, I think I would know what type of person I would like in the future. Raja Khan (CV: Hiroki Yasumoto) is the most genuine or good person. There are a lot of things going on in "Z," and surprisingly, I think that the main characters on both sides are actually moe characters (laughs).
I hope that children will see it with pure eyes, that those who used to love Tatsunoko heroes will enjoy the present while remembering the past, and that those who are seeing it for the first time will see it from a different perspective.

───What are some of the highlights of this work that we can expect to see in the future?

Saito: In the first and second episodes, we saw a heated battle between Samurai and Damian, and at the end of the first episode, Casshern, who I play, appears as an enemy, and in the second episode, we learn that he is actually being controlled by someone. When I first saw the movie, I was very impressed with the battle scene. When I first saw the film, I was also shocked by the battle scenes, but it is not only the stylishness of the images, but also the clash of beliefs and the dialogue of feelings that is the key, so I hope you will enjoy the passion of the film.

─ Since the film is about a hero, do you have any advice for children who aspire to be heroes?

Saito: I think it's difficult to be honest with yourself and not doubt your own feelings. I myself entered this career thinking, "I'm going to be a voice actor for the rest of my life," but it's not all fun and games, and there are times when things don't go well. But if I keep on doing what I'm doing, and in a way I'm determined to keep on doing it, then I'm sure that the fun will come again. If there is something you want to do or something you are struggling with, it is important to change the environment, but I would like you to know that you can also try to stick to the path you are on.

─ ─ Finally, do you have a message for the viewers?

Saito: I am honored to be a part of Tatsunoko Productions' 55th anniversary production. I think this work can be enjoyed from various angles by a wide range of people, from those like myself who are almost new to the series to those who have been fans for a long time. I hope you will enjoy the passion of Japanese heroes and the advances in CG technology again and again, preferably on a good screen and with good sound.