Interview with Inori Minase, who plays Ami in "Lupin the 3rd Part 5! What do you have in common with the genius programmer Ami? ......

Lupin the Third Part 5," airing from April 2018, is the latest legitimate numbered work of the well-known national anime work "Lupin the Third". One of the key characters in the film, Ami, a girl with genius programming abilities, is played by Inori Minase, a very active voice actress and singer. We interviewed Ms. Minase for this issue! She told us about the unexpected (?) similarities between her and Ami. She also told us what she and Ami have in common.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fit in with the "Lupin" brand that has been built up until now.

--Could you tell us how you felt when you were first chosen to play the role of Ami?

Inori Minase (Minase): I don't remember watching the TV series in real time at the time, but I had seen the TV broadcasts of the movie version and the "TV specials" that were aired as one-shots. I think it is rare to find a work in which you can recognize the personalities of the characters even if you have not watched the TV series for a long time. It's hard to believe that I would be appearing in such a "Lupin" series, or at least that's my unstable feeling.

--Did you feel uneasy about appearing in a work that has a long history and a large number of fans?

Mizuse: Of course each character has a strong personality, but the play itself is very simple, and I have the image that it was created based on the concept of "nothing extra". To be honest, I was worried about how well I would fit in with the brand that has been built up by the many staff and cast members.

--Are there any "Lupin" films that you have seen again since you were chosen for the role?

Mizuse: I rewatched "Lupin the Third: Cagliostro's Castle" in particular. Ami's role is that something changes in her when she meets Lupin, and I thought that Clarice, the heroine of "The Castle of Cagliostro," was a character similar to her. I thought that Clarice, the heroine of "The Castle of Cagliostro," might be a character similar to her. I was still small when I saw the movie last time, but watching it again this time, I was impressed that I could really feel the coolness of Lupin.

--I was very impressed by the coolness of Lupin when I saw the movie last time.

Minase: I thought about it a lot, but I guess I would have to say Lupin. Dime, Gemon, and the others all have their cool and cute sides, and they are the "army of peculiarities" so to speak. Lupin, who unites all of them, is exceptional, and I think that even they think that they can't beat him. I think that while the series has been around for a long time, trends and the social environment have changed, but I really think that it is amazing that a character can always be made to look "cool".

--What were you conscious of or what were the difficulties in playing Ami?

Mizuse: I had an image of Ami as a depressed girl who has no hope in the world because she has been living as a recluse for a long time. I thought she would be a character with few emotional ups and downs, but in the first episode, I was told that I could show more emotion. I was advised to keep in mind that Ami is not a robot, but a human being. In addition, I had to give the viewers the impression that she was a little different from a normal human being, so I struggled a lot at first.

--How did you conduct the postrecording?

Mizuse: It is not uncommon for recording to be done by "unscheduled recording," in which a person whose schedule does not allow him or her to do the voice-over alone, but for this work, there were sometimes as many as 30 people recording. The booth was overflowing with people, and I felt like I was going to run out of oxygen (laughs). (Laughs) I think the realism and sense of speed can only be created when the cast is all together, so in that sense it was a very valuable and meaningful experience.

--By the way, are you as good with digital devices as Ami is?

Mizuse: I am an only child, so I often play with computers at home, and I have friends who I met through computers, and I am the type of person who can set up a new smartphone by myself without reading the manual, thinking "I can use it if I do this. I think I'm not weak. ......?

--If there was an actual "Lupin Game" in which the person who found Lupin using Internet SNS, GPS, etc. would win a large sum of money, would you like to participate in it?

Mizuse: I am a "watch and wait" type of person. I am not a big follower of trendy things, and I don't even have an "Instagram" (......). I just keep it in my mind as one of the daily news. I'd rather go to empty spots and enjoy shopping and leisure activities without the crowds of people flocking to Lupin (laughs).

(Laughs) -- If Marco Polo, the dark website that also appears in the film, where you can get anything you want, legally or illegally, were to exist, is there anything you would like to buy?

Mizuse: I would like to buy all kinds of cosmetics and brand-name products that are hard to find in Japan. Foreign products sold in Japan are not easily accessible due to taxes. So I would like to use "Marco Polo" to get them at a low price!

--In addition to Ami, "Lupin the Third Part 5" also features Albert Dandrezie, played by Kenjiro Tsuda, and Goro Yatagarasu, played by Nobunaga Shimazaki.

Mizuse: Albert doesn't have much direct contact with Ami, but he knows about Lupin's past and has many mysteries of his own, which makes him a very scary character. Yata-san (Goro) is like a good old-fashioned detective who shares the same aspirations as Inspector Zenigata. I was moved by a scene in which he seems to be the real "Totsan" to Ami.

I think that Ami is the "glue" that holds the characters together. There are scenes in which Ami connects the characters together, so I would appreciate it if you could watch the film with that in mind.

--I think the charm of "Lupin" lies in its comical episodes that are simply hilarious.

Mizuse Well, I think ...... she could be both a bloke and a twit, but I'd still like to see her "bloke". I think it would be cute to see her blabbering on in front of Lupin and the others about the knowledge she has acquired on the Internet, but it is actually all false information, and she blushes in embarrassment.

I also want to see her embarrassed face when Fujiko takes her shopping and makes her wear fashionable clothes (laughs).

--What kind of growth do you think Ami will show in the future?

Mizuse: Actually, I receive the script just before each recording session, so I don't know what's going to happen in the story. I think she will venture out into a new world when she meets Lupin, but how will the scenery that she has only seen through the Internet be reflected in her mind?　I am also very curious to see how she will be affected, so I hope everyone will pay attention to her story.

(Interview and text by Atsushi Saeki)