Interview with Soma Saito, who plays the main character, Seishin Sambara, in XFLAG Studio's new anime "The Promised Seven Nights Festival!

XFLAG Studio's original anime "The Promised Seven Nights Festival" will finally begin streaming on its YouTube channel today at 19:00.

Sambara Seishin, a first-year high school student, is invited by his childhood friend Fujii Atsushi, whom he has not seen since they were separated at their elementary school graduation ceremony, to participate in the "Tanahiki Nanayoru Matsuri" (Seven Nights of Promise Festival). There, he is assigned the role of Hikoboshi. Kanna, the festival facilitator, and Shiori Senosawa, who plays the role of Orihime, are introduced to him. Seishin discovers something important as he is tossed about by various mysteries. ......

The third special interview on the day of the delivery is with Souma Saito, who plays the main character, Hoshina. We talked about how he played the role of an ordinary first-year high school student in a natural way, and about Saito's mysterious experience.

Letting the script take care of itself so as not to be too cool

--Could you tell us about your impression of the scenario when you received it?

Souma Saito (Saito): I thought it was refreshing and a little sad, the kind of work you would want to see in the summer. Moreover, it has boy meets girl, action, and science fiction elements. I really like this kind of story, so I was happy to be involved in it, and I was looking forward to the recording.

--What was your first impression of Hoshina?

Saito: For better or worse, he is a "typical first-year high school boy. He is not young, but he is not completely mature either, and I felt before I started playing him that he is a character that is typical of the main character. The director also told me that he thought I was not too introspective, that I was frank enough to tell Shiori "it's okay to speak frankly" as soon as I realized she was the same age as me, and that I could adapt to a festival in an unknown village, which is very modern boy-like.

--So I tried not to make it too cool.

Saito: That's right. He doesn't seem to be the type of guy who is very energetic and is always playing soccer in the schoolyard during recess. I was hoping to bring out the straightforwardness of the character.

--Saito: Did the director or sound director give you any orders for your performance?

Saito: No, I left most of it up to them. After listening to what I had just said, I went to the test and they said, "Just like that.

--Saito: Were there any scenes that were difficult for you to play?

Saito: I was careful not to make the character waver, so that he would be surprised, confused, or angry depending on the situation, but become cool when it came time for the fight scene. In particular, I played Hoshina as a 6th grader and a 1st grader in junior high school in the recollection scene, and it was a very important scene. I based my voice on a first-year high school student, and it was physically difficult to make him sound the same age as Atsushi, as if he had time-traveled back to that point in time. However, the scenario and dialogue were not complicated, so the script was written in such a way that you just had to let your mind and body go with the flow. I think we were able to make the most of the interplay between the actors and other things that come out of the territory of the scene.

--What kind of girls did Shiori and Kanna seem to you?

Saito: They both have a certain dignity inside that is very attractive, and although they are different types of girls, I thought they were two girls I could rely on during postrecording. Shiori is very mature for her age, and if I had wandered into that village when I was in my first year of high school and met Shiori, I think I would have fallen in love with her very early on (laughs). Kanna-chan is not human, but I think people will like the gap between her appearance as a young girl and her ability to speak very sophisticated and complex content. Kanna-chan has the most battle scenes, especially the scene where she fights the ghost princess, which is cool.

--What were some of the most memorable scenes or lines?

Saito: The director said, "We can put our hearts in order by re-experiencing the final goodbye to people we can no longer see in a virtual space but in an unwilling way." I was moved by the final exchange between Shiori and her sister and between Hoshin and Atsushi, which expresses this idea. What was also fun was when the attacking warriors fused together to form a giant combined warrior, and we all did the voices for it. We kept roaring the whole time, and when it was over, everyone started yelling, "There was a sense of unity," "We were just merging," etc. It was fun. It was the end of the show, so maybe we were all in a bit of a weird mood.

--Saito: Was there any episode other than the postrecording that left a lasting impression on you?

Saito: This time, we recorded for about 9 hours. I could hear my stomach growling from various directions (laughs). Also, during the lunch break, we were provided with a wide variety of bento lunches, and when I asked them about the eggs, they told me that they would break them on top of the katsu-hei and add a half-boiled egg.

--I asked him about it, and he told me that they would add a half-boiled egg to the pork cutlet.

Saito: Yes. That also left an impression on me. I had a "chinja-roshi" bento.

In the game, he praised his opponents with "Nice! and praised his opponents.

--I think many people will be watching the video repeatedly since it is being distributed on YouTube. Are there any scenes you want people to pay attention to?

Saito: The town and community that the director depicts are wonderful, and I myself am looking forward to seeing how the scenery, which is different from that of a regular festival, will be depicted. I am sure that the addition of taiko drums and other sounds will make everyone's hearts beat faster. Hoshin, Shiori-chan, and Kanna-chan are the main characters in the story, but if you change your perspective each time you watch the show, I think you will see a different and interesting side to the story.

--What is the image of a festival for you?

Saito: I love food stalls, and I used to play a lot of games when I was a kid, especially the prize drawings with a string. But I never won any of the prizes such as "PlayStation 2". There was a kid who won a big air gun, though. So, as an adult, I stopped trying to get something tangible at festivals. Beer, yakisoba, and takoyaki are enough.

-- So, do you still visit festivals?

Saito: The other day, I was talking with a friend, "Don't you want to go to a festival?" I was talking with a friend of mine, and there was a ramen stall in front of the station. But when I went in, it turned out to be an oden shop (laughs). (Laughs.) So I was able to feel the atmosphere of the festival a little.

--This work is also linked to the "Fight League" and "Monster Strike" game apps, in which Hoshimasa and his friends also appear. What kind of dialogue can we expect to hear from them?

Saito: In the Fight League game, I thought they would be shouting out the names of their moves, but that wasn't in the script. There are no lines like "Go! but there are lines like "Go! It's typical of Hoshina, who gets caught up in the situation. He is not the type to fight. There is a line that praises his opponents, "NICE! (laughs). There are also lines that are timed with other characters, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that will turn out. Hoshimasa in Fight League may be more crisp than in the anime. It looks like he will appear in Hikoboshi costume, so I hope you can play with him until next year's Tanabata.

--Is there an episode that comes to mind when you hear the word Tanabata?

Saito: Yes, there is. When I was in elementary school, there was a jelly served at school lunch on Tanabata Day, and when I turned the lid, I found a note on the back saying "Orihime and Hikoboshi meet only once a year. When I read that, I felt sorry for them and thought, "It's a little impossible for them to be in love at a distance.

--When were you around what age?

Saito: I was 9 years old (laughs).

--You were quite a mature child (laughs). (laughs) Lastly, can you tell us about a mysterious episode that you experienced in connection with your work?

Saito: Actually, I really like the occult!　I started out with yokai, mutant phenomena, and mythology, but now I have a wide range of interests, including urban legends, and I have even been invited to appear on "Sumaho de MU~SEN" (radio show in collaboration with "Sumaho de USEN" and Monthly Mu). Our company (81 Produce) has a senior named "Wataru Hatano" (laughs), and there is also an occult line called "Hatano-Saito". But I myself have not had many occult experiences, perhaps because this is what I am looking for. However, in the first apartment I lived in after I moved to Tokyo, people who came to the apartment told me that they had experienced psychic phenomena. When they went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, they would hear a large group of people laughing, and when they turned off the faucet, it would stop. One of the older students who stayed there told me that the doorknob was being rattled all the time at about 3:00 am. At that time, I said to him, "I must have gotten the wrong room. Also, I heard that they often steal my pants.

--The last one is like a human work .......

Saito: Yes, that's right (laughs). But I have been saying in various places that I ascended last December.

--Saito: Yes, that's what the lyrics of the song "Date," the third single you released the other day, say.

Saito: Yes. After that, the electrical appliances in my house started breaking down one after another. When I came home and turned on the light in my room, the light bulb would go out several times in a month, or the speakers or Roomba would break. It also affected me during recording, like I was the only one getting noise. I changed the microphone, but still. If I were to appear as a character in a game, my special move would probably be that. Like breaking the opponent's weapon (laughs).

--(laughs) - let's show off here (laughs). Thank you very much!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Koji Shimizu)