Do you want to live in a townhouse? Or do you want to live in a 1K? Anime "DRAGON BUYS A HOUSE Main Cast Shun Horie and Kaito Ishikawa Talk

The TV anime "Dragon, Buy a House" was announced to start airing in April 2021. . It is a unique fantasy anime about a dragon who travels in search of his own home and a real estate agent elf. We are pleased to present a conversation between Shun Horie, who plays the lead role of Letty, and Kaito Ishikawa, who plays Diaria, in this work. The conversation covered a wide variety of topics, from the work that can be enjoyed by those who are not yet familiar with it, to what it is like at the recording studio where morale is high, to the two's dreams of building their own home.

A happy "competition" with the sound director boosts morale

───First of all, what was your first impression of the work?

Shun Horie (Horie): I thought it was very interesting to have a dragon searching for a home in such an out-of-the-ordinary setting. The monsters we meet have families, and it made me realize that even the demons we usually defeat in games have lives of their own, and I felt that searching for a home in such a world is an interesting aspect of this work.

Kaito Ishikawa (Ishikawa) First of all, when I heard the title "Dragon buys a house. When I heard the title "Dragon Buying a House," I couldn't guess what it was about at all. I had an image of dragons being evil, so I thought they would "rob" or "burn" rather than "buy. I thought it was more like "rob" or "burn" than "buy" (laughs). But when I read the original story, it was completely different. It was about Letty, who destroys the conventional image of dragons, and Dhialia, who is not at all like a demon king, and how they use straightforward methods to find a home.

Horie: I also grew up playing royal road RPGs such as Dracula, so it is interesting that the positions of the heroes and demons are reversed from the past. In other words, the demons are the heroes and the heroes are the villains. From the demon's point of view, the hero is nothing but a threat to their lives.


Ishikawa: In addition, what I thought when I saw the work was the interesting interaction among the characters. In the process of searching for a house, he meets and communicates with people, and as a comedy, there is a unique fun that makes people giggle with his conversations. The tempo is very good, and there are characters who are both funny and funny, or who react in some way, which I thought was very exciting from a theatrical point of view.

─ ─ You felt that the original story gave you a chance to show your skills as an actor.

Ishikawa: When I read such an original story, it makes me want to act in it. When I was selected for the role after the audition, I asked "Who will play the other Letty? I had never played a role with Mr. Horie before, so I was looking forward to seeing what the scene would be like.

─ You two are from the same agency, and Mr. Ishikawa is your senior, right?

Ishikawa: Yes. And we are the same age. We have not had many opportunities to talk to each other before, but this is the first time for us to get to know each other so well. We were the only two who were ahead of each other in the recording, but Horie would sometimes make a surprise performance that made me say, "Wow! He would sometimes come out with a play that would surprise us. That was very funny (laughs). (Laughs.) Comedy is definitely funnier when it comes out of the unexpected. In that sense, I feel that I was very lucky to be involved in this work with this relationship.

─ ─ Are you aware that you were throwing a pitch that surprised Mr. Ishikawa?

Horie: No, I am not. I don't (laughs). The director recorded all the roles in the rehearsal videos for this film, and I went to the recording studio in accordance with the director's timing. So, combined with the desire to produce something different from what the director was presenting, maybe something interesting came out, and as a result, the play turned out that way.

Ishikawa: The amazing thing about this piece is that the picture was almost complete at the time of rehearsal V. At this stage, it was already interesting, and as an actor, I did not want to make any further changes to the picture. So, we pursued the funniest possible within this time frame.

Horie: The picture already exists, so it was fun to think about how much I could challenge myself without straying too far from it.

───What was your approach to the role?

Horie: During the auditions, I was told that although Lettie was a dragon, I should not think of myself as playing a dragon, but rather as a mentally young boy of about 9 years old. So, I tried not to give him a clear, droning voice that would be typical of a dragon or any other human-like impression, but rather, I thought I was playing a timid, whiny boy, and I worked out how to make him mentally young. Nevertheless, I think both those who have not read the original work and those who have will be surprised when they hear the first voice in the PV of the anime. I think that the fact that any voice could have been used for the character will surprise you.


─ What do you think of Diaria played by Ms. Ishikawa?

Ishikawa: She is a character who seems to be cold-hearted at first glance, but in her interactions with Letty, I can see that she actually enjoys them, and that she treats him with kindness. He also seems to be a very playful elf, as he teases Lettie and makes jokes that prompt her to make fun of him. And yet, he is a dream come true because he is good looking and is ranked very high among the demon tribe. And he is in the real estate business (laughs). I am always trying to find a way to separate the serious comedy from the everyday life, because I am not allowed to show too much emotion.


I always try to make adjustments to make the voice of the same character sound more serious or comedic.

Ishikawa: Yes, that's right. The tone of voice is also different when I am making a joke and when I am making a comment, and considering the character's personality, it would be different to change it too much. Most of the time it's natural, but sometimes it's intentional.

─ What kind of direction did the sound director, Mr. Ryosuke Naya, give you?

Horie: I remember that he put a lot of emphasis on light-hearted dialogue, and he was very particular about the sharpness between gags and scenes that were not gags. I remember that he was very particular about the balance between gag scenes and non-gag scenes. He would give directions such as, "You have to be more pointed here," but I had the impression that he left the other parts to me.

Ishikawa: Perhaps, Mr. Natani thinks that too much direction would take away the freedom in this kind of comedy. I think that is also why he entrusted me with the work. However, there are times when I tend to show too much of myself as a character, and when that happens, I am told, "Ishikawa, you are showing," and I say, "Yes, I will be careful! I'll be careful! I'll be careful! As the story progresses, I explore how much I can show, and sometimes I want to broaden the range of the character, so I challenge myself a little bit. Then I was noticed and told that I was showing! I thought it was!" (laugh). (Laughs.) The struggle between the two is a lot of fun.

─ It must be fun to have not only the actors who play the characters, but also those on the other side of the booth, competing with each other in a sense.

Ishikawa: That's right. I am really happy to be in an environment where they can find the fine tuning that I am intentionally trying to cross the borderline a little bit. When I feel that they are listening to me, I will try my best in another play to respond to them, and the morale at the site will be enhanced.


─ So, the morale of the postrecording studio is enhanced depending on the direction.

Ishikawa: That's right. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to have an "uchiiri" (a banquet held before the production of a work starts. Since it is not possible to have a "nageiri" (a banquet held before the production of a work starts, a synonym for "launch"), the only communication that can be done onsite is through direction. Considering this, I am very grateful to the site for raising morale in such a way.

─ I understand that there are many guest actors as well.

Ishikawa: I can't disclose their names yet, but they are all legends. We were the first two to record, so we saw their names on the list of guests, but we haven't heard their performances. We will be able to hear them when they are on air, just like the viewers.