The actress was deeply moved by the opportunity to appear in a work she had watched as a child! Interview with Rena Ueda, Sumire Moroboshi, Yuko Hara, and Riyo Takahashi on the occasion of the opening of the first part of "Sailor Moon Eternal" the movie!

The legendary girls' manga "Sailor Moon," which has transcended time and generation, returns to the screen after 25 years!

The "Dead Moon" version, which depicts Chibi-Usa and Elyos' first love and the growth of the Sailor Senshi, will be made into a movie in two parts!　The first part of "Sailor Moon Eternal" will be released on January 8, 2021 (Friday), and the second part will be released on February 11, 2021 (Thursday, national holiday).

In this movie, the Sailor Senshi are confronted by four female characters known as the "Amazoness Quartet. We interviewed Rena Ueda (Cerece), Sumire Moroboshi (Parapara), Yuko Hara (Junjun), and Riyo Takahashi (Bethbeth), who play these four characters! Once again, they talked about the appeal of "Sailor Moon".

Memories of the recording session with the four of us: "We made a team of the Amazoness Quartet.

Q: How did you feel when you were chosen to appear in this film?

Hara: I didn't believe it. When I was told that I had been chosen, I replied, "I will do my best," but I thought it was a lie for sure (laughs). (Laughs.) So when I saw the list of the film, I was surprised and said, "It's true! I was so surprised.

Morohoshi: I couldn't believe it either, but at the same time I was honestly happy. I didn't watch "Sailor Moon" in real time, but my sister and older cousins were into it, and I always saw them playing with it.

Ueda: I was happy too, but at the same time I felt a lot of pressure. I had watched the film when I was little, and there were people who had done the voices before (in the 90's anime), so I wondered what I could do to make the movie more enjoyable for everyone. ...... At the audition, I wanted to play Cerece in my own way, so I dared to perform without watching the previous broadcast and was accepted, but first I told myself that I would also cherish the feeling I had when the staff and the four of us got together and took on the challenge.

Takahashi: I was first surprised that there was an audition. I was like, "There are auditions for Sailor Moon!" (laughs). It's a strange feeling even though I am a voice actor, but I remember playing the game when I was in kindergarten, so once again I thought, "People are making this!" I thought to myself. So the audition reaffirmed for me the feeling that I am the one who is making the animation.

Rena Ueda (Cerece)

Q: I heard that all four of you did the dubbing at the same time this time.

Hara: I had never met the three of them before, so I started by saying "hello" to them, but I was so full of myself that I couldn't have much conversation with them. I had seen the 90's anime, so I had an idea of what I wanted to do before I went to the recording studio, but it was different from the previous work!　I was able to see it right in front of my eyes, so I thought, "Wow! I thought, "Wow! I thought, "I'm going to do my best, too!

Morohoshi: At first I was nervous too, but when the four of us entered the studio and had a conversation, we started by talking about how we first met Sailor Moon and what kind of toys we used to play with when we were little. Then we had a moment of "nostalgia! I realized once again that this is an amazing work that all the girls can get excited about.

Also, I had watched a lot of "Amazoness Quartet" before I went to the audition. I was surprised to hear that you went to the audition without having seen the show, but when I actually heard your voices during the postrecording, they were exactly as I had envisioned. It was exactly the atmosphere I had imagined: "I want to be in this kind of amazoness quartet! I wanted to join such an amazoness quartet! It was just the way I imagined it, but it wasn't a mimicry of the previous members. Each of us had our own unique style of acting, and we immediately became a team as the Amazoness Quartet. I felt at home in the role, so I was able to perform with a lot of energy.

Ueda: At the time of the audition, I didn't watch anything, but after I passed the audition, I actually had a feeling that this was the kind of atmosphere that the Amazoness Quartet would have by watching past animated films. So I mixed that impression with what the staff had said at the studio audition, and I went to the audition site hoping to get a good balance, so I was very nervous at first.

But everyone really fit together perfectly, and although I felt a sense of nostalgia, it was also a new Amazoness Quartet, so it was a good stimulus for me. Also, when we were talking together, all four of us were trying to make the atmosphere on the set more relaxed, and I think that's why the four of us were so free-spirited in the film, but I felt like we were working as a team on the set. It was very comfortable.

Takahashi: When I saw the four of us working shoulder-to-shoulder during postrecording, I felt a great sense of security knowing that we were all working on the same thing. I think everyone has their own way of approaching a role, their own way of making a film, and their own stance on how they are going to approach this film, but I was very happy to see that everyone was facing the Amazoness Quartet at the same time!　Acting is a job that has no right answer, so having people who are willing to take on the challenge with me gives me a sense of security and makes me work harder. Even if I was wrong, I would keep going! I am glad to be a part of this team, and I am happy to be a part of this team.

Riyo Takahashi (played by Bethbeth)

Who are your four favorite Sailor Senshi? What new charms did you feel from the movie?

Q: So, what did you think of the movie version of "Sailor Moon Eternal" (Part 1)?

Takahashi: I enjoyed it!　I couldn't help but want to check the scenes I was in, but even putting that aside, I really thought, "Sailor Moon is fun! I watched it when I was in kindergarten. I saw the movie when I was in kindergarten, and after that, I was away from Sailor Moon, but it was a movie that captivated me enough to make me come back to Sailor Moon for the first time in a long time. It's the same sparkles I was watching back then! I can go back to it right away.

Ueda: I also thought that the excitement and thrill I felt as a child could be experienced at any age. The transformation scene also gave me a nostalgic feeling of "this, this, this! I had a nostalgic feeling of "this is it! When I was a child, I could not watch the story in depth, but now that I am an adult and understand the story better, I feel that there are so many great women who were active in the film.

Each character overcame something, but they did so with their own determination and with the other person in mind, so there was a lot I could learn from them. That's why I was moved by their actions and came to like them even more. It was a time that deepened my love for the characters, and I felt as if I had been truly purified afterwards.

Morohoshi: I had never been so nervous at a screening before. I was so nervous that I was shaking even though I was just watching the film. ...... Especially when my voice came out, I was more nervous than during the recording (laugh). It was a strange feeling to hear my own voice from a work that I had always watched and admired, and I didn't really feel it at all, so I was in a daze the whole time.

But I was able to feel the charm of each of the Sailor Senshi again, and Chibi-Usa-chan's desire to be big and longing for long legs were things I used to think about as a little girl, too. I used to think about these things too. But now that I see the movie again, I can't help but think of Chibi-Usa-chan as cute. The way I look at it now is different from back then, and I feel a different kind of interest.

I thought that this is the kind of work that can be enjoyed by people of any generation. It is a work filled with all the things that girls long for, including the mysterious things like space, the stars, and the moon, the familiar cuteness of sailor suits, and the transformation items.

Hara: It was a very sparkling work. It was a rare brightness in recent years. I have always liked darker movies, and I only watch suspense and psycho-thriller movies, so when I saw it at the screening, I thought, "The light is too strong! I thought (laughs).

I feel like it's the first time I've seen something so sparkling since I turned 20, and I feel like there really aren't that many films like that these days. There are a lot of dark topics and my feelings tend to be gloomy, but I think that after watching this film, everyone will try to stop being depressed (laughs). (Laughs.) I know the story from reading the script, but watching the film, I felt "ah~~! (laughs). (Laughs). Combined with the various effects on the sound and voices, I felt like I wanted to see the movie again. I thought there was something magical about it that made me forget my age and return to my childhood.

Yuko Hara (Junjun)

I see it's not magic, it's magical (laughs).

Hara (sexy): "It's interesting no matter how many times you see it, isn't it? (laughs).

Q: Could you tell us who your favorite Sailor Senshi are?

Hara: I have always loved Sailor Mars/Hino Rei-chan since I was a child. When I was a kid, I liked her red high heels because they looked cool. But when I grew up, I thought she was cool and not at all uncooperative, but I liked her lone wolf look. In this story, too, I like the kids who want to get married, have boyfriends, or become wives, but I know I'm going to take over the family business. ...... I felt like there was some kind of darkness in their hearts, and I wanted to support them again. I wanted to say, "You don't have to be so anxious, you're still young, it's okay. It was easy to sympathize with her.

Morohoshi: I have always liked Sailor Jupiter/Kino Makoto. I liked her because of her looks, or rather her cute rose earrings. When I was little, I liked boyish, cool girls more than lovely girls, so I thought I liked the manly Makoto. But she also has a cute side, and I was attracted to that gap. I played as Makoto-chan all the way through the Super Nintendo games, so we fought together.

But when I saw the movie, I thought Sailor Venus/Minako Aino was really cute too (laughs). (Laughs) That reminded me that I really liked the pose I saw Minako strike after her transformation in the game, and for a while that was the pose she struck in all the time for her photos (laughs).

Ueda: When I was little, I really liked Sailor Neptune/Kaiou Michiru. Or rather, I really liked Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune (Michiru), and more to the point, I was really attracted to the four of them, including Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn. So those four are in the Hall of Fame, and when I saw this movie, I also thought Rei-chan was very cute. Both in looks and inside. Her sophisticated beauty is cool.

Takahashi: I also came to like Rei-chan through this movie. When I was playing the Sailor Moon game, my impression of the character was only based on her color, and I always thought she was tsunken because she was red. But after watching the movie, I now know that Rei-chan is not like that!　With all the attributes of long black hair and high heels, if she had that personality, she would be ....... Moreover, Rina Sato's voice was very soft and the air she wore was wonderful, so I was surprised at the gap between the two. I was so disappointed that I didn't know about Rei-chan's charms! I was so disappointed that I didn't know Rei-chan's charms!

Sumire Morohoshi (Parapara)

Q: "Sailor Moon" is also about who you like, isn't that right? Now, talking about the movie again, what do you want people to see in the characters you played?

Hara: Junjun seems to be having a lot of fun from start to finish, doing all kinds of evil things. He is smiling rather smugly the whole time, so I want people to see how he is happily causing trouble for others!

Morohoshi: I want the audience to see Parapara's free-spiritedness. I was allowed to do the dubbing freely, so I tried to make the phrases I was saying sound peculiar and devised my own way of acting, so I hope you will pay attention to that as well.

Ueda: I was also allowed to play Cerece freely. She may look like an older sister, but she is not like that at all. She is really uninhibited and innocent, doing whatever she likes. I hope you enjoy the gap between the two.

Takahashi: The interaction with the Amazon trio. When she gets angry at the Amazon trio for their mistakes, you can see how much she cares about her friends, so I hope you can see that in her.

Q: Lastly, do you have a message for the fans of "Sailor Moon"?

Hara: I hope that you will join Sailor Moon in blowing away your gloomy feelings and shining brightly.

Morohoshi: I hope I have conveyed the charm of Parapara and the Amazoness Quartet to everyone. The work expresses a world filled with dreams, ideals, and longing, so it should give you a lot of energy. I hope that you will spend your days with Sailor Moon.

Ueda: It is a fun work no matter when you watch it or who you are! Those who have seen 90's anime should be able to feel nostalgia and like this girl, and even those who have never seen it before will be able to see the inner lives of the characters and empathize with them and guess what they are like. I am sure that there will be many elements that you can enjoy, such as empathy and guesses.

So I would be happy if you could watch it once, regardless of gender or age. The Amazoness Quartet is also very cute and innocent, so I hope you will enjoy it as well!

Takahashi: The Amazon Trio is very good!　They are so attractive that you may come to see the show just for the Amazon Trio. But the Amazoness Quartet is just as attractive!　I hope you will watch us take on the Sailor Senshi on the big screen.

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Film Information

Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie Part 1 / Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie Part 2

Release date: January 8, 2021 (Friday) for the first part, February 11, 2021 (Thursday, national holiday) for the second part

<Cast

Kotono Mitsuishi Kotono Kanemoto Hisako Sato Rina Koshimizu Ami Ito Shizuka Fukuen Misato Kenji Nojima Junko Minagawa Sayaka Ohara

Ai Maeda Yukiyo Fujii Ryo Hirohashi Futoshi Murata Futoshi Nakagawa Shoko Matsuoka Teijo

Naomi Watanabe Nanao

＜Staff

Original Story/ Supervisor : Naoko Takeuchi

Director : Chiaki Kon

Screenplay : Kazuyuki Fudeyasu

Character Design : Kazuko Tadano

Animation Production: Toei Animation/Studio Deen

Distributor: Toei

＜Theme Song

Tsukiiro Chainon

Momoiro Clover Z with Sailor Moon (CV: Kotono Mitsuishi) & Sailor Mercury (CV: Hisako Kanemoto) & Sailor Mars (CV: Rina Sato) & Sailor Jupiter (CV: Ami Komizu) & Sailor Venus (CV: Shizuka Ito)

Lyrics: Shirobara sumire Composed by Akiko Kosaka Arranged by Gekishoku Kaikan