A TV animation and live-action work, "Yakunara Mug Mugomo," began airing on CBC TV, BS11, TOKYO MX, MBS, and AT-X in April.
The original work is a free comic serialized as part of a project launched by volunteers and businesses in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture, to "energize the city. Set in Tajimi City, it is a coming-of-age story about four high school girls who fall in love with the fascination of ceramics under the theme of Mino-yaki, a traditional craft.
The TV animation and live-action "Yakunara Mug Cup" consists of two parts: the first 15 minutes is the animation part and the second 15 minutes is the live-action part. In the live-action part, "Yakunara Mug Mugomo - Yakumo no Houkago -," Mimi Tanaka (Hineno Toyokawa), Yu Serizawa (Sanka Kunari), Yuki Wakai (Naoko Naruse), and Rina Honzumi (Juko Aoki), the voices of the four main characters, step out of the anime world and introduce and experience Tajimi City in style. Tajimi City in a fashionable way.
We asked these four main cast members to talk about the highlights of the work and the delicious food of Tajimi, as well as plenty of other attractions.
Life-size girls who enjoy making ceramics" will be charmingly portrayed in the anime!
--Tanaka: It's a very relaxed and soft story.
Tanaka My first impression was that it was cute and relaxed. But I was surprised at the gap between the cute style and the austere nature of ceramics. My original image of ceramics was that it would be austere and not have any color variations, but that was not the case at all when I actually had a chance to see the works. There were lots of bright and cute dishes, so I thought that girls would definitely fall in love with them.
Serizawa When I saw the title of the original story, I thought, "What's a mug, a girl, and ceramics? But when I read it, I found that I could read it with a lot of gusto. I thought pottery and cute girls go well together. The way Hime-no is tinkering with clay and her worries are cute, and the warmth of ceramics and the cuteness of the girl really draw you into the work.
Wakai: I am from Gifu Prefecture and knew Tajimi from the beginning, so I was interested in what a Tajimi manga would be like. When I read it, I found that the magazine was full of the tranquility of Tajimi, or rather the nice countryside, and I could feel the slow flow of time. Tajimi is very hot in the summer, and the realistic depiction of the heat in the river scenes in the summer made me think, "Oh, that's Tajimi" (laughs).
Motoizumi The original story is very delicately drawn and all the characters are cute, but I felt the ceramic expression or touch was very warm. The story is not only cute and soothing, but also focuses on the conflicts and worries of each character, so I thought it was a work that I could get absorbed in.
--What do you find attractive about the character you are playing?
Tanaka: (Toyokawa) There are of course scenes of HIMENO doing pottery at school, but there are also quite a few detailed scenes of her activities at her home, the coffee shop "TOKISIRO". A high school girl comes home from school, reports various things to her family, and sends messages to everyone in her own bed. In my opinion, it's a great way to get a peek into the life of a high school girl. I thought it would be an appealing way to show "a life-size girl enjoying ceramics. Also, there are quite a few bath scenes in the film!
Wakai: That's right. I thought I was in charge of service shots (laughs). (Laughs.) You put a lot of effort into drawing the bath scene, didn't you?
Tanaka The drawings were so good that I was a bit confused myself (laughs). I think the staff put that much effort into it. The wet hair looks great, and I think Hime-no may be in charge of the bath.
Serizawa Sanka is in the background even in scenes where she is not speaking, moving around all the time, and her eyes are sparkling. Even in scenes where she is not the main character, she is always twinkling, so I thought she was more lively in the animation. Her facial expressions really move all the time.
Wakai: When I read the original story, I had a strong image of Naoko (Naruse) as a quiet girl. But when I saw her in action in the anime, she was very expressive, laughing a lot and making funny faces, and I got the impression that she is an energetic child with a unique personality. I felt that the anime brought out more of Naoko's personality in the anime. Also, Hime-no's daily life is often depicted, but I really don't know what Naoko does on a daily basis. I am a little concerned about the personal side of Naoko.
Motoizumi My first impression of Juko (Aoki) was that she was a very cool person. But in the anime, there are many scenes where everyone is laughing and smiling. I hope you enjoy the difference between the two. In the original work, I felt that there was not such a wide range of facial expressions, but when I saw them in action in the pictures, I thought they had a strong life-size high school girl feel to them.
--The opening theme song of the anime, "When I Open the Door," is performed by the four-member unit "MUG-MO. What is your impression of the song?
Motoizumi It is a very good song!
Wakai: I think the song overturns the common image of anime songs and character songs in a good way. It has a nice sound that really brings to mind the tranquil scenery of Tajimi.
Tanaka The first time I heard the complete package was when I saw the opening from the first episode's avant-garde with HIMENO's narration. The opening video was not yet attached, but I heard "This is Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture. Chanchakacha-cha-cha♪" I thought it matched the work very well, even more so than when we recorded it. I thought it was great.
Serizawa The unadorned feeling is also very nice. Anime is 2-dimensional, so you can do a lot of things with it. If you want to make the sound flashy, you can. But this song has none of that. It has simple instruments and the four of them are singing straight, so I felt that the song was really taken from the work. I felt that the simplicity of the song really brings out the best in it.
Introducing recommended gourmet foods that you should definitely try when you visit Tajimi
--In the live-action part in the latter half of the film, we see you all in various ways, such as trying your hand at pottery making in Tajimi. What are your impressions of the live-action part and what are the highlights?
Tanaka: We ate delicious food, tried our hand at pottery making, and visited Eihoji Temple, which is a national treasure. I really felt that the same place looks different in different seasons.
Wakai: There was no script for the location shooting. So you can see us as we are, without any embellishments. I don't remember what we said at all (laughs), but it was just really fun.
Serizawa: There are many places that symbolize Tajimi in the anime, and we usually visit them in the live-action parts. It is very easy to see how things are done in the anime and how things are done in the live-action part, so I am sure that you will want to go to Tajimi.
Motoizumi: We were allowed to go to the location before recording, so when we were recording, we said, "That's where we went! It was like a reverse pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I think it will be a wonderful 30 minutes full of Tajimi.
--I'm curious about the local food. What did you enjoy eating there, and what are some of the dishes introduced in the original story that you would like to try in the future?
Tanaka I really had a lot of food on location.
Wakai We ate something every time we were on location.
Tanaka If I had to pick one thing, it would be "Gohei Mochi. I had heard from Yuki that Gohei Mochi is soul food, so I was looking forward to eating it. The grandmother at the store was very nice, like the grandmother of all the locals. My father also loves Gohei-mochi very much, so I recommended it to him (laughs). Actually, my parents like to go on pilgrimages to the holy places of the films I have appeared in. They also like pottery and are looking forward to a trip to Tajimi. I hope they will try Gohei-mochi when they visit there.
Serizawa: I think I like "boastful pottery," which was mentioned in the original story. I had it when I visited various places in Tajimi, and it was very delicious. The oobanyaki-like boast-yaki is delicious, but the ice cream there is also delicious (laughs). I recommend both! They are also inexpensive.
Motoizumi One thing that is not in the anime is that in the original story, there is a scene where they go to the Earth Village (Sanokura Shimin no Sato Chikyu-mura) and have a barbecue together, so I would like to have a barbecue with everyone someday.
Wakai: Gifu is the prefecture with the most barbecues in Japan (laughs). (Laughs). We are in the habit of barbecuing on weekends when we have free time. Every family has a barbecue set.
Serizawa Wow.
Tanaka That's nice.
Motoizumi So I would like to barbecue and eat meat. Also, I would like to try "Tajimiso Yakisoba" (fried noodles with miso).
--Just hearing that makes me want to eat it. Mr. Wakai, could you give us a recommendation unique to your hometown of Gifu Prefecture?
Wakai: Well, ...... Tajimi is famous not only for ceramics but also for tiles, and there is a tile confectionery near the Mosaic Tile Museum. Various sweets such as manjyu (buns) and cookies are made in the colors and shapes of tiles. They make great souvenirs.
Tanaka The store we went to looked like a Japanese-style confectionery shop. There were all kinds of sweets there.
Wakai I think it was because we went to Tajimi that we were able to buy them.
--The cafe "Tokishiro" has a lineup of beautiful mugs. What kind of mugs do you like? What colors or patterns do you often buy?
Wakai I tend to buy a lot of mugs, and I have a lot of them at home for nothing (laughs).
Tanaka I understand. When I went to Tajimi, I saw some cute ones, and on the other hand, I thought austere ones were cool, too. What I actually bought was a reasonable-sized mug with an austere brown polka dot pattern on the inside. I drink tea from it every day.
Serizawa I have a zone in my house where I keep mugs, and unintentionally they were all light blue or emerald green. When I noticed it, I found that colors in that line were gathered together. I like this kind of color.
--You don't often use simple white, do you?
Serizawa: No, not at all. Only mugs from certain cafes (laughs).
Wakai: I made a ceramic mug for coffee. Coffee is black, so I didn't put any (dark) color on it, but only beige or brown. When I used it at home, the coffee looked really good, and it definitely looks better than other mugs. I dare to make use of the inorganic feel of ceramics, and I love it.
Motoizumi I like antique things, so I tend to go for austere rather than pop things. When I went shopping in Tajimi, I fell in love at first sight with a simple but eye-catching mug in a calm, austere red with a black circle popping out of it.
What is the dialect of Gifu that is not understood in other regions?
--By the way, do you have any Gifu dialect that people in other regions cannot understand?
Wakai: There are many. For example, "Leave the garbage out of it" or "Tsutsukite your desk.
Serizawa Eh? What is that?
Wakai: To "carry a desk" is called "desk-tugging. Also, "Kakuu (to grab the key)" and so on.
Except for "wakai", "kau"?
Wakai It means "to lock the door.
Except for Wakai!
--I don't think they understand each other at all.
Wakai Also, when I say, "I'm good at this," people usually say, "What? (laugh). (Laughs.) I say "I'm sorry" when I'm not feeling well. It means "it's hard, it's painful," but if you use it naturally in Tokyo, you will get into trouble (laughs). (Laughs.) "What is this guy bragging about? (laugh).
Tanaka It looks that way.
Motoizumi Interesting.
--I think it is interesting, because "erai" has a different meaning. Do you have any memories of dialects?
Motoizumi Yes, I do. I am from Fukushima Prefecture, and we say "Urukasu" when we soak rice in water to make it easier to wash rice in a rice cooker. It's called "Urukasu-tete" ("Let it soak in water").
Wakai Eh, I don't understand. But that's a very pinpoint word to use (laughs).
Honizumi Indeed, I have never used it for anything else (laughs).
--Tanaka-san and Serizawa-san are from Tokyo, but if you had to pick a favorite dialect, where would it be?
Serizawa Fukuoka. Everyone says it's cute.
Motozumi "〜bai" is cute, isn't it?
Serizawa Doesn't the Fukuoka dialect make you feel closer to the person you are talking to?
Wakai I do. It's cute, isn't it?
Tanaka I also like the dialects of Shikoku. Tokushima and Kochi, for example. I admire their western dialects, which are a little different from Osaka's, or rather, they are similar to Osaka's, but milder and cuter.
--In January, you started a radio program, "Yakunara Mugugu no mo - Oribe Gakuen Broadcasting Room". Please tell us what to listen to.
Tanaka: This radio program is really free. I receive e-mails from people who are from Tajimi or currently live in Tajimi, and even from people from completely different areas saying that they are looking forward to the work, which makes me happy even though it is before the anime airs. As for the music, at this point (at the time of the interview) we are still playing what everyone likes, but it seems to be well-received as well.
Serizawa: Normally, in the first session, we would be exploring each other's interests, but for this radio show, we are doing location shooting. But since we have been on location a number of times, I think we were able to start the radio show after getting to know each other completely.
Wakai I feel like we talked a lot about things from our student days that we don't talk about in other programs.
Motoizumi Indeed, we had a lot of fun talking about the club activities we were involved in, and there is a quiz in the corner where you can learn about Tajimi. I thought it was a great way to learn about history while having fun.
--I'm looking forward to listening to the next episode. Thank you very much!
(Interview, text, and photos by Kenichi Chiba)