[Signed merchandise will be given away! Includes not only voice but also facial expressions and mouth openings! Interview with Marika Takano, who plays Sarah in the anime "Eden," which has attracted attention for its realistic 3DCG expressions and heartwarming drama between robots and humans!

The Netflix original animated series "Eden" is being distributed exclusively worldwide starting Thursday, May 27, 2021.

Eden" is a science fiction fantasy series set thousands of years in the future.

Two agricultural robots living in "Eden 3," a lush, robot-only world where humans have disappeared, meet a baby "human" girl, a forbidden ancient mythological being. From there, the two robots begin to question the robot doctrine, and secretly begin to raise the girl, named "Sarah," outside of Eden.

Eventually, Sarah uncovers the mystery of "Eden 3." ......

This work, which is both a science fiction fantasy and a depiction of family love, is a very impressive work. Marika Takano, who plays the main character Sarah, told us a lot about this work!

A37, who played Kyoko Hyojo, "was like a real mother!

ーーI heard that the recording of this film took place a long time ago.

Takano: After recording in prescreening, which served as a guide, in about 2017, I did another recording of all four episodes in about 2018, so now I'm excited that it's finally going to be released to the world! I am looking forward to it.

What was your first impression of the story?

Takano: When I first learned about the synopsis, I thought it was going to be a robot anime with a science fiction theme, so I was worried that there would be a lot of difficult words. The theme is big, but I thought it was an approachable work.

It certainly didn't feel like a "science fiction work! I didn't feel that it was a "science fiction" work.

Takano: That's right. I think it is a warm work that even children can easily watch, and I thought robots were cute (laughs). (Laughs.) There are a lot of different robots in the film, but the ones that surround Sarah are very lovable!　The father and mother are kind and have interesting things to say!

Q: Did you record this episode with the other cast members?

Takano: The first recording was done in 2017, before the Corona disaster, so we were able to record together, but it was not a normal recording. Moreover, they put a camera in front of my face and took pictures of the shape of my mouth and facial expressions, which they used as reference for the video, so I thought it was a very special recording.

ーーIt must have been a little embarrassing (laughs).

Takano That's right!　But when the final picture came out, Sarah was very expressive and detailed in her performance, so I wondered if my facial expressions were utilized in any part of it. I wondered if any of my facial expressions were used (laughs).

Q: How was the interaction between the actors?

Takano: We were able to communicate with each other as if we were recording a dramatic reading or a drama CD, but since I was the only human, it was difficult for me to maintain a sense of distance from the robot.

Only Sarah, the only human, was conscious of the distance between her and the other characters, so she would lower and raise the tone of her lines. However, robot characters speak to the majority of the audience at a certain tempo, so I sometimes wondered if my sense of distance was correct. I sometimes wondered if my sense of distance was right. However, the robot cast members are all very dependable, so I think I was able to put a lot of emotion into my performance.

Q: Sarah is raised by a robot, but she seems like a real mother, doesn't she?

Takano: That's right!　A37 (CV. Kyoko Hinoue) was a robot that reminded me of my actual mother (laughs). (Laughs.) I thought she was just like my mother in the scenes where she was fidgety, anxious, and fidgety.

In the end, a lot of things happen, and since she is a robot, I wonder if her emotions are all programmed (......), but the emotions in Sarah are real, and the robot's facial expressions were very lively, so the viewer did not feel lonely. I think that the robot's expressions were so vivid that the viewers did not feel lonely.

Q: It was hard to believe that the human beings were alone in the world.

Takano: Sarah seemed to feel lonely, though.

Eden" is a work that can be enjoyed no matter how many times you see it!

Q: What did you keep in mind when you played the role of Sarah, who is of various ages, from a baby to an adult?

Takano: Sarah is such a normal girl that it is hard to tell that she was raised by a robot. Her emotions are clear, she gets angry and frustrated with her mother and father, and she shows the kind of expressions that only a family can show. I think that is why I was able to play her as a normal girl.

Q: The time passed quickly from babyhood to adulthood, was there any explanation of what happened during this period of time?

Takano: There was no particular explanation, but when I read the script, I saw that they were having a normal family conversation, so I acted as I got the impression from between the lines. However, in the first episode, there are three different ages in the story: a baby, a 12-year-old, and an adult, so I was told to be aware that I had to make a clear transition between the three ages.

Q: It is surprising that you only got the impression from the script.

Takano: There was some direction in terms of direction, but there was no major direction in terms of character creation. The father (E92) and mother (A37) were robots that showed a lot of very human-like expressions in their overall movements, far from the image we had of robots, so I think they grew up straight and healthy like that.

Q: You don't get many chances to play a baby, do you?

Takano: It was the first time for me to play a baby. So I went through a lot of trial and error while observing my relatives' babies!

My favorite scene is when the baby can't burp and throws up. If it were a normal animation, I would have made the sound a little cuter, but since this was a 3DCG animation, I thought it needed to be realistic.

But since this was a 3DCG animation, I thought it needed to be realistic. When I observed the baby, I thought that the sound of vomiting was not so cute, so I thought I did a good job of outputting that. On the contrary, I thought it was kind of cute! I thought I was able to create a kind of "gap moe" effect (laughs).

Q: Do you remember the rebellious scenes from when you were 12 years old?

Takano: Yes, I do (laughs). (laughs) Yes, I may have had those scenes for sure. When I was about 12 years old, I lived at my grandmother's house, which had various buildings such as a warehouse and a storehouse, and I would hide in the corner of the second floor of the storehouse (laughs). (Laughs.) "Nobody understands me!" I think I had a feeling of smugness, like, "Nobody understands me!

But I wonder why I was so frustrated. There was a scene where the father said something like, "Is Sarah broken?" There was a scene where the father says something like, "Is Sarah broken?" I did think that there are moments when even adults cannot understand the negative energy that comes out of nowhere from a child of that age.

Q: What were your impressions when you actually saw the film?

Takano: It was only recently that I saw the completed version, and I was surprised at how detailed the movements were. I was surprised. I was surprised at how detailed and realistic the facial expressions and movements in the angry scenes were. During postrecording, I was under the impression that more breathing would be better suited for this work (more realistic), but when I actually saw the finished product, I was very impressed by how realistic the movements were.

Q: What did you think of the message?

Takano: When I read the script, I thought it was a grand theme, but when I saw the finished film, I thought it was a work of family love. Not only Sarah's family, but there is another family in this film, and I hope you will watch it again and again to see the foreshadowing in the two families, the connection between the two families, and how the love between the families is related to the story.

The family love element is very touching, isn't it? What's more, things that you don't understand just by watching it the first time will come to you easily the second time.

Takano: That's right!　The moment the robot hears human words, it understands the language and starts talking in a very emotional way, but I wonder if that has something to do with another family member's wish for the daughter to "make (the robot) laugh and talk. Or something like that. ...... I think it is an interesting work no matter how many times you see it, as you will discover many things about it when you watch it again.

(Interview and text by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Outline of the Present Campaign

<Prize

Five winners will be selected by drawing to receive an "Eden" ring notebook signed by Marika Takano!

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