Interview with Yoko Hikasa, who plays Estella in episodes 3 and 4 of the popular spring 2021 anime "Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-!

WIT STUDIO is producing the animation and Tatsuhei Nagatsuki and Eiji Umehara are composing the series and writing the script for the original TV anime "Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-" (hereinafter referred to as "Vivy").

The 100-year long journey of Matsumoto, an AI whose mission is to "correct history with Vivy and stop the war between AI and humans that will occur 100 years from now," and Vivy, an AI "diva," is finally reaching its climax. A great mystery has been revealed, and one cannot take one's eyes off what the outcome will be.

As the final episode is about to air, we will introduce you to the AI working at the space hotel "Sunrise," who appeared in episodes 3 and 4, "A Tender Moon Tempo: A Chat with the Stars" and "Ensemble for Polaris: Our Promise," respectively. Interview with Yoko Hikasa, who plays the role of AI staff member Estella, who works at the space hotel "Sunrise". We asked her about the appeal of the work, Estella and Elizabeth, and more.

The last scene between Estella and Elizabeth was the moment when they were able to fulfill their mission.

--Akiba Research Institute publishes an " anime ranking" that uses the number of accesses as an indicator of how interested people are in a particular work, and "Vivy" was No. 1 in the ranking for May 2021.

Hikasa: I see! I'm so glad!

-The staff members in attendance are even happier than you are, Mr. Hikasa.

Hikasa That's what makes everyone happy, after all (laughs).

--How did you feel when you read the script for "Vivy," which is getting so much attention?

Hikasa: I first read the script for episode 3, in which Estella appeared, but I didn't know the contents of episodes 1 and 2, so I enjoyed imagining what was going on.

-The third and fourth episodes were centered around Estela, played by Ms. Hikasa, and her sister, Elizabeth (Beth). What were you conscious of when you played them?

Hikasa: When Estella met Vivi in episode 3, I got the impression of elegance and dignity. It was in contrast to Vivi, who was a baby-like AI who was about to learn about the human heart. Estella met the owner (of the former Space Hotel) and knows how people relate to each other and understands what work is like. So I wanted to make sure to show her will to fulfill her job and her belief in it.

Also, one thing that everyone runs into when playing an AI is the issue of breath. I also thought a lot about how much breath to put in or not to put in. When I recorded the third episode, I didn't know how you played Vivi (in the first and second episodes), so I tried to make her look a little more human, so that the audience wouldn't know whether she was a human or an AI. After that, I heard Yumi Uchiyama, who played Elizabeth, ad-libbing breaths that were not in the script, and I thought we were on the same page.

--So you didn't know that part until after the postrecording.

Hikasa: That is the difficult but interesting part of postrecording animation. You don't know what it's like until you've done the tests for that episode. I was reminded once again how important it is to have the ability to react quickly and to try to understand each other in a short period of time.

--What did you feel about Estella and Elizabeth?

Hikasa: Beth was created as Estella's twin sister. Estella wanted to protect her sister and be with her, but she had a history of not being able to do so. I am sure that the owner filled the hole in her heart that was greatly damaged there. I think that because she met the owner, she became a person (AI) who can convey something to someone. So I think that he cared for her even more than during the period when he had not seen Beth, and that is why he was able to meet her at the end of his life.

--The last scene between the two of them in episode 4 was very impressive.

Hikasa: The scene where the two of them operate the control panel, I'm sure it would not have been possible without Estella and Beth, and I feel like there are parts of the scene that were created for that purpose. It was the moment when they finally met and were able to fulfill their mission of "doing one thing together. It was a sad moment for me, but I was very happy to see it.

As a fellow actor, I was so frustrated by Fukuyama-san's performance that it was amazing.

--I think "smile" is a key point for Estella. There was a scene where she made Vivi smile by squeezing her face. How did you feel about such a smile?

Hikasa: I think Estella knew that she had to smile to make the customers smile. The basis of that was when she and Beth were experimenting together, she said, "Let's at least smile, sis. If you can't cry, at least smile," she said to me, and I forced myself to smile even though I couldn't cry.

Even when I am sad, I try my best to smile and it makes me happy, and when someone else smiles, it makes other people smile too. Smiling has such power. That is why I thought Estella's smile was so impressive, whether it was a sad smile or a real smile.

--Even if she doesn't cry because she is an AI, do you feel more emotion when she smiles, or do you think about it differently when you play her smiling?

Hikasa: Yes, that's right. （I don't have the images (at the time of recording), but I am sure that when I am playing the role, I am also making the face that I imagine Estella would make. I haven't actually seen her face when she is acting, but I think the corners of her mouth will probably be lifted (in smiling scenes), and when she is sad, her eyebrows will probably be lowered.

--I think I would probably see the corners of my mouth go up (in a smiling scene), but when I'm sad, my eyebrows would go down.

Hikasa: Because of the Corona disaster, we used a large booth that could accommodate about three people for postrecording and a smaller booth that was isolated from the rest of the room. I was the one in the small room for episode 4, and it got kind of lonely. Every time the test was over, everyone said, "Hey, guys! (laughs).

In a way, it was like Estella and Beth were being experimented on in their own rooms. I could hear their voices through the headphones, but I couldn't see them. But I think that's because they know what it feels like to be with everyone else, and that's why they feel lonely. I thought that Estella must also feel lonely and isolated now that she has met the owner, Vivi and the others.

--Did you ask anyone on the set about the actual content of the story?

Hikasa: I asked the director (Mr. Ezakishimpei) and Mr. Jun Fukuyama, who plays Matsumoto, about various things. Mr. Fukuyama was born to play Matsumoto, or he was so perfect for the role that I thought he was writing it for me. He was so perfect for the role that I thought he was born to play Matsumoto, or that he was writing the part for me. (Laughs.) Tanesaki is a slow person, and I am not so quick-witted myself, so we both started to look at the sky from the beginning. I thought that Fukuyama-san was really an AI beyond human beings. I was so quick-witted that I thought Mr. Fukuyama might really be an AI that surpasses human beings, and after Mr. Fukuyama's talk, Tanesaki-chan would listen to what he had broken down.

--So even from a professional voice actor's point of view, Mr. Fukuyama is still amazing, isn't he?

Hikasa: Yes, he is. I've worked with Mr. Fukuyama quite a bit in the past, and we have a standard routine of "Mr. Fukuyama talks a lot, and I get mad because I don't understand him" (laughs). (Laughs.) We are like dogs and monkeys. (Laughs.) I had been watching Mr. Fukuyama from that perspective, so to see his enthusiasm and skill demonstrated without regret in "Vivy" was frustrating for me as an actor and voice actor as well. The length of Matsumoto's lines was originally designed to be tight, but as Matsumoto gradually became more and more powerful, there were times when there wasn't enough space left. I think it was really amazing.

I am sure that what Estella wanted was to sing with Elizabeth alone.

--I heard that you enjoy the on-air programs as a viewer except for the episodes in which Estella appears, so please tell us what you find attractive about "Vivy".

Hikasa: This work is in an omnibus format, and each episode is from a different time period, so although they are the same work, there is a strange feeling of being lost in a different world. I didn't understand it when I was acting, but when I watched the on-air program, I felt as if you wanted the viewers to think about it. I didn't understand it when I was acting, but when I saw the film on air, I felt like, "Do they want the audience to think about it? "Where is AI's mind?" "Does AI have a mind or not?" "Where do AI's emotions come from?" I think a lot of things.

This is just my opinion, but I think that "interaction" is the key point for AI. In the case of Estella, I am sure there are things that were created through her interactions with the owner, Beth, and the little bird (who was in the room), as well. For example, there is a scene in episode 2 where Vivi and Matsumoto shake hands in a "hello from now on" kind of way, and episode 4 ends with a close-up of Estella and Beth's joined hands. I find meaning in such things. I think it is important to be in touch with each other, transcending time and race (human and AI).

--The film is thought-provoking, but at the same time, the beautiful images and songs are also impressive. How did you feel about the images and songs?

Hikasa: When we recorded the video, it was just line drawings, but when I saw the finished video and PV, I was shocked. I thought, "What the heck is this? Where did you put so much effort into it? (laughs). Especially the eyes. I remember I was really shocked at how much energy was put into drawing the eyes. （I was really looking forward to seeing the video on air (after seeing the PV). （I knew that (the story) was in the world of AI, but it was an image that went beyond the AI worldview I had imagined.

And then there is the singing. It is common for the voice actors to sing as they are, but this time I dared to separate the actors from the singers. I think it's wonderful that they are able to showcase their strengths as professionals without regretting it. Moreover, the voices of the actor and the singer are very similar. Various people have told me that my voice is similar to that of the person who sings Estella (Rokka-san). I think they probably decided on the actor first and then looked for someone whose voice was similar to the actor's, but I could sense the enthusiasm and seriousness of the staff.

--I was also impressed by the way the same song "Ensemble for Polaris" was sung by Estella (Vo. Rokka) alone in episode 3, and by both Estella and Elizabeth (Vo. Nora) in episode 4.

Hikasa: That direction was unfair (laughs). It was beautiful and lovely when Estella sang alone, but when I heard the two of them singing together, I felt that this was the perfect form of the song. I am sure that what Estella was looking for was for the two of us to sing together, and I felt that the two of us were one and the two of us were one. It was really good.

What is the mission you want to give AI, Mr. Hikasa? ......

--What is the mission that you want to give to AI? In the work, AI is given a "mission. If AI like Vivi and Estella were to become a reality, and if you could give your own AI a "mission," what would it be?

Hikasa: Now that you mention it, there are more and more AIs around us. I haven't mastered it at all, but Alexa, for example, can stop music when I call out to it. It really is an amazing world.

--It's an amazing world, isn't it? In this context, what mission should we give AI?

Hikasa: Well, it would be counterfeit if it generates money for ...... (laughs).

--That is indeed (laughs). I mean, I don't think that's what AI's mission is .......

Hikasa That's not good. It doesn't fit the worldview of "Vivy" at all! (laughs). Yes, I still want you to sing like Vivy.

The other day, I had an audition where I had to send in a song in addition to my lines, and since recording at the office would limit the number of times and the amount of time I could do it, I tried it at home. I tried it at home. Then I started to enjoy it and sang by myself until about 2 am (laughs). Singing makes me very happy and relieves stress, and I realized once again that it has great power. Also, I really can't remember pitches, so I would like her to be able to remember pitches in an instant (laughs). (Laughs.) It would be nice if there was a system where you could memorize it in an instant by just popping it.

(laughs) -- It's like saying, "I want to become an AI. It would be installed in an instant.

Hikasa: I'm envious because I think AI would be able to learn songs quickly, just like Vivi was able to learn a combat program (laughs).

--(laughs) - While looking forward to such a future, what are you looking forward to as the story reaches its climax?

Hikasa: I haven't read the scenario since Estella's turn, so I'm enjoying the work from the same perspective as the audience. I think life is a journey, and I wonder who Vivi will meet and how she will walk .......

People never tell you what the end will be like. But is there such a thing as really bad, or completely evil? I think so. I think that Yugo and the others who were chasing Vivi were trying to make the world a better place, and Vivi has her own justice and Matsumoto has his. I want to be surprised at the same time as you, and I hope to be able to accompany you like Estella.

(Reporting and writing by Kenichi Chiba)