Please pay attention to the story of the beginning of "SAO," which has evolved over the past 10 years! Interview with Inori Minase as Fukazumi Usazawa and Mito in "Sword Art Online the Movie: Progressive Aria: A Hoshinaki Yoru no Aria"!

Sword Art Online the Movie - Progressive: Aria on a Starless Night" will finally be released in theaters on October 30, 2021. This is the second feature film in the "Sword Art Online" series, which depicts the origin story "Aincrad" from the perspective of Asuna, not the main character Kirito, as depicted in the first season of the TV series.

A new character in the film version is Mito, played by Inori Minase. She is a gamer who plays as Mito in the world of "SAO," and is portrayed as a key character in the film, including the scene where she invites Asuna to join "SAO.

We asked Ms. Minase how she played the role of Fukasumi Usazawa/Mito and her thoughts on the "SAO" series.

I have been a fan of "SAO" since I was a student.

Q: I heard that you have been watching "Sword Art Online" since you were a student, but which character is your favorite in the series?

Minase: I like Asuna. I think she is really cool. In this movie version, there are a lot of cute parts of her.

So you were able to have a lot of fun with Asuna, whom you admire so much.

Mizuse: That's right. I had been watching this work since I was a student, so I was very happy.

Q: Once again, what do you think is the charm of this work?

Mizuse: People play games for entertainment and relaxation, so normally, people would say, "Let's log in because it's a hot new title! But when they actually logged in, they found that their lives were on the line, and they were like, "Is that even possible? I was shocked at the introduction of the game at the time.

I was shocked at the introduction of the game, which said, "This is a game, but not a game. I thought it was a truly unique worldview that forced each player to make the ultimate choice of how to face the game in a situation where their life was at stake.

Q: This work is in a game, but at the time, works in which you traveled to a different world from the real one were also new and very exciting.

Mizuse: I am surprised that it was 10 years ago. I still have vivid memories of it in my mind. ......

Q: And the main character Kirito in this series has been played by Sadayuki Matsuoka, who has worked together with you for many years. Back then, you were still considered a rookie, right?

Mizuse: So it was the beginning of a legend (laughs).

Q: Is there a difference between your acting then and your acting now?

Mizuse: At the time, I was just watching on TV, but I think it is different. I really feel that you have grown up with Kirito. ...... What is your perspective on your senpai? (laughs).

In the beginning, Kirito and Asuna were not able to communicate as well as they wanted to with other people, and he was very shy around girls, but as the series progressed, he grew stronger and stronger. As the series progressed, he became stronger and stronger. Asuna's growth was remarkable, but I think the highlight of the work is that Kirito is becoming cooler and cooler.

My impression of Matsuoka-san may be linked to that of Kirito, who was a little unsociable at first (laughs).

Haruka Tomatsu, who plays the role of Asuna, has never changed my impression of her from the beginning in a good way. Although she is my senior, she speaks to me in a friendly manner and always makes me feel at ease.

Q: By the way, were you able to do postrecording with Mr. Tomatsu and Mr. Matsuoka during the recording of this work?

Mizuse: Actually, I couldn't, so I recorded by myself. However, almost all of the cast's voices, including Kirito and Asuna's, were included in the recording, so I was acting while listening to them.

Matsuoka-san, did you say anything about playing Kirito again from the "Aincrad" version?

Mizuse: I listened to my performance at the time and declared that I was going to rewrite the parts that I couldn't bring out the best in my performance then, with my current performance! After the recording, he said proudly, "I was able to surpass myself on that day," so I would like everyone to see that in the theater!

Q: It's not often that you get a chance to perform in the same situation again.

Mizuse: And this is after a lapse of 10 years. There are definitely things that could only be done back then. I was impressed that Matsuoka-san was able to say that he was able to make it even better than it is now.

I want as many people as possible to fall in love with Mito.

Q: And Mito, the character you play, is a little different from the player, the high school student Fukazumi Usazawa, isn't he?

Mizuse: I saw the illustration when I was auditioning, and I thought she was more mysterious and cool. The way Fukazumi was portrayed at school was also different from the rest of her classmates, as if she had something special about her. From there, Mito in the game world had a very interesting gap from his everyday life, and the mysterious atmosphere instantly flew away.

Q: Were there any instructions to change the atmosphere between Fukasumi and Mito?

Mizuse: Not particularly. Mito communicates almost exclusively with Asuna. I think it was important for Fukazumi (Mito) that the way he shows himself to Asuna Yuki and Asuna is the same.

Q: Your voice has a serious feel to it, how did you approach it?

Mizuse: She was cool and had an image of a male Takarazuka actor. I had a mage who would say cool things to Asuna in a natural way. In the scene where I was tying her hair, I could say, "You look cuter that way," without hesitation.

But when she says it to me, I get embarrassed and say, "What's that? (laugh). Including that part, I played her as a girl who still has many immature parts that are typical of high school students.

Q: This time around, the "Aincrad" part of the first season of the TV series is being portrayed from Asuna's point of view. When Mito enters the world of "SAO," he teaches Asuna the game's strategies, which is what Kirito did to Klein in the TV anime, isn't it?

Mizuse: That's right. I thought it was similar to Kirito's position in that he is a bit overconfident in his own abilities, has pride in his knowledge of games, and says things like, "Leave it to me, I know everything. Asuna was happy to hear that, so I felt good about it (laughs).

So you were actually getting a good feeling about it (laughs). How was your interaction with Asuna?

Mizuse: During the post recording, I was able to hear her voice back to me through the headphones as we acted out the scene, and at that moment I thought, "What a luxurious time I had! I felt that Haruka's Asuna was so close to me, or rather to Mito, that I thought to myself, "What a luxurious time!　I was extremely nervous and thought that she was relying on me so much (laughs).

(laughs) Haruka-san gave the impression that the conversation between the two of us continues as a matter of course every day, so this moment is special for me, but for Mito, I thought it was an irreplaceable time with Asuna, which is a matter of course every day. So for my part, I tried to cut down my emotional thoughts as much as possible and told myself to "be cool, be cool" as I performed the play (laughs).

Laughs] - She's the heroine of a work you've been watching since you were a student. It's real!　She is the Asuna of my dreams! I might have to have a feeling in my heart that "I can't help it.

Mizuse It was a very blissful time. If I have another opportunity in the future, I would be happy if we could hang out together. But that might make me very nervous (laughs).

Q: So, when you saw the video, were there any parts that you thought were amazing? (What did you think when you saw the video?) Mizuse.

Mizuse: The battle scenes are the best part of "SAO," and I think they are an important part of the work. In this work, each character has a different color when they wield their weapons, so please pay attention to the effects!

Mito's weapon is a scythe, which has never appeared in the series before. SAO" has a variety of battle styles and weapon styles, but the scythe can be used in close quarters combat, and there are also techniques that can be used when wielding it at long range, so I think Mito's battle scenes are also a point of interest!

Also, the backgrounds have evolved over the past 10 years, and some of them are now CG. I think it will be interesting to see the evolution of the technology if you watch the movie version and then watch the TV series again.

Overall, the visual beauty is amazing!

Q: What are some of the highlights of Mito's work other than the battles?

Mizuse: Because of my love of games, I tend to be a bit too maniacal in my joys. For example, his reaction when he finds something rare. It's a kind of maniacal moe! There is a kind of "maniacal moe" in Mito, so game enthusiasts will say, "Yes! I know what you mean! I think game lovers will be able to relate to this. I think this character is a condensation of that gamer-like quality.

As for the overall story, I think there are different ways of perceiving the character of Mito. Still, "I can understand how Mito feels!" I hope that there will be more than a few people who will think, "I understand how Mito feels!

Q: Finally, do you have a message for your fans?

Mizuse: Throughout the series, the story of "Aincrad," which is the beginning of the series, is being depicted again after a lapse of 10 years, and I think there are many scenes that have left a strong impression on those who have read the original story and watched the TV series. This time, it is depicted from Asuna's point of view, so I would like you to see how Mito, who was newly drawn for "SAO Progressive Theater", will affect Asuna and what kind of position Mito will have in "SAO".

I hope that as many people as possible will fall in love with Mito.

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Film Information
SWORD ART ONLINE THE MOVIE - Progressive - Aria on a Starless Night
<Date of release

October 30, 2021 (Saturday)

<Story> "Aria: A Night Without Stars" <Release Date> Saturday, October 30, 2021
This is the story of "Flashlight" and "Black Swordsman" before they were called by those names.
Asuna Yuki, a girl in her third year of junior high school who was accidentally covered in Nerve Gear that day, was originally a junior high school student who had nothing to do with Internet games.
On November 6, 2022, the world's first VRMMORPG 《Sword Art Online》 was launched.
However, the players, who had not yet cooled off from the excitement of logging in, were suddenly deprived of the means to log out by the game master, and became trapped in the game world. The game master tells them, "This is a game, but it is not play.
This is a game, but it is not a game.
Death in the game is directly connected to death in reality.
Hearing this, all the players were confused, and the game was filled with screaming. One of them was Asuna, who, not understanding the rules of the world, set out to conquer "Aincrad," a floating castle of steel with no visible top.
As she survives in a world where death is a fact of life and death is a fact of life, a fateful "encounter" comes her way. And then, farewell.
Asuna is tossed about by the "reality before her eyes," but it is the lone swordsman Kirito who appears before her, fighting as hard as he can...

<Staff
Original story and story idea : Reki Kawahara (Dengeki Bunko)
Original illustration and character design idea : abec
Director : Ayako Kono
Action Director & Monster Design: Yasuyuki Kai
Character Design & Chief Animation Director: Kento Toya
Sub-character Design: Aya Akizuki, Tomomi Ishikawa, Keisuke Watanabe
Prop Design: Hisashi Higashijima
Art Director: Yusa Ito
Art Setup: Akihiro Hirasawa
Color Design: Naomi Nakano
Director of Photography: Yuki Oshima
CG Director: Kengo Oda, Hiroshi Nakajima
2D Works: Yohei Miyahara, Kaori Seki
Editing: Kiyoshi Hirose
Music: Yuki Kajiura
Sound Director: Miwa Iwanami
Sound Effects: Yasumasa Koyama
Sound Production: Sonirudo
Produced by EGG FIRM and Straight Edge
Production: A-1 Pictures
Distributor: Aniplex
Production: SAO-P Project

<Cast
Kirito: Matsuoka Teisho
Asuna: Haruka Tomatsu
Mito: Inori Minase

<Introduction
Reki Kawahara, the author of the original manga, has created a completely new animated film version of "Aincrad" from Asuna's point of view.
This is a game, but not a game.
Game over is directly connected to death in real life. Sword Art Online, the death game that started it all, opens anew on the theater screen.

(C)2020 Reki Kawahara/KADOKAWA/SAO-P Project